Breezy with a Chance of Mixed Metaphors

Marvin Fouty

Description

Breezy with a Chance of Mixed Metaphors is a collection of parodies, poems, palindromes and memoirs of people I've encountered through the years. All of the poems in the book are written by me with the minor exception of a few poems that I love which are duly attributed.

Sujets

• Lettres et linguistique

Informations

• Publié par: First Edition Design Publishing
• Date de parution: 15 février 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781506900964
• Langue: English

Extrait

Readers describing the content of the book better than the author can.


It was a delight through and through. I KNEW that I would enjoy it and you didn't let me down. Inspiring and delightful.

The lyrical fun of witty poetry and sports parodies and stories are a joy to read. In this book I met some of the friends Marvin travelled with through the years. He handles their memories so well.

The book is different in many ways from the hundreds I've read before. Marvin chose a style of presentation that fits him well, and entertained me a lot!

You have a rich heritage and can be so proud of your relatives. It brought back so many memories I have of my family! You are one of the best teller of stories I have ever had the pleasure to read.

The various poems are beautiful, charming, witty, and sometimes, ahem...a bit bawdy!

Delightful. You have a talent to communicate feelings in our hearts and paint images in our brains. Just thanks!
Breezy with a Chance of Mixed Metaphors


Parodies,
Poems,
Palindromes,
Personal Memoirs




A View from the Hilltop – 2014

First Edition Design Publishing
Breezy with a Chance of Mixed Metaphors
Copyright ©2015 Marvin Francis Fouty

ISBN 978-1506-900-95-7 PRINT
ISBN 978-1506-900-96-4 EBOOK

LCCN 2015959051

November 2015

Published and Distributed by
First Edition Design Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 20217, Sarasota, FL 34276-3217
www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com



ALL R I G H T S R E S E R V E D. No p a r t o f t h i s b oo k pub li ca t i o n m a y b e r e p r o du ce d, s t o r e d i n a r e t r i e v a l s y s t e m , o r t r a n s mit t e d i n a ny f o r m o r by a ny m e a ns ─ e l e c t r o n i c , m e c h a n i c a l , p h o t o - c o p y , r ec o r d i n g, or a ny o t h e r ─ e x ce pt b r i e f qu ot a t i o n i n r e v i e w s , w i t h o ut t h e p r i o r p e r mi ss i on o f t h e a u t h o r or publisher .

Author Contact Information:
Ph. 517 915-8900
Email – [e-mail]
Website www.marvinfouty.com

Copyedited by Reba Hilbert, Editor
Cover design by Marvin Fouty
Philo graphics by Joanie Stallone
To My Daughters
Katherine, Elizabeth, Cynthia, Nancy Jo
And their mother Maggie (now deceased)
DEDICATION

My sister Nancy Jean LaForest, who along with her husband Richard, took our parents into their home and cared for them in their last days as Alzheimer’s disease took control of Mother’s life. Dorothy Marie Fouty, in her last days grew attached to her little porcelain doll, calling it her baby.

Her Porcelain Face is Soft and Round

She pats her hair and smoothes her dress
And hugs the baby to her breast
The baby smiles, but makes no sound
Her porcelain face is soft and round

The daughter smiles and knows her mom
Is near the day when she’ll go home
Life has dealt this cruel disease.
Her daughter gives her blessed peace

The baby’s real and in her mind,
She sees her daughter’s love defined
She feels the baby coo and squirm
And everlasting love affirm.



Dorothy Fouty – 1941
FOREWORD

Yesterday was a special day. It didn't start out that way, but when the mail arrived I knew it would be. My copy of the highly anticipated book written by my uncle Marvin, “Breezy With A Chance Of Mixed Metaphors”, had arrived. I read it from cover to cover last night.
The book is a delightful ride through a variety of styles. Each passage has its own flavor. It moves freely between prose, poetry and interesting family history tidbits. I noted that he even dropped in a couple references to me along the way (Flattering, such that I may have blushed when I read them).
Uncle Marv had been promising me that he would be publishing this book for some time. For me it was highly anticipated. After reading it, I was filled with delight. I learned some things about ancestry, I enjoyed the lyrical fun of witty poetry and sports stories. In his book I met some of the friends he travelled with through the years. He handles their memories so well.
The book is different in many ways from the hundreds I've read before. Marv chose a style of presentation that fits him well, and entertained me a lot!
If you get a chance, read his book. Be sure to sit back and get comfortable. It's meant to be a book that will make you smile. It also draws you into other eras of his life. Marv displays that he is a man of little guile as he treats all his subjects with admiration and respect.
I loved it!
Len

Author’s note. Leonard J. Fouty is a poet and the author of “Mountaintops and Valleys – Poems on Man, Nature, and the God of All.” He is the son of my departed brother, Chuck. Len’s vision and love of his father and his family in the book helped to inspire me.


“Over the past few years of my grandpa's venture into writing, I have had the pleasure of reading small excerpts from his books as he was writing them. I can honestly say that every excerpt I got the joy of reading left me yearning for more, wanting to continue reading, and slightly sad that I would have to wait to read on. My grandpa has always been one of the most inspiring men in my life. Conversations with him are never dull, and I feel like each time we get to visit I leave with more knowledge than I came with. He is extremely witty, and the depth of his knowledge is truly amazing. I am extremely lucky to be able to have the history of my genes right at my fingertips. I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of each and every book he writes and I know that when I do I will need to set a good chunk of time aside to read them, because once I start, I know there will be no bookmarks needed!
Who was it that said “if your granddaughter says it, it’s not boasting. Oh, wait that was me. The palindromes in the book are a collection formed into story/verses featuring Otto and his friends Ned and Sid. They were inspired by Stasi and her dog Otto and by my kayaking adventure with her last summer.

Stasi Janson,
Author’s Granddaughter
Breezy with a Chance
of Mixed Metaphors


Parodies,
Poems,
Palindromes,
Personal Memoirs


Marvin Francis Fouty
PREFACE

Why do I write these stories; these books and memoirs about our family’s history? I’ve always wished and wish even now that my grandfathers and grandmothers had done it - kept a diary or written a journal. But there was a diary, just found, that my mother Dorothy wrote in 1931. As a 15 year old girl she kept a daily account of all of the events that took place in the lives of her father and mother and nine siblings on their little farm near Charlotte, Michigan. The social lives of Dorothy and her family members were chronicled every day for the whole summer. It’s remarkable and illuminating and it changed the way I thought about their impoverished lives, living on their little farm in that second year of the great depression.
I’ve lived on the North Shore of Park Lake in Bath, Michigan in a small project called Hilltop Condominium Homes at Park Lake for ten years. I began writing this book two years ago. The memoirs have taken me back in time and have awakened me to our personal family history.
Aristotle said: “ Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom and wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.” I’ve gained some insights into myself as a direct result of writing and researching these works which have brought me into contact with many of my old friends and family members who previously had been absent from my life.
Throughout my career as a Professional Land Surveyor, Real Estate Broker and Property Developer, I’ve had a strong interest in education. In earlier times I had taught surveying courses at Lansing Community College for Mr. Ed Bergmann, Dean of the Civil Technology Department, and during my years as a mathematics student had been a college algebra tutor. In addition to writing, I now evaluate scholarship applications for the Lansing Community College Foundation and serve as Chairman of the Scholarship Committee for Mid-Michigan Mensa.
Table of Contents


INTRODUCTION ... 1

PART 1 .. 3
A View from the Hilltop .. 3
Ben Crane’s Bold Plan .. 4
Ducks on the Lake – January 2014 .. 4
Geese on the Ice . 5
Life on the Hilltop .. 6
Skating on Thin Ice . 6
A Paean to Folly .. 9
Hope is the Thing with Feathers . 10

PART 2 .. 11
Sports Parodies . 11
To Tiger Woods . 11
Stafford at the Helm – Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys October 27, 2013 .. 12
The Detroit Lions Running Back is Joique (pronounced “Joik”) Bell 13
Kiss the Game Goodbye – Lions vs. Patriots Nov. 23, 2014 .. 13
Comeback at the Cotton Bowl – New Year’s Day 2015 .. 13

PART 3 .. 17
The Palindromic SAGAS of OTTO .. 17
1. Otto Kayaks Near Pisa . 17
The Palindromic SAGAS of OTTO .. 19
2. Livin’ on Tulsa Time . 19

PART 4 .. 23
Charlie and Carolynn .. 23
A Gatlinburg Rendezvous . 23
Epilogue . 24
Charlie – The Journey Home . 26

PART 5 .. 29
A Leelanau Idyll - A Very Short Story – .. 29
A Haitian Interlude . 35
Two Cities – A Villanelle . 38

PART 6 .. 41
Days of Wine and Roses. 41
We’ll Meet Again .. 41
A Villanelle . 42

PART 7 .. 43
The stars are not wanted now ... 43
In Love’s Embrace . 43
To Mary Jane and Nancy Jean .. 44
To My Love . 44
You Know Who You Are . 44
Frank – In Memoriam - February 3, 2015 .. 44

PART 8 .. 47
Clinging to My Guns . 47
Winter Parodies . 47
Sock it to Me . 47
Send in the Plows . 48
We’ve Got the Picture . 48
“Premonition Number Nine” . 49

PART 9 .. 51
Len Fouty – Nature Photographer: 51
Len’s Michigan Photos . 52
The Pentwater Puffbird .. 53
The Indigo Bunting . 53
Len Fouty’s Birds of the Florida Keys . 54


PART 10 .. 57
A Cosmic Question .. 57
Settling the Science, An Essay .. 58
Settled Science . 58
Epilogue: 60

PART 11 .. 63
The Ubiquity of Facebook .. 63
Facebook Redux .