Author Archives: Maggie C

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About Maggie C

Stained glass artist, writer, respecter of life.

Wild Rider Fitness Challenge – Reblogged Guest Post

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Susie Lindau was kind enough to run a post I wrote for her Wild Rider Fitness Challenge (#WRFChallenge) a couple of months ago, but since I promised a moratorium on dog posts, I held off on reblogging until today. Thanks, Susie!

Susie Lindau's avatarSusie Lindau's Wild Ride

I would like you to meet Maggie C from, What Rhymes with Stanza? She has taken the 90 day Wild Rider Fitness Challenge. Maggie has written a wonderful outdoor photo essay about the pet-ometer and how it keeps her going. I can see where it is an excellent motivator. I think you’ll really enjoy this. It may motivate you too.

Take it away Maggie C!

***

Thank you, Susie, for hosting the Wild Rider Fitness Challenge!

I’ve actually been taking daily walks for about a year now, but the Challenge is motivating me to “step up” my game. I have difficulty sticking with any kind of healthy endeavor, it seems, so having kept at it this long is pretty amazing (or perhaps I’m just easily amazed).

The secret to maintaining my exercise regimen this past year has been my Pet-ometer. He doesn’t measure how many steps I’ve taken in a day…

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In a Heartbeat

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heartbeat grapesI heard your heartbeat today.
A fetal metronome
nestled in your mother’s womb.
Strong, fast, like a powerful locomotive
chugging away.
And all the more impressive
as it’s likely the size of
a grape seed.

How does your little heart know how to beat?
How was it set in motion?
Who wound the spring or
flipped the switch or
turned the key in the ignition?

Did it take a moment to warm up?
Or was the beat just there
like the first pounding notes of a John Phillip Sousa march,
striking up to dash the silence
in the blink of an eye.
Or – one might say – in a heartbeat.

Perhaps your precious heart
has been beating all along
somewhere in the Universe
waiting its turn to turn up the volume,
to resume its rhythm,
to pick up where it left off
in some prior lifetime.

Whatever miracle set your heart in motion
and brought it forth at this time and in this place,
I am honored to play a part in the symphony
for which it beats a perfect percussion.

It astounds me sometimes
how quickly life proceeds.
From a grape-sized fetus protected in the womb,
to a soft-skinned infant nestled in your parents’ arms,
it will happen in the blink of an eye,
or – one might say – in a heartbeat.

When you are born
I will not fall in love with you
at first sight.
I already fell in love with you
at first sound.
And it all happened
in a heartbeat.

Icon Underfoot

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PDX3

Iconic carpet underfoot at The PDX Project art exhibit “A Farewell to the PDX Carpet.”

We never seem to appreciate a good thing until we lose it. And sometimes things don’t even become appreciable until we face losing them. Case in point, the iconic PDX carpet in Portland, Oregon.

Granted, the old carpet at the Portland International Airport (PDX) is — shall we say — tacky. Designed in 1987 and installed in the early 90s, the teal background features a geometric pattern intended to represent the intersection of the north and south runways at PDX as seen from the control tower at night.

PDX5

Original PDX carpet (1990s to 2015)

I’ve trodden the carpet a number of times, mostly to meet incoming friends or relatives, or to see them off on some adventure. And I never gave the floor beneath me a second thought. The first thought, however, was as I’ve previously stated, “tacky.” Worn and stained teal just isn’t my favorite color. Nor does it match my luggage. Which is black. That tells you how bad it is.

So when I started seeing photos appear on Instagram and Facebook of people’s feet on the carpet, I didn’’t get it. I went to my source of all things trendy quirky (my daughters), and learned that there is a cult following of the PDX carpet, and that that’s a “thing” now, photographing your feet as you pass through the airport.

PDX1

Foot photo on the original PDX carpet.

The PDX carpet has its own Wikipedia entry, its own Facebook page with 13,000 likes, and its own Instagram hashtag (#pdxcarpet) with almost 64,000 photos to date. Oh, and it was the Grand Marshall in this year’s annual Portland Starlight Parade.

The recent spike in popularity of the PDX carpet seems driven by the fact that the 25 year old design is being retired as a new carpet installation is underway. Yes, the 14 acres of teal carpet are disappearing as we speak. Well, not disappearing. As is typical of many outmoded items in Portland, the carpet is being repurposed. The grottiest parts will be recycled, but the remaining pieces are available for sale in various shapes and forms.

PDX2

Carpet-adorned piano at The PDX Project art exhibit “A Farewell to the PDX Carpet.”

While the carpet has been referred to as a “hipster icon,” I find myself climbing onto the nostalgia bandwagon, too (and I assure you I am not hipster). So of course I had to go to the art exhibit that was set up in Portland to honor the retiring carpet.

Not a very large exhibit, and not overly impressive, but oh-so-Portlandia. I got to photograph my feet on the carpet one last time, play the PDX-upholstered piano, and check out other carpet-inspired art.

I haven’t seen the new carpet yet. In the shadow of the original PDX carpet, it will have some pretty big shoes to, um, underlay. My guess is that, while it may never reach Grand Marshall status, it will probably eventually be embraced in its own right.

That’s just the way Portland is.

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Panel from The PDX Project art exhibit “A Farewell to the PDX Carpet.”

Weekly Photo Challenge: Beneath Your Feet

Three Letters

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Letter One

birdbath

Dear birds who
frequent my front yard:

A voice whispered in my ear,
“Buy it and they will come.”
I was confused, and said, “Buy what?”
The voice said, “Cheep!”
So I went to the store and looked for something cheap.
I found a colorful glass birdbath
on a wrought iron base.
It was on sale.
I bought it.

I set it up in the front yard,
filled it with water,
added three big rocks (for ambiance),
… and waited…

No one came.

Okay… one bird came.
An avian bath critic, perhaps,
who apparently voted
two wings down.

Perhaps I should have splurged
on the Jacuzzi model, or maybe
the optional water slide.
But I did not.
After all, the voice did say cheap.

Henceforth, little birds,
If you aren’t going to utilize
the colorful glass birdbath
on the wrought iron base,
please stay downwind from me.
There are few things worse
than an unbathed bird.

And please,
stop whispering in my ear.

Sincerely,
Birdbath Owner

= 0 = 0 = 0 =

Letter Two

letters2

Dear dog who sits at the bathroom door
every time I pee:

You’ve taught me a lot
since you came to live with me.
Like not to leave socks lying around.
Or pens. Or slippers.
Or granola in a bowl of milk.

I’ve tried to teach you things, too.
Like barking to alert me
of your need to go outside.
Like NOT barking to alert me
every time the neighbors walk by.
And that it’s bad form to drink from the toilet
or to try to hump the cat.

I’ve seen you staring out the window
at the colorful glass birdbath
on the wrought iron base.
Could that have something to do
with its unpopularity?

Please don’t chase the birds.
I am fairly certain they do not want
to play with you.

Cordially,
Alpha Pack Leader

= 0 = 0 = 0 =

Letter Three

letters3

Dear Cat who
shares my domicile:

There’s a new water dish
in the front yard for you.
It’s made of colorful glass
on a wrought iron base.
We can remove the three big rocks
if you don’t like the ambiance.

I’m really sorry about the dog thing.
What can I say… he likes you.

Faithfully,
Filler of the Water Dish

= 0 = 0 = 0 =