Monthly Archives: March 2019
My Son Wants to Know Who His Biological Father Is
My Son Wants to Know Who His Biological Father Is
by Blas Falconer
My son wants to know
his name. What does he look like? What does
he like? My son swims
four days a week. When my son swims
underwater, he glides
between strokes. When he glides underwater, he is
an arrow aimed
at a wall. Four days a week, his coach says,
Count—1…2…—before
coming up for air.
My father had blue eyes, blonde hair,
though mine are brown.
My father could not speak
Spanish and wondered, How can you love
another man? We rarely touched.
When my son
is counting, I count
with him. I say, I am
your father, too. 1…2…
About this Poem
“One day I was listening to my son’s swim coach and her feedback on his breaststroke, how he couldn’t muscle his way across the pool, how stillness and patience were important components of good technique. To encourage this, she had him count while his head was under the water, and it seemed like good advice for a lot of things, bearing what troubles you, for example, or writing a poem that is particularly challenging.”
—Blas Falconer
Ready, Set, Go!
Yesterday started what I hope to be a new day in my life. I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app to help me lose weight. It’s largely an app that keeps up a calorie count and calculates what calories you need to eat each day to lose weight. It also tracks exercise. I went over my calorie count yesterday, but I’m going to try to do better today. I’ve been improving my eating habits of late by incorporating breakfast into my diet everyday. While I haven’t weighed myself to see if I’ve lost weight, I know I’ve lost some because I’ve had to go up a notch in my belt. Time will tell how this will go.
Unfading Beauty
But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. (KJV) ( 1 Peter 3:4 )
We spend a lot of time focusing on our outward appearance such as perfecting our hairstyle, improving our physique, selecting the right clothes. In all, a lot of thought goes into creating just the right look. Do we spend the same amount of time cultivating our inner beauty? We know what inner beauty looks like…patience, generosity, peace-loving, fearless, and filled with a silent strength. Are we spending more time worrying about the color of our teeth instead of the kind of words that come out of our mouth? Ultimately our words are a reflection of our heart.
Reality TV
I’m usually not big into reality television, but there are four shows right now that I can’t let myself miss. Number one on the list is RuPaul’s Drag Race. The other three are tied for importance: The Voice, Project Runway, and Project Runway All Stars. I have to admit, I haven’t seen all the seasons of any of these shows. I saw the early seasons of RuPaul and Project Runway but got out of the habit of watching them. Now I’m back to watching them and hate I missed even a single season. Project Runway All Stars is relatively new to me, and I choose which seasons of The Voice to watch based on who the coaches are.
RuPaul is number one for a reason. It’s the best all LGBT show on right now. And let’s face it, drag queens are fun. Yes, there are some annoying ones each season. This season, it’s hands down Silky Nutmeg Ganache. She’s over the top and annoying as fuck because she’s a camera hog. She always wants to be at the center of attention. However, there are some good ones too: Brooke Lynn Hytes, Scarlet Envy, Shuga Cain, and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo. None stand out as the front runner yet, but time will tell.
I like the judges this season on The Voice, and it’s not up against Dancing with the Stars, which is its usual competition and what I usually choose to watch. So far this season seems to have some outstanding talent. There are three from Alabama, and I like them all for their country sound. I usually don’t root for someone on Adam Levine’s team because I don’t think he’s a very good coach even though he’s been on there since the beginning. However, that being said, I am head over heels for Andrew Jannakos of Flowery Branch, Georgia. He’s a very sexy country artist with a deep voice. His voice is as beautiful as he is. I try not to get too attached this early because you never know what’s going to happen in the battle rounds, but I’m hoping Andrew gets stolen and goes all the way to the end. My other top choice is Jackson Marlow of Rogersville, Alabama. He’s on Kelly Clarkson’s team and is also very sexy. Now we wait and see how the battle rounds go.
Project Runway All Stars comes to a close next week, but it’s been an exciting series. Sadly my favorite lost last week. I love Texas designer Anthony Ryan. To me he’s sexy, and I almost always liked what he designed. We are now down to four designers. Who will win is anyone’s guess.
That brings us to Project Runway which years ago moved from Bravo to Lifetime and is not back at Bravo. With the exception of Nina Garcia, everyone else jumped ship. There is no Tim Gunn or Heidi Klum. Without them, can the show even be Project Runway? Bravo seems to think so. Christian Siriano (winner of Season 4) is the new mentor replacing Tim Gunn. Karlie Kloss replaces Heidi. I was skeptical of this one. I love Tim Gunn, but the first episode wasn’t too bad. It’s early, so no designer has jumped out at me, I’m still learning their style aesthetic. So for me, the verdict is still out. Can Bravo bring it home with the newness of the show? I sure hope so.