tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-656985260371951472012-01-21T20:59:09.581-08:00My full essence menu, including the mandatory bad java jolts, delectable entrees, innervisions appetizers, musical life refrains, open mike night, and all the conversations with myself that bear sharing....Life is a moveable feast, but no second helpings. Savor it now.Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.comBlogger311100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-86884489716798024102012-01-16T09:28:00.000-08:002012-01-16T09:28:19.077-08:00

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent. ~~ Martin Luther King, Jr. We move ahead, we fall back.  We try to stand again. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s struggles in the 60's are ours today, and we should be mindful that progress is a

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-23716535362786381892011-10-14T22:56:00.000-07:002011-10-14T22:56:43.587-07:00

  Normally the term "October Surprise" refers to a dramatic political event timed to sway voters that first week in November.  My favorite October Surprise was the dramatic entry of my son on the 15th of October, 1978.  We had him pencilled in the appointment book for December, but apparently he had other ideas.  Not the last time, just the first time. 1978 was a mixed bag.  There were three

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-6751817194324754162011-10-08T11:20:00.000-07:002011-10-08T11:32:02.634-07:00

Reflection.  There's not a year that goes by that I don't linger and listen to this song when the calendar page turns to October. Barry Manilow was one of Tim's guilty pleasures, although he was not the type to feel guilty about his choices.  This song embraces the poignancy of this time of the year for me - my favorite season and memories of my favorite guy, all in one brilliant Johnny Mercer

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-54394870914946936712011-05-20T21:01:00.000-07:002011-05-20T21:01:04.759-07:00

I'm posting Song Saturday on Friday on the off chance the world is ending.  Of course I know it won't because the Mayans have pointed us to 2012 and I haven't finished my spring cleaning.  The billboard around town has been touting this harder than a studio gearing up for the Oscars. To believe it, the faithful will be snatched up and the rest of us will be left here to endure a hellish

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-13809004685046428702011-05-07T19:07:00.000-07:002011-05-07T19:10:11.564-07:00

Sometimes the messy threads of life unravel and re-form into a great big bow.  Sometimes you unknowingly attach to something that lasts, permeating your consciousness with such force that even a slight nod to that memory brings a special kind of bliss.  Those moments suspend time, destroying momentarily its linear power.  Leon Russell's music is one such thread in my life.  College years -

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-57720181083139977352011-04-23T15:28:00.000-07:002011-04-23T15:28:20.029-07:00

These days, whenever Easter completes its calendar roving and suddenly is upon us, my thoughts go to 2007.  Tim's last Easter...the one after the terminal diagnosis...the one that had children and grandchildren gathered around for what we knew was the last Easter. Having shared the Catholic kid experience, our conversations often delved into spiritual questions and dilemnas - his well-developed

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-6897964331028153942011-03-12T13:24:00.000-08:002011-03-12T13:24:50.050-08:00

Tectonic forces:  forces originating beneath the surface that alter the surface configuration of the earth as a result of tectonic plate movement.  We are all connected these days. Global economies, global social networks, global environments, global networks. So, when a tremendous force such as the recent earthquake in Japan and resulting tsunamis occur, the shockwaves

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-67201286897037001182011-02-23T21:50:00.000-08:002011-02-23T23:10:02.815-08:00

Fatwa:  A legal pronouncement in Islam, issued by a religious law specialist on a specific issue. Substitute certain legislators and judges for Islamic law specialists and you may sense that the current right wing agenda includes legal prohibitions with Jesusland evangelical underpinnings targeting any sense of progress and personal control for American women.   The one-sided monologue goes

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-6559962807463196462011-02-19T03:11:00.000-08:002011-02-19T03:37:27.668-08:00

The gloves are off in Wisconsin.  The naked ambition of the 'conservative' agenda is on full display and the Wisconsin hibernation season is abruptly ended.  People are massing in the streets - they sense the desperate moments are here.   Soon, the TeaPartiers will be there, organizing against their own interests, unknowingly complicit in the attempted destruction of the American middle class.

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-27475028188925114112010-12-14T19:58:00.000-08:002010-12-17T16:56:09.386-08:00

"If you can awaken inside the familiar and discover it new, you need never leave home..." Ted Kooser Nebraskan and U.S. Poet Laureate 2004-06 Perhaps I hadn't quite learned this lesson.  Perhaps it was because it was that time of the year that required vacation - the lull before the work cycle storm of January.  Perhaps it was my restless mind seeking a rest and, like a homing pigeon, looking

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-59228927288741985442010-11-28T15:32:00.000-08:002010-11-28T15:37:40.941-08:00

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.  ~~ Erma Bombeck  I have no Thanksgiving leftovers in the traditional sense.  Hit the road with Buster and enjoyed a feast with the Amazon Grandchild. She is growing and glowing and I realize that time slides quickly holiday by holiday when you are

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-89463640250724371252010-11-15T23:18:00.000-08:002010-11-15T23:18:42.032-08:00

November 16 - Tim's birthday.  My poem for his birthday on our old blog platform - it turned out to be his last birthday in 2006 - his 52nd.  He was, like his hero JFK, a fatalist who raged against the dimming of the light.  He always believed he would die young.  He did. When you rob the cradle in your 40's There's no need to worry about teething biscuits There's lots to chew on with a

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-64209285221754237822010-10-13T01:04:00.000-07:002010-10-13T01:25:05.896-07:00

"The world is not fair, and often fools, cowards, liars and the selfish hide in high places. "~Bryant H. McGill I sometimes wonder when someone is going to write the definitive book "When Good Things Happen to Bad People."  Karl Rove deserves his own chapter for an intelligence devoted to exploring the Dark Side of the American psyche. Karl Rove is Watergate's Donald Segretti gone rabid.

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-72158874388494859072010-09-22T21:00:00.000-07:002010-09-22T21:15:10.930-07:00

My favorite season is here at last.  The early-now nights a little crisper, The trees prepare to launch the pirouetting leaves, Between sun and shade, the illusion comes Nature's ironic wink - recycle and replenish My illusions are more obvious Solitude approaching holidays tumbling one after another Is this a reminder of endings or beginnings The conflicting colors of autumn The greens

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-16634571566269357442010-09-22T02:00:00.000-07:002010-09-22T18:21:16.651-07:00

Today we held a special lunch for a whole batch of newly minted retirees.  The traditional Chico bbq trailer  for the tri-tip was wheeled in along with barrels for roasting many chickens.  Veggie burgers had been prepared and huge bowls of salad and beans along with grilled garlic bread were spread out in a now vacant section of the building which is now used as a yoga center and workout space

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-63134120877525327762010-08-30T21:43:00.000-07:002010-08-30T22:04:01.467-07:00

THE DANCE OF THE PUPPETS: The rusted chains of prison moons Are shattered by the sun. I walk a road, horizons change The tournament's begun. The purple piper plays his tune, The choir softly sing; Three lullabies in an ancient tongue, For the court of the crimson king. Scene:  Lucifer in his study, hunched over computer, contemplating his next move. Suddenly, an instant message.

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-36258726503494741572010-08-28T22:53:00.000-07:002010-08-28T23:09:47.507-07:00

"I didn't have time to be anyone's muse... I was too busy rebelling against my family and learning to be an artist." -- Leonora Carrington, 1983 Now that my blog rhythm is returning, I am continuing to ease back into writing by falling back on the yahoo writer's prompts.  Sundays are Art Sundays, a chance for me to delve into the visual arts and visit inspirations new and old. My

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-1605885042203084842010-08-28T09:45:00.000-07:002010-08-28T10:22:17.293-07:00

I wrote the following in August 2006 when New Orleans was still abandoned, the citizens still relocated, the housing still debris one year after Katrina rolled through and the levees were breached.  Now approaching the five-year anniversary, it's still difficult to gauge what has been lost forever. In my visits to New Orleans, what impressed me most was the unique vibrancy that was completely

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-54223847403876639792010-08-25T22:23:00.000-07:002010-08-25T23:48:00.873-07:00

Most fathers don't see the war within the daughter, her struggles with conflicting images of the idealized and flawed father, her temptation both to retreat to Daddy's lap and protection and to push out of his embrace to that of beau and the world beyond home.   ~~ Victoria Secunda Another August 26, Dad's second birthday since he died in July 2009.  Still miss him, still realizing all the

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-77743494463473291912010-08-22T15:08:00.000-07:002010-08-22T16:20:38.949-07:00

Although I think of myself as primarily a visual learner, I've realized in retrospect that the auditory has more subversively affected my life.  Despite a writer/reader''s love for the sight of type on white, the things I've heard have retained their effect on my thinking and my mood far more significantly; my memory box is more immediately and richly opened by music and sound. As a child in the

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-20079074856639236872010-08-06T22:51:00.000-07:002010-08-06T23:10:50.889-07:00

Bush ManLove From Waterbro blog June 8, 2007 The public discourse shouldn't be about the governmental role in hetero marriages while limiting gays to "civil unions." Rather than seeking to alter the Constitution, a strict constructionist would see that civil unions should be available to all, while marriage is something private and more religious than governmental. Mexico is an example of a

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-66033236568452553522010-08-02T20:01:00.000-07:002010-08-25T23:48:42.751-07:00

Didn't procrastinate this time -- just so busy with work that I didn't have time to find a new artist and read up before blogging.  Day late, dollar short.....story of our lives lately? Anyhow, I live in a small town with a growing art footprint.  Featured today are some of the many murals around town.  Nothing like a touch of paint on some bland surface to add that ambience that makes this a

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-57508923141782337022010-07-29T21:48:00.000-07:002010-07-29T21:54:05.318-07:00

There are apparently days when I am totally unencumbered by normal fears or anxieties and the channels open and the small weirdnesses of the universe are somehow magnetically attracted to my exact location....is there a secret GPS signal encoded with my dna that brings these visitors? Today, while pumping gas into Vanna White, I had such an encounter.  I was fueling up, my mind ticking off all

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-75052688933805357932010-07-27T20:38:00.000-07:002010-07-27T21:45:54.474-07:00

All over the teevee news and the internets, folks are up in arms about the apparent overpricing of the local administrators and Councilmembers by themselves.  Crooks, corrupt etc. My take, coming from local government, looks a little askew and wonders:  where were the voters, the local news media, the local government gadflies who hold our toes to the fire, deserved or not,. From the LA Times

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-60371845043994165572010-07-24T12:06:00.000-07:002010-07-24T12:12:27.668-07:00

When in doubt or the two unscathed brain cells just won't compute for a long piece, revive a Y360 blogging prompt and share a favorite piece of music for your daily pensee....The photo, well, the dog is enough like my constant compnion Buster that I just have to use it. The song, by Alberta Hunter, still kickin' it in her 80's in this video, is a great bluesy tune that Clapton revived for the

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-31373013322615809802010-07-23T20:52:00.000-07:002010-07-23T21:01:42.392-07:00

A repost from my Yahoo 360 blog dated 11/28/2006 - my 55th birthday.  I had been blogging for about 11 months by that point and developed surprisingly enriching friendships with fellow bloggers, all literate inspirations in so many ways.  They were with me right through Tim's death seven months later and buttressed my grief and shock with heartfelt stories and tributes.  One friend, Stephanie,

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-31279305355119165552010-07-20T18:14:00.000-07:002010-07-20T20:24:02.435-07:00

With apologies to two superb wordsmiths, Cole Porter and William Shakespeare, I couldn't resist giving Palin a little advice from an English major via a Porter tune.  A bastardization, but not 'refudiation,' of a great song from Porter's Kiss Me, Kate, well, that's my best shot today.  Enjoy Porter's real McCoy (and not real McCain) in the YouTube offering of today. Dear Sarah Re:  How to

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-2519507702317541452010-07-19T09:41:00.000-07:002010-07-19T12:06:34.912-07:00

An unexpected road trip brings unanticipated reminders of Tim. I took my friend Kristin's book, a collection of her Yahoo 360 blogs, entitled Dirty Laundry & Leaps of Faith. In one blog written after her mother-in-law died, she describes a praying mantis that rather unusually hovered for an hour in her backyard after landing on her young daughter's shoulder. She writes, "It reminded me of a

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-3622430001091298752010-07-11T17:58:00.000-07:002010-07-11T18:25:28.848-07:00

If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would promise them missionaries for dinner. ~~ H. L. Mencken Republicans used to be organized and moderate.  But there has been a distressing exodus of otherwise moderates in the GOP to supporting the lunatic but vocal fringe of birthers, American exceptionalism, and Obama is a (Socialist, Communist, Nazi...fill in your favorite

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-57838075991475324582010-07-05T23:14:00.000-07:002010-07-05T23:24:01.735-07:00

I write to tell my grandchildren where they come from, and what their grandparents were up to , and I hope they will in their own way continue.  I invite anyone else to listen in.       ~~ Arthur Hertzberg My yahooligan blogger friends know this character well - the Amazon Grandchild.  What else is one to call someone whose parents both scrape the sky at 6'3?"  I'm a Lilliputian in comparison

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65698526037195147.post-63559027516954957362010-07-04T19:27:00.000-07:002010-07-04T19:29:15.527-07:00

"The New Colossus" Not like the brazen giant of Greek fameWith conquering limbs astride from land to land;Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall standA mighty woman with a torch, whose flameIs the imprisoned lightning, and her nameMother of Exiles. From her beacon-handGlows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,"Keep, ancient lands, your

Crishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12184087081907695409noreply@blogger.com2