Ice on the Pond
Tuesday, March 10th, 2026
Ice on the pond.
RJ Photography
By Bob Gaydos
‘Tis 80 degrees
and there’s ice on the pond.
One would think, with this thaw,
‘twould be nice on the pond.
That one being me, ventured to see
What had become of winter’s
Ice.
On the pond.
Still there … more or less
Not quite pretty, not quite mess.
Ice on the pond surrounded by trees,
which, I suspect, preserved the freeze.
Even at 80 degrees.
Once upon a time,
in the spring, I suspect,
There were waves on the pond
And I muttered, “Holy heck!”
The trees had shed their limbs.
The wind had ‘leashed a wreck.
So, some ice on the pond,
while a balmy surprise,
Is still a pleasant treat
for winter weary eyes.
Soon, ‘twill be gone.
Actually, the sooner the better.
For the geese like their ponds
not frozen, but wetter.
For mating and training the young ones
to swim,
ice on the pond can be
rather grim.
So, Nature, forgo surprises!
Be done.
‘Tis 80 degrees.
Ice on the pond be gone!
Donald Trump, Frozen in Time
Friday, November 7th, 2025
Donald Trump freezes while others attend to a guest who collapsed in the Oval Office. Photo; Andrew Harnik. Getty
By Bob Gaydos
Freeze!
We had a game we played when I was a kid that involved one person turning his back to the group, closing his eyes, counting to 10 and stopping, looking over his shoulder and yelling “freeze”!
If he saw you move, you were out.
Donald Trump would’ve won every time.
Thursday, a photographer caught the quintessential photo of Donald Trump. Surrounded by a group of pharmaceutical executives and their guests in the Oval Office, the “leader of the free world“ froze when one of the guests fainted behind him.
As others, including Dr. Oz, rushed to help the man, Trump stood immobile, looking simultaneously dumbfounded and irritated that someone had dared to intrude on his spotlight.
As others attended to the guest, Trump stood behind the Resolute Desk, staring straight ahead, unable to show concern for someone in distress. This was someone invited to Trump‘s office, to the house he is in the process of destroying in the name of remodeling. His guest.
Nothing. Clearly, no empathy and no clue what to do. In other situations where he has no clue, which is most of them in his current position, he merely starts talking, rambling, lying, making jokes, making a sales pitch for how he is the smartest, best, wisest, toughest of them all, whoever they may be. But this time he had no words.
And, clearly, nothing in his 79 years on this planet that had instructed him on how to react compassionately to someone in distress.
A statue. Unthinking, uncaring, unfeeling, unbelievably unknowing. Donald Trump, frozen in time for all to see.
This really is who he is, people. His mental capacities have clearly been failing for some time now, but I’m not sure a fully functioning Trump with all his mental capacities intact would have reacted differently. His actions as president demonstrate that he is immune to others’ suffering. Sometimes, he seems to enjoy it. He just doesn’t care. He apparently never learned how.
He couldn’t even fake it.
***
(The guest, invited by one of the pharmaceutical companies in attendance, reportedly had fainted from the heat in the oval office, apparently a recurring issue. Reports said he was fine after being attended to.)