A VIEW FROM THE LEDGE (Or, Brother can you spare an acorn?)

Got a beat-up glove, a home-made bat And a brand new pair of shoes You know I think it’s time to give this game a ride Just to hit the ball, and touch ’em all A moment in the sun It’s a-gone and you can tell that one good-bye (Centerfield-John Fogarty) On Nov. 11th of… Continue reading Beisbol Been Berry Berry Good

In the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales For the disrobed faceless forms of no position Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts All down in taken-for-granted situations Tolling for the deaf an’ blind, tolling for the mute For the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled prostitute For the misdemeanor outlaw,… Continue reading Enough is Enough

In the doing of this blog I attempt to stay off the bandwagon of each new headline because generally, in the freshness of whatever the moment is, so many others are much more eloquent than me.  Generally I require some time and distance to toss enough nouns and verbs into a focused salad of my… Continue reading Now is the Perfect Time

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear You’ve got to be taught from year to year It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear You’ve got to be carefully taught   You’ve got to be taught to be afraid Of people whose eyes are oddly made And people whose skin is… Continue reading Lessons Learned and Too Soon Forgotten

It is unlikely that musical icons Glen Campbell and Barbara Cook would ever be featured together on stage, in the studio or in the news. Although, truth be told, stranger things have happened. In September, 1977 Bing Crosby, was doing a Christmas television special and somebody connected to the shindig opined that David Bowie was… Continue reading The Librarian and the Rhinestone Cowboy

Media reports did not frame Willie Cody Godbolt’s slaughter of eight human beings including two children at a family gathering as an act of terrorism. After all, he wasn’t acting in the name of Islam, he wasn’t a Middle Eastern national and his motives weren’t political or ideological. He was simply, angry. Try explaining to… Continue reading Anger Management

Graduation: 1 :  a mark on an instrument or vessel indicating degrees or quantity; also :  these marks 2a :  the award or acceptance of an academic degree or diploma b :  commencement 3 :  arrangement in degrees or ranks May your hands always be busy May your feet always be swift May you have… Continue reading On Graduating

Linda Ronstadt and I had an affair.  After a period of all too many years we drifted apart. Other lovers called and we both had other trails to explore. As she sang on the Jimmy Webb composition “we never really made it baby, but we came pretty close. Adios, adios”.  Linda likely doesn’t remember all… Continue reading Cry Like a Rainstorm…Howl Like the Wind

Throughout the most recent football season Colin Kaepernick, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49’ers declined to stand for the Star Spangled Banner. Football being our national religion, certain politicians have sought to frame this as a sacrilegious act. Their idea of patriotism is wearing flag lapel pins as they sing the praises of family… Continue reading In Search of a True National Anthem

The War Between the States ended one hundred and fifty two years ago but hostilities continue.  Our divisions are no longer strictly geographical, but it can be argued the roots spring from that most disquieting time when brother fought brother in bloody battle not for home defense or principal but rather for an intolerable economic… Continue reading Un Civil Wars