tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post7113328442481838286..comments2024-01-28T03:56:39.351-08:00Comments on TOM CLARK: An ActualityUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-47562006678547330002012-04-21T06:17:34.003-07:002012-04-21T06:17:34.003-07:00Thanks Donna. It's a good thing your partner c...Thanks Donna. It's a good thing your partner can't see my head. It looks like a large red strawberry mashed at 120 mph by a Boris Becker forehand. Or as the doctor charmingly put it -- "something out of a horror movie".TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-55533314391463839342012-04-20T13:39:56.275-07:002012-04-20T13:39:56.275-07:00You're back!!! Tom! And, so well loved; I amon...You're back!!! Tom! And, so well loved; I among those whose life would be lessened, changed, by your absence here at blog central. <br /><br />I am joyeous that you are ok. I recently took a spill on a tennis court of all things, after long long absence and going at breakneck speed. Lucky. My partner said I looked like Boris Becker, in horizontal mode and up until the last moment seemed I was going to get that ball after all. <br /><br />I'm sad that you were struck by a car, Tom. Serious stuff. More so than asphalt tennis court and racket akimbo. in joy, DonnaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-84422013177014276102012-04-18T10:23:41.610-07:002012-04-18T10:23:41.610-07:00G,
I am happy too, to be here with you.
About th...G,<br /><br />I am happy too, to be here with you.<br /><br />About that hospital, you've got your infernal geography about right.<br /><br />More human suffering than ought ever to be jammed into a single space.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-12885792745943678272012-04-18T07:19:12.454-07:002012-04-18T07:19:12.454-07:00whew tom. what a relief you're still with us. ...whew tom. what a relief you're still with us. <br /><br />that hospital must be one of the many locales hell occupies on earth.gamefacedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16562522181852339258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-64245519063950594202012-04-18T04:23:21.772-07:002012-04-18T04:23:21.772-07:00Nora,
Wonderful to hear from you, brightening the...Nora,<br /><br />Wonderful to hear from you, brightening the dark before the dawn.<br /><br /><br />Elmo,<br /><br />Always reassuring to have the poetry doctor in the house (said he, on the uneasy runway to the Vascular Imaging Lab).TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-30441267322666879822012-04-17T18:00:53.965-07:002012-04-17T18:00:53.965-07:00the bad news is it still hurts,
the good news is y...the bad news is it still hurts,<br />the good news is you are now<br />more of a 1st degree relative<br />of Frank O'Hara....<br />the knee bone is connected to<br />the thigh bone...the thigh bone<br />is connected to the hip bone, the<br />hip bone is connected to the back<br />bone...the back bone is connected<br />to the poetry bone now rising<br />and shiningElmo St. Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01588245143022651357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-24094760417802225452012-04-17T16:01:05.265-07:002012-04-17T16:01:05.265-07:00I'm so sorry to hear about this, Tom. Glad you...I'm so sorry to hear about this, Tom. Glad you're still with us, and hopefully on the mend.Norahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14439557611640319928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-9510888569108635142012-04-17T14:02:31.188-07:002012-04-17T14:02:31.188-07:00Annie,
Many thanks, and you're right about th...Annie,<br /><br />Many thanks, and you're right about the shotgunner.<br /><br />Every little bit of attention to the world as it is seems to help stabilize the wobble. <br /><br /><br />Ed,<br /><br />You old super-sleuth, how did you find out -- IT WAS!<br /><br />(Actually, I have been unable so far to ascertain her identity.)TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-41037774789697313222012-04-17T10:03:16.269-07:002012-04-17T10:03:16.269-07:00the only thing worse
than that Little Old Lady
dri...the only thing worse<br />than that Little Old Lady<br />driving the car that hit you<br /><br />would have been<br />that if that Dawg that attacked you<br />some time back<br /><br />had been driving the car !<br /><br />hang in.Ed Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11285310130024785775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-67090446870349823352012-04-17T09:39:18.781-07:002012-04-17T09:39:18.781-07:00Tom,
Learning this morning of your injury and the ...Tom,<br />Learning this morning of your injury and the whole traumatic experience produced a wild oscillation from stunned horror to relief and back to concern. I am amazed and thankful that you are back in your inimitable form. And your astute shotgunner's reportage of the raccoon tale once again inspires my humble admiration—such equanimity surely must restore us all from this wobble in our orbit. All love and healing to you both,<br />AnnieAnniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01688157396670142310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-69436815591085779672012-04-17T08:41:56.789-07:002012-04-17T08:41:56.789-07:00Brad,
We the memory-bereft, soft-tissue challenge...Brad,<br /><br />We the memory-bereft, soft-tissue challenged, perhaps not so prematurely fossilized who are currently about to embark on the parlous seas of an ultrasound diagnostic adventure gratefully salute you.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-87659107925213920492012-04-17T08:09:31.058-07:002012-04-17T08:09:31.058-07:00I will join the chorus of friends welcoming you ba...I will join the chorus of friends welcoming you back and celebrating your unmatched resilience, Tom. You have been missed. I recall you writing, either here or in an email (I forget which), about this very freeway feeder situation near your house, the constant menace it posed, and how it had taken down one of your neighbors. So awful, not least because it could be so avoidable. Alas . . . May you continue to build strength and mend. We the living are not yet ready to figure out a way forward without you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-90133265605029929812012-04-17T07:37:53.482-07:002012-04-17T07:37:53.482-07:00Steve,
Out of commission here but not out of mind...Steve,<br /><br />Out of commission here but not out of mind's eye, those beautiful photos you've sent -- cloud/ridge and Buddha's Birthday.<br /><br />Temporality, a serenity. <br /><br />Love from us both to you and of course Johnny,<br /><br /><br />when<br />time moves through it<br /><br />as something, the beginning<br />of friendshipTChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-34584291278602660402012-04-17T07:29:24.445-07:002012-04-17T07:29:24.445-07:00Tom,
Ah so good to see you're back -- I was j...Tom,<br /><br />Ah so good to see you're back -- I was just thinking about you in the minute before I clicked the screen, thinking to write to say we were thinking of you and hoping you were 'on the road' back to recovery, and here you are. Those elderberry trees, the branches and berries and Brecht's poem (think for some time whether he will go inside to get his glasses, to see them better, your account of being struck, "sudden glancing blow . . . the small rain drops on his skin as the paramedics cut away his clothes" --- THANK YOU FOR THIS. Johnny and I send our love.<br /><br />4.17<br /><br />grey whiteness of fog against invisible<br />ridge, song sparrow calling from branch<br />in foreground, sound of wave in channel<br /><br /> other present, passage when<br /> time moves through it<br /><br /> as something, the beginning<br /> of friendship, and so<br /><br />silver line of sun reflected in channel,<br />white cloud in pale blue sky on horizonSTEPHEN RATCLIFFEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12339481653546188412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-61795888128437469682012-04-17T07:22:06.030-07:002012-04-17T07:22:06.030-07:00Thanks, Don. Our belwether!
Blogger has been goin...Thanks, Don. Our belwether!<br /><br />Blogger has been going crazy with hacking and virology and memory loss and every other sort of problem this morning (my sympathies!), but it turns out perhaps some things can still be counted on.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-12569209938883266742012-04-17T06:35:21.213-07:002012-04-17T06:35:21.213-07:00Tom:
I'm smiling here, all the way out in Pit...Tom:<br /><br />I'm smiling here, all the way out in Pittsburgh, yet I know that you are still going through so much. So, your kindness to us all is very much appreciated and, even more so, making sure you take care of yourself in the coming days, weeks, and months would of course better still.<br /><br />The Brecht is stunning in its quiet power.<br /><br />Cheers,<br />DonIssa's Untidy Huthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07352841590717991698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-43998218634663277412012-04-17T06:24:33.042-07:002012-04-17T06:24:33.042-07:00Michael, Simon, Marcia, such lovely company. We...Michael, Simon, Marcia, such lovely company. We're both very grateful for friends like you.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-77692458947561462732012-04-17T06:08:34.437-07:002012-04-17T06:08:34.437-07:00Tom,
Wonderful to see your post this morning. We...Tom,<br /><br />Wonderful to see your post this morning. Welcome back. I hope your recovery is going well. I remember the dangerous intersection well - and the crossing in front of your house where cars have no regard for anything but speed and their own interests. <br /><br />How perfect for your return to all of us today - your lovely translation of the Brecht poem. Take care. MarciaMarciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17150292834089323928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-76550544805556409602012-04-17T06:08:00.649-07:002012-04-17T06:08:00.649-07:00Vassilis,
"It's about time" prompts...Vassilis,<br /><br />"It's about time" prompts me to muse aloud here, before the cracked dawn, that the ambulance trip to the faraway hospital, with side of head being held on by emergency responders, had seemed to go by "in no time". <br /><br />And the poor woman who after all these never easy years certainly deserves of life something better than the privilege of having been allowed (due to lack of other transport) to ride in the front of the ambulance on such a trip, to recall that the vehicle was going very fast, through the night. <br /><br />Saving my life.<br /><br />She reports that as the vehicle careened on this noble mission through the night streets of deep Oakland, the woman driver of the response team had suddenly cried out. <br /><br />"'Look at that! A raccoon!"<br /><br />The raccoon, says Angelica, was fleeing the screeching vehicle by diving into a storm drain.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-86544757781944280772012-04-17T06:04:18.401-07:002012-04-17T06:04:18.401-07:00Tom, I'm totally delighted to see you "ba...Tom, I'm totally delighted to see you "back"<br />all best wishes<br />SimonSimonp@pipeline.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15343400718639839173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-43552764447455018362012-04-17T05:49:18.017-07:002012-04-17T05:49:18.017-07:00Tom, I hope you didn't mind that I posted abou...Tom, I hope you didn't mind that I posted about what happened and many sent regards and well wishes, through comments, email and in person. It's great to see/hear your voice again here as illuminating and insightful as ever. Much thanks to any and all who helped you, especially A.Lallyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05310472614196384595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-46577040448885482472012-04-17T05:21:29.034-07:002012-04-17T05:21:29.034-07:00Sweet to hear your voice, Nin.
Well, I wish I had...Sweet to hear your voice, Nin.<br /><br />Well, I wish I had been wearing a helmet!<br /><br />I am put to shame in this moment to recall that for these many decades there has been a blind man who navigates that same corner in order to get to and from the places one must go. His bravery always silences my own self-woes. But he certainly does wear a helmet at all times. Among other protective armour. And the long white stick.<br /><br />Ah yes, rest. I'm very Yikes! and Yegads! (i.e. cowardly) about the saving of one's life through medical intervention, even at the so-called "best of times" -- so all this worrisome present display of prospective entry into further adventures in powerlessness is what, to put a nice name on it, might be called new country for me.<br /><br />Once able to fiddle with notebook and keyboard these past few nights I have diverted myself by taking consolation in a poem I have long loved, and, as it seemed in some curious accidental way to fit the moment, have now translated it and posted it <a href="http://tomclarkblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/bertolt-brecht-schwierige-zeiten.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-67260476293651847262012-04-17T05:18:21.439-07:002012-04-17T05:18:21.439-07:00All I can say--apart from seconding all these best...All I can say--apart from seconding all these best wishes sent your way by dear friends--is "It's about time"!vazambam (Vassilis Zambaras)https://www.blogger.com/profile/14515165428574974933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-76843643921578927952012-04-17T04:46:04.398-07:002012-04-17T04:46:04.398-07:00I am so relieved to see you here Tom. We have all...I am so relieved to see you here Tom. We have all missed you. I can not imagine the pain--and the healing road ahead. I do hope you can rest and rest and rest.<br /><br />Hit by a car once on a bike, and with a helmet on, I have only a distant inkling of this horrible event. <br /><br />I am reduced to my version of prayer. Not sure it works, but . . . <br /><br />But what a wonder to see you here again! Please be well!Nin Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12643167108589844026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-947824997391502992012-04-17T04:45:27.621-07:002012-04-17T04:45:27.621-07:00Curtis and Conrad, many thanks, great to hear from...Curtis and Conrad, many thanks, great to hear from you both.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.com