Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Devastation


Went out into the yard today, and what did I see,
Twigs and branches everywhere;
A limb of a large tree almost hit the house;
Barely missed a big Insurance claim,
And an even bigger mess indoors.

Still, I am fortunate.
Pasrkersburg, Iowa was leveled by an EF-5.
Sights of people gathering scraps of belongings,
Amongst devastated piles, formerly houses.
Lives were lost, family tragedies wreaked.
Will take them years to recover from this blow.

But the summer storm season has barely begun,
More tornadoes are on the way I am sure;
Seems like we delude ourselves with temporary,
Fleeting pleasures and hopes, while Mother
Nature prepares to deliver her next punch.

Life is like a series of brief oases of
relaxed happiness, bounded by lengthy
Periods of unceasing struggle against adversity.
"Where is the happiness?" small part of me wonders.

"Might as well get used to it," real life responds.

It was a nasty weekend in parts of Iowa last Saturday.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Consumption Crash

Watching gas prices soar,
Am reminded of the times before...
We had several warnings about this,
Ignoring them all, in our hubris.
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1973, the first OPEC oil shock,
Then only ten percent of our stocks;
Threw everyone into consternation,
Began talk of energy conservation.
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Measures were adopted, large and small;
Soon reneged on, as prices began to fall;
Another round of shortages in late 1970's,
Renewed concern, brought back measures.
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Early Eighties, and prices sunk once again,
Drillers went broke, Motorists bought bigger.
Nine-eleven, 2001. Price shock repeated.
Brief station gouging, followed by charges.
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Today, there is no relief on the horizon.
Our only hope, relief from four-dollar gas,
To discard our pride which caused it all.
Consumption of petroleum must crash.
-
Lowering pride, and riding a bicycle;
Humbling oneself, and taking the bus,
Daring to be different, walking to work,
Finding another way, buying a smaller car.
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Our time is running out. Our pride
In what we drive, image of our "ride"
The biggest thing standing in the way,
Between ourselves and a solution.
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Do we have any moxie left as a people?
We could be better than previous generations;
Discarding profligate consumptions,
Humbly returning to simple transportations.
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We must crash the petroleum market,
Crash our fuel consumption,
Crash the greedy traders who profit from our pain,
Crash the whole energy-guzzling infrastructure.
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Returning to simpler times,
With cleaner air to breathe;
Life might get more fine,
A cleaner world, we can leave.
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-One can hope anyway

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

No Slavery

What if the USA had never enacted slavery?
What if no state ever deemed it economically necessary
To turn a race of African people into property?
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Would we have electged a black president by 1876?
Would there have been more rapid interbreeding,
a more thorough mixing af races, more half-and-halfs?
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There probably would have been less resentment, less
Intergenerational hatred, less ineriority complexes, less
Drug addiction. Having never been made unequal,
There would never be any questions of equality, period.
-
Because of an economic and political set of decisions,
Mainly by sourthern states, in the 1790-1810 time period,
We wreaked a disaster upon a race of human beings,
And we as a country are still paying the price for this.
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In America, it seems, there have always been big winners,
And even bigger losers. We should learn from past blunders,
Strive to do better in the future. Morality counts as much
In economic affairs as it does in sexual ones, if not more!
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Just musing today

Monday, May 12, 2008

Busy Saturday

Got the groceries bought, all put away;
Time to plant more flower seeds;
Things line up for another busy saturday,
Chores and pleasures plentiful indeed.
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Thank goodness I got to sleep in,
Rest uninterrupted by shrill alarm,
Body energized for work and sin,
Weekend pleasures should do no harm.
-
Perhaps after all the frenetic running,
Scrambling around, doing variety of tasks;
There will be time to sit and do nothing,
Take deep breath, stretch, relax at last.
Put on a movie or documentary,
Peacefully lazy, contentedly sedentary.


So sedentary, I did not enter this until Monday.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Three power world

Since China is a major player on world stage,
Possessing nukes, missiles, warheads galore;
New world strategic framework is presaged,
Time to include them in Start talks and more...
-
America, faded glory notwithstanding,
Is still a Superpower nevertheless;
Russia's military is still outstanding,
Capabilities give US planners no rest.
-
China has advanced military power,
Largest army, giant navy, missiles galore;
Strategic nuclear arms make them tower,
Over other Asian nations, and more...
-
Now is the time to forge a new treaty,
Limit three sides to deterrent-only capability;
If USA, Russia and China - the Big Three,
Sign strategic compact, peace is a high probability.
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We should do it, in my ever so humble opinion.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Bikeride

I rode my bicycle again today,
Was out on a cool April evening.
Softball teams playing out a ways,
Boisterous groups of girls competing.
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Two locomotives tugged railcars lazily along,
Seeming not to be in any particular hurry;
I rode past the screaming softball throngs,
Their frenetic catcalls not my worry.
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A car would occasionally roar past me,
Thankfully giving me a wide berth;
Crossed a bridge over a swollen creek,
Frothing waters seemed to burble with mirth.
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Finally reached the main bike trail,
Flat tunnel through tree-lined prairie,
My scenic exercise landscape, holy grail,
Toddlers and kids out, had to be wary.
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My legs churned along on automatic,
Deep, steady breathing similarly routine;
To watch attentively for pedestrians is pragmatic,
Appreciating attractive ones, without acting obscene.
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Frogs, insects serenading in shallow pools,
Left by rains alongside the trail;
Deposited in long ditches, temperature cool,
Parallelling trail and nearby rails.
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Bright green grass, flowers on lawns,
Greeted my eyes pleasantly as I rode;
Not going to be any television pawn,
Trapped by obesity in my humble abode.
-
Though I endured the usual catcalls,
Bratty teen idiots making sarcastic remarks;
Exercise, fresh air, beauty - I enjoyed it all,
Head and body recharged; health and hope sparked!
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Not even all the smart-assed alpha males on the East Side dampened my mood that day.

Avoid Nuclear War

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