This is a lady of many talents. She was a business major and
taught business as well as coaching girls basketball and
softball for the first eight years of her teaching career. Her
basketball team won three District Championships!!! Since
retiring, she still is not letting any grass grow under her feet
because she is an avid golfer, a volunteer at an assisted
living facility and a Certified Hospice Volunteer, a traveler
to about every state, and the list could go on. She is also
a member of the Patrick County Retired Teachers Association,
now serving as reporter. She keeps me laughing with her
crazy cards and her rhyming emails. She has been there for
me in good times and some not so good, always making the
day a bit brighter with her jokes, notes, and riddles. In
addition to all of this she is also a poet and you will find
some of her poems below, so read on and enjoy.

I selected this background because she has a special place
in her heart for lighthouses because to her they are
symbolic of God's light - guiding our way.
(Please do not use any of the poems without permission. Thank you.)

For days little Elian stayed afloat.
Hopefully he'll not become a footnote.
I shed tears for this little boy
While Cubans cheered for joy.
That plane soared up today
Headed for Havana and Castro's way.
Seven months of emotional stress...
For Elian my heart has ached, I confess.
Hopefully, some day Cuba will be free
And none other shall be given such a third degree.
Going, going, going, gone...
Elian is approaching a new dawn...

God bless little Elian.

I VALUE SERENDIPITY
~ by Fern Agee ~

I find it worth my while
And it makes me smile
When I recall my students galore
Whom I shall remember evermore.
The classroom teaching has been done
That race has been run.
Of pride I shall always speak
Without ever having to tweak.
There were so many years
Of achievement, victories, and joyful tears.
Even as I worked late into the night
Their rememberance was my light--
And often in that stillness there was laughter
When a flash of humor echoed after.
A teacher never loses hope...
If she did, there would be no way to cope
With so many alternatives and options
And even more selections and adoptions.
One had to be diverse
And accept all those roles to rehearse
While burning the candle at both ends
As the yearly workload impends.
Retirement permits me to value spontaneity
And experience the miracle of serendipity.
That miracle is such a pleasure
And one I shall always treasure.

ONCE UPON A MEMORY
~ by Fern Agee ~

When all of summer's chores were done
We siblings longed for play in the sun.
Mom set up her quilting frame
And used all her time just the same.
Her goal was a homemade quilt--
A bouquet that would not wilt.
Each design was her creation
Quilted with absolute perfection.
Frabic swatches zigzagged crossways
As she stitched through all those days
Humming as she crafted her art
And reminiscing from the heart.
Embers on the fire were aglow,
Mom's steady pace was a show.
To her, quilting was not a chore
She was eager to start one more.
Once upon a memory so clear
I saw my mom quilting near.
Those are times I miss--
Observing mom's fingers as they never went amiss.
Before the winter thaw began
That patchwork quilt look grand.
Today, as her quilt covers my bed
I discover pieces of my childhood instead
Stitched by my mom's hands
According to her master plans.
Memories return and burn bright...
While under that quilt my world is night.
I drift into slumber
And my dreams still remember.

Winter's Deja Vu
~ by Fern Agee ~

I look out my window
And view a long shadow
As the sun begins to set today
Displaying its orange glow to relay
Another day will surely dawn
With Jack Frost covering the lawn.
The frozen birdbath does forecast
Winter is approaching fast
Frigid winds whistle and blow,
Soon the ground will be white with snow.
Nostalgic memories ebb and flow
They magically create a video
Of yesteryear on the hills
With snow piled up to the window sills.
Siblings riding homemade sleds
Donning home-knit caps upon their heads;
A snowman leaning in the sun
Further evidence of winter fun.
I've just become a girl once more
Remembering I must not track up mom's floor
As I race for her hot chocolate--
Mom's cue for the fun to terminate!
A chilling sensation rushes o'er me;
It must be the reality of winter's deja vu!!!

A Nestling's Yearn
~by Fern Agee~

A baby robin peers into the sky
And ponders whether it will fly.
As it nests upon the limb of a tree
It yearns to be free!
Others can be seen gliding through the air;
Fated to hover in a nest isn't fair!
The mother flies in with a bug,
Food that slides downward without a tug!
But the little robin yearns to soar
And find its own treats -- a welcome chore.
Spring breezes make the nest sway
While the little robin hangs on in the hideaway
Still hoping for the day that brings
A strong pair of wings!

Marilyn's Hideaway ~ Cancer Site ~ Children ~ Computers
Critters ~ Domestic Violence ~ Good Old Days ~ Holidays
Humor ~ Inspirationals ~ Katrina ~ Miscellaneous
Patriotic ~ Poetry ~ Women ~ Norma Marek's Poetry

Copyright 1999, 2000
"Thelma & Louise"
* All Rights Reserved
7/17/2000


Artwork showcased is from the collection of Peter Ellenshaw and used with permission.