June  26,  2021

REFLECTIONS 

Light off silver or gold ….
Image in a mirror ….
Something someone said keeps echoing within ….
Memories after experiences ….
Books written ….
Points to Ponder – Reader’s Digest ….
Thoughts in solitary confinement ….
Window seat – by yourself – on a long bus ride ….
Thoughts in church at a loved one’s funeral ….
Nursing home – after the visitors leave ….
Kicking oneself – after a divorce ….
Inside one's head in a barber’s chair ….
Some sermons ….

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 June  26,  2021

Thought for the Day

 

“What’s important is finding out what works for you.”

 

Henry  Moore

 June 25,  2021

HUGS  AND  TEARS

 
Hugs and tears -
now that’s a good combo
to stop and think about
for a few moments.
 
Hugs and tears  ….
 
Picture, ponder,
all those folks who never
felt – really felt – a hug
that triggered tears.
 
Hugs and tears ….
 
There are kids whose parents
didn’t hug – for all kinds of reasons –
all kinds of, “I don’t do hugs.”
“Sorry …. Sorry …. Sorry.”
 
Hugs and tears ….
 
There are adopted kids –
who never got a real hug or hold
from their actual moms or dads ….
“Sorry …. Sorry …. Sorry.”
 
Hugs and tears ….
 
Tears are a lubricant and a rush
of water that can break down dams
and cause a great healing on the
other side of those damn walls.
 
Hugs and tears ….

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 June  25,  2021

Thought for the Day

 

“Why compare yourself with others? No one in the entire world can do a better job of being you than you.”

 

Anonymous

 June 24,   2021

TIN EAR

 
I’ve been told I have a tin ear.
Translation: "You can’t sing, so
just shut up and listen to the music."
 
I really like songs by Harry Chapin
and flash mob pieces - orchestra 

performances - like Ravel's Bolero.
 
I lasted 2 weeks on the trombone,
and I can do “Doe a Dear, a female
dear  and "I Believe" on the piano.
 
So, whom do I listen to, myself and
the music I like - or to the critics who
say, “Shut up just listen to the music.”

  

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 June  24,  2021

Thought for the Day

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

 June 23,  2021

PLACES

There are lots of places – lots of them – 

but I have a few places I love a lot more
than lots of other places  – and I noticed 

them a lot more than other places.

How about you?  What are your places?
 
Like the back room in our basement 

in Brooklyn on 62^nd Street – 326 – 

when we were kids  - but my brother 

Billy liked it too and got it more

because he was bigger and older than me.
 
Like Bliss Park in Brooklyn
when growing up – terrific
in summer to just roll down
the big hill and in winter
of my sled – a Flexible Flyer.
 
Like a big reservoir– a mile around -
at  least - filled with quiet water 

just outside the city of Lima, Ohio. 

It was great for walking around alone

or with Denis - but he was a runner
 
Then there all the places I lived that

were on the water – Spa Creek, Annapolis, 

Maryland, the Hudson in Esopus, New York,
Lac La Belle in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin,
and now on the Atlantic in Long Branch, N.J.
 
A rocking chair, a Lazy Boy Lounge,
a window seat on a bus or a plane,
a breakfast or supper seat with a
whole gang of people on a cruise,
or a seat behind a pole in any church.
 

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

June  23,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

“If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would ever get done.”

 June  22,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

“The thief comes only to steal, 
to kill and to destroy.  
I have come that they might have life. 
and have it to the fullest.”   

 

John 10:10

 June 22,  2021

MORNING  FLIGHT

 
Every morning –
one of the first things I do -
is look out at the ocean –
and stand there – sometimes
it’s a long waiting – till
I see a bird - awake long
before me – flying above
the waves – searching for
its breakfast – and me –
I just have to grab a bowl –
some Cheerios and Raisin Bran –
and milk – and be eating in less
than a minute. I ask myself,
“Who has it better?”
Lucky bird.
I can’t fly – but I can look.

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 June  21, 2021

MASS BELIEF

 
We / I stand at the altar –
praying with
bread and wine –
both on and in gold –
slowly becoming
the body and blood of Christ –
making – creating – being
this amazing act of faith –
and hope – and charity.
 
We / I walk the streets –
work our jobs –
live in our families –
play in our parks –
gracefully becoming –
the body and blood of Christ -
making – creating – being
this amazing act of faith –
and hope – and charity. 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

June  21,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

  

“You got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.”

 

Irish Proverb

 June  20,  2021

 

SELF-PORTRAIT

 

If you were a painter
and you could paint
your self-portrait,
what would it look like?
 
At what age would you picture yourself?
 
What would you be wearing?
 
What would be the background?
 
Would you have anything in hand?
 
Would it be just you?
 
Would one color stand out?
 
Would you want to tell a story?

What would that story be?
 
If you were a painter
and you could paint
your self-portrait,
where would you hang that picture?

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 June  20,  2021

 Thought for the Day

 

“There are three types of baseball players – those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened.”

Tommy Lasorda