Political Humor for a Friday

Just joking....kind of.  Read on.

The dot-coms flocked to our willing State,

offering plenty of land, water and electricity.

Smart workers in abundance, paid the going rate.

They set up several data farms quite easily.

State officials gladly gave you tax breaks,

Did you need new roads with that free land?

Just promise us to hire twenty or thirty techies,

We will all be eating crumbs out of your hands.

But wait, now we are broke, bankrupt, out of money.

There is no more to give, our piggy banks are empty.

No more corporate presents this year or next, honey.

It is our turn to request some financing and empathy.

Please Mr. Dot-Coms, the State of Iowa needs your help!

We are broke and in need, our budget is collapsing.

We are destitute enough to make elected officials yelp;

Please transfer all you can before our reserve is maxed.

Any help you give we will deeply appreciate,

State buildings renamed for your companies sake.

Our rewards are difficult to approximate,

but rest assured your fine reputation bespake.

And the sooner the better! TIA, Iowa

- end

thirty minus one

Twenty-nine Short Stories - Science Fiction and misc

https://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Nine-Stories-Mike-Wilson-ebook/dp/B0714D14JD

Thanks for taking a look.

Simple Pleasures

Why fold arms all dignified and mature,

when you can cuddle a calico cat?

What's with the sense of pretension,

when a walk in the woods will do?

Stuffed animals on the couch make

better companions than some difficult person,

A good book or engrossing movie can

pass an evening easier and cheaper than

any loud, obnoxious nightclub.

Sometimes the simple pleasures

reward miniscule effort the most.

A pleasant payoff,

the price is low,

safety and chance of recurrence

are both very high.

“Simple-minded, childish, irresponsible,

socially inept,”

on and on the labels will go.

Fuck em all.

No matter what “They” say,

enjoy a simple pleasure today.

To pass the time there are worse ways,

and you will live to fight another day.

- end

Local History Fun

    There is a small building, a petite brick one-story with some decorative masonry on the exterior. Located at E. 5^th south of Court avenue in Des Moines. For many years, it and a small addition were utilized as small warehouse space, storing who-knows-what. But every so often, someone would remark on its decorative exterior and ask, what did this used to be? The answer surfaced for me a couple years ago on Facebook. It was a Wabash railroad passenger boarding station. Several railroads went through Des Moines, notably the Rock Island and the Union Pacific. So it appears to me the Wabash had to locate its terminal in an area away from the other traffic, in some accessible spot. The terminal was only active a few years, then it was shuttered, sold off, and used for storage.

Many buildings around my city, or any city for that matter, have a historical past. Some more dull and pedestrian than others. But they all have a story to tell. A story of how thing were when they were constructed. A story of the hopes and dreams of the populace in that city in those days. For example, there is one Iowa town named Grand Junction. It was so named since it was located at the junction of two railroads, and was hoped this would lead to booming growth and prosperity. An opera house went up, and several other buildings. Nowadays, only freight railroads go through Grand Junction, and most of the population has moved away. That story has repeated itself over and over in small towns all over the Midwest. But still, the history of the past can tell a fascinating tale, and a cautionary lesson as well.

     With a younger generation able to find what they want, when they want, at their fingertips, history becomes ever more accessible. Now, oftentimes one can see a place like it was 20, 50, 100 years ago. That seems to be useful. “Look how it was, look how it is. What are the advantages and disadvantages? What can we do to make it even better tomorrow?”

Cities are beginning to put up a lot of residences downtown again, and enhance mass transit systems. (Just like they did a century ago) Perhaps for greater efficiencies. Especially given increasing populations in larger cities. Learning the history of a locale can be entertaining, fascinating, and instructive. Who knows, there may be a few older buildings in your community that have not yet been demolished. Happy researching out there.

Dallas Buyers Club

What the F.....?
What a movie!

Not even a homophobic thug

could counteract a tiny virus.

He had to quit hating and join

the masses fighting the disease.

1980-2018

Angry straights and frightened gays

had to join forces to combat the scourge.

Sometimes blocked and frustrated by a

slow testing process, they made an end-run

around the medical establishment.

They saved many lives and moved the

needle of progress forward, case by bloody case.

What other war saw so many lives sacrificed

on a field of battle in hospitals and clinics

all on our home soil?

Even a quilt took to the field,

helped sway reluctant lawmakers to act.

Like with many other wars,

the current generation can only

imagine the devastation, the courage,

the sacrifice and victories along the way.

Now they can take a prep pill, and play.

Or take a daily pill if they, too, get infected.

Hopefully the next enemy fought is not so

stealthy it sneaks up and strikes down the

best of several generations, like HIV did.

Hopefully.

Get tested.

Politics vs Financial status musing

    Forget Republican vs Democrat, or old vs young. The hidden dichotomy permeating our society, like the invisible 800-pound gorilla, is the have's versus the have-nots. You can couch it in nice language all you want. “He is going through a difficult patch. She is in career transition. He is exploring employment alternatives.” Meanwhile the broke folks suffer resource depletion, or stress on their financial corpus, or bankruptcy, even homelessness.

     A low-income person has very limited options. They can't contribute to political campaigns – not very much, maybe a few bucks. They must always lowball things, shop for the cheapest groceries, clothes, necessities. Especially if they have children. The effect of limited income is not unlike a prison sentence, in that all of your choices are very limited.

     High-income folks, or even trust fund babies, have much more freedom. They can get better medical and dental care, better clothes, more healthy foods. They live in safer, calmer neighborhoods, and drive safer, better vehicles. They have many more choices and options in life. And most cannot understand what the problem is with the others. Why can't they just get a better job, go to school, etc?. What is wrong with them? The answer is that they are not suited, not able, not gifted. They are what they are.

     This is the dichotomy in society that not many mention, but that affects us all. A wealthy Democrat living in the best neighborhood has little in common with his poorer party members.

     A wealthy Republican has nothing in common with someone living on social security, who may even suffer as a result of their comrades votes in Congress, except a common political philosophy. There is partisan politics, and then there is the financial underpinning governing our actions, that many seem to tolerate or ignore. To be fair, there are many compassionate people in both parties who help their less-fortunate fellows, and these certainly deserve recognition. (A lot of people have helped me over the years). Thanks to this compassion, our society is significantly less rough than it could be.

Granted, many people want their shot at the “brass ring” or the big money score. Maybe they might win the lottery, maybe they will inherit, maybe their business will take off. In any case, many folks are reluctant to speak out against social inequities.

     I wish I knew of a solution to this division of the have's versus have-nots. But it seems like capitalism has inequality built-in. That is one of the main motivators for some who want to get ahead, to be one of the “have's.” All one can do is endure, unless we are sufficiently capable in some way or other to change our lot. I doubt that too many want to become poor, seriously poor. But there are a lot of poor that would like to better their situation one way or another. So casinos and lotteries keep doing a booming business.

     It just seems strange that, behind the veneer of political party affiliation lies financial “affiliation” and that seems to count for a whole lot more – always more than meets the eye.

As I write this the Powerball jackpot is projected to exceed a half-billion dollars. May be time to stop writing and go buy a ticket. Good luck out there.

(Addendum: Some 20-year-old in Florida won it. Lucky guy.)

Of time and Passing Relatives

Where did they go so soon?

Mother and father, aunts and grandparents,

Favorite great-uncle with all his stories,

even if we had to stay out of their yard.

That other uncle who taught their

poodle to say prayers on our redwood stool.

Those events that zipped by, but now are cherished

gems of nostalgia warming my heart.

Even though ever more of them are gone,

the memories tell me that I was part of

a large loving family with much shared joy.

The few remaining should know how special

those memories they made are in the present time,

with so much impersonal brutality coming at us.

Slogging into an ever-uncertain future,

more and more value resides in a

often-wonderful past enjoyed by us.

Even though childhood is peppered

with the urgency of getting to school,

sports practice, this or that or summer camp,

some specific moments of warmth

are irreplaceable, and so valuable.

Thanks to our relatives our lives seem

ever more special and blessed.

    - may you be so fortunate.

Rest in Peace, Marilyn

Stopped Dead Center

A cold day, my old day.

What should I do free day.

So many fragments of should,

ought to, could do, might do.

Rationalize rest, a day off, take a break,

watch some tube, meditate on things.

So I get up. walk around, pick at things.

As long as there is tonight's date to look forward to,

there seems little point in making the day difficult.

However, that 20^th century productivity nag will

not be silenced in my head, so I finally

go out to cash in some bottles and cans.

There, satisfied, damned gnawing conscience?

Even when I'm not at work, part of me is still

always at work. May be time for (another) nap.

- end

Feline Hardware

     Her eyes reflect ambient light, illuminating dark hallways. Her ears scan for noises, her green lamps flicker this way and that, her paws are sensitive instruments detecting vibrations and variations on the ground. Even her tail is an aero sensor, flicking around, perhaps feeling disturbances in the aether. She is not so much a “cat” as a collection of finely honed, evolved detectors that warn of attackers, or let her know where something good to eat may be located.

Perhaps all of that hardware and software is wasted in the house. The worst she must fear is my petting, grabbing hands. The most effort she expends getting a meal is following a familiar trail to the feeding dish, or maybe to a plant to chew on some more. Still, I am there to appreciate what a wonderful collection of evolution, learning and feline craft she represents. Aren't I the lucky one?

Her eyes are bright metaphors, enlightening the way.

Her ears sharp radars mapping her environment.

Her nose sniffs a reasonable way forward.

Her tail tickles the ether, and resonates with the cosmos.

Her paws can step on anyone's skin or feelings, and

sink claws in as deep as she feels necessary.

Cleopatra had no less power – perhaps the two are related.

-end

   

Story collection available on Kindle

Amazon Kindle e-book version of 29 stories is available for purchase or preview. 
Do check it out - and thanks if you did!

https://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Nine-Stories-Mike-Wilson-ebook/dp/B0714D14JD

-end

New year Haiku

It is a new year, and one of my resolutions is to have better control over my facial expressions. Time will tell. Meanwhile, here are some Haiku on that subject. Thanks for reading them.

I don't think I'm cool,

the grimace on my face says

“I'm trying, people.”

Who “thinks he is cool?”

cannot help what my face does;

it's just me coping.

Sorry if I offend;

Sixty does strange things at times.

Intentions are good.