Farewell, Dad – we will miss you.

     He lived from October of 1923 to May of  2011.  He went through some of the most difficult years in world history, and came through, not wholly unscathed or unscarred.   He managed to raise a family while working two jobs most of the time.  Although not perfect, he was a very honorable man.  He stood by his kids no matter what, or so it seems to the author.   To the very end, he was supportive of my projects, my hopes and dreams.  He used to say,  “I’m in your corner -  I want to see you win.”   He always wanted our happiness and prosperity, no matter what. 

     He will be often thought of, and often missed.  He is in all of us offspring.  It is hoped that he can rejoin all of his friends, and his first wife, in a better place.  

     In recent years, his health had declined.   The last time I saw him was last fall, around September 2010.  He looked tired, and his arms were bothering him.  But he was eager to discuss family genealogy information, and helped me find a few new ancestors.  He also helped correct some errors in a family poetry booklet I made – it could be said, that book was co-authored by Dad.   It was still a shock to me that he left us on this day, a Monday in May, when the outdoors is exploding with beauty.   I planted some tomatoes in his honor, and I am hopeful that I can help sponsor some kind of greater memorial to Dad.  He certainly deserves it.

In Fond Memory   - Lewis B. Wilson, Jr.    1923-2011

Sunday life

I eat, talk with friends, laugh and enjoy myself.

Inside, that impish character jumps up and down;

During the course of the meal, it peeks out…

After the fourth cup of tea, the imp escapes.

I grin, smirk, crack coarse comments over

My fellow diners heads like dirty walnuts.

But they are kind and clever today –

They just defer and steer the conversation away.

Later, I take a magnificent bikeride.

It is May 1^st, sunny and a bit cool – perfect.

I enter trailspace and reflect on my wayward

Imp, the one that escapes and wreaks havoc

In my relationships with others.

I can chain the imp, but it requires tranquilizers…

No caffeine, sleepiness help calm the beast –

So does vigorous exercise.

I pedal myself through brilliant sunbeams,

Shooting through sprouting trees.

The shafts of light punctuate my regrets and resolutions.

The wind blows away my guilt,

Infuses my lungs and body with new possibilities.

Wild phlox, violets and dandelions color my sight.

Soon, the baby rabbits and squirrels will try

To cross the trail in front of speeding tires.

What an explosion of May life to enjoy, absorb, and dodge…

Time to cage the imp, shed the regrets, breathe and achieve anew!

-end

OBL Wondered What Happened

     The Imam surveyed his terrain, pleased.  The wives were helping children with their studies, or tucking in the infants.  Soon, his favorite would be coming into his bedchambers.  She was his latest acquisition -   so talented under the covers, a true gift from Allah.   He sat back in a meditative state, and began reciting his evening prayers.

     “Do your justice to mine enemies, Oh great one, as you will.”

     “Smite down the great Satan and all of their followers”

      “Remove the source of evil from our planet”

     “Bless my family and I as you see fit, oh Allah.”

     The Imam opened his eyes, and sat meditating in the quiet of the evening, listening to the murmurs of his household preparing for bed.  They all knew what to do – he had trained them well.  Discipline was important, and apparently they had learned their harsh but necessary lessons.  Spare the hand and fist, and lose the household.  Not this Imam.

     His ruminations were interrupted by the appearance of his latest wife, dressed scantily but with a silk veil.  She undulated and sang as she moved over to him.

     “Allah be praised!  You are so beautiful, it melts my heart.   I do not deserve such good fortune.”

     She just put her finger to her lips, and moved over to where he sat on the bed.  She sidled up to him, running her hands over his tunic, and then under it.  He responded, and soon they were removing each others garments. 

     Suddenly they heard the whup-whup-whup of helicopter blades.  The Pakistani army did overflights, so this was not so unusual.  They resumed their vigorous foreplay.  The helicopter sound did not fade, but remained, even getting closer.  A scowl crossed the Imam’s face. 

     Those infidels would get an angry message the next time I send the courier.

     He had positioned his wife just so, and was thrusting his way to happiness, when he heard a staccato of shots.  Quickly, he jumped off of her, and threw on a tunic to see what was happening.  

     Pounding footsteps!  More shots, cries of surprise.  What was this?  Some disgruntled faction?  He had everyone paid or threatened.  Who could it be attacking?  His wife hugged him from behind, murmuring questioningly.

      His reflections were interrupted when some men in dark clothing burst into his room.  All he could do was back away towards the bed and stare. 

     “Who are you?  Why do you dare this?  Why…”

     One of the men said,  “If you want to live, you come with us.”

     The Imam turned to the bed and grabbed a knife sitting on the bedstand.  Then, he warned the man,

     “I am a trained muhajadeen.  I will not hesitate to kill you if you do not leave this room!”

     The men looked at each other, several strong.  A few raised automatic weapons and pointed them at him.

     “That knife won’t do you any good here…”

    

     He rushed at the nearest man, knife upraised, hoping to get one of them at least.

     The intruders did not hesitate to fire, hitting the Imam in the face and chest.

As the light faded from his eyes, and he felt himself sinkng, sinkng ever downward, the Imam realized the cruel twist that Allah had played:

    “Smite down the great Satan and their followers….”

    “Remove the source of evil…”

     “Bless my family as you see fit…”

The Imam realized that Allah, in his infinite wisdom, had answered his earlier prayer. 

The End

Royal Wedding






Tongues are whispering across the land,
Will this work, can those two get along?
The ceremony and reception will be grand,
Vows and symphonies and songs to prolong…



Media have been beating the drums,
Whipping expectations into high pitch;
For this couple, nothing is humdrum,
Fine ceremony well attended by the rich.


Once the confetti has fallen from the skies,
And the adrenaline rush finally subsides;
The youthful couple will await baby cries,
And a multitude of new parental guises.
We will see if they do better than those before,
Or end up in the tabloids, which the Palace abhors.

-end

In honor of National Poetry Month, here is a Pantoum:

The Most Dedicated Monks



The monks of Mt. Athos in Greece are devoted,


Their whole lives focused on prayer and worship;

Ascetic ways and constant prayer promoted,

Eight-hour services every day are not a hardship.



Their whole lives focused on prayer and worship,

Surrounded by rare and ancient icons of saints;

Eight-hour services every day are not a hardship,

Difficult to join the monastery, not for the faint.



Surrounded by rare and ancient icons of saints,

Monks tend gardens, fish and serve meals;

Difficult to join the monastery, not for the faint,

Their purity of mission adds to their appeal.



Monks tend gardens, fish and serve meals,

An Ossuary holds all previous monks bones;

Their purity of mission adds to their appeal,

Once they join, it is their life and their home.



An Ossuary holds all previous monks bones,

These men need no ipads nor smartphones;

Once they join, it is their life and their home,

Joined with the Holy Spirit, they are never alone.



These men need no Ipads nor smartphones,

Ascetic ways and constant prayer are promoted;

Joined with the Holy Spirit, they are never alone,

The Monks of Mt. Athos, Greece, are highly devoted!

Earth Day 2011

     Here we are, 41 years later.   More populated than ever, using as much fuel as we ever did.  Well, maybe a slight dip after the price went above $3.00 a gallon.   Using up much of our corn for extra fuel, driving up the price of food as a result.  Importing oil from Canada, the Middle East, Africa and anywhere else it can be found.  Polluting the air with our SUV’s, Trucks, Crossovers and the like.  Have we learned anything?  Yes and no.

     We learned how to limit emissions on tailpipes, make more efficient engines and lighter car bodies.  We learned some tricks to get more oil out of old wells, like injecting steam into them.   We built many plants to make ethanol out of corn and other materials, to add to gasoline.  Various tricks and techniques have been added to increase or maintain our fuel supplies.

     But on the demand side, we haven’t done so well.   For some reason, a typical family today sees some kind of SUV as a birthright.    People cannot seem to wrap their heads around the concept of less is better.    So lightweight materials and efficient engines go into making bigger vehicles, and our net savings is still zero.

     I wish I had an answer to the insatiable human ego .   But there seems to be none.  So a suggestion might be to make many more vehicles all electric, and implement charging stations far and wide.  This way, at least some of our energy used for driving can be derived from renewable sources of electricity  (solar, wind, biomass, etc).   The government needs to take a strong role in this – people will not do it on their own in sufficient numbers.  This has been shown repeatedly – look at the sales figures for trucks and SUV’s, year after year.     If the government would Mandate a certain percentage of electric cars year after year, force it, we might get somewhere.    But there are too many leaders in Congress with their heads in the sand, that think we are sitting on an inexhaustible supply of oil, that it will last forever.  It is not so, and we must face facts, or be run over by our own foolishness.

     Anyway, as I type this,  the price of unleaded gas is around $3.69/gal for 10% unleaded, and heading to 4 by the summer.   Some people are talking about 5 or 6.00/gal gas, and they are probably right.  Because we keep having babies, and wanting the best for each and every one, and using up everything in sight.   Perhaps understandable, but NOT sustainable.    Something has to give.  Happy Earth Day, and see you out on the road!

Acceptance

We are what we are,
The die has been cast,
The mold has been shattered.

No matter what anyone else does,
Whatever anyone says or thinks;
You compete with only one person:
Yourself...

Strive to improve each day,
compared to your own yesterdays. 
There will always be greater and lesser,
Only your own internal benchmark matters.

Accept the vagaries of circumstance,
The cruelties and kindnesses of others,
Most of all accept yourself, love yourself,
Accept your uniqueness as a gift, and go on.

-end