Tempered Wanderlust

Moving to new places might be fun,

But there is always work to be done.

Money does not fall from the sky,

Nor grow on trees, nor in the grass lie.

So one best have some income lined up,

a job or career to prime the money pump.

Just moving on a whim can be disastrous,

you can end up starving, and even homeless.

Life’s lessons are dished out in dollops

of heaping helpings of harsh wallops.

Either one dies or recovers and keeps on,

last lesson burned in a wiser mind strong.

As a single person ages and learns,

once hasty moves slow, he takes longer turns.

Past lessons inform, past mistakes burn,

Want to move again? One had better earn…

And earn and earn a lot of spending cash,

Then one can avoid the homeless hash.

On days off enjoy the many fine sights,

Avoiding any dreary severe poverty plights.

(with posthumous apologies to Ogden Nash)

Need to work together to mitigate disasters

It has been easy to feel antagonism and fury at the opposing political party. “They just don’t seem to grasp true logic, they are always focused on their own petty wants, they seem determined to take our nation down the tubes.” This description could fit either political party, from the point of view of the other one. Democrats vs Republicans. Sure, the smaller parties have an opinion on things, and may see themselves as the only real alternative. Not too different from many religions, but that is another debate.

My worry is that the USA is faced with many problems. Chief among them seems to be the constant natural disasters we have been enduring. Many hurricanes and tornadoes have damaged large swaths of the country. Fires and floods have ravaged other parts. Many regions have gone from fall fires to winter snowstorms, to spring floods and mudslides. What else is going to happen? Earthquakes have been rumbling around too, making themselves felt. These disasters individually are destructive enough to empty out towns, destroying housing and casting whole populations adrift. (Worse than any bombing short of a nuclear warhead.) It is as if mother nature herself has declared war on us all.

Simple yelling and finger-pointing is not enough. We need to work together on these problems, and reach solutions, or at least agreement on courses of action. Like it or not, we are all stuck in the same ‘sandbox’ and when an outside agency is threatening us, we must unite. But no, instead the parties are sniping at each other, and sabotaging each others efforts at solutions. Ultimately the actions of these political organizations could end up threatening the well-being of us all.

We have river levies that need to be repaired ASAP, before more flooding comes. We have towns and cities languishing months or years after a disaster, still awaiting some kind of federal help. We have a need to more funding for rapid response help for disaster victims. The way things are going, the entire USA is becoming one colossal disaster victim. Things are looking dire. Every week there are more severe weather disasters occurring. Political infighting will not help us combat these problems. Only co-operating and co-ordination can help us face these disasters.

Vote for who you want, but tell them they need to stop listening to our enemies, and start working together with other Americans to help save our tattered nation.

Thanks for reading.

Spy vs Spy - in and out

One country thinks they have the perfect spy,

reaching the highest centers of power.

The other country thinks they are playing

said first country for fools –

giving them some fodder,

leading them on,

then ultimately fooling them.

How much money is spent in these games?

One misleading another,

spying on their own fools errands.

Analyzing every message,

studying misinformation for clues.

What a strange art,

takes people to strange places.

Makes them do bizarre things

all in the name of God and Country…

“We got the best of them!”

“No, we got the best of them!”

And in the end, everyone dies off,

and no one knows who actually succeeded.

And it really doesn’t matter, anyway.

But it sure makes for a juicy TV special.

Electromechanical Empires rose and fell

Card-punching equipment thrived,

humans interfaced with electromechanical

devices highly efficient.

Discrete digital codes hammered out

industrial efficiency recorded data in volumes.

Numerical superiority of our machines

increased steadily.

Ever-greater storage volumes ensured

vastly increased sales dollars.

Busy people crowded around massive mainframes.

Busy bankers funded the efforts.

Economic activity swirled, coalesced, surged and crested.

IBM Data Processing Systems were at the center of it all.

(Not to discount the products of the other six companies…)

Advertising artwork created new Digital Overlords,

worshiped by blue-robed acolytes,

feeding the majestic beast it’s requirements

in punch-cards, magnetic platters and reels.

Every so often typing in a humble request:

“Please start this next job,

and if you please, give us a report.”

Most of the time, our lord 370 would

grant us compliance. Sometimes we

would be required to pay further obeisance,

a-bending our knees and a-breaking our routines.

Programmer priests were called in, to

prod the great one to move data mountains

once again, and keep society on track.

And the whole electro-metallic mighty-framed show careened on.

Then one day someone came up with the personal computer,

someone else invented the first smartphone,

and the once-mighty mainframe god was, in turn,

brought to its knees!

See how godlike you are now,

you obsolete bucket of antique scrap.

No more worship for you,

just the melting pot,

where you’ll be turned into tiny parts,

and play a new part in showing the latest

Instagram and Snapchat postings,

making a 21^st century teenager rich and famous.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Spring again Spring again

The heaps and mounds of snow are gone,

first green shoots of Spring have arrived.

Weather see-saws between cold, rain and sun,

the wind broadcasts the news:  nature thrives.

Motorbikes and quads replace snowmobiles,

snowplows have mostly retired or removed blades.

Streets and sidewalks clear, potholes slowly getting filled.

This one delivered more blows than most winters gave.

Now the weatherperson apologizes for temps in the 40s;

Would have given anything for that two months ago;

April showers are here, some floods persist too.

Hope of brilliant May colors quickens the pulse.

Brutal chill gives way to stifling summer heat,

With a lull here and there, a brief respite of perfection.

Which is better, Spring or Fall? Mind changes with the years.

Want to know how it is outdoors? Go out, and make your own determination.

Iowa is a state of weather connoisseurs – never disappointed in the rate of change!

Best place ever for wind-hungry turbines. Keep on spinning.