In 2009, I came up with the idea of designating April ,  "Spondylitis Awareness Month."   

 

This Sunday marks the start of another April, and the Fourth year of this now annual drive to raise awareness of Spondylitis (AS), which, according to recent figures from the CDC, may affect as many as 2.4 million Americans.  That's more than Rheumatoid Arthritis and more than Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) COMBINED. 

 

Spondylitis (AS) strikes young men and women, usually between the ages of 17 and 35.  AS can be painful, debilitating and can cause the neck and spine to fuse. It can also affect other joints, the eyes, the heart and the lungs.

 

 

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This week's heap of haikus:

 

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Dogwood trees in bloom!
Spring's celebration of joy
in Riverside Park.

 

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Up before sunrise,
he didn't turn on the lights
so not to wake her.

 

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Foggy Mountain men
break down, sadly shedding tears.
Bluegrass feels more blue.


http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/bluegrass-legend-earl-scruggs-dies-age-88-16025162

 

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Double haiku: In a sleepy town,
off the beaten path, lived a
man who knew nothing.

He was fed by cows,
carried by horses and was
quite a happy soul.

 

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tanka haiku: A man with a limp
quietly whistles on his
way to the bus stop.
   His halting steps belie the
   music he hears in his head.

 

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Indulge your passion.
It's often what drives you to
exceed your limits.

 

 

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Sometimes an echo
from a life you left behind,
catches up to you.
 

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Success always stands
on the shoulders of failure.
Your next try may win.

 

 

 Alternate version:

 

Success always stands
on the shoulders of failure.
Next time, don't wear shoes.

 

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No aunts or uncles,
no cousins or grandparents;
lonely only child.

 

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Fishing off the rocks,
the clear water lets me see
my worm teased by trout ...

 

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Speaking to strangers
is not all that difficult.
Simply say, "Hello."

 

 

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Skill's a garden that
grows when we attend it and
withers from neglect.

 

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It's never too late,
even old s.o.b.s can
have a change of heart.

(Yes, that's a Dick Cheney reference.)

 

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tanka haiku: Melting snows on high,
trickle down to feed small streams
which flow to rivers.
    (This is NOT a metaphor
    that works with economics.)

 

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Whatever ends will
begin again; our journey
is but a circle.

 

 

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Depressed optimists
will live for tomorrow, 'cuz
today really sucks.

 

 

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An empty vase sits
on a cluttered office desk
waiting for true love.

 

 

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Cracks in the sidewalk,
are stepped on ev'ry day, and
mom's back is just fine.

 

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Sadly, it turns out,
while she's pinching pennies ... he
is pinching barmaids.

 

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Words had no effect,
so, reluctantly, he tried
throwing sticks and stones.

 

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Slouched in a corner,
of a dingy juke joint, a
young man learns the blues.

 

 

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Their springer spaniel,
chases ev'ry robin that
lands in their back yard.

 

 

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Courtesan and muse,
she stayed unemotional ...
though she was tickled.

 

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Dusting off raindrops,
he looked up to the sky and
cursed the weatherman.

 

 

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