Remembering Mrs.Warren

We all seem to be bringing back memories from our past so here am I...

Remembering Mrs. Warren...

my 7th. Grade, home ec. teacher - all those decades ago!

Oh, my!

I wonder if she’s remembered as fondly by my old classmates, as she is by me!
I think so! I bet she is!

Mrs.Warren was a bit of a character- a little pixie kind of lady! To 13-14 year old girls
she seemed old, but looking backward from HERE I realize she was probably mid 40s
at the most!

She was a most excitable type and was always misplacing things and getting in a bit of a lather!

Once she LOST her glasses and had the whole class searching…everyone equally reluctant to tell
her where they were… which was pushed up to the top of her head! :)
Finally she discovered this on her own!
Did she find that amusing? As I recall, she was totally without a sense of humor!
However, smiles were quickly hidden behind hands and giggles, somehow, held in check! At least
until after the class was over!

From the home ec. center we could see the boys practicing on the football field! Kinda hard to keep
your mind on hemming a skirt when it was HIM you wanted to be watching! The work room had
windows that could be easily opened…and it was a short distance from the boys practice field…and
Mrs. Warren was…well... ‘Mrs.Warren’ …a little lax when it came to keeping tabs on her girls! ;)
She was in and out of the room a lot! Maybe taking a little nip, for all I know!
(Might explain some of the weird things she did)

SOME of the girls decided to slip out the window and watch the boys, when the teacher stepped out of
the room! …A daring thing to do but since it was near the end of the class period, worth the risk,
we thought-err-THEY thought!

Was I among them? I ‘m not telling! ;) Mrs. Warren might still be around, for all I know...with her wooden
spoon in hand!

One thing for sure, Mrs. Warren taught us all how to get our spatulas all lined up in a row! ;)

Good Ole Days! Redland Jr. High!
South, Florida
(mid 1950s)

June


OH!!! Seeing the pic of the heavy books we had to lug around has
brought back one more memory.
(we did not have back packs or lockers in those days in 7th. grade, so had to keep
all our books with us all through the day and take them home at night!)

One day, just like this one in the picture, at the end of the day as we were
walking to wait for the bus home, a boy deliberately knocked my books,
notebooks and papers out of my arms! Just a little boyish prank which I did
not find at all funny! I fought back tears as I scurried to gather my papers and books,
as he laughed and ran away!

"Chet", hope all your adult days have been spent in some boring job that you hate,
pushing papers for someone else! ...And I hope that event that day in school was the
most excitement you ever achieved in life! :)

Lol- I don't forget things easily!, 'Chet!'

Photo#1

These are some of the boys we wanted to watch! ;)
This was graduation day from Jr. High.
They didn't usually come to school so spruced up!


photo#2

Left to right-
Annie-June-Mary

Poem: We Won't Have This Day Again

...just some thoughts of time passing...


We Won’t Have This Day Again


The summer days are swiftly passing.
Another fall will soon be here.
Winter enters, with a flurry,
and soon is gone - another year!

As we age, each year seems shorter.
In a flash, the days go by.
We come to know our limitations,
if not all the reasons why!

We pick and choose our undertakings…
the things we do from day to day.
We try to fill the empty spaces,
of what we’ve missed along the way.

We know, fully, time is fleeting,
with no way to reign it in!
We take each day and what it offers!
We won’t have this day again!


June Kellum
2005


Some pics of Charles and me.

Center was in 1961-shortly before we were married.
Top and bottom are recent- within the past couple years,
and our VICTORY motorcycle!

Poem: There's A Place I'm Searching For

...Don't we all , sometimes, just want to hide away?


There’s a Place I’m Searching For


There’s a place I’m searching for,
to hide away, escape this cold.
A place where I may lose the pain,
that has engulfed my soul.

I’ll hide away within those walls.
A mighty fortress will not bend…
will drive away the pain and strife,
before it can descend.

Oh, peaceful rest, to soothe my heart.
And time to ponder what has been-
to lick my wounds- to get in touch
with ME… to start again.

To gather strength where all seemed lost.
Hold tight to what is left of me.
Protect my eyes from hurting rays,
‘til softer light I see.

I’ll linger there until the time
when I can face the world once more.
I’ll stay there, safe, until I’m healed,
and stronger than before.


June Kellum
2005

Poem: Roadside Meadow Flowers

Roadside Meadow Flowers


Nothing fills me, so,
with joy that’s most complete,
than roadside, meadow flowers-
whose names I do not know.

(No pampered garden blossom
could ever be so sweet)
Their name’s of no importance…
just their golden glow!

Their beauty overwhelms...
so abundantly they’re sown.
Each golden face turned upward
to catch the warming rays.

There is no grander sight –
these eyes have ever known.
So, to the ‘Master Gardner,’
I give my love and praise!


June Kellum
2005

Poem: Reflections

...This little poem - though, not correct in form- says a lot about the changes in our lives...





Reflections


These days I seldom witness
children lying in the grass,
gazing skyward, making figures of the clouds.

This is of the past!

Flowers of the meadow,
mostly, go un-noticed and un-picked.
Lost now, to the masses!
Replaced by games - hand-held-
of flickering figures, fighting, flickering figures!

What a trick!

Is summer still enticing,
with sprinklers slinging water in luscious swirls?
With children dressed in summer garb
to frolic, roll and tumble;

Was this another world?

Do families still take meals together,
with all TV screens and games shut down, momentarily?
Is there sharing of the happenings of the day, of one and all?
Sadly, I would have to say,

” No, not ordinarily!”


June Kellum
June 12, 2005


I remember spending lots of time, looking at the clouds and picking wildflowers, when I was a child!

The photo is of my own kids-Tammy, Tina and Chris- in mid 1960s-in Miami, Florida

Love-Pure & Simple

This is my granddaughter, Alli at 4th.Birthday with
They were very close as Mom had been with Alli all her life, 12 years!
Alli was born when Mom was in the hospital with cancer,
at the beginning of her illness! They were in the same hospital so Mom
saw the baby within a couple hours of her birth!

I love this picture. It makes me happy just looking at it!

Poem: A Year Ago Today

A Year Ago Today


A year ago, you left us, Mom,
and we said our last goodbye.
Still, always, you are in my thoughts.
…And, still, I cry!


So many things continue,
to bring your memory home.
I miss you more than I can say,
while struggling to go on.


The pain has lessened, none at all.
The loss is still as deep!
I feel it every waking hour,
and it’s with me when I sleep…
when I, finally, sleep!


Time, they say will ease the pain.
…”But how much time?” I ask!
…”Before my heart is mended,
and I find some peace, at last?”
Never have I faced a greater task!


June Kellum
Jan.27, 2004

...I wrote this for Mom on the first anniversary...

Photo: Mom and me (June) 1970

Third Anniversary

Jan.27th. is the third anniversary of my Mom's leaving us!
Please bear with me because I NEED to do this!

This is Mom.
She was 3 weeks passed her 94th. birthday when we lost her.

She had lived with us for the last 12 years of her life, and it has been
so hard for me to adjust to the loss.
Writing the journal of our early life has helped a little!

She would be happy to know I've done this!
( I hope she does know!)

...Some pics of my mom...

Junie

Poem: Alone, In The Garden

Alone, in the Garden


Alone, in the garden, she‘s sitting,
surrounded by roses and fern…
and ivy, that twines, ever upward,
as if, for the sky it does yearn.

She sits there with just her own memories,
randomly, keeping her company…
of days long passed - of loved ones she’s lost…
of things that are never to be.

She ponders those days as they’re passing…
as if on a screen for her eyes…
the good times she’s known, as well as the bad.
No controlling, so she doesn’t try.

As she sits there alone with her musings,
so often the questions are there,
of “What if I’d taken a different road?”
“Would fate still have guided me here?”

As the ivy keeps growing and seeking,
so, her thoughts are doing the same.
Her thoughts as entwined as the ivy,
in reviewing her life story’s game.

The thing about life, there’s no game plan.
We are winging it – all of the way.
We’re tossed, to and fro, by warm winds or ill.
It’s thus - from our very first day.

And so in the end we’ll be sitting
in our garden of old memories-
to grapple with - to try and untangle
life’s infinite mysteries!

June Kellum
2005

Peaches and me

June and Charles

This is Charles and me on his 70th. Birthday , 2005.

Poem: Winter Sky

This is the way our 'Winter Night Sky' usually makes me feel. I remember this special night so well...


Winter Sky


The winter sky’s like velvet,
deepest blue!

Sprinkled lavishly with stars,
like shining jewels!

It captures me, enthralls me,
as I gaze...

with heartfelt wonder,
as the chilly night unfurls!

Enchanted and transfixed,
I stand alone.

The infinite beauty holds me
in it’s grasp.

Anyone observing me must see,
for me, a total magic has been cast!

…And for long moments
I stand gazing, thus,

until my heart is full to bursting
with the sight!

My senses freshened,
my spirit is renewed!

I feel so blessed, a part of all
this glorious night!


June Kellum
Feb. 2004

My Changing Moods

My Changing Moods

(Last Night)
My winter sky

Tonight I went outside and looked at the stars...
That same dark winter sky, studded with twinkling pin-points of light,
which at times has brought me such pure joy, tonight just made me feel cold and lonely.

...as the current saying goes..."Go Figure!"

J.



(Today)
Bright and sunshiny day!

The day is a fine one so my spirits are uplifted from the melancholy feelings of last night!

Admittedly, last night was a bummer. I had trouble sleeping until the early hours of morning,
when my mind and body finally decided between the 2 of them that 'Junie' had had enough!
Still, disturbing dreams kept me from a refreshing slumber!
However-ANY kind of rest is better than none!

Early in the morning I watched the birds come eat from the feeder, right outside my kitchen window.
A sight that always thrills me!


Opps! And there was General Franks, plotting to pounce ...Thankfully, those birds are Cat Smart!

J.



(Tonight)
Moody Blues

Tonight, as I fold laundry, I am listening to the beautiful music of MOODIES again.

Although, of course, they are not NEW- the music is new to me (Just the past half year or so)
I have spent many enjoyable nights listening to this music!

Very soothing and relaxing...'Nights in White Satin' is playing at the moment-a BEAUTIFUL song!

I'm happy to have had the pleasure of exploring all this NEW music.



J.

About Mom

Three years ago I lost my Mom at age 94.It has been a hard thing, and continues to be, dealing with the loss.

I started a journal of my earliest memories of Mom and our life as a way of getting through the grief. It helped me, and it gave the family a glimpse of what our early life was like.

It's mostly just bits and pieces of early memories, but you might be surprised at how much starts to come back when you try to re-capture old times of your past! My earliest memories go back to age three!

Also, thinking back, I believe one starts to realize how certain events worked to help mold the person you ultimately become as an adult!

I wrote this, mainly, for myself and my family, but others might find it of some interest, too.

This idea might be helpful to others, dealing with such a loss!

Also, it gives a little look into what it was like to be of a poor family in the early 1940s and 1950s, in the South-USA.

It shows the power of Family Love, to overcome hardships and be happy, in spite of hard times!

I will be adding posts each day for awhile...

I hope readers will find something useful here!

June


(Go to my profile - click on- About Mom: my early memories)

Beautiful Butterfly!

Poem: Butterfly

...and just ONE MORE Butterfly poem... :)




Butterfly

On my walk today,
I saw a butterfly.
Delicate and free,
I watched it flutter by!
Flitting here and there,
to sample Nature’s best.
Constantly in motion-
determined in it’s quest
to find the sweetest nectar;
though it didn’t linger long.
Elusive, this must be,
for it paused for just a moment,
then was gone.


Like a butterfly,
my thoughts flit here and there.
…Returning, always, to the sweetest nectar-
memories of you.


June Kellum
Feb. 2004

Poem: Of Butterflies

Today I am thinking of butterflies!
I must be longing for spring!


Of Butterflies


I venture out for photo shots
of butterflies. ( sometimes, for hours.)
They so enchant, with their gossamer wings,
flitting there, among the flowers.

The colors range from soft to bold.
Some showy as a fine spring day!
Other’s beauty, understated,
still, frilly as a fine crochet.

Some are swift, not pausing long,
to sample blooms along the way.
Others linger, just hanging there,
as if their beauty’s on display.

I stand poised, in wonderment,
and reach to touch that softness there.
The contact slight, but oh, so real!
And know the feel of angel hair!


June Kellum
July 2005

Poem: Remembering the Butterfly

(this poem came from a memory I've had all these years, from first grade!)





Remembering the Butterfly


I watched as the boys
pinned the butterfly’s wings.
I watched as it struggled,
in vain, to be free.
It’s brief life made briefer.
So soon it was stilled!
And I cried and I grieved,
wondering why this should be!
We gazed at it close–up,
powdery and still.
Pinned dead to the wall,
for those un-told hours!
It’s beauty diminished
in my ’ little girl’ eyes,
compared to it’s ‘Free Flight’
among the spring flowers!


June Kellum
Aug. 2004

Today's Ride

Today we went for a motorcycle ride. It's a lovely day but we didn't stay out long.
We went and had our usual Hardee's chicken biscuits. And I have posted a few pics!

I needed to get home...

My little Poodle has not improved at all. My daughter (an RN) thinks she may have had a stroke,
since she was not injured! Her little leg just hangs there, useless! This just happened overnight! I feel so sad because I think
there's nothing to be done for her-except to love her and take care of her till the end!
If I had the $$ I would have her to a vet, but, deep down, I feel that would be useless anyway!
(and would run up bills, probably, in the hundreds...we don't have it!)
Probably the only suggestion would be to put her to sleep!
I prefer to just care for her and love her, as long as she is in no pain.She doesn't seem to be at
this point!

As sad as it is, we have to realize our animals have short life-spans. Peaches is almost 10 years old!

Life is just too darn sad these days!


J.

(Pictures here)

http://journals.aol.com/juniper5541/JunipersWorld/

Poem: Left in Limbo

...a sad poem ...





Left In Limbo


I find myself in limbo, wondering what to do.
Just how do I proceed, now, in getting over you?

The place within my heart, that you alone did fill,
now seems cold- and so forlorn- so lost… and wanting, still!

You came into my life when I was in despair,
and awakened in me longings of which I was unaware.

Your being in my life was wonderful for me,
and so, I closed my eyes -my mind- to what could never be.

I seized the moments as they came, for all the joy I could.
I pushed aside the truths I knew - if never understood!

I’ve learned that life is full of tricks, a prankster, if you will…
sometimes entices us with dreams it never would fulfill.

…So here am I, left in the lurch, unsure of what to do.
Knowing only, I’m alone - alone - and missing you.


June Kellum

Nick Names

I was just thinking of all the names I've been called over the years...

WAIT!! I don't mean THOSE kind of names- just the fun - nicks that most of us pick up along this long road of life.

'JunieRose' is my most recent one. I used it posting to blogs here, awhile before I decided to open my own blog site! 'June', of course, is my real name (my middle name) and I added ROSE because I LOVE roses!

As a child my MOM called me 'JuneBug', not surprisingly! My little sister called me 'SISTY' for many years!

My Daddy had a hard time giving up the name they first used for me...'Laquita'...a name my Mom, with her romantic nature, found in a book she read! It was a name I HATED as a child. (because nobody else was named that...and besides- no one even knew how to pronounce it properly!) When I started school I insisted on being 'June!'

'Juniper'was given to me by an online friend over 3 years ago...(June was taken a little further- if you can follow the logic! :) ) I rather liked the sound so started using it as my SCREEN name! It has served me well! This same friend is BIG on nicks and now, mostly calls me Gator! (because I live in Florida) I have been
'Queen Juniper' or 'QJ' to some friends on a message board I visit - also 'JB' by one friend (short for June Bug) and - 'Kiddo' lol- Maybe this a putdown because of my ADVANCED YEARS! :)

Early in my marriage My husband called me many different names- 'LJ'(my initials)
'Mama Goose' (I hope not because he saw me as a SILLY goose- but just the MAMA of the house)... & 'MOSE GOOSE' - who knows why!!...and often just 'MAMA!'

In our family circle - grown kids - grandkids - sons-in-law even friends of our kids etc- and often by extended members of both sides of our family- I am 'Ginga' and my husband is 'Gabbo!'
These names were given to my husband and me by our first grandson! We wanted to be Granddaddy and Granny but our Dan decided for himself what he wanted to call us!
SO- of course, that is who we became. (for these past 20+ years)

I was 'Ginga,' online, too, for awhile....but have been 'Juniper' for the past 3 years! And now,'Junie Rose!' I feel comfortable with those names!

The family (grands ) these days, mostly call me 'Ging' and my husband'Gab!'


SO- if I sometimes seem confused in my ramblings here...

could it be that I am still searching for The Real Me?

J.

Poem: The Rain

....mixing rain and emotions...


The Rain


The rain came down today,
littering blossoms on the ground.
Leaving all in disarray.
Spring's glory, scattered!

...As my love's been beaten down,
with consistant disregard
-impersonal as the rain-
as if it never mattered.


June Kellum
2004

Little Peachy Poo

Little Peachy Poo

Little Peachy Poo is still feeling poorly and not using that leg. I don't see any kind of injury.
She is eating well- doesn't seem to be in any pain... If I had the money for a vet I would have
her there in a flash- but I don't!! I will give it another day... :(

As I look out the window I see a misty, cold, rain has started to fall. I know it must be COLD
because I feel chilled, even indoors! Just a gloomy, ugly, kind of day and I find nothing much
uplifting to talk about, here!

OH! But the orange trees I can see in the back yard are loaded with dozens, maybe hundreds,
of their own miniature suns!

THAT is a glorious sight, so I'll dwell on that until the day turns bright again!


J.

Beautiful Day

Beautiful day, after a very COLD night and early morning. Bright and sunny, but cool!
I took some pics around the place .

...BUT I am sad because my little poodle girl, Peaches , has developed a bad limp in her
left back leg. She can't stand on it, in fact! If she was injured, no one knows how. She's never out,
except on the front entrance porch. Poor baby. She looks very down and dejected.

I finally got the other blog going, but will keep this one for awhile, at least.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

***Posted this on my otherjournal/blog today, along with some pictures I took)

I can't post pics here yet!***

http://journals.aol.com/juniper5541/JunipersWorld/

Poem: Today I'll Open Up My Heart

...another little poem...




Today I’ll Open Up My Heart


Today I’ll open up my heart.
The words will flow, to you from me.
All the feelings, guarded, so,
are clamoring to be free.

No longer can I hold it in,
this all-consuming love that’s here.
Now, like a bird, it’s taking flight,
It can’t be caged, I fear!

In time, it’s grown to over flow…
the flimsy space I thought secure!
And now the words, in freedom fly!
I can’t hold them anymore.

I’ll bare my heart to you, my love.
I’ll take my chances, risk the pain…
relying on the old cliché
of ‘Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained.’


June Kellum
Jan. 6, 2006

Poem: The Early Morning

This is another nature poem I wrote, many years ago.





The Early Morning


I love the early morning
when all the world is new.
The birds have just awakened,
the roses, kissed with dew.

I sit beside my window,
entranced, and very still,
and watch the birds come ‘breakfast’
upon my windowsill.

The garden is abundant,
in every shade and hue.
The grass appears much greener,
the sky, a deeper blue.

The air is fresher, somehow,
in early morning chill.
I cherish these few minutes,
when all the world is still.

I would keep these moments,
if only in my power.
This peaceful bliss I’d capture,
and keep it, hour on hour!

Alas! The day must follow
this time of solitude.
To have these fleeting minutes,
the rest I must include.


June Kellum

(written1973-Revised 2003)

June

Poem: For Once I'd Like To Know

...just posting a poem to see if it works!!! (word program)-A little poem of winter, written many years ago!
Looks like it will! :)

I wrote this at a time when my sister was living in Pa, and I in sunny south Flrida!
At times I thought she had the better deal- with the snowy winters- She did not think so! :)


For Once I’d Like to Know



For once I’d like to know the feel of
snowflakes, wet
and cold upon my nose and on my hair…
and yet…

imagine days on days of overcast,
gloomy sky-
without a sight of sunshine-
no birds to sing or fly!

Still…lovely it must be.
The whole world - whitest white!
Transformed so silently -
like magic in the night!

I’m far from winter lands!
So far from ice and snow!
I only can imagine,
can never really know!

Just once I’d like to know,
to really feel somehow…
the touch of snowflakes falling
upon my nose and brow!


June Kellum
(Written in ‘70s)

NOW-I need to tackle the picture thing!!


Junie

Hello!

Can't believe it! Am I actually going to be allowed to post here on my own blog?!

Yes!!!

For the first time I am really able to type in this big box!
And, wouldn't you know it- I find myself speechless!

Thanks to all who have tried to help me...however, none of your suggestions worked! LOL!

It just decided to let me in - perhaps sensing all the cool and extremely important things I will post here in the future! :)
(now- those who know me-realize that's a joke!)

Anyway, for better or worse- here I am!

Let the fun begin!

Junie

Welcome!