Rainy Ride

Riding...

I made it in good time, and entered the trail,

pace steady and smooth.

What was that? A raindorp? Two? Three?

Uh-oh.

Many drops soon fell, a steady shower,

turning to a deluge at times.

I was stuck.

Too far to turn back;

take shade under trees somewhat,

press on ahead – maybe it will stop!

But alas, no such luck.

I made it up to the University overpass,

finally turning around to head back

the (now wet) way I came.

Getting more soaked by the minute,

What a perfect experience for an

eccentric middle-aged writer to enjoy.

Riding a bike in a summer rainstorm –

like a kid again. No matter –

Youth still lives inside me,

appreciates that exhilaration of

flying down a street soaking wet,

trailing water streams off bike tires,

clothing, pedals and even hair.

What watery summer joy,

to abandon all care and press on;

I see a

stream of car headlights coming,

do they see this apparition on wheels,

laughing and pedaling through sheets of gray?

How jealous they must be. Poor things.

Thank goodness I made it back without wiping out.

www.dycen-alexander.com

State Fair is Here

Caravans of campers caper about,

jockeying for the best spot around.

Livestock trailers sprout like weeds,

get herded into enclosures with ease.

Lots are roped off, and signs pop up.

“No parking during State Fair” or

“Park here - $5.00 all day.”

Two and four-wheeled vehicles swarm the area.

The noise, smells and excitement build to

a crazed crescendo of happy confusion.

Crowds come in and congregate in celebration

of animal excesses and caloric confabulations.

For ten days we can forget the toil and sweat,

uncertainty and concern, the numerous fears.

Spend, eat and play with no thoughts past today.

Another fair is here, don't be glum, yell Hooray!

And no other shoe will drop until it is over. Enjoy.

- end

Dear God

Forgive me my trespasses,

as I forgive those of others.

Please keep me awake for the sermon,

not allow my gaze to stray to attractive parishioners.

Please help me pay my bills,

help my bladder hold firm,

keep my eyes on the road and my hands on the wheel.

Lord,

Forgive me for verbally stepping on people,

protect me from their anger and retaliation.

Please change my personality, Lord,

to one palatable to everyone

so I can stop looking over my shoulder.

Lord,

Take me away from here and put me

somewhere in the 24^th century.

Make me artificial,

not an abomination...

Put me where life is near perfect, Lord,

so the litany of complaint in my head

will cease, and perhaps I can finally,

finally,

finally

relax and be happy and at peace.

Amen.

(tongue firmly in cheek)

Bitten but not Smitten

Silly little flea,

why are you riding on me?

You can fly free,

how errant can you be?

Once I thought myself free,

now I'm but a beast of burden;

providing transport for a flea,

know I'm slow, beg your pardon.

Soon I tire of this little game,

swat the interloper with my hand.

Not very true was my aim,

now it circles round, makes to land.

Quick I slam the fridge with backhand!

Killed the bugger, life is grand!

(Ow, I hurt my hand.)

- end

Book values on Create-Space

Give them a look-see.  Thanks!

Experimental Tales www.createspace.com/4973862

The Osmotics www.createspace.com/4661301

Mirror Worlds www.createspace.com/3633147

A Strange Enterprise www.createspace.com/4281639

Future Property www.createspace.com/3859469

Shadow Intersection www.createspace.com/4113022

- end

Seek the Cool

“Hot down, summer in the city”

Goes a popular song.

Dog day heat oppresses;

time to cool down

take a dip in waters

blue or brown,

river or aquatic center.

In big towns and small the pools are full.

Short sleeves, tops down,

Motorcycles and bicycles explode

onto city roads.

People are out, everywhere.

Sweat, heat, sun and sizzle;

what we long for in winter,

we begin to despise by late summer.

But we endure, and our reward comes.

Refreshing fall cool spells

spoil us all again and we are

ill-prepared as usual

for winter's

recurring hells.

- end

Cookies

Apparently there was some kind of ruling by the European Union.  So here is my semi-official notice to any readers across the oceans:  Google and Google Analytics may place cookies on your computers.  If you wish,you can certainly go to your Cookies folder and delete these after reading this or other blogs.  There should be some kind of official Google notice on this matter as well.  But this is a simple, mainly textual blog.   Any cookies would probably be related to ad-tracking.  Again, try and locate the "Cookies" folder on your particular computer and delete them if you do not want these on your machine.  Thank you.

Saving our World

To progress, we must regress.

Drop back to simpler technologies.

Human-powered vehicles,

sun-powered homes,

decentralized utilities.

Backwards is the new forwards.

We here in the US get it –

if only the other 90+ percent

of Earth's people

would get the same 'clue.'

Here is hoping they do,

and we keep getting it too.

• end

Times and Relatives passed

How fast it is all over,

How soon relatives are sent

to the great beyond out there,

The monies left all get spent.

Left with only memories,

happy times and love;

thought of past times please

oneself more than a treasure trove.

Routine reality binds one to all,

no ungainly, unusual windfall

to generate shame and a downfall.

Rest enjoyed at home, not in any mall.

Good memories of my mom and dad

remain long after the cash has fled.

They will always make my heart glad,

long after any inheritance has been bled.

• end

We Should Carry On

Here is hoping that the youth in this country and others get interested in space exploration, and carry the torch. Since the New Horizons probe reached Pluto, we have made it to every classical planet in our Solar System, in the space of 50 years. To bridge the time until humans make the outward journey to settle distant worlds, our younger generation must continue to explore. They can use telescopes and space probes to learn everything the can about our mighty Solar System. So that when the day arrives for distant astronauts to make outward journeys, they will know what to expect, and how to get where they are going.

One plan involves establishing a permanent base on the Moon. Three astronauts could get this started, landing in a huge crater with a beefed-up version of the old Lunar Lander. They could use an inflatable living module, (modeled on the Bigelow inflatable habs) anchored to the wall of a crater. More of these modules could be sent up later as add-ons. Meantime, the astronauts would get busy setting up a primitive mining camp. They would survey the area, search for useful ores, and work on smelting the ores and fashioning structural members for a meteor shield. This in addition to valuable astronomical observing and the like. Over the course of a decade or so, a large base could be established and re-supplied in this manner.

A regular, routine flight service to the Moon and back would have to be established, using expendable rockets, or perhaps a Moon Shuttle that would dock with the ISS, and then land on the Moon, and return. Fuel depots could be built near the Colony - but not too close. This could and should be an international effort. If a permanent budget allocation could be agreed upon, and set, for this endeavor, then the colony could be a reality. Humanity would then have a permanent foothold on the Moon. From there, they could erect larger spacecraft to go further out. Next stop, Mars.

This is worth doing for several reasons. The international co-operation it would generate. The resource availability. The new frontier aspect, where humanity could aspire to go further than the Earth, to go out and reach new vistas. Technologies would be developed that would have applications on Earth. The money spent would be a good investment, generating returns both tangible and intangible. Most of all, the youth of today and tomorrow would have something to look forward to besides ever-more-violent games and constant warfare. In my view, exploration beats extermination any day. Let's do it.

Thanks for reading.

Does Dr Who think in circles

Time is just an overarching term for moving forward, going on, a process unfolding. And if we try to go back, re-fold or go backwards, all we are really doing is starting another process that moves forward – the Arrow of Process. You can't undo that without re-initializing new process. Everything we do vibrates forward – to un-vibrate is impossible.

But nature and evolution have given us one great way to re-create the past: our long-term memories, where we can relive the past endlessly, however inaccurate. Of course there are artificial means, including journals, video documentaries, etc. But to actually counter the massive force of reality in all its manifestations and go back in time – no way. Stuff of fiction, period. 

YMMV.  Have a great weekend.

 

Tagged

Humanity reaches long,

stretches eager arms far distances,

all the way out to touch Pluto.

A distant, faint Kuiper-belt object

we strained towards and finally grasped.

One more generation, one more planet – or planetesimal.

Humanity's reach extended further across the cosmos.

If our Solar System were a stadium,

we knocked the ball out of the park.

It will only whet our appetites for more!

Someday human-crewed ships will cross

vast distances and see Pluto, up close

and personal. Present scientists will be a memory,

their names used to tag future features of

asteroid and planetary landscapes.

Congratulations are in order:

We refrained from destroying

ourselves or our planet long enough

to reach out and photograph yet another.

Well done, Human Race. :-)

- end

Another beautiful weekend in Central Iowa

Star Trek festival, Art show, Walk in the park, etc.   Lots going on this time of year.  Hope all can enjoy it half as much as I have.

- end

Book Values still available

Here they are:

New Venture - two guys on an asteroid, anything can happen - and does.  (not a love story)
www.createspace.com/5346916

The Osmotics - in an aquatic vision of the future, a young man embarks on a life-changing journey.
www.createspace.com/4661301

Shadow Intersection - a collection of poems.  Light summer reading.
www.amazon.com/dp/1481859412



Enjoy, and have a wonderful day.

Greenery Frames Chicanery

They buzz, keen, hover,

probe, bite, sting...

DEET defenses little comfort against tiny

dive-bombers attacking.

Sweet Cicada serenades fade,

replaced by mosquito brigades.

Moths flutter at the fringes,

tease eyesight with motes of excitement.

In the winter there are no bugs;

we shiver and stomp through snow un-assaulted.

Cold and wet on a day in January,

but one will soon dry - seems great from a distance.

But on this summer morning beauty

shimmers and gives way to heavy heat.

Sweaty bodies slap, trying to fend off gnats.

“Was this what we were waiting for?”

yep yep yep.

 

Solstice sweetness

Gorgeous weather for camping out, grilling, swimming or just about anything.  Hope one and all have a great time this summer, no matter what the challenges.

Brains in the City

I am hungry for flesh,

that is all I know now.

My pieces fall off if they are damaged,

but I keep walking on shredded feet,

bones protrude and leave a trail.

I follow vibrant fleshy beings,

end up in giant room full of displays:

People keep trying to sell me things,

or have their picture taken with me

(what is a 'picture'?)

Someone discovers I don't have a wristband,

and ushers me out of the room;

When I try to eat their exposed flesh they scream,

security grabs me and throws me out the door.

“Nice costume, guy, but you don't bite people here.”

I manage to rise, and trudge downtown;

the ripe flesh odor overpowers me,

and I try to bite and eat several.

Fleshy fists and hard-shod feet drive me away.

So I end up behind a small red-lit emporium,

and try to pull myself together.

A woman in high heels clicks by, stops, gives me

a look-over, then eyes widen and she runs.

I rise up, but too late. She darts inside a door in

front of the emporium. I try and follow.

The door gives me trouble, but I finally get it open, and scrape-walk in there.

She sees me and screams. Other people gasp. They look tasty too.

But some guy behind the counter is not amused.

He pulls out a pistol and aims at me.

“Get out of here now, buster, or else.”

I reply,

“You can't kill me I am already dead.”

(now how do I know that?)

He fires anyway, and I lose some bits.

I come at him, and he fires again, twice.

He misses, and hits someone else.

Everyone is shrieking or yelling.

I reach the clerk, grab him and bite his forehead.

It tastes delicious...

So the next time someone tells you that

there is good head to be had at the

local adult bookstore,

Believe them!

• a discerning zombie.

Had your renewal lately

Sitting in Church the message was clear,

You are born again of the spirit of God.

No change to your flesh, but to the spirit inside.

As though you were mentally re-made...

This caused me to consider all the ways we

as humans are renewed in spiritual mentality...

As we grow early in life we experience the

wonder of discovery, with parental help.

Then we reach adolescence, and new feelings

come into our consciousness, physical and mental.

Simple two-dimensionality given great depth of

emotion and sensation. Strengthening, we want more.

We get it, growing finally into our early twenties,

full of all the answers, ambitions, potentialities.

Our quickening abilities are nearly godlike;

Conquering, mating, joining with partners,

new offspring come into life. We discover

new priorities and focuses, things that matter most.

Then we are granted a repeat of childhood through

our children's eyes – another renewal.

All along, we are renewed each day from rest,

renewed each weekend by days off,

renewed each season by fresh holidays,

renewed after each winter by summers warmth.

Renewed in middle-age as the kids leave the nest,

and once again we have free time to pursue interests.

There is a life template of renewals in our background,

making it easier to understand the greatest one of all:

rebirth in the spirit of God and granted life eternal.

But of course we must first expire to see if it is true!

Nevertheless, humans have been granted a lot of renewals,

even if they have never owned a car, boat or motorcycle.

- end

 

Common Sense

So we can build a giant pipeline in the 1970's to transport crude oil to the lower 48 states from Alaska to feed our addiction to oil.  But just let some western states, mainly California, wither away from drought, and everyone wrings their hands and cries oh woe is us, whatever do we do? 

Come on, I mean really.  Aren't we still an industrial nation, capable of large-scale projects?  Hello!
We need to construct a 36 inch pipe from either Alaska, or at the very least, Washington state, to California.  Washington state = lots of rain.  California = lots of sun.   So how about California swaps some power for Washington water, and everyone gets something they need.   Do we not have any daring left in this country?  Any can-do spirit?  This is one time we can pull together as Americans and solve a large-scale problem, not to mention create a lot of jobs in the process.   And the environmental impact of a water spill is, gosh, maybe a pond or a puddle here and there.    Something we could probably live with. 

Support a pipeline to transport a life-giving substance from an abundant location to one where it is desperately needed.   Let's build a water pipe to California today. 

After all, the Romans did it 2000 years ago...

Merry Merry June

So much greenery everywhere you look,

perfumed air reverberates with birdsong.

Gorgeous outdoor scenery echoes internal moods,

promise of vacation trips get closer and closer...

Local newscasts once again warn of flooding,

storms, funnel clouds and high winds aplenty.

June is right around the corner, June the joyful

month still full of difficult times battling weather.

In deepest winter we long for sun's warmth,

gentle breezes, floral scents and outdoor fun.

Summer has its own difficulties, from grass that

shoots up fast to falling trees or twister devastation.

Still, one can pause and be thankful on summer's cusp,

take in the visual and olfactory banquet provided us.

Better than snow and ice and biting December gales...

To sit outdoors or in the water and tell tall tales.

Have a joyful and excellent summer one and all.

www.dycen-alexander.com