On Judgment

For many years, and to great success, Nordstrom provided new employees with a handbook consisting of a single card that read:

Welcome to Nordstrom

We're glad to have you with our Company. Our number one goal is to provide outstanding customer service. Set both your personal and professional goals high. We have great confidence in your ability to achieve them.

Nordstrom Rules:

Rule #1: Use best judgment in all situations.
There will be no additional rules.

Please feel free to ask your department manager, store manager, or division general manager any question at any time.

wonderfully lingering

visions
swiveling
wafting
from
abrasive
asphalt

ghosts
circling
hovering
just
above
earth

a push
a grimace
a wobble
a gyration
a smile

fear
apprehension
fortitude
perseverance
joy

a sunny day
a parking lot
a father
a son
a bicycle

years ago
at this place
99% in the past
1% still here
wonderfully lingering

Ode to a Shih Tzu

O tiny ferocious toy!
Towering human Gozilla?
Undaunted.
Genetically,
A wolf.
Instinctually?
Clearly.
But, morphologically,
Not so much.
Raff! Raff! Raff!
O tiny ferocious toy!
Equal in size to a shoe.
Does it give you pause?
The Serengeti,
Bereft of roving Pomeranians.
O tiny ferocious toy!