Hiding,
crawling low with my secret,
mustn’t shock them,
or gross them out,
offend with vulgarity.
Shock and surprise,
they soar above me,
verbalize and expose all!
Me the shy prude,
being humiliated by
their emblazonment of
realities in full light of day.
Time to stand up proud now,
and affirm “Yes, that is me too.”
I just didn’t want to offend you.
Tossing in bed in the middle of the night,
questioning my actions, did I speak right?
No matter what I choose to do,
seem to end up feeling like a fool.
Invited to a party this Saturday night,
Don’t tell a friend who might pick a fight.
I push away busy schedules of life,
seek a moment of peace from strife.
Going to the bar with a boyfriend can be tricky,
You see some hotties who are not being picky!
When younger I had my turn to be sexy and hot,
Now feel the flip side when I am older, and not.
To meet with a group of congenial friends
gives rise to many warm affectionate blends.
A seat at the table is all I want,
nothing extraordinary to flaunt.
A few more good times, a few more wins,
experiences enjoyed before I “pack it all in.”
What are Air Force pilots supposed to aim at?
There are so many things in our airspace;
Weather balloons, radiosondes, helium escapees,
recreational balloons with people riding underneath...
Experimental aircraft, gliders, drones, blimps.
Propeller planes and airliners all over the place.
In the midst of all of that, there are UFO’s or UAPs,
or whatever new acronym we use this week.
Just heard on the news that NORAD has
been adjusting their radars now to see the
newest unwelcome visitors to our airspace.
Makes one wonder how many were missed?
And it makes one grateful that a hostile power
did not rain down atomic weapons from a fleet
of hovering airships perched at 60,000 feet –
a height that apparently we were not watching.
These are strange times indeed,
listening to speeches by buffoons,
air force firing missiles at balloons,
renewed conflict in Europe, WWIII looms.
If we make it through this latest war iteration,
and manage to stay solvent as a great nation,
Millenials will have a big story for the grandchildren!
Is it time for fallout shelters to come back into fashion?
Never hurts to have one just in case.
Stay safe out there.
Anytime one reviews the history of the 20th century, they see so many examples of warfare between nations. Huge armies coming together to kill each other, smaller ambush actions to thwart some enemy. Genocidal actions against some hated population. Yet repeatedly we see some fine minds take a stand against this, and bring attention to the horrific human suffering. As a local example, most every family in the USA has some relative who has been in the military, and many have loved ones who have been in some war or other. Many have lost a family member to some conflict or other. WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, the list goes on and on.
We may question why why why. Why do we have to lose loved ones to this scourge of humanity? Why does it never end? Why can’t the human race as a whole learn the lesson – there are far better ways to settle differences? There are far better ways to compete. We have the Olympics. We have national space or economic programs that could engender friendly competitions. We have other avenues in which to compete. But we always end up resorting to the ultimate competition, where there will only be one winner – or so we think. But there are No Winners in a protracted war. There is only loss of life, damage to the environment, deep emotional scars to the survivors, depression, suicides, substance abuse, and homelessness. But our leaders just keep on getting us into wars.
And now the world is getting more and more confrontational, and edging closer and closer to another enormous world battle. Already a land war in Europe rages, and the big powers are being drawn deeper into it. We just don’t learn, and are doomed to constantly repeat our follies and errors. Perhaps our world is really some simulation, some version of an endless hell where people get a little hopeful, and then slide right back down the slope to mass slaughter of each other once again. Over and over and over again. If that is the case I sure wish some god-king would hit the off switch.
It is wearying just making the same mistakes over and over. Birth, grow, eat, have sex, hope, kill and die. And repeat. Someone please hit the pause button on all of this.
Lord of the Rings Trilogy - some thoughts.
I watched this sprawling epic again the other day.
The massive battles, poignant moments, surreal Elvish scenes were all still captivating. Even two decades later it seems that the producers did a magnificent job of bringing those books to life. But I found myself comparing things like society when the books were written versus life today, 80 or so years after the books first appeared.
They story borrows from a lot of mythologies, English, Norwegian and Germanic among others. Tolkein even lifted a few names from some of the old tales and myths. But he wound it all together into a stupendous new worldview and adventure. People are still copying his methods today, IMHO.
The hobbits generally got around on foot. The main wizard, Gandalf, was frequently mounted, bareback, on a huge white stallion. The Riders of Rohan were all mounted, and fierce fighters too. The Orcs reminded me of old Roman soldiers, on foot with long pikes, and squared shields. And the Orcs also reminded me of Imperial Stormtroopers – couldn’t hit anything with their arrows most of the time. But Legolas the Elf never missed, at times rapid-firing the arrows and never, ever running out. Maybe his quiver had a Star Trek type materializer built in, hmmmm. But it was all great fun anyway. I do pity the actors having to shoot those scenes, hour after hour, trying not to be silly or laugh or something. I guess they were well paid, as well as experienced at their craft.
The movies often showed the raw edge of primitive combat with swords and pikes and sticks. You were face to face with those who wanted you dead (or on the dinner table in some cases). And you weren’t a real warrior (of men) unless you could ride a horse. It struck me that nowadays people will immerse themselves in virtual worlds of combat, in the WoW or Fortnite type of games. Doing battle of some kind with other players, sometimes in tournaments. The ultimate endpoint of this will be some kind of ST-NG Holodeck where you can end up exhausted, with cut marks and bruises, etc. The safety settings that would disallow any serious injury might not always work right! Then the lawsuits will begin. Talk about human combat.
But I can’t help thinking that 20th century mindset wanted to remove us from the pain, discomfort and disease of previous centuries. And nowadays we are so comfortable that some will seek out the medieval miseries as a distraction or diversion. Just look at all of the Renaissance fairs. We should be careful what we wish for. One nuclear war will put us right back in that atmosphere – or worse. With no “quit” or “exit” or “end game” icon to click on whatsoever.
In the meantime I hope to see the huge LOTR prequel that came out a while back. One of these days. What a mind trip (but I wouldn’t want to be there for real.)
Remember back, once upon a century...
When we were able to be who we wanted,
match outer appearance with inner identity.
Select any book out of a school library
to check out and read it with no oversight.
We were free to date whom we wanted,
read any publication we desired, free
to have medical procedures performed
on our own body with no input from the state;
We had freedom in the truest sense, to be
ourselves and manage our own destinies.
Those days seem gone forever,
now we must conform to the gender
and identity demanded by the State.
We can only read state-sanctioned books,
face prison time if we dare defy this.
That monolithic Communist entity we feared?
We have become that awful nightmare.
Now we must follow the mandate of the State;
in all matters large and small, no longer are free.
Every facet of our lives and fate run by the State –
especially if that state is Florida!
Just waiting for the flow of refugees streaming
back to Cuba, from the socialist nightmare of Florida.
Should start up here any day now…
Last December the publisher of a national magazine
produced an edition with Santa on the front,
and many fantastical articles inside.
Copies were shipped from a printer,
to Midwestern distribution points.
Labeled, then they went out in the mail,
sent to a household in central Iowa.
I received a copy gratis, in early February.
The front cover was a bit worn,
articles and information inside still as
fresh, cogent, and impactful as on the day printed.
I read, contemplated and soaked in the
information, which effectively illumined pathways
just as good as it would have on the day it was written.
For funds up front I would have received it months ago.
But I had no need, and in any case
my mental landscape was already stuffed full:
holiday concerns,
Internet sensations,
smartphone silliness,
general media lunatic frenzies aplenty.
It is nevertheless nice to read about
many erudite and complex subjects,
whether right away or three months late.
(Quantum Computing still seems like a colossal waste of money.)
But knowledge is power,
no matter when you get it.
Thanks for reading this day’s musings,
now bring on Friday and the weekend.
Time for a beer.
A vast blue surface dotted with fishing boats; Not some distant ocean, but rather our local Mississippi river shining in springtime. T...
