Conversation with Nellieanna Hay

There are numerous forms of friendship relationships from mere acquaintance to intimate confidant. There are old friends and new friends. There are fast friends and 'fair weather' friends. There are social friends and anti-social friends. There are dependent friends and independent friends. There are passing friendships and lasting friendships. There are close friendships and distant friendships.

Friendships are what you make them and what they become. In order to have a friend, you need to be a friend. If you value a friendship, it can be a treasure. But treasure can be misused and abused if horded or squandered. The greatest wealth is not measured in bullion but in the quality of the good friendships we share. The greatest friendships are held loosely, like a wren in the palm of your hand, free to part at will or to light upon your finger for a fleeting moment.

We met in cyberspace. Each of us enjoyed reading and writing on the platform provided by Hub Pages. Unlike so many places on the internet, you are free to keep to yourself and just write and publish your words for all to read. You are free to omit a comment capsule from some or all of your Hubs. You are not required to consider the thoughts of your readers. You can view the statistics of your readership.

On the other hand, you can include a comment capsule and receive remarks from your readers. If you find an author that you enjoy, you can choose to follow the author with the click of your mouse. You can choose to receive email notification from Hubpages when your authors publish. You can readily change your selection of authors and stop following their work.

There are a myriad of features which make Hubpages the preferred vehicle for your work. If you are interested in writing and publishing your work, and potentially creating a source of passive income, then open an account for free by clicking here.

But I surely digress. Nellieanna and I became cyb-acquainted at Hubpages last year in 2010. We chose to follow each other's work and leave comments. Comments invited reply. Reply invited conversation.

January of 2011 solidified our mutual admiration and amusement and our conversations became protracted and engaged. We openly conversed with not a whit of concern with who or what was watching. We found space in our lives for each other, and for this I am truly grateful.

Did you have a childhood sweetheart ? Was your heartthrob a hero who gave you bike rides? Did your hero even notice your existence? Nellieanna Hay had one but their stars were crossed. They became dear friends later in life before he passed many years ago.

Texas dust storms shake stagnant pools

Settled eddys without movement

Filling chasms of mindless schools

Stay content without improvement;

ooOOoo

Shallow lifeless pooling despair

Fallow cornfields left from tillage

Hollow souls drooling spit austere

Gallows doomed, condemned spillage;

ooOOoo

Rushing streams of vital flowing

Vibrant seams along stones pour

Pushing forward toward knowing

Sweeping mystery along shore;

ooOOoo

Hands immersed within the moisture

Strands of water pouring ahead

Fingers grabbing slipp'ry solution

Grasping motion from river's bed.

oooOOOooo

© 2011 Gerry Gilligan,

pseudonym- sligobay

All photos, poems and articles © 2011 Gerry Gilligan

ooOOoo

The remainder of this Hub may seem disorganized and confusing because it is exerpted from the comments attendant to several different Hubs which occurred over the course of many days. It is heavily edited to facilitate some flow rather than manipulate the content or edit particular details.  I am hoping to introduce the reader to an extraordinary woman whom I greatly admire and respect.

Nellieanna 7 days ago

You really are a NUT. With a twisted mind. Oh, so funny!!

Wow - there's my new toilet seat (or very similar) with the easy twist hinges for cleaning -right among your googleads! - - -

Mayfair 46ECDG Premium Round Molded Wood Toilet Seat with Easy Clean Hinges and DuraGuard Antimicrobial, White

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sligobay 6 days ago

Good morning Nellieanna

As the snow falls gently beyond my portal

heralding newest storm

I greet my friend from lone star state

as source of all that's warm.

Thank you for words to warm a cold seat. LOL

Nellieanna 2 days ago

Lovely hub! While I'm a bit of a laggard myself, I did try to play as a kid. Being monocular, though - I was not good at it. Also I was terrified of projectiles being thrown toward me - the distance of which was imperceivable without depth perception. So I was usually assigned the most remote position on a team who deemed themselves unfortunate enough to have to accept me in the arbitrary dividing of all the kids in the class for our outdoor exercise and physical training. However I did later learn to admire nice biceps and good form of the guys I liked who happened to play sports. Boyd Reece - ah - what a bod! My first husband was good at sports too. His family weren't too well versed on very many things, but - on sports - no equal! His dad even played for a minor commercial league in his youth.

One of my very first experiences visiting them on our honeymoon was to get to watch the World Series together!

And now my own Dallas Rangers have won that august series. WOW!

So you see - it had some attraction for me. Even my own mother was athletic! And over my life I've known some gals who were as enthusiastic about baseball as any guy! George's sister and his son, my friend Val - and all the grandkids, nieces, nephews - all play it and watch it! -So I have to like it a bit. Thank you for sharing this. Maybe if I study the stats really well, I'll be able to be accepted into a conversation at the next family gathering when it's usually a primary topic of conversation (unless it's football season) !

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Nellieanna 2 days ago

By the way - In the mid-70s, on a visit to Ohio, I got to see the Cincinnati Reds play at their home field and Johnny Bench was pitching. That was pretty thrilling! Also saw a pro game in Las Vegas but I don't recall the glories of that. I love "Field of Dreams" - one of the best-ever movies about a sport. I've enjoyed several of the other baseball movies highlighted in that video! And of course, you know I have featured Carlin's fun comparison of baseball and football on one of my hubs. So all is not lost on me, perhaps! Thanks for the reminder!

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Nellieanna 2 days ago

I just burst out laughing. I recalled that when I saw your title, "Batter" - I came expecting it to be along the lines of a recipe for a cake or some such! LOL. Do you hear me laughing up there? LOL

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sligobay 2 days ago

Nellieanna, that last bit about the recipe is so funny because I was thinking about that very thing when I selected the title. I thought I might add a little 'dough

diddy' poem setting forth a recipe for the successful batter at bat. I may still compose and add that to this hub. I actually have a hub in progress about making Irish Soda Bread and scones. It will be deliciously done with photos and maybe a video of yours truly as the "Chatty Chef". I'm still creating the character for syndication.

Speaking, in reverse order to your many topics, I stole the Carlin link from you and owe you a link and a credit.

Field of Dreams is iconic. Believe, "build it, they will come", seek the other parts of the puzzle of life, redemption, joy, "is this Heaven" - I could go on, and on. "Dad?", "Wanna play catch?"- beautiful in every way!

Don't get me started on "the Natural" or A League of Their Own" and Tom Hanks' imperative, "There's No Crying in Baseball!" Glad that you have a solid baseball history and enjoyed this Hub.

I was afraid of batting and I'm BINOCULAR - no slight of sight intended. Finally, forget the baseball stats- too drab for you, my dear. I recommend the following:

Learn the Abbott and Costello routine,"Who's On First?".

This is a gauntlet tossed. Then, perform on your recording device, both roles, in your most delightful voices. It will be so totally schizophrenic. LOL.

Hugs and buss, Gerry

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Nellieanna 2 days ago

Now, that IS an amazing coincidence about the "dough" and you must add that poem that's brewing in your head!

No worry about "proper order" of topics as far as I'm concerned. I tend to mix them up without trying.

Have you forgotten my generation? I practically grew up with Abbot and Costello! I know that routine, "who's on first?" Too funny. And I loved several of the other baseball films mentioned on that video you included. "The Natural" is - a natural! I confess I'm always deeply touched by stories of sports figures battling the odds. Even race horses, such as SeaBiscuit, whose chances were dim when he got off to an inauspicious start and injuries, but became one of the all-time greats.

Another sports-hero movie I love is "Tin Cup" - about the golfer who against all odds - showed 'em. Plus he was played by Kevin Costner! I don't suppose you've seen him in the one in which he's a really washed up baseball star - turned local DJ based on his former fame, - "The Upside of Anger"? It is not "about" the game but he's good in it. Might not be your cup of tea, though.

I wasn't just afraid of batting, though. Catching a ball hurled or batted in my direction caused me to beat a fast retreat from as close as I could figure its trajectory. I was still learning the fine skill of compensation which, if I may boast, is now my second nature. Without it, I would be unable to drive at all - and as it was, I waiting - was ENCOURAGED to wait till I was 40 to learn. But it is more prime than that. If I hadn't learned to compensate, I'd be unable to navigate across the room without bumping into things. Compensation includes trying to make sure of a clear path and automatically mapping it in my mind, shutting cabinet doors and drawers anytime they're left open, etc. In driving, it means constantly "measuring" the path and the other moving objects. I could never even consider texting, talking on a cell-phone, putting on makeup or any other distraction with caused me not to be fully aware of my driving. It was several years after I learned to drive that I actually had a passenger to distract me, in fact. I cannot look at one while driving - it's my blind side and I can't turn my head all the way over that way to look - but I can talk without danger. I had to learn to do that, too.

No urging needed to get me to forget the stats! LOL. As for the gauntlet - we'll see. tee hee. You're so cute.

Hugs.

sligobay 6 days ago

Elvira Madigan is splendid. No more so than your rainbows and moonbeams. Lovely Hub.

Nellieanna 5 days ago

jrsearam - YES! - well - no, I didn't know Neruda before but, yes - I liked his poem, "Enigmas" when I went to it. thank you for the link.

Thank you for that as well as the kind words about mine! That poem says much about my perspective.

Nellieanna 5 days ago

Martie, dear heart - How happy I am that you enjoyed the hub!! Thank you and hugs!!

Nellieanna 5 days ago

Gerry - I'm quite content to share your praise with Mozart and the whole Elvira Madigan thing, which I discovered about the time I wrote the poem! Such a hauntingly beautiful theme. Thank you!!

Nellieanna 9 days ago

Oh, my - Dallas -i love hearing your knowledgeable and sensitive take on things. What a great personal account of the eye of an artist at work in this observation of that artist on the beach. There is this, also: her eye for a thing of beauty worthy to observe keyed into the building scene which you took for granted, but yours keyed into the lovely spectacle of her painting it - no less aware of beauty and its worth. And just look at your beautiful words describing it! So vivid, I can visualize it from the mere words, so skillfully "painted" by them.

Of course our awarenesses are incomplete -else why would we even want to continue living, exploring & pursuing greater understanding? As you say - the bigger picture - and yet bigger - may be the clue to what is, although I suspect it to be vast beyond the ability of observation, imagination, projecting, theorizing and then, still short of adequate language to begin to describe it . Mathematics, having fewer inconsistencies and more clarity attempts to but even the great mathematicians are aware of their own limits, though they pursue it with fervor fueled by a certain joy, I suspect, that the answers lie ahead of what they've found out and are well worth pursuing, level by level, theory by theory, certainty by certainty. This is awesome.

Isn't it wonderful to have both - the sense of awareness of natural beauty and an ability to put it into words or onto canvas - or into formulas - and still to be intrigued, inticed and delighted to look further, deeper, and with greater fine-tuning for better awareness? One wonders how people survive without some measure of that!