An Overview of the West Highland White Terrier

Bianca Catherine Knight graduated cum laude with her juris doctor from Belmont University in 2014. Beyond working in the legal profession, Bianca Catherine Knight enjoys spending time with and her raising her two dogs, a West Highland White Terrier and a Golden Doodle.

The West Highland White Terrier, often known simply as the Westie, is a breed with more than 300 years of history. Intelligent and affectionate, the Westie makes an ideal companion animal, particularly for families who cannot house a large animal but are still interested in raising a durable, playful dog. That said, there are a few things to consider before bringing a Westie home.

For starters, despite its diminutive stature, the Westie is far from a lapdog. Like all terriers, Westies require daily exercise and are particularly fond of playing with squeaky toys. Westies are, by and large, a friendly breed, but can demonstrate same-sex aggression, particularly in females, and have been bred to hunt and kill small rodents, making them a poor fit for a home with rabbits or similar pets. 

Westies are generally healthy, but owners must be prepared to prevent or treat certain conditions common to the breed, such as craniomandibular osteopathy and pulmonary fibrosis. Individuals or families who believe the Westie is the right dog for them should reach out to a respected breeder, which may be listed at akc.org.

Cheers to You, Water!

As someone who likes to exercise and who does not drink alcohol, you could say I love me some water. I stay hydrated all day long and even more so when I’m going to be outdoors or on the treadmill. I really enjoy flavored water the most, but as long as it’s bottled, I’m a fan. Did you know there are many different kinds of water? Water is categorized by its origin, composition, consistency, and treatment.

The water that comes directly from your faucet is of course tap water. It may or may not be suited for drinking, though, as we learned from the Flint water crisis.

Spring water is underground water that has soaked through the earth’s surface. It pools and forms a spring. Spring water is generally considered safe to drink even though it hasn’t been subjected to treatment in a plant. Spring water is often confused with mineral water, but spring water is water from the earth’s surface whereas mineral water is tapped straight from underground.

Then there’s mineral water, which is tapped from underground, making it rich in minerals like manganese and calcium. I think it’s interesting that the minerals in the water have to be naturally occurring for it to have that name, but I find random stuff interesting. Mineral water cannot be treated water, either, but carbonated mineral water is fine. Who knew?

We’re all familiar with well water, right? Well- it’s water from a well. Like spring water, it’s absorbed into the earth when it rains and then it trickles down all the crevices big and small in the soil and forms lakes under the ground. It’s then brought up from these lakes using the bucket on a pulley system. The deeper the well has been dug, the more water it may be able to access and tap. In rural areas, well water is sometimes the primary source of the community’s water. This was the case for small communities right around the neighborhood I grew up in.

Purified water has been tapped into and brought up from below, but that has undergone purification treatment after that point in a plant. This is done in order to remove contaminants like bacteria and any remaining solids so that it becomes suitable for drinking..

Distilled water is a type of water that has been subjected to treatment called distillation to remove all minerals. The result is a completely pure form of water, though it is not usually suitable for drinking because we humans need the minerals and salt usually found in water. I did not know this for a very long time, and I remember buying distilled water in the past thinking it was just, well, drinking water.

Lastly, did you know that sparkling water is just water that has been carbonated? It can consist of any old type of water- spring, mineral, or purified, plus carbonation. So it may not be as fancy as I first thought, but some of my favorite water is flavored sparkling water. Try it!

Myths About Weight Training for Women

A Nashville, Tennessee, resident, Bianca Catherine Knight is a past community organizer for the Tennessee Disability Coalition who herself is legally blind, living with Leber’s hereditary optic neropathy (LHON). Through confidence and hard work, Bianca Catherine Knight has learned to thrive in spite of her diagnosis, and has enjoyed keeping active through regular workouts, which have included weight training.

Many women who begin an exercise routine often misunderstand the value of weight training, believing the following myths:

1. Weight training causes women to appear bulky. Arguably the most pervasive of all false myths about women and lifting weights is that the practice causes women to build too much muscle and leads to a large, bulky appearance. General weight training will not lead to the amount of muscle gain that most women imagine, as muscle gain of that magnitude requires a rigorous weight training schedule and diet plan.

2. Women should tone by using light weights and performing many repetitions. Using a very light set of dumbbells to complete a high number of repetitions is actually less likely to give a woman the toned appearance she wants, according to Fitness Magazine. Lean muscle mass is best created by using a heavier set of dumbbells and performing between 6 and 12 repetitions, depending on each woman’s goals.

3. Cardio has to be practiced before weight training for optimal weight loss. While cardio is an important part of weight loss and weight maintenance, a weight training regimen allows a woman to burn more baseline calories each day than cardio alone, even while her body is at rest.

LHON - A Rare Disease of Blindness that Affects Young Persons

Bianca Catherine Knight has been a community organizer for persons who are disabled. Earning a JD from Belmont University in Tennessee, Bianca Catherine Knight was stricken with Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON).

LHON causes vision loss in persons around 20 or 30 (more often males), usually leaving them legally blind. In LHON, the optic nerve atrophies. (The disease is named after its discoverer, German ophthalmologist Theodore Leber.)

The first sign is generally blurriness and cloudiness in the center of the visual field. The sharpness of vision and color perception significantly degrades over time, along with abilities such as reading, driving, and recognizing faces. An enlarging blind spot also appears.

Although the exact mechanism of action needs further research, LHON originates genetically in the DNA of the mitochondria. Mitochondria convert food energy into a form that feeds cells’ functions. 

LHON is inherited. It strikes both genders, but only females pass it on, even if they lack any symptoms. In a family where the gene problem is present, it is hard to tell which members will develop symptoms. Rarely, additional symptoms may develop, such as heart arrhythmias, tremors, movement disorders, and symptoms similar to muscular sclerosis. 

Diagnosis is challenging because many doctors lack familiarity with LHON. Good places to look for qualified specialists include advocacy groups, medical journal articles, and clinical trials. Other sources are university hospitals and other facilities that treat complex illnesses.

How About a Talking Coke Machine?

Sometimes it’s just the little things that make a huge difference between the sighted world and those of us with limited vision.  Take a Coca-Cola fountain dispenser for example.  Why on earth would it not occur to the folks at Coca-Cola that the interactive button-press selections on the “technologically advanced” dispensers that require a touch screen without any type of vocal audio will not work for people like me to make my choice of Diet Coke?  Hey, you guys at Coke, I cannot see to make a choice! I’m betting lots of people with visual maladies can’t either! I have Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy. My optic nerves won’t transmit the images of your product choices from my eyes to my brain. Please, please make the machine talk!

I wrote to Coca-Cola to state my concern and in their stock reply they responded by calling me “mister”. I just don’t think they listen OR read.  Oh, well, guess I’ll have water.

Dr. Martin Luther King and My Sight Loss

Today, April 4, 2018, is the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination (and near the10th anniversary of my sight loss) and I felt it rather appropriate for Dr. King’s words to speak regarding my struggle; hope for justice, public disability awareness, and tolerance; and desire for equal rights for those like me.  While there is more work to be done in fulfilling his dream of racial equality, what a beautiful thing it is that his rallying cries and words of hope can be adopted today and every day to seek justice for the disparaged everywhere.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people.”

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”

“The ultimate measure of a man [or a woman—my addition!] is not where he [she] stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he [she] stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

“It all boils down to this:  that all life is interrelated.  We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny.  Whatever affects one destiny, affects all indirectly.”


My thought?  Dr. King, all our destinies are made better by your 39 years on this earth.  Thank you.



#DrMartinLutherKing #blindness #LHON #LebersHereditaryOpticNeuropathy #disability

Helen Keller and Spring

One of my uncles, who researches my dad’s family tree, recently told me of my kinship to Helen Keller.  Must say I was popping a few buttons over that knowledge!  Though stricken with both hearing and vision loss at nineteen months of age, she became one of the most inspirational women of the twentieth century through her lectures, books, and political activism. I can only hope my own vision loss yields a fraction of Helen Keller’s insight and ingenuity. And today, in the midst of March, on a gloriously warm sunshiny day that seems to melt away winter’s never-ending chill, I’m reminded of a quote by Helen Keller:

“I am thankful that in a troubled world no calamity can prevent the return of spring.”

I’m thankful, too, Helen, for spring and the promised beauty it always brings.

#HelenKeller #spring #LHON #lebershereditaryopticneuropathy

St. Valentine, the Blind Girl, and Me

I love Valentine’s Day.  Or more appropriately, I love St. Valentine’s Day and it warms my heart that the legend of the martyred Christian Valentinus, killed under the rule of Rome’s Claudius, tells of his relationship with the daughter of a Roman jailer.  The young girl was blind and was brought to Valentinus to be educated and to pray for her sight restoration.  Ointment was applied to her eyes on each visit along with prayerful supplication to God.  Weeks went by, but her sight was not restored.

Valentinus was arrested when word of his Christian interventions with the girl became known. The girl’s father, who was part of the Roman guard system, pleaded for leniency but to no avail.  On the evening before his execution, he penned a note to her, urging her to remain close to God and have faith that she would one day see and signed it “From Your Valentine”—the first Valentine of heartfelt love.  His death sentence was carried out the following day February 14, 269, the same day the girl’s sight was miraculously restored.

What a wonderful narrative. The way I see it, St. Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers.  It’s a day to underscore my belief that one day my sight that was taken by LHON will, indeed, be restored.  Not sure when, or how, or who will be the initiator of optic nerve restoration, but I have faith it will happen.  Thank you, St. Valentine, for your suffering and your example of love. You’re definitely  MY Valentine.


#LHON #LebersHereditaryOpticNeuropathy #StValentine #sightrestoration #faith

Jackson’s Eyes and Mine

In our family, we love dogs. At Mom’s house the two grandbabies are guarded by Jackson, her newest Sheltie, the fourth in a line of Shetland Sheepdogs, who finds it his duty to love and protect.

Collies and their kin, whether Rough Collies, Border Collies, Australian Sheepdogs, or Shetland Sheepdogs (nicknamed Shelties) are known for genetic eye problems.  Funny, so is our family.  The disease that struck my sight at 28 (Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy—LHON) destroys the optic nerves and affects the central vision.  Collie Eye Anomaly—CEA can cause detached retinas, optic nerve abnormalities, and loss of retinal cells.  The parallels between my eye disease and the genetic disease affecting Mom’s favorite dog breed is uncanny.

Years ago, Betty White held two Shetland Sheepdogs in a TV spot appealing for public donations for an animal charity and my mom fell in love with the breed.  That’s when Maggie, our first family dog, came into our lives.  She was a tri-colored beauty who lived from my 10th birthday until I was 20.

Following Maggie came Annie, sable colored like Lassie, and another tri-colored Sheltie, mostly black and smaller than the others:  Gus.  Annie and Gus were not from the same litter but proved inseparable pals for the ten years they kept Mom company.  All were such sweet, devoted, loving dogs that eventually succumbed to cancer of one sort or another—Gus being the last to go—until Jackson.

By the time Gus left Mom, most of my sight had left me.  Mom said she just knew the Sheltie with the genetically mutated eyes, one brown and one bright blue, was the next pup for her! And so Jackson with the different eyes, like mine are different, came to love and be loved by all of us. Mom said her daughter’s eyes and her doggie’s eyes both see right into her heart.

Thanks, Mom, for teaching us to love dogs and one another, regardless.

#LHON #LebersHereditaryOpticNeuropathy #ShetlandSheepdog #Sheltie #Collieeyeanomaly

Fighting for Josh

I wonder whatever became of Josh. He was brutally picked on by the other kids in school and it ripped my heart out. Not sure what made him so different, but he was, and I took it upon myself to be his defender.  Of course, I could see perfectly back then.  It was middle school and, to date, there was no manifestation of some weird, rare genetic disease to steal away my vision—at least not yet. That would certainly have made me different and an easy target, too.  I was picked on for other reasons and although I couldn’t adequately defend myself, I found that my role as an advocate for Josh made me inwardly feel powerful and strong and needed. He appreciated me and loved me as his dear friend when no one else would embrace him in friendship.

Looking back on that experience with Josh, I see the beginnings of my role as a proponent for those with disabilities.  I’ve found myself crusading for my own rights as someone with low vision as well as for persons with other disabilities.  As one of my law professors advised me:  “Be your own greatest advocate.”

Wherever you are, Josh, I’m still out here fighting for you—but for myself, now, too.



#advocacy  #disabilities  #lowvision  #lebershereditaryopticneuropathy #LHON #bullying

ntroducing the West Highland White Terrier

A Nashville, Tennessee-based attorney focused on disability rights, Bianca Catherine Knight has represented clients in cases involving employment discrimination. In her free time, Bianca Catherine Knight enjoys reading, working out, and caring for her two dogs, a poodle-golden retriever mix and a West Highland white terrier. 

Commonly referred to as a Westie, the West Highland white terrier is a small Scottish breed that is curious, smart, and loyal. Like other terriers, the Westie was originally bred for hunting and ratting. Today, owners often channel the dog’s energy, toughness, and strong work ethic toward agility and obedience competitions. Westies also make excellent therapy dogs. 

As a pet, the Westie is very affectionate and perfect for families with children of all ages. The dog also is good with other canines and will adapt to living with cats. Although the breed can thrive in both rural and urban environments, Westies need to be kept indoors. Westies are particularly well-suited for apartment living as long as they get exercise and are trained at an early age not to bark at everything that catches their attention.

A New Year’s Day Reflection of the Heart

New Year’s Day is one for pondering and I’m doing just that. Helen Keller said: “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”  I’m not totally blind, I’m legally blind from Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.  In the beginning of my sight loss, I separated myself from things and people—especially those I love and who love me.  At that time, I had no vision for my future or even for the day in which I existed.  It took a while to work past all that. 2018 marks a decade since I lost my sight—10 years or 120 months or 520 weeks or 3,650 days that, in the beginning, I never thought I’d ever be able to face without perfect sight, driving my own car.

I really get what Helen Keller was saying.  I truly do.  2018 is going to be another GREAT year.  I can just see it!

#helenkeller  #blind  #lowvision  #LHON  #lebershereditaryopticneuropathy

A Bicycle Wreck, “Night Court,” and Puppy Mills

When I was 12 years old, I broke my hand and knocked my front teeth out in a bicycle wreck at the foot of the hill near our home.  The gas company cut a trench across the street and left it open for longer than necessary without adequately patching the asphalt.  My front bicycle tire hit it just right to send me flying over the handlebars.

After several months of mom’s argument with the gas company, they accepted liability and awarded a small settlement to be placed in a trust for my future.  As it turned out it was a good thing, as my front teeth eventually suffered greatly from the trauma.  When my mom and I were asked to come to court to receive the monetary settlement, the judge had a chat with me regarding my future aspirations.  I never hesitated when I told him, “I want to be an attorney.”  He was a bit amused but further queried me, “Why do you want to be an attorney?”  My response?  “Because I’ve watched every episode of Night Court!”

I was only 12 and not trying to be disrespectful to the judge, just truthful.  I’d always known what I wanted to be and do—at least starting at about age 6 or 7.  I think it began with a documentary I saw on TV about puppy mills.  I was so distraught about the inhumane treatment of the animals that I lost sleep for weeks and cried about it endlessly.  I felt, without knowing how to identify it, the sense of advocacy within me—even at that young age.  The injustice meted out on those puppies still affects me today.

So, Judge Harry Stone and Judge Steve Daniel:  I wasn’t kidding.  I did it.  Thanks for the parts you played in my journey.

#advocacy  #puppymills  #attorney  #nightcourt

The Fred Scheigert Scholarship from CCLVI

A graduate of Belmont University College of Law, attorney Bianca Catherine Knight advocates for the right of others who have disabilities. In addition to this, Bianca Catherine Knight serves on the board of directors for the Council of Citizens with Low Vision International (CCLVI) and as a chairperson on the Fred Scheigert Scholarship Committee.

The Fred Scheigert Scholarship is provided by the CCLVI, an advocacy membership organization, to three students every year. It is a competitive scholarship for full-time college students who have low vision and provides each recipient with $3,000.

To apply for the scholarships, students must fill out an online application and provide documentation that proves they meet the scholarship’s academic and visual acuity guidelines. Eligible students must be enrolled in at least 12 undergraduate or nine graduate units at a college, vocational, or trade school for the upcoming academic year. They must also have a grade point average of at least 3.2.

In terms of vision requirements, applicants must have at least 20/70 vision in their better eye with possible correction or have a restricted field of vision that is no larger than 30 degrees. Students who have less vision and still benefit from using low vision devices during their daily lives may also be eligible for the Fred Scheigert Scholarship.

When applying, applicants must submit two professional or academic letters of recommendation. These letters will be accepted through the CCLVI website or via a Word document with signature attached to an email. Applicants must also provide a copy of the transcript from the school they most recently attended or are currently enrolled in. If students are attending a new school for the next academic year, they must submit a letter of acceptance from the institution.

Merle Haggard, December, and Dad

It’s December 1st and I’m really a true blue Elvis fan, but at the moment a Merle Haggard song is in my head swirling around there with Dad who was a true blue Merle fan:

     “If we make it through December
      Everything’s gonna be all right, I know
      It’s the coldest time of winter
      And I shiver when I see the falling snow

      If we make it through December
      Got plans to be in a warmer town come summertime
      Maybe even California
      If we make it through December, we’ll be fine.”

I lost my dad to cancer in 2006; he was only 52.  I lost my sight in 2008; I was only 28.  Dad did not live to see me overcome that horrific ordeal.  He never even knew I was struck with LHON.  He didn’t know I graduated with honors from Belmont University College of Law and that I’m an attorney.  He missed my marriage and the birth of his precious granddaughter.

Dad’s December was his cancer suffering that is all over now.  All gone.  No more pain.

My December lasted almost two years after I first lost my sight.  Eventually I grew into a new life of acceptance and strength.

We made it through our Decembers, Merle, Yes: Everything’s gonna be all right, I know.


#merlehaggard  #LHON  #lebershereditaryopticneuropathy

The Good Old Digital Talking Book Machine

Just this week I had the privilege of helping order my grandmother’s winter supply of books for the Digital Talking Book Machine to get her through the cold, lonely days and evenings when she can’t putter in her yard.  The Tennessee Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped provides the machines, which are similar to a tape recorder/cassette player, for those with sight impairment. This good old Digital Talking Book Machine is what opened up the world to me very shortly after I was struck with LHON.  Books and reading were an important part of my life and losing the ability to read was a primary reason for my post-sight loss depression. I still have many print books that I cannot part with even though I can no longer read them.  The content of those books is so precious to me.  I once read every word with my sight.

The good old Digital Talking Book Machine sort of paralleled my introduction to technology via the iPod.  I eventually graduated from the DTBM to web-based downloads on my iPhone and iPad and continued to wrap my world in the audio realm of books like the alphabet series by Sue Grafton IN ORDER beginning with A is for Alibi all the way to her final one simply titled X.  I’m equally fond of the series by Martha Grimes that follows her English character Superintendent Richard Jury.  Michael Connelly’s books about detective Harry Bosch’s cases in L.A. intrigue me and I’ve read every title by Harlen Coben about protagonist Myron Bolitor.  The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, Jonathan Kellerman’s books about detective Alex Delaware, and the Jake Brigance series by John Grisham are also at the top of my favorites list.

The TN Library for the Blind reached out to the sister libraries in Ohio and Idaho to fulfill my grandmother’s request to sit in her special chair, right there in her den, and visit Cornwall in England with five books by Rosamund Pilcher.  She’ll go to a cattle ranch in early Montana and the Northern Plains when her Digital Talking Book Machine reads A Bride Goes West by Nannie Alderson.  She’ll call on Elmwood Springs, Missouri and discover what strange things are occurring at the cemetery there when she listens to The Whole Town’s Talking by Fannie Flagg.  I’ve assured her the macular degeneration that’s robbed her sight in a way similar to mine does not have to defeat her.  She can still explore this magnificent world by just punching the BIG GREEN PLAY ARROW.

#digitaltalkingbookmachine  #tennesseelibraryfortheblind  #LHON  #lebershereditaryopticneuropathy

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Last year at Thanksgiving, our obligations took us to another faction of family and I missed the dressing.  That’s THE dressing.  But my brother snapped a photo and sent it to me just as we were about to sit down to a meal void of anything remotely as wonderful and delectable as our grandmother’s cornbread dressing.  Northerners call it stuffing or filling; we in the South do not.  We call our grandmother “MaMa” (pronounced MawMaw) and she’s now 88 and although others within our family have the recipe we still have MaMa make it.  [I confess there’s little point in my possession of it, though I do, as my cooking prowess is lacking.]  Her homemade biscuits, cornbread, onion, broth, and sage—all combine and bake in absolute perfection.  It’s her joy; her gift to the family; her reason to beam when we rave. She always makes too much and we always bring take home containers.

I’m loving my leftovers, MaMa! Mmmm.

#thanksgiving  #dressing

Things to Consider Before Adopting a West Highland White Terrier

The West Highland White Terrier, more commonly known as a Westie, provides caring owners and families with a number of benefits. However, as is the case with any breed of dog, an untrained, improperly socialized Westie can prove rather troublesome.

Despite the dog’s relatively small stature, the Westie is a very confident and energetic breed. In many ways the epitome of the terrier family of dogs, the Westie is sturdy and highly interactive. They are generally more social than other terriers and do not mind being handled by fellow members of the pack. Westies can flourish in just about any home environment, so long as they are able to participate in whatever activities their pack mates are involved in.

Unfortunately, the Westie’s playful nature can quickly become a nuisance in households that do not treat the dog to regular walks and play sessions. Owners who cannot spend time helping their Westie run down their energy levels over the course of the day might need to reconsider their interest in the breed. An under-stimulated Westie can be highly stubborn and very loud, if not downright destructive.

Even a properly cared for Westie can prove challenging for some owners. Westies generally interact well with other dogs, but they can display aggressive behavior when it comes to dogs of the same gender. Smaller animals, such as rabbits, will almost certainly be viewed by the Westie as prey, regardless of training.

A well cared for Westie in the right setting can be an invaluable addition to any family. On the other hand, any hesitation about integrating a Westie, whether it be due to exercise limitations or other animals present in the house, should be closely examined before making a lifelong commitment to a dog.

Final Jeopardy Question

I’m a Jeopardy fan and it’s Tournament of Champions Week. When it came down to the final question yesterday, all three true brainiac champions missed.  But I immediately knew it, and for good reason.  The final wager clue was as follows:

      “When Time Magazine named it Invention of the Year in 2007, it was described as too slow, too big, pretty & touchy-feely”

Austin, Alan, and Buzzy all answered incorrectly while I shouted out “What is an IPhone?!” Not sure why they thought it was an iPad or a Tesla Model S.  It was the year 2007 in the clue that gave it away for me, and knowing, too, that it was something worthy of Invention of the Year.  The year 2007 was right before that awful, painful, life changing year of 2008 when I lost my sight.

After two whole years of floundering in my dimly lit world, I came to know my assistive technology instructor who changed my life and future. MaryLee convinced me to begin using an iPod. It was a simple first step into my world of technology.  She said if I could understand the concept of an iPod, I could certainly operate an iPhone.  It didn’t take me long at all to graduate to the iPhone that enabled me to use voiceover, text and email, dictate messages, navigate using Siri and use zoom.  The steps for me were iPod, iPhone, and THEN iPad.

If I’d been a Jeopardy contestant yesterday for certain I’d have gotten the final question. iPad came later, guys.  And I don’t even know about a Tesla Model S. I’ll ask Siri to look that one up for me.


#jeopardy  #LHON  #lebershereditaryopticneuropathy

Falling Leaves

Autumn in Tennessee comes in November.  That’s when the trees finally turn scarlet and amber and shed leaves to the ground making crunchy sidewalk coverings and piles for jumping into like my brother and I enjoyed when we were kids.  And it’s time to remember and quote the Ogden Nash poem that always makes Mom laugh because it netted a poor grade for her dear friend in elementary school when the students were told to memorize a poem.  Evidently it wasn’t long enough to suit the teacher, but certainly memorable enough for two lifelong friends, for we’ve all laughed in autumn warmth for decades and generations since:

“The leaves are falling.  They look like a new rainbow.  Ah, where is the rake?”

Thanks, Ogden.

#ogdennash  #leaves  #autumn