As the Trump administration continues its anti-woke, anti-DEI crusade. calls for canceling the observation of Black History and other special identity months have
proliferated. CO Pilot provides a useful summary of the state of play at the end of this article.
But first, I wanted to share a few of my “Black Lives Matter” poems, followed by a discussion/review of three documentaries on three black history pioneers from the Bay Area and some reflections on my Father’s (Curtis Cosmos Aller, Jr,) civil rights legacy.
University of Chicago? where’s that? Black/White America
There are two Americas
A black and white America
A mostly white middle-class, and upper class America
And a mostly black and brown lower-class America.
It has been this way
Since the beginning.
Most white Americans
Do not see the other America,
Almost invisible to them.
Most of the other America
Barely notices
Middle-class America
All around them.
This was vividly driven home
To me
Back in 1977.
I had gone to Chicago
To visit a friend
At the University of Chicago.
I made the mistake of taking the L train
back to the University
the L station was in Woodlawn
five long dangerous dark blocks away
I was the only white dude
on the train and street.
but in a whole different universe.
the University of Chicago stop
Is on the private commuter line.
Getting off, I asked five random people
Where was the University of Chicago?
The University of Chicago was
One of the most famous, prestigious universities
In the whole world.
But to the residents
Of the urban nightmare slum,
That was Woodlawn
back then,
The university could have been
The other side of the moon
for no one knew
exactly where it was.
Now I hear
It is a student and faculty housing
Neighborhood
Newly trending.
With most of the old residences
Long ago forced out
Due to ever-rising rents
And property taxes
As the University of Chicago
Spreads out colonizing
The nearby neighborhoods.
Most said University.
before pointing out,
it is over there somewhere.
They were nice enough
But wondering
How this strange white boy
Got lost
In their hood.
I am lucky
I was not mugged,
for my ignorance.
Just wrong place, wrong time
Sort of thing after all
A place where white boys
Feared to go.
Of course, back then,
I was a 6 2 230 pound white dude,
with wild crazed eyes
behind my glasses
I could be mobbed up
Or someone important
Or the child of someone powerful.
I just gave off that vibe
I supposed.
So, no one wanted
to mess with me.
When I got back,
Everyone was amazed
that I had survived
the five-block walk after dark.
Truth be told
That was a scary walk
after dark.
With lots of scary-looking dudes
With violence in their dark dead eyes
looking at me.
I said it was not too bad
But did not take the L train again.
During my trip to Chicago.
In the summer of 1977.
Three Bay Area Black History Pioneers
I wanted to highlight a couple of documentaries my high school friend Matt Jacobson was involved with that highlight four black history pioneers in the Bay Area.
Walter Gordon Story
Walter Gordon was a trailblazer in both sports and law. He was the first Black graduate of UC Berkeley’s Boalt Law School and had a distinguished career in law enforcement, civil rights, and prison reform. Gordon was also an All-American football player at UC Berkeley, making significant contributions to the field.
Gene Ransom, known as “The Dream,” was a prominent basketball player from Berkeley, California. He was a standout athlete at Berkeley High School (BHS) and later played for the University of California, Berkeley (Cal) from 1975 to 1978. Standing at 5’9″, Ransom was known for his exceptional skills and tenacity on the court. He was inducted into the California Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001. After his playing career, Ransom became a coach and mentor, working with youth through programs like Athletes United for Peace. He played at BHS while I was there. But, unfortuately, he died after a random road rage accident in 2022.
Gene Ransom, a former basketball star at the University of California, Berkeley, who was tragically killed in a shooting incident on Interstate 880 in Oakland, California, on February 4, 2022. The incident was believed to be a case of road rage, and a suspect was arrested and charged with murder1.
Gene Ransom was well-known in the Bay Area sports community and had a significant impact as a player and coach. He was involved in community work through organizations like Athletes United for Peace, aiming to provide healthy alternatives for youth caught up in street violence2.
It’s a heartbreaking loss for his family, friends, and the community. If you’d like to read more about it, you can find detailed articles on the incident. Former basketball great Gene Ransom, 65, is shot dead while driving on Oakland freeway: Suspected road rage gunman is arrested for violent crime plagues Bay Area The basketball star, 65, was killed while was driving north along Interstate 880 in Oakland around 5pm, the county’s fire department said
CHP responded to the scene after a witness called 911 when they saw Ransom’s car veering on the interstate, and believed the driver had a medical emergency
Officials later confirmed that Ransom had been struck by gunfire before crashing into the guardrail
He is the latest victims of gun violence in crime-ridden California, where shootings and violent crimes are on the rise. In 2020, California saw the largest jump in homicide deaths in the state history since 1960, with 500 more deaths reported than in 2019
Over the past year, Oakland experienced a 21percent increase in shooting incidents, the most since 2012
Former University of California at Berkley basketball legend Gene Ransom was killed as he was driving on a freeway during an apparent road-rage incident in the crime-ravaged Bay Area and the suspected gunman has been arrested. Ransom, 65, was found dead in his car after being shot, crashing into the media and coming to stop in the middle of Interstate 880 in Oakland around 5:15pm on Friday, the city’s Fire Department said.
California Highway Patrol (CHP) arrested 25-year-old Juan Angel Garcia of San Francisco on Saturday and charged him with murder. A friend said Ransom was driving to pick up his girlfriend at the West Oakland train when the shooting occurred. Ransom’s girlfriend ‘was waiting for him to pick her up and not knowing that he had been murdered,’ said Doug Harris, former teammate and long-time friend of Ransom.
CHP investigators said the motive appeared to be road rage and the shooting was targeted. They said Ransom was in a black Honda Civic and Garcia was traveling north on I-880 on a black Lexus.
Garcia allegedly pulled up on his Ransom’s left side and opened fire at least once.
Son of former Cal athlete killed in I-880 shooting remembers his dad who ‘showed love to everyone’
The California Highway Patrol announced an arrest on Friday’s I-880 freeway in Oakland which took the life of a Bay Area sports legend Gene Ransom.
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) — The California Highway Patrol announced an arrest on Friday’s I-880 freeway in Oakland which took the life of a Bay Area sports legend Gene Ransom.
The CHP arrested 25 year-old Juan Angel Garcia of San Francisco charging him with murder. Authorities say a motive for the shooting is still under investigation.
“He was probably one of the biggest players to come out of Berkeley High,” said Doug Harris.
Harris is talking about his best friend, Gene Ransom, a star basketball player in the 1970s at Berkeley High School and Cal Berkeley who got a tryout with the Warriors.
“Not only a good friend to me but the entire Bay Area sports community,” said Harris.
His best friend is not only remembering Gene by his accolated, but by his heart.
Harris says Ransom was involved in “Athletes United for Peace,” a local nonprofit working to combat violence in Berkeley, Oakland and Richmond.
“The very thing we worked so hard to prevent for our young people, he has been a victim of, so this is really hard for me,” Harris added.
The California Highway Patrol announced an arrest on Friday’s I-880 freeway in Oakland which took the life of a Bay Area sports legend Gene Ransom.
‘Horrible loss’ friends say @CalMBBall Hall of Famer Gene Ransom was killed in Oakland I-880 freeway shooting on Friday. pic.twitter.com/l5iftF2Wm7
For decades Gene gave back to East Bay. Kevin McGlothlin knew him as “Coach Gene.”
“He is a community leader. He is a community icon,” said McGlothin.
Gene Ransom went back to Berkeley High to invest in young basketball talent. His students remember him as fierce competitor and an inspiring coach.
“He expected the best out of us. Our team coached our freshmen team. We were undefeated that year. He expected us to perform at a high level,” said McGlothin.
But for many, the lessons that will last a lifetime are the ones Gene taught off the court.
Families of Oakland freeway shooting victims are calling for action from elected officials to do something to stop the senseless violence on highways.
“My mom was killed senselessly and in 2007 he was there to support me through that. He showed up to the funeral and was definitely a big support during that time for me,” said McGlothin.
In the basketball world he was known as Gene “the dream” Ransom, but to Thaxter Ransom he was simply dad. In this statement his son said:
“My father was and still is a great man, he was a major influence in the East Bay Area community. He showed love to everyone he met and came across sometimes as a flirtation. That was him Gene ‘the dream’ Ransom. He opened the door for future basketball stars who came out of the Bay Area. He was looked up to and loved by many. I’ll never forget him and will always love him.”
A documentary produced by Doug Harris called Tournament of Champions; Legends of Northern California High School Basketball, features Ransom at playing the game Berkeley High School. He played three seasons for the Cal Men’s Basketball team, landing him a spot in the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. Cal Athletics called him one of greatest players in the program’s history.
In a statement the department said:
“We are shocked to hear the reports that Cal Athletics Hall of Famer Gene Ransom has been identified as a victim in a deadly freeway shooting. Our thoughts are with gene’s family and friends for this tragic loss.”
William Byron Rumford was the first African American elected to a state public office in Northern California. He served as a California State Assemblyman from 1949 to 1967. Rumford was a pharmacist by profession and owned Rumford’s Pharmacy in Berkeley. He is best known for authoring the California Fair Housing Act (also known as the Rumford Act) in 1963, which aimed to end racial discrimination in housing. Despite facing significant opposition and the eventual repeal of the act by Proposition 14 in 1964, the Rumford Act was restored in 1966 and later reinforced by the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to the Rumford Act, the East Bay was defacto segregated into a mostly white Hills and a mostly minority flats district, sadly that patten still continues to some extent.
Fair Legislation: The Byron Rumford Story” on YouTube: Fair Legislation: The Byron Rumford Story.
Commentary: My father, Curtis Cosmos Aller, Jr was a good friend of Bryon Rumford and I remember my father talking about him.
My father’s Civil Rights Involvement
My father was involved in some of the activities depicted in the documentary. He w as also put on a list of suspected communists during his time at the University of Washington in the 1940s when he led the succesful effort to integrate the University and then led the effort to allow Black students to live on campus in integrated dormitories. The FBI interviewed my father’s roommate and wanted to know if my father was a communist. My father’s roommate told the FBI to go f*** themselves, or words to that effect. I met my father’s roommate many years ago and he told me that story.
Several years later, during the Truman era, my mother was president of the Pacific Bell Telephone Workers’ Union. President Truman was going to San Francisco to meet union leaders, and the FBI interviewed my mother and asked her if she was a communist.
She told the FBI, “I don’t know where they find FBI Agents. I mean, you guys must be pretty dumb. If I were a communist, do you think I would tell you?”
She told them to f*** off and her parting words were, “Tell Harry that I don’t want to meet him unless he wants to meet me.”
They reported that to President Truman, and when they met, the San Francisco. the headline read, “Harry Meets Mary!” Has this occurred a few years before my time, maybe in 1951 or 1952?
My father was involved in anti-communist efforts during that time as the communists were very much part of the
civil rights movement and my father and others felt that the communists were exploiting Black people for their own nefarious reasons. In that sense, Walter
Gordon and my father were allied. I do not know if they ever met but I am sure they knew each other.
My father was a good friend of Governor Pat Brown and was a member of various state advisory boards in the late 50s and early 60s. He was also
friends with Judge Sweeney and others elected Black officials in the Bay Area.
That did not include Ron Dellums! They did not get along as my father was the best friend of the long-running Congressman from Berkeley that Dellums defeated in 1972, which led to my father running against Congressman Ron Dellums in 1974. In the movie, they mention a Dellems, and I wonder if that was Ron Dellums’ father or relative?
My father led the fight to desegregate the University of Washington in the 40’s. For that, he was listed as a possible communist by the CIA. Later my father set up the first Federal government Manpower training programs which had the goal of providing training to underrepresented groups including African Americans. He led the settlement of the SF student strike in 1969 which led to the founding of African American studies at SF State.
Co-Pilot provided background info:
Curtis Cosmos Aller Jr. He was a prominent figure in the educational and cooperative movements in the East Bay during the 1970s and 1980s. He served as the President of the Berkeley Co-op, a large consumer cooperative that played a significant role in the community by providing affordable goods and fostering a sense of collective ownership. His leadership helped maintain the Co-op’s operations during a time of political and economic challenges1.
Additionally, Curtis Cosmos Aller Jr. was the President of the Peralta Community Colleges in the East Bay, overseeing the administration and growth of the district’s educational institutions. His tenure contributed to the expansion and improvement of educational opportunities for the community.
The San Francisco State Student Strike of 1968-1969 was a significant event in the history of higher education in the United States. It was led by the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF), a coalition of student organizations of color. The strike began on November 6, 1968, and lasted until March 21, 1969, making it the longest student strike in U.S. history.
The students demanded the establishment of an autonomous department for Ethnic Studies, increased representation of faculty and students of color, and more support for minority students. The strike was marked by daily rallies, marches, and confrontations with the administration1.
The strike ended with a significant victory for the students: the establishment of the first College of Ethnic Studies in the United States at San Francisco State University. This achievement paved the way for similar programs at other universities across the country3.
Ending Black History Month
The Pentagon announced it is no longer celebrating Black History month or other special observations. The Pentagon’s decision to stop celebrating Black History Month and other cultural awareness months was announced on January 31, 2025. You can read more about it in this article from Politico: Hegseth axes Pentagon ‘identity months’ the same day Trump calls for Black History Month observance.
As for other calls to quit observing Black History Month, there have been some discussions and actions taken by federal agencies to pause or cancel observances of various cultural and heritage months, including Black History Month. You can find more details in this article from NBC News: Federal agencies bar Black History Month and other ‘special observances’.
Pentagon cancels Black History Month hours before it starts
“Identity Months Dead at DoD,” reads the Jan. 31 Defense Department memo.
The day before the official start of Black History Month in the United States, the U.S. Department of Defense canceled and blocked any celebrations of it and other “identity months.”
The Jan. 31 release from new Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth declares “Identity Months Dead at DoD.” The directive from the secretary’s office argues that “[e]forts to divide the force – to put one group ahead of another – erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution.” Therefore it’s blocking any official commemoration or celebration of cultural awareness and heritage months such as Black History Month and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
“Going forward, DoD Components and Military Departments will not use official resources, to include man-hours, to host celebrations or events related to cultural awareness months,” the new guidance says.
The guidance lists some examples of cultural awareness months, including “National African American/Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and National American Indian Heritage Month.” An updated release from the secretary’s office on Saturday, Feb. 1 added Pride Month to the list of banned heritage celebration months.
Military and civilian personnel “remain permitted to attend these events in an unofficial capacity outside of duty hours,” the guidance says, but cannot use on-the-clock hours or official resources.
Hegseth axes Pentagon ‘identity months’ the same day Trump calls for Black History Month observance
Identity months are officially dead during the Pentagon.
The Defense Department will no longer use “official resources, including man-hours” to celebrate “cultural awareness months,” according to guidance Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth issued Friday — on the eve of Black History Month, which began Saturday
The list of celebrations called out include National African American/Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Pride Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month and National American Indian Heritage Month.
“We are proud of our warriors and their history, but we will focus on the character of their service instead of their immutable characteristics,” the guidance says. It notes that service members and civilians may attend events “in an unofficial capacity outside of duty hours.”
Hegseth’s orders came the same day that President Donald Trump issued a proclamation calling for the recognition of Black History Month.
On Friday, Trump called “upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.”
Asked Friday if agencies that had called off Black History Month activities should reinstate them in response to the proclamation, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters “the president is leading here at the White House.”
A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment.
Federal agencies bar Black History Month and other ‘special observances’
A number of federal agencies have banned celebrations related to MLK Jr. Day, Women’s History Month and other such observances to comply with Trump’s executive orders.
WASHINGTON — Federal agencies on Friday rushed to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at curtailing diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The executive orders prompted a flurry of memos and emails obtained by NBC News that modified the rules for staff at intelligence agencies, in the military and across civilian departments regarding employee resource groups and the celebration of cultural awareness events.
This week, the Defense Intelligence Agency ordered a pause of all activities and events related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Juneteenth, LGBTQ Pride Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day and other “special observances” to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order, according to a memo obtained by NBC News.
The memo listed 11 observances that are now banned. It also said that all affinity groups and “employee networking groups” are immediately on pause.
The directive comes as the Trump administration has made it a top priority to go after any programs perceived to be related to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the federal government.
The DIA did not immediately return a request for comment.
U.S. intelligence agencies are also working to eliminate or suspend any activities that could be interpreted as supporting past DEI policies, multiple current and former officials said. The agencies are still trying to determine what activities or events will be prohibited, but officials are erring on the side of caution rather than risk failing to comply with the administration’s orders, the sources said.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the country’s intelligence services, recently issued written guidance to employees saying that DEI-related boards and working groups have been “curtailed” and that no official work time or workspaces should be used for DEI-related activities, according an excerpt from a memo obtained by NBC News. Future travel related to these activities also has been cancelled, the memo stated.
Pentagon leaders on Friday received a similar email mandating that, effective immediately, they may no longer dedicate official resources, including man-hours, to cultural awareness months.
Service members and civilians will still be permitted to attend these events in an unofficial capacity and outside of duty hours, the memo added.
As for the Central Intelligence Agency, a spokesperson said the agency is carrying out the executive order on scrapping DEI programs.
“CIA is complying with the Executive Order. We are laser-focused on our foreign intelligence mission,” a spokesperson said in an email.
Former intelligence officials said there was a risk that the administration’s moves to eliminate events marking Martin Luther King Day, the Holocaust or Americans’ ethnic heritage could prove counterproductive and discourage potential recruits from joining the intelligence services.
The CIA and other spy agencies for decades have sought to hire from a more diverse pool of talent to ensure the country has intelligence officers with language skills and cultural backgrounds that help improve intelligence gathering abroad.
“From an intelligence community perspective, I really think it could hurt our ability to do our job,” the former senior official said.
“We’re going to strangle off talent pipelines that were already narrow to begin with. And that’s going to deprive our intelligence community and our national security establishment of critical knowledge, talent, skills, language … that might be valuable in trying to get somebody into a foreign country,” the former official added.
On Friday afternoon, the Office of Personnel Management sent a memo, obtained by NBC News, ordering that all references to “gender ideology” be removed by 5 p.m. across the federal government.
The memo stated that this includes removing references from all public-facing websites and social media accounts, and specifically ordered the removal of Outlook prompts that directed staff to write out their pronouns.
In line with that new memo, State Department employees have also been instructed to remove all gender-identifying pronouns from their email signatures by 5 p.m. Friday.
“The Department of State is reviewing all agency programs, contracts, and grants that promote or inculcate gender ideology, and we are removing outward facing media that does the same,” the new Under Secretary for Management Ambassador Tibor P. Nagy wrote in an email — whose subject line was “Defending Women” — reviewed by NBC News. “Bureaus have already been alerted to review trainings, forms, and plans that involve gender ideology.”
Last week, the Justice Department sent a memo to staff announcing the closure of all of its DEI programs, saying, “These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination.”
The Pentagon memo on Friday barring the use of official resources for cultural awareness months echoed the same language, stating that “efforts to divide the force — to put one group ahead of another — erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution.”
Pentagon agency pauses MLK, Holocaust Remembrance, other celebrations
he Pentagon’s intelligence arm has issued a memo pausing any activities related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth, Black History Month, LBGTQ+ Pride Month and Holocaust Remembrance Day, among other “special observances,” according to a defense official who confirmed the authenticity of the memo.
Mr. Trump has emphasized ending recognition of DEI issues and observances as a key part of his agenda, and he suggested Thursday that DEI may bear some blame for the deadly collision between a commercial plane and a Black Hawk helicopter earlier this week, though when asked what evidence he’d seen to support the claim, he responded, “It just could have been. We have a high standard.”
Parts of the Pentagon have tried to comply with the executive order ahead of a formal directive from the Defense Department.
Last weekend, the Air Force revised a course in basic military training related to diversity that also included videos of the Tuskegee Airmen and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). The brief removal of the videos prompted a backlash when the videos were briefly removed from training to review the course.
Lt. Gen. Brian S. Robinson, Air Education and Training Command commander, said in a statement after the review that the course had been revised to focus “on the documented historic legacy and decorated valor with which these units and Airmen fought for our Nation in World War II and beyond.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in his first week on the job established a “Restoring America’s Fighting Force Task Force” to focus on rooting out DEI efforts in the Pentagon. In a memo, he directed the task force to present an initial report in March.
In 1976, President Gerald R. Ford recognized Black History Month. Ten years later, President Ronald Reagan issued Proclamation 5443, recognizing National Black (Afro-American) History Month. In 2025, just after a hellish, chaotic month, at Donald’s urging, the Defense Department’s intelligence agency has paused observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Women’s History Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance, Juneteenth, and other cultural or historical annual events in response to the president’s ban on DEI programs in the federal workplace.
Federal agencies have struggled to interpret Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order ending DEI programs across the government and have taken a broad approach due to lack of clearer guidance from the White House on how to comply.
On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed staff to create a DEI task force to ensure no DEI programs remain in the Pentagon.
“We’re not joking around,” Hegseth said in an interview Wednesday with Fox News. “There’s no changing of games or softly manipulating something. DEI is gone.”
If DEI “is gone,” then explain those two aircraft disasters this week, Pete. I thought you all said that DEI caused them.
Happy Black History Month, y’all. Well, not you, Clarence Thomas.
As part of my goal to read as many of the world’s greatest classic works of literature as I can before I go on to the next world, I have been working my way through classic books.
One of the books, I recently read was Butler, Samuel: “The Way of All Flesh.”
This book, written in the 19th century is a novel about four generations of the fictional Pontifex family. The author grew up with the family as they were from the same town in northern England. The author becomes particularly close with the grandson Earnest and becomes his Godfather, mentor, best friend, and guardian.
Co-pilot provided the following overview.
“The novel draws on Butler’s own life experiences and examines the transmission of Victorian values from one generation to the next.
First Generation: “Old” John Pontifex
John Pontifex, a gentle and artistically gifted carpenter in the village of Pelham, England, marries Ruth. Their son, George, becomes a successful publisher of religious texts.
Commentary: the only Pontifex that seems to have been relatively content with his life.
Second Generation: George Pontifex
George marries and has several children, including Theobald. Theobald becomes a clergyman and marries Christina Allaby.
Commentary: George Pontifex grows up in a religious family but ultimately does not enter the Church but becomes a publisher of Christian books and is well known in the Christian ministries of the time. He pressures his son Theobold to become a minister or risk his inheritance. He is a horrible father, mistreating his children, and his wife, but considers himself to a paragon of Christian virtue.
Third Generation: Theobald and Christina
They raise their children—Ernest, Charlotte, and Joey—in a strict religious environment. Ernest, the central character, attends a boarding school but struggles academically and morally.
Comment: Theobald becomes even more of a tyrant and terror to his children than his own father had been to him. He is determined to beat down any hint of rebellion or independence amongst his children who must obey his every dictate. His wife, tries to mollify his worst parenting instincts. Like his father, he considered himself to be a paragon of religious virtue and had no patience with “dissent” or “Roman Catholicism’
Fourth Generation: Ernest
Ernest’s life takes unexpected turns, including a secret inheritance from his aunt Alethea. His marriage to Ellen, a housemaid, becomes complicated.
Comment: His marriage is indeed complicated as his wife it turned out, was an alcoholic and married to another man so technically thier marriage was considered to be illegitimate, He is left with two children to raise and he finds a home for them. His wife runs off to America with one of her numerous boyfriends. His parents eventually forgive Earnest’s “marriage” as they saw him as a victim of an evil woman which in some sense he was.
Fifth Generation: Alice and Georgie The story continues with Ernest’s illegitimate children, Alice and Georgie. Earnest struggles with what to do about their upbringing and finds a home for them through the help of his Godfather, who was his father’s best friend. despite having a falling out with him over how he was treating his children.
Comment:
The book details the impact of strict Protestantism on children and discusses the age-old problem of fathers and sons. Each of the men in the story has have problems relating to and rearing thier sons. One of the themes of the book is how these family dynamics often continue to impact families, and men in particular don’t seem to be capable of learning from their mistakes as parents. Each of the men in the novel struggle with how to follow their consciousness and their strict interpretation of Christianity as they struggle to raise their children.
The fourth-generation son, Earnest is particularly negatively impacted by his overbearing strict father’s upbringing much as he had had with own father. Earnest wanted to follow his dreams of becoming a composer and musician. But his father was determined that he should go to college and become a minister much as he been forced to become a minister.
Along the way he is derailed and ends up serving six months in prison. Unbeknownst to him, his favorite Aunt, the only person in his family he felt close to, had left him a small inheritance which he gains on his 26th birthday, much to the chagrin of his parents who felt that they should have inherited the family money. This becomes yet another source of parental-children discord. Earnest also falls in love and marries a woman who used to work for his father. She turns out to be an alcoholic and leaves him immigrating to America which another man leaving Earnest to deal with finding a place to raise his illegitimate children. In the end of the novel, father and son attempt to reconcile.
Overall, I found this book to be a powerful indictment of traditional Victorian morality and all that it entails. The novel resonated with me because I had a lot of problems with my own overbearing father just as he had with his father, and I also had estranged relations with my siblings and my mother. To sum up, a powerful somewhat disturbing look at family dynamics that is still very relevant over 150 years later as most of the classic novels tend to be.
Co-pilot provides more background information on the novel and its literary reputation. I
Synopsis:
The Way of All Flesh, written by Samuel Butler, follows several generations of the fictional Pontifex family. The novel draws on Butler’s own life experiences and examines the transmission of Victorian values from one generation to the next.
Literary Reputation:
The Way of All Flesh is a semi-autobiographical novel that boldly critiques Victorian-era hypocrisy. Written between 1873 and 1884, it remained unpublished during Samuel Butler’s lifetime due to its controversial content. However, when it was finally published posthumously in 1903, it was accepted as part of the general reaction against Victorian norms.
Here are some key points about its literary reputation:
Iconoclastic: Samuel Butler’s autobiographical account, informed by his own upbringing and adulthood, exposes the hypocrisy within a Victorian clerical family.
So, as you write your review, keep in mind that this novel is not only a compelling family saga but also a powerful critique of its time. Happy writing! 😊📚345
Certainly! The Way of All Flesh delves into several thought-provoking themes, making it a rich and multifaceted work. Let’s explore some of these themes:
Christianity and Its Variations:
At its core, The Way of All Flesh grapples with different expressions of Christianity. Samuel Butler, through his protagonist Ernest Pontifex, dissects the nuances between high and low Anglicanism, Roman Catholicism, ritualism, and evangelicalism.
The novel doesn’t outright reject Christianity; rather, it critiques specific aspects of Anglicanism. Butler portrays the Anglican Church as demanding blind faith while offering a mishmash of unscientific and self-contradictory teachings. The Church’s insistence on accepting dogma without questioning its reasonableness becomes a central point of contention.
However, scattered throughout the novel are glimpses of another Christianity—one that is rational, humble, and life-affirming. This unorthodox version encourages coherence, compatibility with scientific findings, and a willingness to adapt beliefs based on new information.
Hypocrisy and Social Conventions:
The Way of All Flesh exposes the hypocrisy prevalent in Victorian society. The Pontifex family embodies societal norms, but their actions often contradict their professed values. The novel critiques the gap between public appearances and private realities.
Social conventions—
Especially those related to marriage, family, and religion—are scrutinized. Butler challenges the idea that adhering to societal norms necessarily leads to moral goodness. In some ways this is also a proto-feminist novel as the female characters try to navigate their way through a male dominated society.
Generational Conflict and Rebellion:
comment:
This is strongest element of the novel for me, as it subsumes the other themes into it.
The novel spans multiple generations of the Pontifex family. Each generation grapples with its own set of expectations and norms.
Ernest, the central character, rebels against the rigid structures imposed by his parents and the Church. His intellectual journey takes him from disinterest to orthodoxy and eventually to heterodoxy.
Individual Autonomy and Authenticity:
Ernest’s struggle for autonomy drives the narrative. He seeks to live authentically, even if it means rejecting societal norms.
The tension between conforming to expectations and forging one’s own path is a recurring theme. Ernest’s pursuit of personal truth becomes a powerful force in the novel.
Education and Intellectual Growth:
Education plays a significant role in shaping characters’ lives. Ernest’s experiences at school and university profoundly impact his worldview.
The novel questions the purpose of education: Is it merely to conform to societal norms, or should it encourage critical thinking and personal growth?
In summary, The Way of All Flesh is a layered exploration of faith, hypocrisy, rebellion, and the struggle for authenticity. Its critique of Victorian mores remains relevant even today. 📚✨12
I have completed 65 % of the books in the three-volume set titled “50 Books You Must Read Before You Die”
Bolded indicates that I have read the book
The list follows
50 Masterpieces You Have to Read Before You Die
Started reading the first one of Volume 3
Bolded indicates I have read it.
Vol 1 starts with Volume One
Alcott, Louisa May: Little Women Austen, Jane: Pride and Prejudice Austen, Jane: Emma Balzac, Honoré de: Father Goriot Barbusse, Henri: The Inferno Brontë, Anne: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Brontë, Charlotte: Jane Eyre Brontë, Emily: Wuthering Heights Burroughs, Edgar Rice: Tarzan of the Apes Butler, Samuel: The Way of All Flesh Carroll, Lewis: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Cather, Willa: My Ántonia Cervantes, Miguel de: Don Quixote
Chopin, Kate: The Awakening Cleland, John: Fanny Hill Collins, Wilkie: The Moonstone Conrad, Joseph: Heart of Darkness Conrad, Joseph: Nostromo Cooper, James Fenimore: The Last of the Mohicans Crane, Stephen: The Red Badge of Courage
Cummings, E. E.: The Enormous Room Defoe, Daniel: Robinson Crusoe Defoe, Daniel: Moll Flanders Dickens, Charles: Bleak House Dickens, Charles: Great Expectations Dostoyevsky, Fyodor: Crime and Punishment Dostoyevsky, Fyodor: The Idiot Doyle, Arthur Conan: The Hound of the Baskervilles
Dreiser, Theodore: Sister Carrie Dumas, Alexandre: The Three Musketeers Dumas, Alexandre: The Count of Monte Cristo Eliot, George: Middlemarch
Fielding, Henry: Tom Jones Flaubert, Gustave: Madame Bovary Flaubert, Gustave: Sentimental Education
Ford, Ford Madox: The Good Soldier Forster, E. M.: A Room With a View Forster, E. M.: Howard End Gaskell, Elizabeth: North and South Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von: The Sorrows of Young Werther
Gogol, Nikolai: Dead Souls
Gorky, Maxim: The Mother Haggard, H. Rider: King Solomon’s Mines Hardy, Thomas: Tess of the D’Urbervilles Hawthorne, Nathaniel: The Scarlet Letter Homer: The Odyssey Hugo, Victor: The Hunchback of Notre Dame Hugo, Victor: Les Misérables
Huxley, Aldous: Crome Yellow
James, Henry: The Portrait of a Lady
Volume 2
– Little Women [Louisa May Alcott] – Sense and Sensibility [Jane Austen] – Peter Pan (Peter and Wendy) [J.M. Barrie]
– Cabin Fever [ B. M. Bower]
– The Secret Garden [Frances Hodgson Burnett]
– A Little Princess [Frances Hodgson Burnett] – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [Lewis Carroll]
– The King in Yellow [Robert William Chambers] – The Man Who Knew Too Much [Gilbert Keith Chesterton]
– The Woman in White [Wilkie Collins]
– The Most Dangerous Game [Richard Connell]
– On the Origin of Species, 6th Edition [Charles Darwin] – Robinson Crusoe [Daniel Defoe]
– The Iron Woman [Margaret Deland] – David Copperfield [Charles Dickens] – Oliver Twist [Charles Dickens] – A Tale of Two Cities [Charles Dickens] – The Double [Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky] The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes [Arthur Conan Doyle] – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [Francis Scott Fitzgerald] – A Room with a View [E. M. Forster] – Dream Psychology [Sigmund Freud] – Tess of the d’Urbervilles [Thomas Hardy] – Siddhartha [Hermann Hesse] – Dubliners [James Joyce] – The Fall of the House of Usher [Edgar Allan Poe]
– The Arabian Nights [Andrew Lang] – The Sea Wolf [Jack London] – The Call of Cthulhu [Howard Phillips Lovecraft] – Anne of Green Gables [Lucy Maud Montgomery] – Beyond Good and Evil [Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche] – The Murders in the Rue Morgue [Edgar Allan Poe] – The Black Cat [Edgar Allan Poe] – The Raven [Edgar Allan Poe]
– Swann’s Way [Marcel Proust] – Romeo and Juliet [William Shakespeare] – Treasure Island [Robert Louis Stevenson] – The Elements of Style [William Strunk Jr.
Vol 3 finished keeping for the historical record
This book contains the following works arranged alphabetically by authors’ last names.
Started with volume 3 then will go back and do volumes one, two, and the Harvard classics. The goal is to finish all of these by the end of next year. I almost finished Volume One. Will do some of the WC reading books as well.
– What’s Bred in the Bone [Grant Allen] – The Golden Ass [Lucius Apuleius] – Meditations [Marcus Aurelius] – Northanger Abbey [Jane Austen] – Lady Susan [Jane Austen] – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz [Lyman Frank Baum] – The Art of Public Speaking [Dale Breckenridge Carnegie] – The Blazing World [Margaret Cavendish] – The Wisdom of Father Brown [Gilbert Keith Chesterton] – Heretics [Gilbert Keith Chesterton] – The Donnington Affair [Gilbert Keith Chesterton] – The Innocence of Father Brown [Gilbert Keith Chesterton] – Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [John Cleland] – The Moonstone [Wilkie Collins] – Lord Jim [Joseph Conrad] – The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe [Daniel Defoe] – The Pickwick Papers [Charles Dickens] – A Christmas Carol [Charles Dickens] – Notes From The Underground [Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky] – The Gambler par Fyodor [Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky] – The Lost World [Arthur Conan Doyle] – The Hound of the Baskervilles [Arthur Conan Doyle] – The Sign of the Four [Arthur Conan Doyle] – The Man in the Iron Mask [Alexandre Dumas] – The Three Musketeers [Alexandre Dumas] – This Side of Paradise [Francis Scott Fitzgerald] – Curious, If True: Strange Tales [Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell] – King Solomon’s Mines [Henry Rider Haggard] – The Hunchback of Notre Dame [Victor Hugo] – Kim [Rudyard Kipling] – Captain Courageous [Rudyard Kipling] – The Jungle Book [Rudyard Kipling] – Lady Chatterley’s Lover [David Herbert Lawrence] – The Son of the Wolf [Jack London] – The Einstein Theory of Relativity [Hendrik Antoon Lorentz] – The Dunwich Horror [Howard Phillips Lovecraft] – At the Mountains of Madness [Howard Phillips Lovecraft] – The Prince [Niccolò Machiavelli] – The Story Girl [Lucy Maud Montgomery] – The Antichrist [Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche] – The Republic [Plato] – The Last Man [Mary Shelley] – Life On The Mississippi [Mark Twain] – The Kama Sutra [Vatsyayana] – In the Year 2889 [Jules Verne] – Around the World in Eighty Days [Jules Verne] – Four Just Men [Edgar Wallace] – Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ [Lewis Wallace] – Jacob’s Room [Virginia Woolf]
April Poetry Madness 2024 April 26 to April 30, 2024 Poems
This is the fifth and final batch of my April Poetry Madness challenge poems, (for April 21 to April 25), following daily prompts supplied by Poetry Superhighway, Writer’s Digest, Writing Com Dew Drop Inn, and NaPoWriMo. I am not posting any more PSH poems, as I need to keep some unpublished for future submissions.
I have included the poem, the prompt, and occasionally a bonus poem or comment or two. I am also cross-posting this on All Poetry, Blog Lovin, Cosmos Funnel, Facebook, Fan Story, Instagram, LinkedIn, Medium, Substack, Wattpad, Writer’s Digest, Writing Com, and Twitter. This is probably my last time doing this. Just getting too old to keep up.
NaPoWrMo The Parliament of Owls Decree Death to All Humans
AV version The Parliament of Owls Decree Death to All Humans
April 5, 2024
PSH Love Expressed Through Food
WD Tell Me No Lies
WC Make Baseball Great Again!
NaPoWrMo Resurrecting the Dodo Bird
April 6
PSH Cosmic Dog From Goa
WD Meeting My Fate Minimum Poem
WC Daily Ritual Drinks
NaPoWrMo Only In SF
Part Two
April 7
PSH Visiting My Father’s Grave
Bonus: Yakima Dessert Blues
WD Meeting My Fate Minimum Poem
WC Why Trump?
NaPoWrMo Planetary Nut Re-Configuration Program
April 8
PSH Area Codes
WD My Lucky Number
WC Economic Perception Delay
NaPoWrMo Wish You Were Here
April 9
PSH Dearly Beloved
WD the Major Event of My Life
WC Death to All Humans
NaPoWrMo My Dysfunctional Family
April 10
PSH You Can’t Write That!
WD Better Political Discourse Needed
WC Green Trees Don’t Make It
AI Bing Version
NaPoWrMo Ode to My Coffee Pot
April 11
PSH Quote Poem About 9-11
WD Crazy Love Nonet
WC April 11—Eclipse/d two Lunatic Lune Poems about the Eclipse
NaPoWrMo Tribute to John Dean
April 12
PSH Subway Journey
WD Old Man Lost In His Old Memories
WC Civil War 2.0
NaPoWrMo 11 One Liners
April 13
PSH First Time to Eat Kimchi
WD Five Trumpian Humor Poetic Fragments
WC April 13—Discovery Shooting Down the Alien Visitors
NaPoWrMo Saga of Big Daddy
April 14
PSH 99 Haiku TBC
WD life worth Living
WC Tech Peeves
NaPoWrMo Shy Man Fishing
Part Three
Not posting PSH saving them as “unpublished)
Writer Digest Poems
April 15 New Middle Poem Middle Of Political Silly Season In The U.S. Trigger Warning Mild Political Rant
April 16 Trump Shardona Poem
April 17 New Tuesday prompt write a Shadorma poem about recent tech layoffs CEO To Labor Units of Production Shardona – You are Not Wanted
April 18 WD pessimistic Poem -not the Way to Fire People New Rules in the New Corporation World
April 19 Emotion Poem -fears of falling
April 20 The circus bear escapes
Bear in collar hears praise while rambling
alt. bonus poem Met And Married My Dream Lady
Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Prompts
WC April 15 Lament Drifting Towards Civil War 2.0
WC Prove Something – God’s Demented Sense of Humor
WC Question something -The basic decency and sanity of Americans
WC Scumbagology
WC Comedy – The Donald Trump Show is Getting Old
NaPoWriMo Prompts
April 15
My stamp collection
April 16
Late Night Earthquake Blues
April 17
What is Hip?
April 18 It’s A Dog’s Life for Me
April 19
Hunting the Monsters in Hell
Day 20 Trail of Tears – My Family Connection
Part four
Writer’s Digest Prompts
April 21 Romantic Trope -Fairy Tale Romance
April 22 Gaii’s Calls for Revenge Against Humanity Earth Day Nightmare
April 23 Donald Trump’s Trials the Heart of the Matter
April 24 Maximum Cruelty in the Name of Jesus in the Point
April 25 Insight into Trump Incite Homonym Poem
Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Prompts
April 21—Salient Image (poem based on one concrete thing you remember at day’s end) Seeing My Wife
April 22— Serio-comic dilemma -Election Choices Trigger Warning -Anti-Trump Rant!
April 23—Let Shakespeare be your inspiration – Fairy Tale Romance
April 24—Unexplored Desire Rule of Ten
April 25 TV Show Rocky and Bullwinkle background info
NaPoWriMo Poems
April 21 News Gives Me the Blues
April 22 Coffee and Tea endless argument – which is better?
April 23 Batman Feeling the Blues Kojiki Poem
April 24 the Dream of the Sphinx
April 25 Proust Questionnaire
Part Five
Writers Digest Prompts
Day 26 Life as a Coffee Pot
April 27 Old Man Lost In His Memories -Cornish Sonnet re-mix
April 27 Old Man Lost in his memories
April 28 I saw my Father Die Double Cinquain
April 29 Until the end of time
April 30 Beginning Of My Life Dream Cherita
Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Prompts
April 26—Noise Now My Home Korea
April 27—Beauty Korean Land of K Beauties
April 28 Secrets Diplomatic Secrets to Take to My Grave
April 29—The sense of an ending End of Trump Reality TV Show?
NaPoWriMo Prompts
Day 26 “Nattering Nabobs of Negativity April Poetry
Day 27 Insomnia Blues An American Sonnet
April 28 Meeting Dream Girl Sijo
April 29 Saga of Big Daddy
April 30 The Grim Reaper Gathers His Posse
Begin Poems
Writer’s Digest
Day 26 Life as a Coffee Pot
coffee
If I were to come back
As an inanimate object,
I would come back
As a coffee pot.
Giving pleasure
Every morning
To my master and friends.
As they enjoy the fresh coffee,
That is my Buddha nature
To make for them.
For today’s prompt, write a persona poem. A persona poem is just a poem narrated in the voice of a persona who is not yourself. Like I could write a persona poem in the voice of Batman or SpongeBob SquarePants or an abandoned payphone beside an abandoned gas station (which I just might do) or a stray cat. Pick someone or something, take on its persona, and write
2024 April PAD Challenge: Day 28
Remix title: Old Man Lost In His Old Memories
converted to Cornish Sonnet form
Sam Adams thought about that date.
On a fine date in September.
For that was the day he met his fate.
Sparks flew from heart to heart.
A date he would always remember.
She soon became his sweetheart.
When he saw on the bus he knew
That she would be his forever.
And that he would never feel blue.
As long as she was by his side.
He vowed they would be happy forever
As long as she was by his bedside.
Sam Adams thought about that date.
On a fine date in September.
The Cornish Sonnet is said by an internet source to be influenced by Arab traders to the Cornish coast . This verse form appears to be a merging of Arabic meter and the sonnet. Exactly when and how this came about I have yet to pin down. Early Cornish verse is fragmented and stingy at best. The earliest literature in the Cornish language were fragments of religious plays. The language became all but extinct by the 18th century but what was preserved demonstrates some verse in octaves using 7 syllable loose trochaic lines and alternating rhyme. Unlike verse from other Celtic origins, deliberate use of alliteration or other devices of “harmony of sound” are not present. This sonnet form doesn’t fit with these early findings so I can only assume that it arrived on the scene much later than originally presumed.
The elements of the Cornish Sonnet are:
lyrical meditation.
a quatorzain, 2 sestetsmade up of linked enclosed tercets, followed by a refrain which is the repeat of the first line of each sestet.
metered at the discretion of the poet, lines should be of similar length.
rhymed Ababcc Defdef AD The first line of each sestet are repeated in refrain in the last couplet.
The sonnet can be written with an alternate rhyme scheme aaabcbc defdef CF In this scenario the last line of each sestet is repeated in refrain in the last couplet.
I opted to not use traditional meter as I generally don’t handle that well for some reason
original poem about old man lost in his memories – spelling out his memories of meeting his wife
Memories
Of past events
Yesterdays
Overwhelming
An old man
Lost in his past
Can’t sleep at 0 dark hundred.
Note: “ O dark hundred” is military/intel jargon referring to the time two to three hours before dawn when operatives get up to get ready for dawn operations. Depending on the location and time of year it is between 2 a.m. to 5 a.m.
for me is 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. when I get the insomnia blues.
For today’s prompt, write a remix poem. Just remix one of your poems. It could be from earlier in this month or even from before this challenge. But take one of your already existing poems and remix it. If it’s a sonnet, make it free verse. If it’s free verse, try turning it into a triolet or villanelle. Have fun with it.
April 28 Dead Poem I saw my Father Die Double Cinquain
Curtis Cosmos Aller, Jr
Visiting My Father’s Grave
My father died.
when i saw my dad lying there.
I sensed his soul departing from his dead body.
It was as if a light had gone out, his soul escaped from his life.
I knew death then.
Prompt:
We are going to start Poetry Week with the Double Cinquain.
On an Internet search for new poetry forms, I found the Double Cinquain. The structure is quite the same, compared with the Cinquain, only the syllables have doubled.
How did the Cinquain go?
xx
xxxx
xxxxxx
xxxxxxxx
xx
The Double Cinquain have twice as many syllables, but still five lines.
So in a scheme it looks:
xxxx
xxxxxxxx
xxxx xxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx
xxxx
Write a poem every day of April with the 2024 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a dead poem.
For today’s prompt, write a dead poem. Back on day 13, we wrote living poems. Now, we’re going to inspect the other side of that coin. A dead poem could take place at a funeral or involve a wilting flower that’s already been picked. Or it could involve the undead (like zombies and vampires). Or maybe a dead language, a dead culture, or as some people like to say, they’re just “dead inside.”
2024 April PAD Challenge: Day 29 Until the End of Time Tripple Cherita Poem
lovers kissing
I will love you from now
Until The end of time.
and beyond death
When we met, we both knew
we were Soul mates
Who were fated to meet.
Our love was stronger
Then time and space
And we found each other
As we looked at each other
Sparks flew between heart-to-heart
As we stared at each other
With love blazing from your eyes.
You hypnotized me
Mesmerized me
You put a spell on me
You love Mojo working overtime.
And I knew that I was yours.
Write a poem every day of April with the 2024 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a Until Blank poem.
Tomorrow is the final day of this challenge but remember: This challenge ain’t over until it’s over, so…
For today’s prompt, take the phrase “Until (blank),” replace the blank with a new word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: “Until the End of Time,” “Until the Cows Come Home,” “Until I Finish This Poem,” and/or “Until You Get Your Chores Done.”
2024 April PAD Challenge: Day 30 Beginning Of My Life Dream Cherita
My life
Began one day
In September.
When my dream lady
Walked off a bus
Into my life.
Write a poem every day of April with the 2024 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, we have our fifth (and final) Two-for-Tuesday prompt.
Today is our fifth (and final) Two-for-Tuesday prompt, and also the final prompt of the 2024 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. But it’s not the final prompt(s) of the year, because we’ll get back to Wednesday Poetry Prompts every week beginning tomorrow, and I am planning to lead the 17th annual November Poem-A-Day Chapbook Challenge in November (look for the guidelines in October).
For today’s Two-for-Tuesday prompt:
Write at The End poem, and/or…
Write a Beginning poem.
Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Prompts
April 26—Noise Now My Home Korea
When I first came
To South Korea in 1979
To do my Peace Corps duty
In a rural country town,
I thought that the old name
Of Korea
“the land of the morning calm”
Was absurd.
Korea was a noisy place
From early morning on.
Cars, horns, radio TV blaring
People talking to crowds everywhere
At night people drink and dine.
And loudspeakers
Blasting you awake
At 6 a.m.
And during elections
Sound trucks everywhere.
Now 45 years later
It is my home
No longer noisy
Chaotic exotic place
Just home.
April 27—Beauty Korean Land of K Beauties
lovers in the rain
I live in Korea
The land of plastic surgery
K beauty products.
Korean women are
Among the most beautiful
Woman in the world.
The cult of the beautiful
Everywhere you go
You see beautiful women
And men on the street,
And I realized I married
The most beautiful woman
In the world,
When I met and married
My Dream lady.
April 28 Secrets Diplomatic Secrets to Take to My Grave
I worked for 27 years
as a US diplomat
and witnessed a lot of things
that were and are considered
secrets.
– and we are trained
to keep these secrets
secret.
and I will no doubt die
and take some secrets
to my grave.
April 29—The sense of an ending End of Trump Reality TV Show?
While watching the Trump trials
I sense an ending
To the Trump Reality TV show.
As he is revealed to be
What he is
Nothing but a charlatan
A con man, a grifter.
And he is not the King
Not a dictator, and not a genius,
He seems to be just a tired old man
Finally, being held accountable.
For decades of alleged misconduct
Fraudulent business and political
Crimes include inciting a riot.
Stealing national secrets
And so many over.
Yet the polls show
He could become our next President
Perhaps I am seeing the end
Of democracy playing out
On my TV screen?
Dear God, I pray
Make it all go way
Retire Trump from the game
April 30 Poem About Poetry Why Do I Write?
Why Do I write
These poems every day?
Why do I spend so much time
Writing down these verses
That few will ever see?
Why do I bother?
The only answer is because
I must write daily
My inner muse compels me
And I have to write down
These mad thoughts.
And share them
With the world
Even if no one reads them
Other than my wife
And some of my friends.
I have no choice
That is what I am.
I am just a writer,
And a mad poet
At heart.
NaPoWriMo Prompts
Day 26 “Nattering Nabobs of Negativity April Poetry
(Original Caption) 8/22/1972-Miami Beach, Florida: President Richard Nixon will be inaugurated for a second term on Jan. 20, 1973. Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew wave and smile to the audience of the 1972 Republican National Convention after they acknowledged their re-nomination.
Before there was Donald Trump’s tirade
Against the false fraudulent fake news
Enemies of the people
For being a “lying liberal leftwing lunatic “
Peddling “fake fraudulent falsehoods”
Fake false news.
There was Nixon and Agnew’s crusade
Against their enemies
In the so-called Liberal media
VP Agnew who resigned
To avoid going to prison
Before Nixon’s downfall
Was famous for his quotes
One of his best quotes
Was this little gem
Filled with alliteration
He called out the press
For being
“Nattering Nabobs of Negativity.”
Happy final Friday of Na/GloPoWriMo, everyone!
Our featured participant for the day is Words With Ruth, where we get a dating profile in response to Day 25’s Proust Questionnaire prompt.
And now for our (optional) prompt. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem that involves alliteration, consonance, and assonance. Alliteration is the repetition of a particular consonant sound at the beginning of multiple words. Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds elsewhere in multiple words, and assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds. Traci Brimhall’s poem “A Group of Moths” provides a great example of these poetic devices at work, with each line playing with different sounds that seem to move the poem along on a sonorous wave.
Your poem doesn’t have to be as complex as all that, though. Just pick a consonant or two and a vowel and dive right into the wonderful world (hey, there’s some alliteration/consonance/assonance right there) of sound.
Presidency:
In 1968, Richard Nixon asked Agnew to place his name in nomination for the vice presidency, and he became Nixon’s running mate.
Agnew gained national recognition for his colorful speeches denouncing Vietnam War protesters and other opponents of the Nixon administration.
He was despised by many Democrats but pleased Republicans with his rhetoric.
Resignation:
Agnew’s downfall began in 1973 when he was investigated for extortion, bribery, and income-tax violations related to his tenure as governor of Maryland.
Faced with federal indictments, he resigned on October 10, 1973, becoming the second person to resign the vice presidency (after John C. Calhoun in 1832) and the first to do so under duress.
Death: Spiro Agnew passed away on September 17, 1996, in Berlin, Maryland.
A very happy twenty-seventh day of Na/GloPoWriMo to you all.
Today, our featured daily participant is Peregrine Buffington, where you’ll not only find a lot of alliteration, consonance, and assonance in response to Day 26’s prompt, but you’ll find it in abecedarian form.
Our featured resource for the day is Poetry Pause, the “daily dispatch” of the League of Canadian Poets.
And now for our prompt – optional, as always! Today we’d like to challenge you to write an “American sonnet.” What’s that? Well, it’s like a regular sonnet but . . . fewer rules? Like a traditional Spencerian or Shakespearean sonnet, an American sonnet is shortish (generally 14 lines, but not necessarily!), discursive, and tends to end with a bang, but there’s no need to have a rhyme scheme or even a specific meter.
April 28, 2024 Meeting Dream Girl Sijo
On that date,
In September, I met my fate.
When she came to life.
We met first in my nightly dreams
I knew I had met
My soul mate.
based on my true love story.
Finally, our optional prompt for the day asks you to try your hand at writing a sijo. This is a traditional Korean verse form. A sijo has three lines of 14-16 syllables. The first line introduces the poem’s theme, the second discusses it, and the third line, which is divided into two sentences or clauses, ends the poem – usually with some kind of twist or surprise.
You could also write a sijo in six lines – at least when it comes to translating classical sijo into English, translators seem to have developed this habit, as you can see from these translations of poems by Jong Moong-Ju and U Tak.
April 29 Clandestine – Saga of Big Daddy
photo created by Bing Co-Pilot
Big Daddy lived in the shadow worlds
in the clandestine underground.
He was an ex-University of Arkansas
And Dallas Cowboy player.
Who had worked for the CIA
After the agency fired him
For murdering enemies
Of the state at home.
In contravention of agency rules,
But they retained his services
From time to time.
He became a legendary figure
He was a cipher, a ghost,
a Machiavellian intel operative
A spy, a spook, a secret agent man,
living in the clandestine shadows..
No one knew his real name
Called him Big Daddy.
Or his latest covert name.
And he had hundreds
Of cover legends.
He officially did not exist,
As his agency had officially
Terminated him years ago.
He now worked for an agency
That did not exist.
The same agency
That had terminated his legal existence
For matters of national security.
He lived in the
clandestine Shadowlands
Of the third world.
In nameless hellhole slums
And clandestine, dark,
secret dungeons.
Where he would do what needed
To be done
Killing those that needed killing
At the instructions
Of his unseen masters.
He was just a rumor
Living in the shadow worlds
working for a clandestine
unnamed agency
that did not exist.
An intel operative
The best of the best at what he did
Which was creative interrogation.
His favorite choice
Was the creative use of
An electric shock,
Imaginary or not
But sometimes
It had an outcome
An unimaginable outcome.
His worst nightmare
The victim is released
And sues him
And the agencies
That he worked for.
But so far
It has not happened
As no one knew
His real name
And the government
Did not know too.
So justice
was never served
On Big Daddy.
April 30
And now for our optional prompt. If you’ve been paying attention to pop-music news over the past couple of weeks, you may know that Taylor Swift has released a new double album titled “The Tortured Poets Department.” In recognition of this occasion, Merriam-Webster put together a list of ten words from Taylor Swift songs. We hope you don’t find this too torturous yourself, but we’d like to challenge you to select one these words and write a poem that uses the word as its title.
Clandestine
Song Title/Album: “illicit affairs” / folklore
Lyric: “And that’s the thing about illicit affairs / And clandestine meetings and longing stares”
Definition: done in a private place or way done secretly
About the Word:Clandestine is an adjective that is often used as a substitute for secret and covert, and it is commonly applied to actions that involve secrecy maintained for an evil, illicit (as in “illicit affairs”), or unauthorized purpose. It comes to English by way of Middle French, from Latin clandestine, which is itself from Latin clam, meaning “secretly.” Although people involved in clandestine activities tend to clam up when asked about them, the bivalveclam has no relation to the Latin clam, but comes instead from the Old English word clam, meaning “bond” or “fetter.”
Machiavellian
Song Title/Album: “Mastermind” / Midnights
Lyric: “I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian ‘because I care”
Definition: using clever lies and tricks in order to get or achieve something : clever and dishonest
About the Word: While inspiring an adjective (such as Swiftian) may seem like a fine way to achieve linguistic immortality, it must be said that many words taken from people’s names are not as complimentary. Machiavellian—which describes things marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith—comes from the Italian political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), the author of the most famous treatise on bare-knuckled politics ever published, The Prince, which brought him a reputation as an immoral cynic and even a teacher of evil.
April 30 The Grim Reaper Gathers His Posse
cheating death
It was Halloween night
A night that all the denizens
Of hell loved.
For on that night
All of hell would break out.
They would celebrate their annual escape
On Halloween, they are allowed
To go to the surface sunlit lands.
For a night of drinking,
Drugging and wilding
As bad craziness descends
Upon the land.
The Grim Reaper and his posse
Dressed up as cosmic court jesters
Dressed as fools.
They descended upon the world
And a night of chaos fell upon the land.
Thousands died, as the Grim Reaper
Added to his quota.
Bonus kills were bonus points.
He returned to hell with his minions,
And the souls of the dead
Who soon became mere ghosts.
Their voices crying in the wind
Echoing through time.
And now for our last prompt of the year – optional, as always! Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem in which the speaker is identified with, or compared to, a character from myth or legend, as in Claire Scott’s poem “Scheherazade at the Doctor’s Office.”
This is the third batch of my April Poetry Madness challenge poems, (for April 15 to April 20), following daily prompts supplied by Poetry Superhighway, Writer’s Digest, Writing Com Dew Drop Inn, and NaPoWriMo. I am not posting any more PSH poems as I need to keep some unpublished for future submissions.
I have included the poem, the prompt, and occasionally a bonus poem or comment or two. I am also cross-posting this on All Poetry, Blog Lovin, Cosmos Funnel, Facebook, Fan Story, Instagram, LinkedIn, Medium, Substack, Wattpad, Writer’s Digest, Writing Com, and Twitter. This is probably my last time doing this. Just getting too old to keep up.
NaPoWrMo The Parliament of Owls Decree Death to All Humans
AV version The Parliament of Owls Decree Death to All Humans
April 5, 2024
PSH Love Expressed Through Food
WD Tell Me No Lies
WC Make Baseball Great Again!
NaPoWrMo Resurrecting the Dodo Bird
April 6
PSH Cosmic Dog From Goa
WD Meeting My Fate Minimum Poem
WC Daily Ritual Drinks
NaPoWrMo Only In SF
Part Two
April 7
PSH Visiting My Father’s Grave
Bonus: Yakima Dessert Blues
WD Meeting My Fate Minimum Poem
WC Why Trump?
NaPoWrMo Planetary Nut Re-Configuration Program
April 8
PSH Area Codes
WD My Lucky Number
WC Economic Perception Delay
NaPoWrMo Wish You Were Here
April 9
PSH Dearly Beloved
WD the Major Event of My Life
WC Death to All Humans
NaPoWrMo My Dysfunctional Family
April 10
PSH You Can’t Write That!
WD Better Political Discourse Needed
WC Green Trees Don’t Make It
AI Bing Version
NaPoWrMo Ode to My Coffee Pot
April 11
PSH Quote Poem About 9-11
WD Crazy Love Nonet
WC April 11—Eclipse/d two Lunatic Lune Poems about the Eclipse
NaPoWrMo Tribute to John Dean
April 12
PSH Subway Journey
WD Old Man Lost In His Old Memories
WC Civil War 2.0
NaPoWrMo 11 One Liners
April 13
PSH First Time to Eat Kimchi
WD Five Trumpian Humor Poetic Fragments
WC April 13—Discovery Shooting Down the Alien Visitors
NaPoWrMo Saga of Big Daddy
April 14
PSH 99 Haiku TBC
WD life worth Living
WC Tech Peeves
NaPoWrMo Shy Man Fishing
Part Three -This Posting
Not posting PSH saving them as “unpublished)
Writer Digest Poems
April 15 New Middle Poem Middle Of Political Silly Season In The U.S. Trigger Warning Mild Political Rant
April 16 Trump Shardona Poem
April 17 New Tuesday prompt write a Shadorma poem about recent tech layoffs CEO To Labor Units of Production Shardona – You are Not Wanted
April 18 WD pessimistic Poem -not the Way to Fire People New Rules in the New Corporation World
April 19 Emotion Poem -fears of falling
April 20 The circus bear escapes
Bear in collar hears praise while rambling
alt. bonus poem Met And Married My Dream Lady
writing com Dew Drop Inn Prompts
WC April 15 Lament Drifting Towards Civil War 2.0
WC Prove Something – God’s Demented Sense of Humor
WC Question something -The basic decency and sanity of Americans
WC Scumbagology
WC Comedy – The Donald Trump Show is Getting Old
NaPoWriMo Prompts
April 15
My stamp collection
April 16
late Night Earthquake blues
April 17
What is Hip?
April 18 It’s A Dog’s Life for Me
April 19
Hunting the Monsters in Hell
Day 20 Trail of Tears – My Family Connection
Begin Poems
Writers Digest Prompts
April 15 New Middle Poem Middle Of Political Silly Season In The U.S. Trigger Warning Mild Political Rant
We are in the middle
Of the us political season
Unlike any other before.
The choice is clear.
Vote for the incumbent
Who is an old man
With good intentions
And a good heart.
Vrs
The prior president
Who is a narcissistic sociopathic
Twice impeached
Whose family is the real crime family
Nothing but grifters through and through.
Or RFK jr who is running
For his inflated ego reasons
And Cornel West as well.
Thinking that somehow
Lightening with strike
And make them president!
Everything all on hold
Until the dust settles
After the election.
After today’s poem, we’ll be in the exact middle of this poem-a-day challenge, which means it’ll be all easy writing from here, right?
For today’s prompt, write a middle poem. Some people feel stuck in the middle; others like being in the middle of things. Some foods are known for their middles (like jelly doughnuts and empanadas). So poem your way to, within, or away from the middle today.
April 16 New Tuesday prompt write a Shadorma poem about recent tech layoffs
CEO To Labor Units of Production Shardona – You are Not Wanted
new Memo
To all employees
redundancy
if you are on the list below
You are not needed.
the tech world is brutal people are being fired by impersonal quotes, Twitter or just hearing about it after the fact a favorite tactic is mass firing with selected people being asked to reapply. The underlying message in Corporate America is that workers are just disposable labor units, and this includes everyone except the top people who get golden parachutes or bonuses for showing how cruel they can be to their labor unit of production drones.
Write a poem every day of April with the 2024 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, we have our third two-for-Tuesday prompt.
For today’s Two-for-Tuesday prompt:
Write a poetic form poem, and/or…
Write an anti-form poem.
I recently discovered a poetic form called shadorma (thanks to P.J. Nights via Tammy Trendle) that I had no record of in my two poetic form handbooks. Shadorma is a Spanish 6-line syllabic poem of 3/5/3/3/7/5 syllable lines, respectively. Simple as that
A bonus poem is included as an example of a Shadorma poem.
Also, you can link multiple shadorma (shadows? shadorma?) like in my example below:
“Miss Shadorma”
She throws birds
at the school children
on playgrounds
made of steel
who run intense spirals to
the chain-link fencing.
Sad teachers
watch as they spiral
into air
like reverse
helicopter seeds searching
for their maple trees.
April 18 WD Pessimistic Poem
CEO Fires Workers at Midnight by Email-Arrests Those Who Did Not Get the Memo
Welcome to the new improved
Corporate America
As more and more people
Become corporate wage slaves.
The CEO fired workers
At midnight via email
And arrested those
Who did not get the message.
They did not even get the customary
Meeting with HR flacks
Just told
“ Your services
Are no longer needed
“: F… Off, you are fired
You did not check your email
Before work – that’s not my concern.
They were not allowed in the building
Had their ID’s canceled on the spot
Told to go home.
Did not get a customary
Goodbye lunch
Or a chance
To clear out their desks.
At least he did not
Just blast a list of fired employees
On X
Which would have been totally
In character with him.
Perhaps he is a bit afraid
Of his workers now?
No doubt
Part of a new secret AI
Business management program.
The message is
“You are nothing but
Disposable labor units
of production.
Nothing more than pawns.
And I am the Chess master
And will decide whether you live
Or die.
Get used to it”
That’s the new America
And the world we are building.
While many people were appalled
At the craven horrid mistreatment
Of his workers
Wall Street investors were delighted.
Welcome to the new
“corporate America”.
Where workers are just
Disposable labor units
Of production.
And the wage slaves
Live in fear
Of losing their jobs
And joining the ranks
Of the homeless.
After today’s poem, we’ll be three-fifths of the way through this challenge. Remember in the beginning when we were all writing such optimistic poems? Well…
For today’s prompt, write a pessimistic poem. Think about what’s gone wrong, what is going wrong, and what will go wrong in the future. Some people would say this
April 17
Not the Way to Fire People New Rules in the New Corporation Dominated World
Not so long ago
corporations treated workers
as valued members of the corporation family
and were reluctant to fire people
once they were hired.
Only firing them for cause
or when unavoidable
but doing it with some dignity.
Managers taking them aside
offering to help them transition
to another company
even having a goodbye lunch.
But not anymore
In the new corporate world
driven by profits, and the ruthless bottom line
and AI-driven redundancy rules,
The new way to fire people
is simply this
Fire them impersonally
by midnight emails
or Twitter blasts.
Never by in-person meetings
or phone calls
who the hell has time for that
or even cares about the labor units?
Often while they are on vacation
because in the corporate world.
Workers are now nothing
but interchangeable labor units
of production.
Firing them the day before Christmas
is applauded
Firing them by public tweets
Good business model.
Firing them by midnight email
Sunday night
Brilliant movie.
As workers are the enemy
and must be controlled
monitored and constantly subject
to fear of being fired.
And once you are fired
the social safety net
is disappearing.
Soon unions will be illegal
safety rules gone
welfare benefits gone
child labor laws have gone
civil rights laws are gone.
Medicare gone
social security privatized
in a race to the bottom.
Homeless becoming a crime
as well
as redundant workers
are treated as less than human.
Sub-human animals
and vermin
trash to be deposed of.
The goal is to make workers
Like the disposable as labor units
in third-world countries
Fighting for table scrap wages.
All done by people
Who think that they
are Christians and pro-workers!
Write a poem every day of April with the 2024 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a Not Blank poem.
For today’s prompt, take the phrase “Not (blank),” replace the blank with a new word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: “Not the Only One,” “Not Like This,” “Not Without Eating One More Piece of Pie,” and/or “Not Sure What I Was Saying.”
*****April 19
Emotion Poem -fears of falling
As one gets older
One becomes consumed with fears
Fear of almost everything.
Climate change, earthquakes
Monster storms, volcanos.
political chaos and war
The other day, I stumbled and fell.
Adding fear of falling to my list.
Write a poem every day of April with the 2024 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, write an emotional poem.
For today’s prompt, pick an emotion, make it the title of your poem, and write your poem. Possible emotions might include happy, sad, grumpy, angry, scared, and more. Here’s.
April 20
The Circus Bear Escapes
The rambling bear
Woke up from his winter nap
Found he was now a circus bear.
Wearing a flared collar
Forced to perform
For his supper
Hearing praise from his owners
Who fed him
Until he rose up
Eescaping back into the woods.
prompt words used six words
Bear
Collar
Flair
Hear
Praise
Ramble
Or for extra credit, use all six words.
Also, as an alternate prompt: Write a six-word poem (doesn’t have to use any of the above words).
Met And Married My Dream Lady
I
Met
and
Married
My Dream
Lady
Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Prompts
April 15 Lament Watching the News
While watching the news
I am constantly lamenting
The sad state of political discourse
In these increasingly
Disunited United States of America.
Where we have retreated into enemy tribes
Blue, red, and purple states
With each convinced their tribe
Is righteous, patriotic, and pro-American.
Accusing the other tribe
As anti-american fascists
plotting to set up a dictatorship.
Some talking darkly
about Civil War 2.0.
That is my daily lament
Particularly when insomnia
Steals slept from me
At 0 dark hundred.
revised to make it less of a rant
“O Dark Hundred” is military jargon for the time two hours before dawn when operatives get up for dawn operations. I use it to denote the hours in the middle of the night I have nightmares.
April 16—Rain
No Rain
In 2025, the world ended
With the collapse
Of the worldwide climate system.
Monster storms of the century
devastated half the world.
But the other half of the world
Had no rain or snow
For almost a whole year
The once-green grass was dying.
Crops failed everywhere
And baked in the unrelenting
Blast wave furnace-like heat
Heatwave after heatwave.
Military coups took place
Fascism re-emerged
The public demanded action
The politicians played
The blame game.
With the collapse of trade
And travel restrictions
People stayed home
Making do the best they could.
Home-grown gardens
Proliferated.
Feudal townships grew
As people walled themselves off
To save their communities.
The rich build underground cities
While the poor starved
And civilization crumbled
Wildlife proliferated
As did neo-savage
cannibal gangs.
By the year 2030
It was all over
And the rains
Never came out west.
The prompt was “Rain”
April 17—Prove Something God’s Demented Sense of Humor
I sometimes think
That God if he/she/it exists
And created the Universe
It must have a demented
Sense of humor.
How else can you explain
Why did he create a parasite
That hides in your system
Inert but if you take
Steroids for any reason.
It blows up like a basketball
Bursting out and killing you,
In thirty minutes.
Leaving the doctors
Wondering WTF
Just happened.
Recording your death
As a medical mystery.
Very few doctors
Have ever encountered
Or heard about
This weird parasite.
Note: Based on a true story. Back in the day, I contracted this parasite in Thailand. A few years later, I was in the hospital battling an MRD staph infection and underwent 14 operations. Almost lost my life and my leg. The internal medicine doctor said that there was something else going on and finally told me I had this weird parasite that is inert, but I should take some medicine to kill it because if I ever took steroids it would blow up to the size of a Basketball and kill me in 30 minutes. I always said Thank God for that doctor. Nine months later, I developed a frozen shoulder because of excessive antibiotic use and had a steroid shot. If that internal medicine doctor had not found the parasite, I would have died a medical mystery.
April 18—Question Something The Basic Decency And Sanity Of Americans Trigger warning – anti-Trump Rant!
These days I wonder about
the basic decency and sanity
of the American people.
How can 40 percent
Of my fellow Americans
Still, support him?
Still believe he was
The greatest President ever.
I just don’t understand it
Why he is polling at 40 percent
And not 4 percent
Is beyond me.
April 19—Define or celebrate a word or concept -Scumbagology
Tucker Carlson
Scumbagology
is the study
Of the actions of a scumbag.
A scumbag is a narcissistic, sociopathic
Self-center person willing to do anything
to get ahead.
No loyalty to those who serve him
it is all about me!
The greatest person
in the world.
Unfortunately, there are so many
Scumbags in the world,
In a position of power
In business and politics.
Don’t need to name names
You know who they are.
April 20—Standup Comedy – The Insult Comedy Tour!
Don Rickles
How and why he
Remains so popular
With some Americans
Remains a mystery.
He remains me
Of an old-time insult
Comedian, Don Rickles
Who was infamous
For insulting his audience
Who loved his edgy comic styling,
As he cruelly mocked
everything and everyone.
But, over time,
people got tired of his routine
And his style of humor faded away
But the former President
has resurrected the insult comedy routine.
Going to his rallies
Is akin to a religious revival
For some people.
They delight in being
Part of his whole mad
Carnival scene.
But for many of us
the T comedy tour
is no longer funny
if it ever was.
NaPoWriMo Poems
April 15 My stamp collection
When I was a young man
Almost 55 years ago
I had a stamp collection
I inherited it from my grandfather.
I loved looking
At stamps from
Around the world.
I had a lot of African stamps
Caribbean stamps.
Costa Rica stands.
Korean stamps.
Vietnamese stamps.
Japanese stamps.
Polish Stamps.
Spanish stamps.
Even a few stamps
From 1860 or so
Including a rare
Confederate States of America stamp.
That was worth something
Back thirty years ago
When there was
A collectible market.
Sadly, no one cares anymore
The stamp and collectible market
Dying out as us old people die out.
As younger people
Just don’t see the value
Of stamps or collectibles
In a world of instant
Entertainment
streaming TV services
Fears of war
Fears of climate change
Fears of political violence
And economic uncertainty.
And fewer people
Even use stamps anymore.
I have not looked at it
In years, still have it.
And my stamp collection
CD and book collections
Will go
Into a trash can
When I die.
No longer of any value
Just the way
of this modern world.
And now for our prompt – optional, as always! Today, we’d like to encourage you to take a look at @StampsBot and become inspired by the wide, wonderful, and sometimes wacky world of postage stamps. For example, while it certainly makes sense that China would issue a stamp featuring a panda, it’s less clear to us why the Isle of Man should feel the need to honor 2001: A Space Odyssey in stamp form. From Romanian mushrooms to Sudanese weavers to the Marshall Islands getting far too excited over personal computing, stamps are a quasi-lyrical, quasi-bizarre look into what different cultures (or at least their postal authorities) hold dear.
And if you’re not on or able to access the @StampsBot account, fear not! You may find an inspiring stamp or two by perusing the online “International Philately” (say that three times fast) exhibit from the National Postal Museum.
April 16
Late Night Earthquake Blues
Often at night
At o dark hundred hours
I am wide awake
Thinking of things
As my mind drifts down
Endless rabbit holes
What if plays in my mind
As my wild imagination takes off.
Woken up by a real earthquake.
True Story
Based on my recent trip to Kyunshu, Japan, when I was up at night with insomnia about midnight. Then woken up by an incoming message screaming Earthquake over and over again, followed in 30 secnonds by a real earthquake. The Japanese have a great diaster notification system – goes out to every cell phone in the country, in English and Japanese, within moments of either an Earthquake, Volcanic eruption, Typhoon wild fire or the dreaded Tsunami.
O Dark Hundred is military intel jargon that is the period two to three hours before dawn when intelligence and special forces get ready for dawn operations depending on the time and day between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. I often have insomnia at 0 dark hundred and get up to write down my wild poems and stories floating in my head at 0 dark hundred.
Finally, here’s today’s (optional) prompt, taken from our 2016 archives. Today, we challenge you to write a poem in which you closely describe an object or place, and then end with a much more abstract line that doesn’t seemingly have anything to do with that object or place, but which, of course, really does. The “surprise” ending to this James Wright poem is a good illustration of the effect we’re hoping you’ll achieve. An abstract, philosophical kind of statement closing out a poem that is otherwise intensely focused on physical, sensory details
Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota
Based loosely on the classic Tower of Power Song, “What is hip?”
What Is Hip Lyrics
[Verse 1]
So ya wanna dump out yo’ trick bag
Ease on in a hip thang
But you ain’t exactly sure what hip
So you started to let your hair grow
Spent big bucks on your wardrobe
Somehow, ya know there’s much more to the trip
[Chorus]
What is hip?
Tell me, tell me, if you think you know
What is hip?
If you’re hip
The question, “Will it show?”
You’re into a hip trip
Maybe hipper than hip
What is hip?
[Verse 2]
You became a part of a new breed
Been smoking’ only the best weed
Hangin’ out with the so-called “Hippie set.”
Seen in all the right places
Seen with just the right faces
You should be satisfied, but it ain’t quite right
[Chorus]
What is hip?
Tell me, tell me, if you think you know
What is hip?
If you’re hip
The question, “Will it show?”
You’re into a hip trip
Maybe hipper than hip
What is hip?
You’re still a young man
Baby, Oo, don’t waste your time
You’re still a young man
Baby, Oo oo, don’t waste your time
Down on my knees
Oh, heart in hand
I was accused of being too young
But I’m not so young
I could make you happy
I’m not a bad man
You’re too young to love (If you and I could be together)
You’re too young to love (I’ll never never leave you alone baby)
You’re too young Ooo Ooo (No I won’t sweet lady)
Don’t waste your time
The damage is done
You see that you were wrong
You wake up wondering just
How well I’ve done
Well I’ve done alright
Yes there are some girls but you know
I dropped them on sight
Just for you
Because I love you
You’re still a young man
Baby, Oo oo, don’t waste your time
(Someday you’ll understand just what it means when a man
Comes to you with his little heart in his hands
Just to love you)
Don’t waste your time
You better listen to me
Sayin that I’m loving you yeah hey now baby tryin to tell
You that it’s you you you you you you you you talkin to you
Baby, I’ll never never never never I’ll never do you
No wrong no no lady if you would check my stuff out one time haha
Just to hold you, just to squeeze you and all I wanna do is to
Get next to you and please please please you baby
See where I’m coming from!
<iframe width=”1366″ height=”768″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/rtE4V6YxKZ8″ title=”You're Still a Young Man (Remastered)” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” allowfullscreen></iframe>
Written by legendary sax players Emilio Castillo and Stephen Kupka, the song portrays a young man at the wrong end of a break-up. The situation is bleak because his lover pins the break-up on an age difference. In an interview with Songfacts Castillo said:
It’s based on a true story. I had a girlfriend that was six years older than me. I was 18, she was 24 and that’s actually what happened. She had kind of cut me loose because of the age difference thing and the whole plea in the story is the young guy’s saying, ‘I’m not too young, I’m not wasting my time and I do love you like a man can truly love a woman.’”
The song would go on to be the band’s first major hit defining their sound with a prominent horn section inspired by Curtis Mayfield:
“On that album, there’s a song called “A Woman’s Love” that starts with beautiful trumpets high. When we heard that we wanted to write a song with a great trumpet intro like that. – TowerofPower.com
Last but not least, here’s our optional prompt for the day. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem that is inspired by a piece of music, and that shares its title with that piece of music. Need an example? Here’s A. Van Jordan’s “Que Sera Sera” and Adrian Matejka’s “Soave Sia Il Vento.”
In the wobbly pirouette between song
& dust, dog-nosed living room windows
& a purple couch that should have been curbed
last July: Saturday sunlight cuts it all every
time you lean into some kind of ballet pose.
Your belly & knobby elbow & leotarded knee
wavering in a slim balance. Jeté, effacé—
I don’t know what they mean & nod anyway.
You reach & spin & dog hair hangs
in the air like the start of heartfelt applause.
And now for our (optional) prompt! Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem in which the speaker expresses the desire to be someone or something else and explains why. Two possible models for you: Natasha Rao’s “In My Next Life Let Me Be a tomato,” and Randall Jarrell’s “The Woman at the Washington Zoo.”
Caution: Users are warned that this work is protected under copyright laws and downloading is strictly prohibited. The right to reproduce or transfer the work via any medium must be secured with Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.
Source: The Complete Poems (Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2001)
April 19 Hunting the Monsters in Hell
Joe Lewis woke up
In a dark forest
Haunted by my monsters
From his worst nightmares.
He saw in the clearing behind him.
Giant apes, space aliens, banshees, bats, Bigfoot, centaurs, Cerberus, cheetahs, crows, coyotes, Cthulhu with tentacles, dragons, demons, dinosaurs (raptors and T. Rex), devils, dwarfs, gangbangers, gangsters, gangster rappers. Gators, goblins, ghouls, ghosts, giants, giant ants, giant wasps, giant spiders, giant lobsters, gunmen, hellhounds, big game hunters, government bureaucrats, holocausts, imps, Imperial Stormtroopers from Star Wars, naked incubus, leprechauns, jihadis, Lucifer, lions, politicians, mafia made men, ravens, monsters, orcs, reporters, bewitching beautiful yet deadly sirens, Satan, satyrs, snakes, winged monkeys, serpents, special forces soldiers, tigers, werewolves, wolves, witches, warlocks, wraiths, wild things, yeti, and zombies all staring at him. A half-centaur, half-pig monster with two heads–Putin and Trump led the mob.
He began running away from them
They were gaining on him
He saw a fort ahead
Ran inside.
The Grim Reaper handed him a gun
Said,
“If you can kill the head monster
You will live
And be sent back
Good hunting.”
And threw him back
Into the fray.
Joe Lewis took aim
Hunting down the Putin-Trump
Two-headed Pig Monster.
The monster squealed
And died.
The other monsters
Ran away
Having seen who was master.
Joe woke up in his bed
Saw a note on his phone,
“Good hunting.
You have been given
Five more years.
Of life on earth.”
Your friend,
GR.
Finally, here’s our prompt – optional, as always! This one comes to us from Moist Poetry Journal, which posted this prompt by K-ming Chang a while back:
What are you haunted by, or what haunts you? Write a poem responding to this question. Then change the word haunt to hunt.
Happy (and potentially spooky) writing!
Day 20 Trail of Tears – My Family Connection
My Mother’s history
One day many a year ago
My mother spoke to me
About her family’s tangled history,
She spoke to me
Of lies, half-truths, and myths
Some of which may have been true
And throughout the evening
Her history came alive.
She was born in the hills
of North Little Rock
The 10th of 11 children
Of an ancient dying race.
The Cherokees
who had run away
Refusniks
Refugees who fled into the hills.
Part of the lost tribe of the Cherokee Nation
Part Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole
and African Americans
Who fled to the mountains
To avoid the trail of tears.
Rather than join the rest
In the promised land
Of Oklahoma.
They did not exist
I did not exist.
The BIA told us
No Indian scholarship
For you
Since you can’t prove
You are in fact
Of Native American ancestry,
I asked my mother
What does this mean?
She spoke
No BIA money for you,
My non-Indian son.
Her family and Bill Clinton’s family
Were related
Bill Clinton and I are distant cousins
When I met him
I related my family history
He concluded that we were indeed cousins
Said I could call him Cousin Bill
And he would call me Cousin Jake
And he too was part Cherokee
Irish, Scotch, French
And African American
Part of the lost tribe
Of the Cherokee nation
I told my mom
This story
She spoke
It was true
She was a distant cousin
Of Bill Clinton
Still did not like
The lying SOB
Her people disappeared
From history’s eyes
DNA data banks
My history was over
As was hers
And so,
I learned at last
The painful truth
Due to the genocidal crimes
of politicians so long ago
My mother’s people
Lost their land, their culture,
and their hope
And became
downtrodden forgotten people
Hillbillies were called
Living in the hills and mountain dales
Clinging to the dim fading memories
Of their once glorious past
As proud Cherokees
Now no one knew their name
The old ways were forgotten
And the new world never forgave them
And they never forgave the new world
As they lived on
In the margins of society
Forgotten people
And I vowed that as long as I lived
Their history would not die
As I knew the truth
And I would become a proud
Cherokee
And make my mother proud of me
And my accomplishments
When I am down and out
I recall her stories and her warnings
And realize it is up to me
To live my life
To let the Cherokee in me
Live his life
And in so doing
My mother’s history does not die
It lives on in me
Until the day I die
Long live the Cherokee nation
Long live my mother
Note: My latest DNA test analysis finally revealed that I do indeed have some Indian ancestry but less than 5 percent and African American also less than 5 percent, and the rest mostly Scandinavian, German, Irish, Scottish, English, Italian, French, Eastern European, Spanish, Mongolian (everyone who is part Eastern European has some Mongolian DNA) Russian, Jewish and for some strange reason part Basque, and part Laplander (related to the Eskimos living in Norway. Sweden, Finland, and Russian arctic regions).
My family name is German, but they were originally French who fled to protestant Germany during the 100-year war.
The Lost Tribe of the Cherokees were also called Black Irish and were a mixture of Indians who had run away into the hills rather than go to Oklahoma, and intermixed with runaway slaves, Scot-Irish settlers, and others. They were and are a small insular clan of about 25,000 people or so. Mostly living in Arkansas, East Texas, and Missouri – the Ozark mountains where they had fled. My mother reported that her parents spoke Cherokee and one of her sisters had a Cherokee name. I recently discovered a list of her siblings and indeed one had a foreign-sounding name. I had the name of a great-grandfather who was born in 1831 about the time of the removal so I might be able to see if he is on the Cherokee enrollment rolls which were done just before the removal in 1832 I believe. I will follow up shortly.
Our optional prompt for the day challenges you to write a poem that recounts a historical event. In writing your poem, you could draw on your memory, encyclopedias, history books, or primary documents. If you’re interested in a little research, you might find interesting this collection of letters written during the American Civil War, or this collection of primary documents concerning South Sea voyages. Or perhaps you might find something of interest in digging through European, an online clearinghouse of digitized materials from cultural institutions across Europe.
Mary Aller Obituary
Mary Geneva Aldridge Aller Sept. 9, 1923 – July 31, 2007 Former Resident of Berkeley Mary was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, and came to the Bay Area in the 1940s and settled in Berkeley where she resided until 2003. During the 1950s, she was active in the labor movement, and served several years as the President of the Pacific Telephone Operators Union. During the late 1950s, she was a real estate agent and involved with the Berkeley League of Women’s Voters, and the “Save the Bay” movement. In 1952, she made local headlines when she told President Truman’s staff that she did not want to meet him unless he wanted to meet her. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote a big article with the Headline “Harry Meets Mary.” She was a long term political activist and active member of the Berkeley Co-Op along with her husband, Dr. Curtis Aller, who passed away in 1985. During the 1960s, she accompanied her husband to Washington, D.C. when he served as the Undersecretary of Labor. She returned to Berkeley in 1968 where she worked with her husband until 1984 as the business manager for the Center for Applied Manpower Research. Mary is survived by two sisters, Mildred and Robbie who live in Arkansas. She is also survived by six children, Roger Aller of Sebastopol, California, John (Jake) Aller of Washington, DC, Thomas Aller of Albany, California, Inga Aller of Gualala, California, Richard and Larry Wilson from her first marriage, and many grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. The family will have a private ceremony Friday August 3 for interment. Flowers can be sent to the Sunset View Funeral Home, 101 Colusa Avenue, in El Cerrito (510) 525-5111.
I am again entering the annual April Poetry Month challenge. I will update this once a week and post the updates on Blog Lovin, Facebook, Fan Story, Instagram, Medium, Substack, Watt Pad and X. Comments are welcomed.
Index
April 1
PSH Ode to Durian
WD Optimistic Laturnae
WC Dew Drop Inn Sarang pabo love fool
NaPoWrMo Easter Bunny Warm up March 31
NaPoWrMo April 1 Cage
April 2
PSH The Words of the Year 1955 PSH
WD Sad and happy days
WC Dew Drop Inn Spring Time Flowers Blooming Love
NaPoWrMo Ode to Coffee
April 3
PSH Berkeley Mad Psychotic Pineapple Burns Sonnet
PSH 2 AI Version Traditional Sonnet
WD My Musical Street
WC Dew Drop Inn
NaPoWrMo
The Parliament of Owls Decree Death to All Humans
AV version the Parliament of Owls Decree Death to All Humans
April 4
PSH Love Expressed Through Food
WD Look at the Sky
WC Dew Drop In Ending Shaving in Retirement
NaPoWriMo It Can’t Happen Here
April 5
PSH Cosmic Dog From Goa
WD Tell Me No Lies
WC Dew Drop Inn Making Baseball Great Again
NaPoWriMo Only In SF
April 6
PSH Visiting My Father’s Grave
Writers DIgest Meeting My Fate
Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Daily RItual Drinks
NaPoWrMo PNRCP
Begin Poems
April 1
Ode to Durian
The infamous durian fruit is a strange phenomenon.
Common in China, Southeast Asia, and India,
and in Chinese, Southeast Asian, and Indian diaspora communities,
It has such a powerful sour smell that it is banned in airline cabins.
I first ate Durian in a rural town in Central Thailand
my hasher friends dared me to eat it
it was horrible at first the smell
But if you can get beyond
The awful, dirty socks, rotten, sour smell,
The taste is pure heaven,
Proof perhaps that God has a sense of humor?
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Suzanne Lummis:
Evolve a poem that involves an exotic fruit, one fruit, and a town you’ve never visited, or else have distant memories of. The poem does not have to be About the fruit. It probably should Not be about the fruit. No one gives a fig about a fruit. But the fruit makes an Appearance. Extra points if it’s a Pomegranate. No need to mention Persephone, but if you do… It better be something we don’t already know.
Writer’s Digest
Optimistic Laturnae
life
more love
with my wife
standing by me
love
The lanturne is a five-line verse shaped like a Japanese lantern with a syllabic pattern of one, two, three, four, one.
Write a poem every day of April with the 2024 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, we have our first two-for-Tuesday prompt.
For today’s prompt, we have our first two-for-Tuesday prompt, which means you get two prompts. You can write to one of the prompts, both the prompts separately, or try to write a poem that works with both prompts at the same time. The prompts are:
The Burns Sonnet is a Shakespearian sonnet but it does not follow traditional meter or rhyme
Please convert the previous text into a traditional sonnet using most of these words in line 13 must use the word cacophony and follow the following criterion
1 inner life of pineapple
2 berkeley fate
3 bad luck comes in three
4last night went for a walk
5-8 line five to eight two animals meet someone unusual
9 10 wish for the pineapple
11 12 what did I wish for when your eight
13-14 hullabaloo, ragamuffin, hooferaw, scoundreles cacophony and discuss a secret something is hidden or something no one else knows
AI Version
AI version Title: “The Cosmic Cat”
sf dog 3
The Berkeley mad, psychotic pineapple,
An underground icon in the streets of Berkeley,
Whispered, “Bad Luck comes in Three,” so cynical,
Last night, he wandered, joints ablaze, unwary.
Encountering a cat, not mere feline grace,
But cosmic blackness riding on a dog,
A mouse perched high, a curious embrace,
In SF Bay’s odd realm, where dreams may jog.
Oh, how I wished when I was merely eight,
For a cosmic cat, a secret friend concealed,
To stir a hullabaloo, a wild debate,
A ragamuffin dance, a truth revealed.
In hooferaw and scoundrel’s cacophony,
The pineapple’s fate intertwined with glee. 🍍🌌
Writer’s Digest Our Musical Street
30 lines
I grew up
In a very creative time
a very musical time.
The 60’s had the best music
Motown ruled the Bay Area
As well as Great rock music
Acid jazz
Acid Rock
Fusion Jazz
The Grateful Dead
Mamas and the Papas
Jefferson Airplane
Jimmy Hendrix
last high school
was Berkeley High School
Santana
And so many others
The best funk band
Of them all
Tower of Power
Beloved by all
High school students.
For their immortal classic
Make out song
You’re still a Young Man.
wonder how many people
fell in love slow dancing
to this song
how many babies
were conceived?
Tower of Power rocked
Every party in town
On every street.
Music flowed.
On every musical street
In the city.
That was Berkeley
In the 60’s and 70’s.
Please use the following as the Title of your story or poem:
“Our Musical Street”
Please select “Music” as one of your genres.
Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk-based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. The band has had several lead vocalists, the best known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the band between early 1973 and late 1974, the period of their greatest commercial success1. They have had eight songs on the Billboard Hot 100; their highest-charting songs include “You’re Still a Young Man”, “So Very Hard to Go”, “What Is Hip?”, and “Don’t Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream)”1.
The band was formed by tenor saxophonist/vocalist Emilio Castillo and baritone saxophonist Stephen “Doc” Kupka in 19681. The band’s soul sound appealed to both minority and counterculture listeners1. The band’s name was changed to Tower of Power after they agreed that their original name, The Mots, would not help them play at Bill Graham’s Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco1.
Tower of Power has released 31 albums, including 15 studio albums, 5 live albums, and 11 compilations1. Their most recent album, “Step Up”, was released in 20202.
Here is a list of some of their most popular songs:
“You’re Still a Young Man”
“So Very Hard to Go”
“What Is Hip?”
“Don’t Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream)”
“Soul Vaccination”
“This Time It’s Real”
“Time Will Tell”
“Only So Much Oil in the Ground”
If you’re interested in listening to their music, you can check out their official website2.
2024 April PAD Challenge: Day 3
Write a poem every day of April with the 2024 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a musical act or artist poem.
Believe it or not, today is one of the more important days of the April Poem-A-Day Challenge. While each day is a new challenge, I’ve found that most poets who make it through the first three days of prompts have the best chances of still being here at the end of the month. So let’s write a poem!
For today’s prompt, pick a musical act or artist and either make that the title of your poem or incorporate into the title of your poem; then, write your poem. Possible titles might be: “Michael Jackson,” “Olivia Rodrigo,” “the Beatles,” “Guided by Voices at Austin City Limits,” “Watching a Movie With Elton John,” or “Eating Ice Cream With Dr. Dre.” Have fun with it!
Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.
Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Look at the Sky
NaPoWrMo Prompt
the Parliament of Owls Decree Death to All Humans
AV version the Parliament of Owls Decree Death to All Humans
Death to All Humans
The Parliament of Animals met one day in a secret undisclosed location as they were under constant surveillance by the human CIA and others who wanted to disrupt the parliament’s work.
the wise owl presided. He read the charges
“We are assembled here to judge the actions of the human race. the human race is being charged with
crimes against nature,
destruction of the environment,
mass murder,
enslavement of animals,
mutilation of animals,
and violation of Gaia’s basic commandments to preserve the environment for all animals including humans.
Speaking for the prosecution will be the Tiger and Lions, speaking for the defense with the domestic cats and dogs. We have in the room ten men and women who are representative of the human race.
The parliament can make any recommendation to remedy the situation including the death penalty, exile, or reparations. All animals will be required to conduct these recommendations.”
“Okay, Mr. Tiger first we will ask the humans how they plead.” “
Humans. You have been charged with the following crimes.
crimes against nature,
destruction of the environment,
mass murder,
enslavement of animals,
mutilation of animals,
and violation of Gaia’s basic commandments to preserve the environment for all animals including humans.
How do you plead?
Sam Adams, the lawyer for the humans, responded,
“Not guilty your honor for these charges except for eating animals which we contend is part of the natural order of the world and many if not most of you are guilty of the same charge.”
“Clarification – your basic argument is that everyone eats animals, so humans are not guilty
“ “Yes, that is correct, your honor.” “
Okay, Mr. Tiger, you’re opening.” “Okay. The facts are clear. For thousands of years until the Industrial Revolution humans had a little mass impact on the overall environment. Ever since then all animals have been impacted and my species has been hunted to extinction for the greed of humans who have not eaten tiger meat. The predator class, including bears, coyotes, feral dogs, lions, tigers, and wolves have been fighting back against the predation of humans, but we are losing. And if we don’t do anything within 10 years, there won’t be any tigers or other big predators left in the wild. And the natural order of things would be controlled by the evil, selfish humans who don’t give a damn about their fellow creatures. Therefore, we are proposing that 95% of humans must be killed. The remaining humans will be allowed to live as our slaves It is only fair. That is my request to the parliament of animals. Death to humans!”
The crowd rose and chanted “Death to all humans” until the owl ruled that they must not disrupt the proceedings.
The owl turned to the cat and and dog for their defense. the dog responded, “
Humans and dogs have been partners, and we know humans more than any of you. Humans are capable of great kindness, and compassion and we maintain they are not fundamentally evil. And then they can be redeemed through education and through. Campaign to reform human thought. I think we should give humans a second chance.”
the owl motioned to the dog
“I concur with Brother Cat. Humans are okay and we like them they are our friends, although they should be found not guilty because of insanity.”
The owl said he was ready for his verdict.
“Death to 95 percent of humans, and enslavement of the rest, but we will allow 50,000 to immigrate to the Moon and Mars. I will meet with the UN to give them the decree.
Once that is published all animals must rise up and kill all humans on sight. This suspends the parliament of animals. Death to all humans.” The word went out animals rose all over the world and the reign of human tyranny ended within a year.
AI Version The Parliament of Animals
In the clandestine chambers of the Parliament of Animals, where shadows danced and secrets whispered, the wise owl presided. Under the ever-watchful gaze of human surveillance, the charges were read aloud:
“We are assembled here to judge the actions of the human race. The human race stands accused of crimes against nature, destruction of the environment, mass murder, enslavement of animals, mutilation of animals, and violation of Gaia’s sacred commandments. Speaking for the prosecution are the Tigers and Lions; for the defense, the domestic cats and dogs. Ten representatives of humanity sit in this room. The parliament holds the power to recommend remedies: death penalty, exile, or reparations. All animals shall be bound by these decisions.”
The Tiger, his golden eyes ablaze, addressed the humans, “How do you plead?”
The humans, their faces etched with defiance, stood before the assembly. Sam Adams, their lawyer, stepped forward, his voice unwavering, “Not guilty, Your Honor. Except for eating animals—a primal act woven into our existence—we maintain our innocence. It is the natural order, and many among you, my fellow creatures, partake in this ancient feast.”
The room buzzed with tension. The wise owl blinked, feathers rustling. The verdict hung in the air, suspended between judgment and mercy. The fate of humanity rested on the scales of justice, balanced precariously.
And so, the Parliament of Animals convened, weaving threads of fate, pondering the sins of bipeds, and deciding whether to condemn or absolve. In this surreal courtroom, where the boundaries blurred and the moon bore witness, the world awaited its reckoning.
Last but not least, here’s our prompt for the day – optional, as always. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a surreal prose poem. For inspiration, check out Franz Kafka’s collection of short parables (my favorite is “The Green Dragon”).
The infamous durian fruit is a strange phenomenon.
Common in China, Southeast Asia, and India,
and in Chinese, Southeast Asian, and Indian diaspora communities,
It has such a powerful sour smell, that it is banned in airline cabins.
first ate Durian in a rural town in Central Thailand
my hasher friends dared me to eat it
it was horrible at first the smell
But if you can get beyond
The awful, dirty socks, rotten, sour smell,
The taste is pure heaven,
Proof perhaps that God has a sense of humor?
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Suzanne Lummis:
Evolve a poem that involves an exotic fruit, one fruit, and a town you’ve never visited, or else have distant memories of. The poem does not have to be About the fruit. It probably should Not be about the fruit. No one gives a fig about a fruit. But the fruit makes an Appearance. Extra points if it’s a Pomegranate. No need to mention Persephone, but if you do… It better be something we don’t already know.
A Mango would also be good.
No Oranges.
Nothing personal against them, but that’s another poem. And Gary Soto wrote it.
Don’t forget about the Town.
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Super Highway Facebook Group.
#napowrimo #poetry
Writer’s Digest
Optimistic Laturnae (CC FS)
life
more love
with my wife
standing by me
love
The lanturne is a five-line verse shaped like a Japanese lantern with a syllabic pattern of one, two, three, four, one.
March 31 warm Up
Easter Bunny Warning
The Easter Bunny
Had a warning
He was tired
Of being played the fool.
Tired of being associated
With low-life fake Christians
Proclaiming that Donald Trump
Is the next messiah.
The Easter Bunny said,
“Donald Trump
Ain’t no Christian
He ain’t no friend of mine.
He is the antichrist
The poster child
For the seven deadly sins”.
Donald Trump denounced
The Easter Bunny.
Saying on Truth Social,
“The Easter Bunny is nothing
But a low-life wanna-be thug,
A real loser!
An anti-fa, anti-American, BLM, communist, fascist
Radical left-wing Marxist vermin thug,
Part of the woke crowd,
That is ruining our once-great country.
That needs a Second Amendment remedy.
April 1—Be a fool in a poem!
Sarangpabo – Korean Love Fool for You
When I first saw you
In my dreams.
You were the most beautiful woman
In the world to me
And still are.
When you looked at me
With love blazing
From your dark brown
Goo-goo eyes.
sparks flew from heart to heart
(이심초심ishimchomshim)
You hynotized, messemeried me
Your love mojo working overtime
Turning me into nothing but
A 사랑 바보Sarang pabo (love fool).
Eight years later
You walked off that bus
Into my life,
Becoming
my wife,
My soul mate.
And yes,
I am still
your 사랑 바보Sarang pabo.
And will remain under
Your love spell
Until the day I die.
Translation into Korean (rough AI Version)
Certainly! Here’s the English text followed by the Hangul and Romanized script line by line:
Write a poem every day of April with the 2024 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, we have our first two-for-Tuesday prompt.
For today’s prompt, we have our first two-for-Tuesday prompt, which means you get two prompts. You can write to one of the prompts, both the prompts separately, or try to write a poem that works with both prompts at the same time. The prompts are:
The Burns Sonnet is a Shakespearian sonnet but it does not follow traditional meter or rhyme
Please convert the previous text into a traditional sonnet using most of these words in line 13 must use the word cacophony and follow the following criterion
1 inner life of pineapple
2 berkeley fate
3 bad luck comes in three
4last night went for a walk
5-8 line five to eight two animals meet someone unusual
9 10 wish for the pineapple
11 12 what did I wish for when your eight
13-14 hullabaloo, ragamuffin, hooferaw, scoundreles cacophony and discuss a secret something is hidden or something no one else knows
AI Version
AI version Title: “The Cosmic Cat”
The Berkeley mad, psychotic pineapple,
An underground icon in the streets of Berkeley,
Whispered, “Bad Luck comes in Three,” so cynical,
Last night, he wandered, joints ablaze, unwary.
Encountering a cat, not mere feline grace,
But cosmic blackness riding on a dog,
A mouse perched high, a curious embrace,
In SF Bay’s odd realm, where dreams may jog.
Oh, how I wished when I was merely eight,
For a cosmic cat, a secret friend concealed,
To stir a hullabaloo, a wild debate,
A ragamuffin dance, a truth revealed.
In hooferaw and scoundrel’s cacophony,
The pineapple’s fate intertwined with glee. 🍍🌌
Writer’s Digest Our Musical Street
30 lines
I grew up
In a very creative time
a very musical time.
The 60’s had the best music
Motown ruled the Bay Area
As well as Great rock music
Acid jazz
Acid Rock
Fusion Jazz
The Grateful Dead
Mamas and the Papas
Jefferson Airplane
Jimmy Hendrix
last high school
was Berkeley High School
Santana
And so many others
The best funk band
Of them all
Tower of Power
Beloved by all
High school students.
For their immortal classic
Make out song
You’re still a Young Man.
wonder how many people
fell in love slow dancing
to this song
how many babies
were conceived?
Tower of Power rocked
Every party in town
On every street.
Music flowed.
On every musical street
In the city.
That was Berkeley
In the 60’s and 70’s.
Please use the following as the Title of your story or poem:
“Our Musical Street”
Please select “Music” as one of your genres.
Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk-based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. The band has had several lead vocalists, the best known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the band between early 1973 and late 1974, the period of their greatest commercial success1. They have had eight songs on the Billboard Hot 100; their highest-charting songs include “You’re Still a Young Man”, “So Very Hard to Go”, “What Is Hip?”, and “Don’t Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream)”1.
The band was formed by tenor saxophonist/vocalist Emilio Castillo and baritone saxophonist Stephen “Doc” Kupka in 19681. The band’s soul sound appealed to both minority and counterculture listeners1. The band’s name was changed to Tower of Power after they agreed that their original name, The Mots, would not help them play at Bill Graham’s Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco1.
Tower of Power has released 31 albums, including 15 studio albums, 5 live albums, and 11 compilations1. Their most recent album, “Step Up”, was released in 20202.
Here is a list of some of their most popular songs:
“You’re Still a Young Man”
“So Very Hard to Go”
“What Is Hip?”
“Don’t Change Horses (in the Middle of a Stream)”
“Soul Vaccination”
“This Time It’s Real”
“Time Will Tell”
“Only So Much Oil in the Ground”
If you’re interested in listening to their music, you can check out their official website2.
Bump City is the second album by the soul/funk group Tower of Power. The album cover is derived from a sketch by David Garibaldi.[citation needed] It’s also their first album for Warner Bros. Records. With Rufus Miller now gone, Rick Stevens took the reins as the sole lead vocalist for this album.
Write a poem every day of April with the 2024 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a musical act or artist poem.
Believe it or not, today is one of the more important days of the April Poem-A-Day Challenge. While each day is a new challenge, I’ve found that most poets who make it through the first three days of prompts have the best chances of still being here at the end of the month. So let’s write a poem!
For today’s prompt, pick a musical act or artist and either make that the title of your poem or incorporate into the title of your poem; then, write your poem. Possible titles might be: “Michael Jackson,” “Olivia Rodrigo,” “the Beatles,” “Guided by Voices at Austin City Limits,” “Watching a Movie With Elton John,” or “Eating Ice Cream With Dr. Dre.” Have fun with it!
Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.
NaPoWrMo Prompt
the Parliament of Owls Decree Death to All Humans
AV version the Parliament of Owls Decree Death to All Humans
Death to All Humans
The Parliament of Animals met one day in a secret undisclosed location as they were under constant surveillance by the human CIA and others who wanted to disrupt the parliament’s work.
the wise owl presided. He read the charges
“We are assembled here to judge the actions of the human race. the human race is being charged with
crimes against nature,
destruction of the environment,
mass murder,
enslavement of animals,
mutilation of animals,
and violation of Gaia’s basic commandments to preserve the environment for all animals including humans.
Speaking for the prosecution will be the Tiger and Lions, speaking for the defense with the domestic cats and dogs. We have in the room ten men and women who are representative of the human race.
The parliament can make any recommendation to remedy the situation including the death penalty, exile, or reparations. All animals will be required to conduct these recommendations.”
“Okay, Mr. Tiger first we will ask the humans how they plead.” “
Humans. You have been charged with the following crimes.
crimes against nature,
destruction of the environment,
mass murder,
enslavement of animals,
mutilation of animals,
and violation of Gaia’s basic commandments to preserve the environment for all animals including humans.
How do you plead?
Sam Adams, the lawyer for the humans, responded,
“Not guilty your honor for these charges except for eating animals which we contend is part of the natural order of the world and many if not most of you are guilty of the same charge.”
“Clarification – your basic argument is that everyone eats animals, so humans are not guilty
“ “Yes, that is correct, your honor.” “
Okay, Mr. Tiger, your opening.”
“Okay. The facts are clear. For thousands of years until the Industrial Revolution humans had a little mass impact on the overall environment. Ever since then all animals have been impacted and my species has been hunted to extinction for the greed of humans who have not eaten tiger meat. The predator class, including bears, coyotes, feral dogs, lions, tigers, and wolves have been fighting back against the predation of humans, but we are losing. And if we don’t do anything within 10 years, there won’t be any tigers or other big predators left in the wild. And the natural order of things would be controlled by the evil, selfish humans who don’t give a damn about their fellow creatures. Therefore, we are proposing that 95% of humans must be killed. The remaining humans will be allowed to live as our slaves It is only fair. That is my request to the parliament of animals. Death to humans!”
The crowd rose and chanted “Death to all humans” until the owl ruled that they must not disrupt the proceedings.
The owl turned to the cat and and dog for their defense. the Cat responded, “
“ Humans are okay and we like them they are our friends, although they should be found not guilty because of insanity.”
the owl motioned to the dog, who responded,
“Humans and dogs have been partners, and we know humans more than any of you. Humans are capable of great kindness, and compassion and we maintain they are not fundamentally evil. And then they can be redeemed through education and through. Campaign to reform human thought. I think we should give humans a second chance.”
The owl said he was ready for his verdict.
“Death to 95 percent of humans, and enslavement of the rest, but we will allow 50,000 to immigrate to the Moon and Mars. I will meet with the UN to give them the decree.
Once that is published all animals must rise up and kill all humans on sight. This suspends the parliament of animals. Death to all humans.” The word went out animals rose all over the world and the reign of human tyranny ended within a year.
AI Version The Parliament of Animals
In the clandestine chambers of the Parliament of Animals, where shadows danced and secrets whispered, the wise owl presided. Under the ever-watchful gaze of human surveillance, the charges were read aloud:
“We are assembled here to judge the actions of the human race. The human race stands accused of crimes against nature, destruction of the environment, mass murder, enslavement of animals, mutilation of animals, and violation of Gaia’s sacred commandments. Speaking for the prosecution are the Tigers and Lions; for the defense, the domestic cats and dogs. Ten representatives of humanity sit in this room. The parliament holds the power to recommend remedies: death penalty, exile, or reparations. All animals shall be bound by these decisions.”
The Tiger, his golden eyes ablaze, addressed the humans, “How do you plead?”
The humans, their faces etched with defiance, stood before the assembly. Sam Adams, their lawyer, stepped forward, his voice unwavering, “Not guilty, Your Honor. Except for eating animals—a primal act woven into our existence—we maintain our innocence. It is the natural order, and many among you, my fellow creatures, partake in this ancient feast.”
The room buzzed with tension. The wise owl blinked, feathers rustling. The verdict hung in the air, suspended between judgment and mercy. The fate of humanity rested on the scales of justice, balanced precariously.
And so, the Parliament of Animals convened, weaving threads of fate, pondering the sins of bipeds, and deciding whether to condemn or absolve. In this surreal courtroom, where the boundaries blurred and the moon bore witness, the world awaited its reckoning.
Last but not least, here’s our prompt for the day – optional, as always. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a surreal prose poem. For inspiration, check out Franz Kafka’s collection of short parables (my favorite is “The Green Dragon”).
WD Mistake Poem – Don’t Make a Mistake, Vote For Jake
WC Dew Drop In Ending Shaving in Retirement
NaPoWriMo
It Can’t Happen Here
PSH Love Expressed Through Food
My love loves to cook
Delicious food on the stove
Cooking up a storm
All to express her love for me
Showing her deep emotion
Though the food she cooks up
We met in a dream
And I recall that dream
Whenever I eat her delicious food
It was love at first sight
Our love deepend through her food
Looking at her with lust in my heart
As I taste every inch of her
Smelling her as we make love
Love Stove
emotion cook
dreams food
attraction eat
Lust taste
sex Smell
Writing Prompt from Jon Wesick
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Jon Wesick:
The Assembly Line of Surprise
Step 1 – Choose a subject to write about. This should probably be something about being human such as a mental state, emotion, or social issue. Often this is abstract.
Love
Step 2 – Choose an object to compare it to. It’s best if this is something very different than in step 1. Concrete things like machinery give good imagery. The more outrageous the better. Congratulations! You’ve just created a metaphor.
Stove
Step 3 – Make two columns on a piece of paper. List the parts of the subject step 1 in the first column and the parts of the item in step 2 in the second.
Love Stove
emotion cook
dreams food
attraction eat
Lust taste
sex Smell
Step 4 – Map items in each column to those in the other. Choose the most interesting mappings. These will be phrases in your poem.
Step 5 – Put these phrases together into a poem.
Let’s “cook up” an example. Steps 1 and 2 – Compare despair to a microwave oven
Step 3 – Table.
Despair
Microwave Oven
Fatigue
Klystron
Sleeplessness
Turntable
Irritability
Browning dish
Emptiness
Observation window
Loss of libido
Control panel
Gloom
Timer
Despondency
Defrost function
Hopelessness
Auto cook menu
Futility
Number pad
Start/stop button
Tomato sauce caked on walls
Sparking when tin foil inside
Step 4 – I’d map sleeplessness to dried tomato sauce, irritability to sparking, and libido to the defrost function.
Step 5 – Put mapping into a poem.
Writers DIgest Mistake Poem “Don’t Make a Mistake Vote for Jake”
I should have run for office
I would have a perfect slogn
Rifting on the word mistake
Rhyming it with my name Jake.
In a old “Burma shave style
Cowboy poetry poem..
Don’t make a mistake
Vote for Jake
He is so awake
Don’t brake
Don’t use your emergency brake
Everything’s Jake. ‘
Just Vote for Jake
He ain’t no fake
He’s no flake
He ain’t on the make
Just vote for Jake
He’s aint no rake
He ain’t no rattle snake
He ain’t no common snake
He ain’t on the take.
Just vote for Jake
Take a tea break.
Don’t have a cluster headache,
Don’t have a sinus headache.
Just vote for Jake
Make a political earthquake
Don’t Shake
Take a stake.
Just Vote for Jake.
For today’s prompt, write a mistake poem. Everyone makes mistakes. Yes, even that person standing in the corner shaking their head to the contrary. And even those people who don’t admit to making mistakes have seen others make them. So whether it’s the mistakes you’ve made, witnessed in others, etc., write a poem about it today.
BUT (and yes, I’m using a big “but” here) poem nicely to each other today. I would hate to remove anyone for getting into arguments about X, Y, or Z in the comments; that’s why social media was created.
Note: Burma Shave ads were everywhere from 1910 to the late 70s. Here’s Bing Co-Pilot on “Burma Shave” and Cowboy poetry.
Burma-Shave was an American brand of brushless shaving cream, famous for its quirky and memorable advertising campaign. From the 1920s to the early 1960s, they posted humorous rhyming poems on sequential highway roadside signs. These signs became iconic and are fondly remembered by many.
Here are a few classic Burma-Shave jingles that adorned the highways:
“Cattle crossing means go slow, that old bull is some cows’ bold.”
“The bearded lady tried to jump, she’s now a famous movie star.”
“Shaving brushes out of date, use the razors perfect mate.”
“The crowd you see around that store are Burma shavers buying more.”
These clever and whimsical signs were typically posted in sets of six along highways, with the last sign revealing the product name. Passing motorists would eagerly read each sign to discover the punchline. The signs were originally produced in red-and-white or orange-and-black color combinations, although the latter was eventually phased out. While the Interstate system and increased vehicle speeds led to the signs’ discontinuation, their legacy lives on as a nostalgic piece of American advertising history. Some of these signs can still be seen at The House on the Rock in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and re-creations appear on Arizona State Highway 66, part of the original U.S. Route 66, between Ash Fork and Kingman, Arizona 34. 🚗🌟
Burma-Shave was an American brand of brushless shaving cream, famous for its quirky and memorable advertising campaign. From the 1920s to the early 1960s, they posted humorous rhyming poems on sequential highway roadside signs. These signs became iconic and are fondly remembered by many.
Cowboy poetry is a unique genre that celebrates the rugged lifestyle, camaraderie, and natural beauty of the American West. These poems often evoke nostalgia, humor, and a deep connection to the land. Let me share a few classic cowboy poems with you:
“Tying Knots in the Devil’s Tail” by Gail I. Gardner:
This poem exemplifies cowboy poetry. Written in a narrative form, it uses slang and vivid storytelling. Here’s an excerpt:
These cowboy poems capture the essence of life on the range, the bond between rider and horse, and the fading traditions of the American West. 🤠🌵
Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Ending Daily Shaving in Retirement
When Sam Adams
retired from
the U.S. Department of State,
he made five vows
which he kept for years.
first, he would quit daily shaving
shaving once or twice a month
second, he would never wear
a suit and tie
instead opting for the northwest look
Long pants, khaki or jeans, T-shirt
and a Western-style shirt
like a Pendleton shirt.
Third, he would retire in Korea
where his wife had family
and Southern Oregon
and an annual trip to DC
where they had rentals.
Fourth, they would travel
a lot every year
seeing as much as the world
as they could while they could still do.
starting with an epic road trip
across the US
10,000 miles 35 states
in three months
and a cruise to Alaska
his last State of 50 to visit
and an annual visit to someplace
warm in the winter.
Fifth, he would start a blog and podcast.
the World According to Cosmos,
to highlight his poetry and short story
submissions and occasional political rants.
He kept his vows
except that COVID blew away
his travel plans from 2019 to 2022!
and he wore a suit once,
to attend the wedding of the son
of his best Korean friend.
April 5
PSH Cosmic Dog From Goa
WD Tell Me No Lies
WC Dew Drop Inn Making Baseball Great Again
NaPoWriMo Only In SF
PSH The Cosmic Dog from Goa
cute dog
My final time with God
Happened a year latter
I was staying down in Goa
With my wife
Enjoying being with her
After our reconciliation
We stayed at the Taj Mahal Goa
Living like Kings and Queen
Just for a few days
High up on a hill
Overlooking the beach
Every morning I went down to the beach
And did yoga by the water
While contemplating life
And every morning
I saw the same dog
Not just a dog
But a cosmic dog
Filled with the divine spark of God
And the dog recognized me
And spoke to me and I knew
That God was present once more
In the face of the that cosmic dog
Kindred spirit
perhaps to the cosmic cat
that had save my soul
in Berkeley so long ago
I told the dog everything
And he just looked at me
With those soulful eyes of his
And I knew he knew that I knew
That he was possessed by God
God had sent him to me
To make sure that I was on the right path
That the reconciliation that God had promoted
Was on track that I was back with my wife
And that everything was the way it should be
Again, I asked God whether he was Jesus or Allah
Or Brahmin or Ganesh or Buddha
God the cosmic dog just stared at me
I finally asked him directly
Say if you are God the God of Jesus
Bark once
The Dog looked at me and barked
I said well if you are Allah bark twice
The dog barked twice
Well are you buddha then bark three times if yes
The god dog barked three times
Hmm well are you Satan
The dog growled at me
And I knew I had gone too far
Finally, I was at peace
And for the next three days
The God Dog was my constant companion
And I knew God for the final time
In my life
Writer’s Digest Tell Me No LIes
Tell me no lies
My dear
and I will tell you
no lies too.
But every word
I say
could be a lie.
you never know
what is true
and what is a lie.
So tell me no more lies
and I will tell you the truth
if you can handle it.
Writing Com Dew Drop Inn April 5—Get a sport into a poem! Make Baseball Great Again!
It is time
to make American baseball
Great again
starting with creating a worldwide
baseball competition
with each season
with the national champions
competing in a World Cup World Series
with the final round pitting the
North American Champions
against the winners of Africa,
Asian, Europe, and South America
with the final rounds
best of seven
always held in the U.S.
The other things to do
include rapid expansion plans
including the MLB teams
adopting local schools and colleges
fully funding baseball programs
and only hiring college graduates.
as players.
and making tickets affordable
no more than ten dollars per game!
if they do this,
we can make baseball
once again the best sport
in the U.S.
Let’s all join together
to make baseball great again!
NaPoWrMo Only In SF
Tiny, the Jamaican
was a big 6’5 reggae Rasta man,
sprouting long black and purple dreadlocks
and a purple mohawk
wearing a black leather jacket
with weed logos on it,
played guitar in the SF Reggae Kings.
A big Three Stooges fan,
Named his four pets,
“Shemp” the cat,
“Moe” the dog,
Curly” the mouse,
and Curly Joe, the Vietnamese pig.
The four amigos got along famously
They lived in an apartment
in the western addiction,
off of Geary,
in a rapidly gentrifying part of the city
One day, Shemp said to Moe
“Moe, I have a question for you,
and I want an honest answer,
none of your canine BS answer.
You know us cats are straight shooters.”
“Okay, my cat brother. Shoot.”
“Well, I understand that
cats, dogs, mice, and pigs
are natural born enemies,
How come we get along?
And you get along
with Curly and Curly Joe?”
“Good question.
First, when we met
I hated you all
and you were afraid
I might eat you in your sleep
and the thought
crossed my mind.
But over time
I mellowed out
and realized
we were all a band of brothers
living in this house.
I think it
also has something to do
with the cloud of weed
in the air
and the chill deep house
reggae peace and love
vibes in the house.”
“cool.
“Good answer.
I too think of you
all as my brothers.
You know what I like the most?”
Our nightly walk
when Tiny, Tina, and Linda
take us out
and we put on our show.
You know Curly Joe
letting you ride on him,
and I ride on you
and Curly
sits on my head
to complete the show
as we freak out the tourists
good citizens, and outlaws
who constantly take pictures
saying to themselves
“Only in SF”.
And you know
They are right.
Only in SF.
Let’s keep SF weird.”
Tiny came in
and they all went
for their walk.
April 6
PSH Visiting My Father’s Grave
Writers DIgest Meeting My Fate
Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Daily RItual Drinks
NaPoWrMo PNRCP
Visiting my father’s grave
In Yakima Washington State,
The ancestral land of the Aller clan
Thinking about my father
And his legacy
And thinking that I am
My father’s son
There is so much
I wanted to tell him
So much I wanted to share
So much I wanted him to see
My accomplishments
He was taken from me
Before I had achieved my dreams
i am sure he would have been
proud of the man
I turned out to be.
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Lara Dolphin:
A “taphophile” is someone who has more than a passing interest in burial places.
Cemeteries can hold beautiful sculptures, moving epitaphs, and genealogical secrets as well as religious meaning. If you were a tombstone tourist and could visit any burial place or shrine in the world, where would it be? Who would it belong to? Someone famous or obscure? Write a poem about one grave in particular.
Writer’s DIgest Meeting My Fate Minimal Poem
that september date
I met my fate
when she walked
out of my dreams
off a bus
into my life
becoming my wife.
For today’s prompt, write a minimum poem. Some people only do the minimum; others like to pay the minimum. When I first started working, I earned minimum wage. My kids had to reach a minimum height requirement to ride roller coasters at amusement parks.
Writing Com Dw Drop In Daily Beverages
in the morning
I drink a cup
of snarling hot coffee
while watching the news
in the afternoon
I shift to tea
either earl gray
or herbal tea
at sunset
I drink red wine
with my wife
as the evening
shifts into night
I drink rum
or whiskey
to end the day
right.
NaPoWrMo PNRCP
My mother was an original
One of a kind person
Unique in her ways.
She had many sayings
That has stuck with me
Over the years.
She was not a big fan
Of birthdays
Even forgot my 18th birthday.
She said on her birthday
“Well that means
One year closer to the grave.”
One of her funiest saying
Was how she described
Getting to Berkeley
In the late 30’s.
She had ran away
From a large but abusive family
In Little Rock, Arkansas.
Part of the so-called “lost tribe”
Of the Cherokee Indians
Also known as the Black Irish
She said that she was just
Part of the government run
“Plantetary Nut Reconfigeration Program”.
Every ten years
The world flips
And all the nuts
Roll down here
And end up in California.
Here’s some info on the Lost Tribe of the Cherokees. There are only about 50,000 left. According to Bing Co-Pilot, “The Lost Tribe of the Cherokees, also known as the Black Dutch or Black Irish, is estimated to number around 9,000 in Arkansas and approximately 500 more in southern Missouri. These individuals seek recognition as a tribe after years of investigation. The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has been diligently working on their recognition petition for nine years1.
While the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma does not consider this group to be legitimate, their quest for recognition continues, and their history remains a fascinating chapter in Native American heritage. 🌳🔍
I’m a sixty-something, mostly self-taught, amateur wannabe with some songs I want to share—and eventually leave behind.
These songs tell the stories of my life, sometimes quite literally, sometimes less so. But I hope others can find something of their own story in there. I think that’s why we do art of any kind—to connect, right?
The Second Song
This month’s song is sort of a sad homage to the classic one night stand. What kids today might call a hookup. Or maybe that term is already out of date, I don’t keep up. Anyway, I originally wrote this song back in the 1980s, probably sitting at a bar nursing a hangover. I’ve even done a video of it before. But I always thought it needed a bridge, and I finally got around to writing one last year, and I think it helps crystalize the intent of the lyric. So, here’s a new recording, including the new bridge.
The structure is fairly simple and classic: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, chorus. The story told in the verses even follows something like three-act structure.
Musically, it’s an old-school, three-chord country song in the key of C. Just C-F-G with a few frills here and there. I’m arpeggiating the main guitar chords as a counter melody that overlaps and intertwines with the vocal melody.
Performance & Production
(if you’re into the details)
Once again, it’s just me on vocals and instrumentation.
My big learning goal for this production was to incorporate GarageBand’s digital drummer. It’s an unwieldy beast, I’ll say. And like a lot of this stuff, I am on the steep part of the learning curve.
The bass guitar part was also digitally created, using a GarageBand preset and the Musical Typing feature. I did better with that this time, but I’d like to find a better solution going forward. I might be shopping for a bass guitar. We’ll see.
A full view of the song in GarageBand. The Taylor T5z. My desk during Musical Typing! The vocal mic and reflection shield. The bar in Red Bluff where this song was most likely written around 1986.
The main guitar part was recorded with a Taylor T5z hybrid guitar, plugged in directly to the Scarlett audio interface. It was digitally duplicated, and one track drenched in boozy tremolo, the other has a bit of distortion. The vocal was recorded separately with the PreSonus M7 microphone, using the MouKey reflection shield. The lead guitar was also recorded on the T5z direct to the Scarlett, with a “Cool Jazz Combo” effect laid on.
The slide show is a series of shots I found online—mostly from pexels.com—that seemed to evoke the right mood and correspond to the story somewhat. I put it together in iMovie with the audio file from GarageBand. This felt more appropriate for the song than a video of me.
Overall, this song turned into quite an experiment, and thus an adventure. There are aspects I’m quite satisfied with and some I would change with more time. But that’s the beauty of setting a deadline, right? I learned that in 40 years of the newspaper and magazine business. You do the best you can, fuss over it until the last minute if need be. But make the deadline. Anyway, I learned a lot from the process. And that’s the real point.
I have been a COSTCO member since 1998. I love COSTCO. It is one of the best corporations in the world and always does things right. In short, they have Soul. My home COSTCO was the Springfield, VA COSTCO, and the MEDFORD COSTCO and here in Korea, the Ilsang COSTCO and before that the SONGDO COSTCO, but I have shopped at many other COSTCO’s over the years.
Here are some of my Ode to COSTCO poems. I will send it to COSTCO HQ and report back if they respond.
BING AI provides some background to start us off.
COSTCO is an American multinational corporation that operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores, also known as warehouse clubs or wholesale clubs. COSTCO sells a wide range of products, from groceries and electronics to furniture and clothing, at discounted prices. COSTCO also offers services such as gas stations, pharmacies, optical centers, travel packages, and more. COSTCO is known for its Kirkland Signature brand, which is its private label of products that are often of high quality and low cost. COSTCO is also famous for its rotisserie chicken, hot dogs, and pizza, which are sold at its food courts.
COSTCO’s history dates back to 1976, when Sol Price, a pioneer in warehouse club retailing, opened the first Price Club in San Diego, California. Price Club was the world’s first membership warehouse club, a place where efficient buying and operating practices gave members access to unmatched savings. Price Club targeted small business owners, who could buy items in bulk for their use or resale. Price Club expanded rapidly, opening stores across the US and Canada.
In 1983, James Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman, two former Price Club executives, opened the first COSTCO in Seattle, Washington. COSTCO followed a similar business model as Price Club but also catered to individual consumers as well as businesses. COSTCO also differentiated itself by offering a wider selection of products, including fresh produce, meat, seafood, bakery, and deli items. COSTCO also introduced its Kirkland Signature brand in 1992, which soon became a hallmark of its quality and value proposition. COSTCO grew quickly, opening stores in various states and countries.
In 1993, Price Club and COSTCO merged to form Price/COSTCO, a company that combined the strengths and expertise of both warehouse clubs. The merger created the largest membership warehouse club chain in the world, with over 200 locations and 22 million members. In 1997, the company changed its name to COSTCO Companies, Inc., and in 1999, it adopted its current name, COSTCO Wholesale Corporation.
Today, COSTCO is the third largest retailer in the world and the largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine. COSTCO has over 860 warehouses worldwide, serving more than 127 million members in 14 countries. COSTCO’s mission is to continually provide its members with quality goods and services at the lowest possible prices. COSTCO’s vision is to be the most respected and successful warehouse club in the world.
This poem is about the narrator’s love for COSTCO, and how he finds everything he needs and wants there, including his soulmate.
I love going to COSTCO.
The lines are always worth the wait.
The people are always friendly.
The carts are always full of goodies.
The prices are always low.
The products are always high-quality.
The samples are always delicious.
The parking lot is always spacious.
I don’t want to go anywhere else.
COSTCO is my paradise.
COSTCO is my home.
COSTCO is my everything.
I find everything I need.
And want at COSTCO.
Food and drinks
And clothes and books.
Gadgets and toys,
And tools and furniture.
Jewelry and flowers,
And art and travel.
And most importantly,
Love.
COSTCO Wedding
I met my soul mate
while shopping at COSTCO
in suburban Virginia.
We were both reaching
For the last rotisserie chicken.
We locked eyes
and smiled.
sparks flew
from heart to heart
we shared coffee
and pizza
and talked
until they kicked us out
We decided
To share the chicken
And our lives.
We got married at COSTCO,
In front of the giant teddy bear.
the store general manager
We exchanged rings
From the jewelry section.
We cut a cake from the bakery.
the general manager
officiated the ceremony
attended by customers, family
and friends
shown on ZOOM
at every COSTCO
as this was the first
COSTCO Wedding!
We toasted with
Kirkland Signature champagne.
We danced to the music
From the electronics department.
We spent our honeymoon
At COSTCO in Spain.
In a tent
From the camping section.
We made love on a mattress
From the bedding section.
We cuddled under a blanket
From the home section
We dreamed of our future
At COSTCO.
Raising our kids,
And growing old together.
Shopping,
And saving
And living and loving
At COSTCO.
note: Not a true story, although we both love our COSTCO.
Lost Bag Nightmare
I am at a crowded cafeteria and a college campus I am an underground agent for the government and we are tracking the movements of a potential terrorist who has threatened to kill Palestinians and or Jewish kids at this college,
I put down my bag on on a counter and we went to track down the terrorists when we finished arresting them, avoiding a huge incident when we finished arresting the terrorists. I go back and find that my bag is completely gone.
I don’t know what to do. I lost my laptop and my phone and some money in it, and a library book.
I was devastated as I had lost my bag. I also realized I was stupid for leaving the bag unattended so I called my wife who was out of town. And she agreed I could go to COSTCO to replace the phone and the computer.
I arranged to do that but I missed my computer and missed my phone and I am upset at how stupid and careless I had been.
COSTCO Goes Green
thoughts while walking through COSTCO one day.
COSTCO announces a bold new strategy to combat climate change. They will put in every COSTCO warehouse and office building around the world solar panels and mini wind turbines to generate enough power to run their warehouses off the grid and to sell the power back to the local utilities if there is any excess power.
They also in some areas agreed to install geothermal water heating and solar water heating everywhere.
They also agree to fund local bus service so people can get to and from COSTCO from the nearest metro subway systems and they challenge Walmart, Sam’s, Target, and other large big box stores worldwide to follow suit. Most of them agreed to do so and join COSTO in forming the Green Business Alliance which will bring together the Corporate sector to jointly work on climate and renewable energy initiatives with governments and the academic sector, vowing to hold a COSTCO Foundation Green Energy annual summit bringing together business, academic and Government leaders to make concrete progress.
COSTCO said that saving the planet is the most important thing that they could do and that they would be fully supportive of a new Green Deal. They also will sell COSTCO renewable energy supplies and they will set up a renewable energy research corporation to help companies and individuals install renewable energy systems.
The progressive left hails COSTCO and conservatives denounce COSTCO for going “woke”. The public slides with COSTCO’s reputation and sales go way up.
Letter to COSTCO
Dear COSTCO
I have been a member since 1998. I have long admired your corporation for being a great corporation with progressive values. You are a leader in so many areas, not to mention that you are a great company to work for, sell great products at a great price, and have the best customer service in the world.
You do so many things you do right , and thank you for that, for all the good that you do every day. I would like to suggest that you do much more to combat climate change and become a leader in combating climate change, which as you are no doubt aware is an existential crisis. Climate change and the need to shift to a new Green Deal are imperative if we want to save the entire planet.
There are many things that corporations could do and it’s time for COSTCO to step up to do their part. At a minimum, I would recommend that you commit to putting in every single COSTCO warehouse worldwide solar panels on the rooftops and in shading over the car lots, and mini wind turbines so that each COSTCO will be carbon neutral and self-sufficient in terms of energy. This should also include setting up water harvesting systems so that all the water will be self-generated and solar water heaters as well. Excess power could be sold back to the local utilities at cost. I would also greatly expand electric vehicle charging stations.
COSTCO is unfortunately not that accessible to people without public transit. This is something that COSTCO should address. At a minimum, they should set up a free shuttle bus system going employees, visitors, and members taking people from the nearest metro subway stop to COSTCO and this should run during COSTCO business hours starting about 1/2 an hour before the opening of business ending a half an hour after the close of business. It should be free to the public and should run every half hour. This would be a very simple and cost-effective way to make sure that people can easily access COSTCO corporation shops and COSTCO should also consider contributing money to the local public transit companies to expand bus service in the COSTCO neighborhoods that they serve.
I would suggest you call upon your colleagues in the big box industries around the world to do the same, committing to addressing climate change, transit accessibility, and water conservation policies in every store worldwide. If COSTCO steps up and takes the lead, Walmart, Target and the other big market companies will feel they need to do the same. This commitment will make a tremendous difference around the world and it would not cost her much to do so in fact it would save money on energy for all your COSTCO operations worldwide
I’m asking you to commit to making every single COSTCO a green energy building do it for the sake of the planet thank you.
I have blogged about my positive experiences with COSTCO here and feel free to publish any of my COSTCO poems on your website and your magazines. Thanks again for doing everything you do.
Mongolian is no doubt due to mass rapes by the Mongolian hordes as most people with Eastern European backgrounds have such ancestry.
African
1.0%
Other
2.0%
Jewish, perhaps Nigerian
The Ancestry com report found no native ancestry, and no German ancestry, but found Basque, Mongolian, and Nigerian ancestry.
Here are some articles on the Lost Tribe of the Cherokee Indians which I and my “cousin” Bill Clinton are members of.
The official Cherokee Government position, discussed below is that there is no “lost tribe of the Cherokees”.
This was confirmed to me in 2000, when I attended the second annual Indigenous Nations consultations hosted by the State Department under the UN Treaty of the Rights of the Indigenous which the US joined in 1998. The treaty called for annual consultations between the central government and indigenous tribal governments. The Department of Interior held the first consultations, and the State Department hosted the second one, which is required to be held annually. I was invited to attend the reception and some of the consultation public meetings, as a self-described Cherokee as were other Native American State Department staff.
At the reception, I met the self-described Ambassador of the Cherokee nation. The Department had told him and others that they could not use that title as the Indian tribes are considered to be dependent on governments and not foreign governments. He did not care and continued to call himself that, as did the other self-describe ambassadors – each tribe appointed one, which pissed off the Secretary of State.
He looked like the spitting image of my mother’s brother whom I had met years ago.
I mentioned that my mother was part of the so-called lost tribe of the Cherokee Nation, and mentioned her maiden name, Aldridge from North Little Rock, He laughed and said.
“We know about them and know that we share Cherokee roots, and many of them are distant relatives, I have a few cousins who are members we are probably related to each other, and Bill Clinton as I have distant cousins with the last name of Aldridge from Little Rock.
But official recognition? Ain’t going to happen because the official Cherokee governments do not want to share resources including gambling resources with them.
And their DNA is all messed up. They are part of the five Civilized tribes (Creek, Chickasaw Cherokee, Choctaw, Osage, and Seminoles) and runaway African American slaves, part French, Scot, Scot-Irish, and who knows what else. They were never enrolled in any tribal census and they have very little connections to the tribe, few speak Cherokee anymore. Their only claim is that a distant relative who was part of the five civilized tribes, and may have been part Cherokee, had run away to the Ozarks around 1800 to 1830 to avoid being relocated during the Trial of Tears Indian relocation. They were never enrolled in the tribe and had very little contact with the official Cherokee nations. And there are only 25,000 of them worldwide, with 90 percent living in the Ozarks in Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and East Texas. And some living in California is “Okies” like your mother was.”
When I told him my grandparents spoke Cherokee he said I might have a claim and he would be willing to help me establish it and I should send him an email to follow up.
WebApr 10, 2022 · by Mika | Apr 10, 2022 | Tribes Traditionally they were called Black Dutch or Black Irish. The Lost Cherokees, estimated to number around 9,000 in Arkansas and about 500 more in southern Missouri, seek to be recognized as a tribe after years of investigation.
List of unrecognized groups claiming to be American Indian tribes
See also
External links
Following is a list of groups known to self-identify as Native American tribes but that have been recognized neither by the federal government (Bureau of Indian Affairs) nor by any state or tribal government.
1. Cherokee Nation of Alabama. Letter of Intent to Petition 02/16/1999.
2. Cherokee River Indian Community, Moulton, AL. Letter of Intent to Petition 08/03/2000. Receipt of Petition 08/03/2000.
The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the “Five Civilized Tribes” between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands in the Southeastern Unit…
Motive: Acquisition of American Indian land east of the Mississippi
Date: 1830 to 1850
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Every year thousands of people are told or “discover” they have Native American blood. Sometimes it’s true, sometimes not. And the tribe people most commonly associate themselves with is Cherokee.
Usually, it’s harmless. But sometimes people take illegal or unethical steps to form “tribes” and sell membership. Some claim treaty rights and seek state and federal recognition, while others take federal money intended for legitimate Indian nations.
A group of Cherokee Nation employees and officials recently formed a task force to deal with these “wannabe” Cherokees.
The group consists of Dr. Richard Allen, policy analyst; Troy Wayne Poteet, executive director of the Arkansas Riverbed Authority; Tribal Councilors Jack Baker and Cara Cowan-Watts, Webmaster Tonia Williams; Teri Rhoades, Youth Business Loan Center councilor; and Richard Osborn and John Parris of the Justice Department.
And even though their task force has no official name, it does have an agenda.
“It looks at protecting our sovereignty,” Allen said. “We have so many individuals and groups who are using the Cherokee name and a lot of times it’s in a very inappropriate manner. They scam people. They charge for genealogy. They charge for DNA tests that might suggest that people could be Indian. In essence, we are looking at groups that claim to be Cherokee but have no real status and who are just distorting the culture and history.”
Allen said he dealt with wannabe Cherokees for several years before Poteet became involved. From there, they got the other six task force members interested because they also deal with wannabes at their jobs.
Sometimes the situations are humorous. Allen recalled two Caucasian men from a Georgia “Cherokee” group walking around Tahlequah during one Cherokee National Holiday dressed in leather outfits and carrying a bow and a spear. Tourists began taking pictures while real Cherokees were laughing at them, he said.
But it’s not funny when wannabes scam people, schools, and government officials, or come together to establish tribes seeking rights.
“We don’t deny that there are individuals out there who might have Indian heritage, but coming together as a group doesn’t make them a tribe,” Allen said. “They are creating an identity that is false.”
There are only three federally recognized Cherokee tribes in the U.S. – the Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, both in Tahlequah, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina. The rest, task force members said, are either bogus tribes or just Cherokees coming together to celebrate their culture.
“I don’t think anyone (on the task force) has an objection to someone having a Cherokee heritage club and not trying to be a tribe or nation,” Rhoades said. “A large part of our objection comes from when you pretend to be an Indian tribe or nation and lay claims to treaties you have no right to. That’s just wrong.”
Rhoades said there are more than 200 bogus Cherokee tribes. One of the biggest is the “Lost Cherokee Nation of Arkansas and Missouri” in Dover, Ark., which has about 7,000 members. In 2005, it petitioned three state legislators to support its bid to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for federal recognition. This led the Arkansas attorney general to state that the Arkansas legislature could not recognize any state tribes.
“A lot of people try to use that (state recognition) as a stepping stone by stating that a state has already recognized them, therefore they have some sort of government-to-government relationship,” Rhoades said.
However, the first step to federal recognition is that a tribe must be identified as an American Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900, something most fake groups can’t accomplish, Allen said.
According to a recent news story, the “Lost Cherokees” are again asking the BIA for federal recognition. The story stated the group has tried gaining federal recognition periodically for about 20 years.
“We are the Cherokees who never walked,” group leader Cliff Bishop said in the story, referring to the Trail of Tears.
Another group asking for federal recognition is the “Cherokee of Lawrence County, Tenn.” The tribe’s principal chief, Joe “Sitting Owl” White, said he eventually expects his tribe to be federally recognized because he and his 800 fellow members are Cherokee, and he cites photography as proof.
“We’ve been called every name in the book, but we are Cherokee,” he said. “We can take photos of our members and hold them up and see the Cherokee in us.”
He also said his tribe has scientifically proven with DNA evidence that the Cherokee people are Jewish.
Lola Smith Scholl, leader of the “Western Cherokee Nation of Arkansas and Missouri,” said her organization is also attempting to get federal recognition but declined further comment.
Task force members said wannabe groups asking for federal recognition are the reasons why it takes so long for legitimate tribes to go through the recognition process.
However, in some cases, federal recognition hasn’t been needed for bogus tribes to receive federal money. Allen said two years ago the “Lost Cherokees” were receiving money from Arkansas schools for helping bring Office of Indian Education dollars to the schools.
Under the Indian Education Act, he said, schools are provided a certain amount of money for each Indian student they have enrolled. This led to “Lost Cherokee” members enrolling their children in schools as Indians, letting the schools collect the federal dollars and then charging the school a 5 percent “administration fee,” Allen said.
Twenty-four public schools in Arkansas received about $1.1 million because of the scam. The Phoenix attempted to contact the group but got no response.
Poteet said he knows of a group in Nebraska that was pulling a tax benefit scam. He said county officials were extending the same tax benefits that are afforded to a nearby Omaha Indian reservation to an illegitimate “Cherokee” tribe.
“We don’t know how much money they’re bleeding off the Department of Labor, but we do know they are doing that in several states,” Poteet said of the Nebraska group. “They are also bleeding money out of the Department of Education. And this is going on all over the country. These groups are siphoning funds intended for Indian people.”
Task force members said they don’t know how much federal money these groups take from legitimate tribes each year but would like to conduct a study on the subject.
“They don’t take money from us (Cherokee Nation) directly or from our funding, but it takes away from Indians overall,” Williams said.
In past years, a group calling itself the “Echota Cherokee of Alabama” has received money from the Administration for Native Americans for language preservation and was even partnered with Auburn University to help save the Cherokee language.
The Phoenix attempted to contact the “Echota Cherokee of Alabama” group but did not receive a response.
Rhoades said Alabama’s state-recognized tribes have received federal education, health, and housing funds as well as the right to sell arts and crafts as authentic Indian art.
Poteet said he and Baker have dealt with people from these groups attending National Trail of Tears Association gatherings around the U.S. He said some try to attain leadership positions in the association, while others meddle where they don’t belong.
“We found that these groups have gone so long without anybody contesting their ridiculous claims, they have gained some local acceptance,” Poteet said. “The consequence of that is that they want to interject themselves into interpretation issues. There have been situations where they have interjected themselves into Indian Child Welfare issues.”
Rhoades said she knows a woman belonging to a fraudulent group who became a member of the Tennessee Indian Commission but didn’t know what IHS (Indian Health Service) meant.
Other groups form attempting to get state and federal recognition so they can cash in on Indian gaming. In 2000, a group called the “Southern Cherokee Nation” claimed to be a sovereign nation and planned to open a gaming boat on the Arkansas River near Webbers Falls, Okla. Gary Ridge, the group’s “principal chief,” said his group took the boat to Webbers Falls only as a means to employ its members.
“This was intended to be bingo only,” he said. “This venture did not go forward, but I am hopeful for other ideas for the development of a region whose people and their economic needs have been too long neglected.”
Although not federally recognized, Ridge said the group was established as a band of the CN in the Treaty of 1866 with its laws and jurisdiction.
“The Southern Cherokee actively continued its political entity within the Cherokee Nation through statehood and was continued, just as the Cherokee Nation was continued, by the 1906 Five Civilized Tribes Act under a presidential-appointed chief until the 1970 Principal Chiefs Act, which allowed the Cherokee Nation as well the Southern Cherokee to once again elect their chief,” he said. Ridge added that the group only wants to operate under the articles of the 1866 treaty and the 1906 Five Civilized Tribes Act.
However, Allen said the “Southern Cherokees” have no legitimate claims in Oklahoma.
“This area is the jurisdiction of the Cherokee Nation and no other tribal entity. We see these get-rich-quick schemes all the time. The problem is that these people may be taking the goodwill and reputation that Cherokees have established over centuries and using it to mislead the government and individual citizens,” Allen said.
But for whatever reason these groups form, they usually have one thing in common – charging for membership.
The “United Cherokee Nation,” which did not respond to Phoenix inquiries, charges a $35 application fee, while the “Western Cherokee Nation of Arkansas and Missouri” has a $60 application fee and a $10 annual roll fee. The “Cherokee of Lawrence County” doesn’t charge for membership but instead asks its members to “make it a priority to send $10 a month to help with the tribe” and $12 to subscribe to its newsletter.
Membership fees and dues are just two signs a “Cherokee” group isn’t legitimate, task force members said. Other signs include members using Indian-sounding names such as “Two Feathers” and “Wind Caller,” acting and dressing like Hollywood-stereotyped Indians or Plains Indians, asking for money to perform DNA tests or genealogical research, requirements to wear regalia to meetings and requirements to go through an Indian-naming ceremony.
Once admitted into the groups, members usually get membership cards, bogus “Certified Degree of Indian Blood” cards, and genealogy certificates “proving” they are eligible for membership.
“The problem is that there are so many people out there who have access to these groups (via the Internet), and for these groups to have access to all of these people, these groups are becoming larger and larger,” Williams said.
Task force members said some bogus members are New Agers searching for spiritual enlightenment, but for most, they are people seeking acceptance within a community.
“Becoming a Cherokee in a certain region affords them a status that they didn’t have,” Allen said. “The county commissioner might start visiting with them as Cherokees. The state legislator might acknowledge them as a tribe or as leaders of a tribe. For some, it’s status, taking on an identity that they did not have.”
And as more adults join these groups, their children usually follow leading to even more people living with a false identity.
“Now you are getting the third and fourth generation of people who think they are Indians. The little ones coming up are immersed in a false tribal identity. They don’t know any better, but they are going to grow up thinking they are Indian,” Allen said.
And that’s what makes the task force’s work so important. As generations come and go, more groups will emerge distorting history, language, and culture; wanting federal dollars for services; land and treaty rights; sovereignty; and wanting to impose their views on Indian matters.
Task force members said they are still strategizing on how to combat the groups, but do have some ideas such as networking with other federally recognized tribes to spread information about these groups. Williams said Cherokees aren’t the only Indian people being misrepresented. She said the other popular tribes dealing with bogus groups are the Delaware, Navajo, and Sioux.
Developing more “informants” or people who contact CN reporting bogus groups is another step, as is getting Cherokee citizens around the country to inform government officials. Allen said many people, including legislators, don’t realize that most Cherokees are located in Oklahoma and North Carolina and that for the most part, the “full-blood element doesn’t leave.” Poteet said if citizens are willing to help, then they should talk to or write their elected officials.
“An average person can help stop these groups by writing a local legislator and pointing out that states should not be in a position of creating Indian nations,” he said.
In the long run, Allen said, states not recognizing bogus groups would be a major step in stopping them.
“Ultimately, I think the elimination of state recognition would be one way of looking at it, but we don’t want to harm those tribes who have a legitimate claim who yet haven’t been able to determine what it is they require for federal recognition,” he said. “People who want to claim Cherokee heritage, who have a legitimate claim to it, usually don’t act in the manner as wannabes. It’s those who put on feathers and act like an Indian tribe are the ones we have problems with.”
Here are some of my Family ancestry poems.
Confirmed I am Part Cherokee
Genonomelink has updated
my DNA ancestry report
I did though
Ancestry com
back in 2017.
The new findings
confirm family lore
I have some Native American ancestry,
As part of the Lost Tribe of the Cherokee Indians,
and part of the five Civilized tribes
(Creek, Chickasaw Cherokee, Choctaw, Osage, and Seminoles)
but does not show
any African American ancestry.
from the lost tribe of the Cherokee
and part of the five Civilized tribes
(Creek, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Choctaw, Osage, and Seminoles)
Asian
1.0%
Mongolian
no doubt due to mass rapes by the Mongolian hordes
as most people with Eastern European
background have such ancestry.
African
1.0%
Other
2.0%
Jewish, perhaps Nigerian
DNA Tests Do Not Lie or Do They?
I sent way
For one of those DNA tests
That promises to reveal
Your ethnic heritage
The only problem is that claim
Is not yet true
The results were surprising
To say the least
Family lore would have it
That I have 18 nationalities
In my tangled family history
Mostly Northern European
Part Basque, French, Finish, Danish, Dutch, Laplander, Russian, Scottish, Jewish, Mongolian, Jewish, Norwegian, Swedish, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, and Spanish, from my father
Part of the five civilized tribes
(Creek, Chickasaw Cherokee, Choctaw, Osage, and Seminoles)
And part of the lost tribe of the Cherokee
Dutch, French, English, Irish, Scottish, Italian, Nigerian, and Welsh, from my mother
100 percent born and raised in Berkeley
The DNA results showed
that I am 68% Northern European
with trace elements of Jewish,
and Basque. Italian
Mongolian and Nigerian stock,
No Native American at all
And my Germanic last name
For some reason
Did not register at all.
Go figure I said
And I read the fine print
The state of the art is such
That claim that they can tell
Your ethnic background
Are exaggerated.
The fine print read
Explaining why it is often inaccurate
The Cherokee background
Disappeared
Because my branch of the Cherokees
Disappeared into the mist of time
Part of the five civilized tribes
(Creek, Chickasaw Cherokee, Choctaw, Osage, and Seminoles)
And part of the lost tribe of the Cherokee
(Mixture of the five civilized tribes and escaped African American slaves, and Dutch, French, English, Irish, Scottish, Italian, and Welsh),
Who fled to the Ozark mountains
To avoid the trail of trees
And were never enrolled
In 1820, and 1838 Cherokee rolls
And subsequent 1905 Dowes’ enrollment
The German background
Got swept up in the Northern European thing
And at the end of the day
I remained as much a mongrel
breed as anything else
Typical American
I suppose
All in all
A fascinating experiment
Family History Revealed
The DNA results
Revealed some aspects
Of whom I am
Where I am from
But not everything
Was revealed
And much of my history
Remains hidden
My father was from Yakima
Ran away to the Bay Area
Where he became a college professor
Taught the dismal science of economics
Along the way
He met my mother
And after a whirlwind romance
had four children
My older brother,
Younger brother
And sister
She was a refugee
An Okie
From the dust bowl
Fled Arkansas
In the late ’30s
Never looked back
Settled down
In the Bay Area
Yet the South lingered on
She trained herself
To speak without an accent
By listening to the Classical radio
Deejays
The only time
the southern came out
Was when she was talking
to her sisters
She was the 10th of 11th children
Her Father was a moonshiner
A Cherokee medicine man to boot
Died at age 95 from drinking his only
Bad batch of moonshine
By that time he was
Almost completely blind.
Lived life in the Ozark mountains
As part of the lost tribe
of the Cherokee
(Mixture of the five civilized tribes
Creek, Chickasaw Cherokee, Choctaw, Osage, and Seminoles – and escaped African American slaves and Dutch, French, English, Irish, Scoth, Italian, and Welsh),
She had two sons
From a prior relationship
That went south
We never really knew them
My father was an atheist
And a morning person
And a man with a plan
For everything
My mother
More make it up
As she went along
And a night owl
One of her favorite put-downs
When my father was getting
All anal and German
Before our annual trip
To the summer cabin
In Yakima a 16-hour drive
Wanting to leave at 7 am
She finally got it together by 11
My father said
“We are five hours
Behind schedule.”
“Your schedule perhaps
But not mine”
How and why
They met and stayed together
Is beyond me
They had a stormy relationship
My mother always said
Germans and Irish
Don’t mix
And never should marry
She also said
The world is divided into morning people
And night owls
And they are doomed to marry each other
Yet I suppose
There was real love
Beneath all the drama
And bluster
was real love
My Mother’s History
One day many a year ago
My mother spoke to me
About her family’s tangled history,
She spoke to me
Of lies, half-truths, and myths
Some of which may have been true
And throughout the evening
Her history came alive.
She was born in the hills
of North Little Rock
The 10th
of 11 children
Of an ancient dying race.
The Cherokees
who had run away
Refusniks
Refugees who fled in the hills.
Part of the lost tribe
of the Cherokee Nation
(Mixture of the five civilized tribes
Creek, Chickasaw Cherokee, Choctaw, Osage, and Seminoles – and escaped African American slaves and Dutch, French, English, Irish, Scottish,
Italian, and Welsh),
Who fled to the mountains
To avoid the trail of trees
And were never enrolled
In 1820, and 1838 Cherokee rolls
And subsequent 1905 Dowes
And subsequent enrollments
All told there are 25,000 of us
Mostly living in the Ozarks
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma
Tennessee, Kentucky, and East Texas
Although there are many living
In California, descendants from Okies
Like my mother.
Who fled to the mountains
To avoid the trail of tears.
Rather than join the rest
In the promised land
Of Oklahoma.
They did not exist
I did not exist.
The BIA told us
No Indian scholarship
For you
Since you can’t prove
You are in fact
Of Native American ancestry,
I asked my mother
What does this mean?
She said
No BIA money for you,
My non-Indian Cherokee son.
Her family and Bill Clinton’s family
Were related
Bill Clinton and I are distant cousins
When I met him
I related my family history
He concluded that we were indeed cousins
Said I could call him Cousin Bill
And he would call me Cousin Jake
And he too was part Cherokee
Irish, Scotch, French
And African American
Part of the lost tribe
Of the Cherokee nation
I told my mom
This story
She said
It was true
She was a distant cousin
Of Bill Clinton
Still did not like
The lying SOB
Her people disappeared
From history’s eyes
And DNA data banks
My history was over
As was hers
And so,
I learned at last
The painful truth
Due to the genocidal crimes
of politicians so long ago
My mother’s people
Lost their land, their culture,
and their hope
And became
downtrodden
forgotten people
Hillbillies were called
Living in the hills
and mountain dales
Clinging to the dim fading memories
Of their once glorious past
As proud Cherokees
Now no one knew their name
The old ways were forgotten
And the new world never forgave them
And they never
forgave the new world
As they lived on
In the margins of society
Forgotten people
And I vowed that as long as I lived
Their history would not die
As I knew the truth
And I would become a proud
Cherokee
And make my mother proud of me
And my accomplishments
When I am down and out
I recall her stories and her warnings
And realize it is up to me
To live my life
To let the Cherokee in me
Live his life
And in so doing
My mother’s history does not die
It lives on in me
Until the day I die
Long live the Cherokee nation
Long live my mother
Father’s Son
I am my Father’s Son
I lived all my life
Fighting against turning
into a carbon copy
Of my father
And I failed as
my father emerged
From the darkness of my soul
The full German personality
And Scandinavian background
becoming clear
And peered out
and liked what he saw
As I became him
step by inexorable step
Turning my father
As he had turned his father
And his father in his father
Since the dawn of time
We have played this game
Sons turning into their fathers
And watching grandsons
Start the dance all over again
Roy was my college roommate at UOP in Stockton, California from 1976 to 1978 when we lived at the Euclid House with Sara, Sharon, Kevin (now Karen) Jeff C, and others. We had a wild two-year ride with weekly parties every Friday night. Roy introduced me to the Grateful Dead, the beatnik writers, and so much more. We lost touch over the years but became Face Book friends and zoom friends about seven years ago. I miss our time together. Here are some of his recent Facebook musings re-posted with his permission.
THE 7TH ANNUAL EDITION OF ROY’S BEST BOOKS,
wherein I muse, perhaps entirely for my own entertainment, on some books I read or heard this year that landed somewhere in the vicinity of my heart and stayed there for whatever reason.
This year, I get to start with a special category I’ve never officially included before: GREAT BOOKS BY NICE PEOPLE I ACTUALLY KNOW.
LIVE CAUGHT
R Cathey Daniels is swampy and dank, with a magnetic, lyrical voice and a lead character who is properly mystified by life and desperate to rescue one little girl, if not himself, from its worst inclinations. You’ll want to save everyone in the book. Well, almost everyone.
ATTRIBUTION
Linda Moore, is an engaging mystery set in the world of art history scholars, with a smart, idealistic heroine to root on toward empowerment and recognition and self-acceptance. And romance!
BESTSELLING FICTION
THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY
Amor Towles, who came to critical acclaim with ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ several years ago. This newer one feels like a charming thought-provoking coming of age period piece, encased in wonderful and evocative prose, until it all slides sideways into darkness and finally ends with a couple slackmouth twists, the kind that seem shocking yet inevitable at the same time.
NON-FICTION
MUSIC: A SUBVERSIVE HISTORY
Ted Gioia, who is considered by some as one of America’s (if not the world’s) leading writers on music history. This is Gioia’s most far-reaching work yet. The overarching thesis of the book is that innovation in music has always come from outsiders, usually those kept outside the mainstream by self-appointed and self-interested gatekeepers. Nonetheless, over and over, the greatest talents and their ideas somehow find a way to slip past the gates and change everything. It’s a huge book, covering a lot of information; I listened to it on audio, and in spurts, over a few months. Well worth the stretched-out journey! (Also: Ted Gioia writes on many other topics as well, and is one of my favorites on substack.) And BTW, it’s pronounced Joy-uh.
WORDCRAFT
I read lots of books on writing craft. I don’t always get a wealth of useful info from them, but I read for the odd bit that resonates and, more than that, for the constant nudge to think deeply about my own reading and writing. Because of that, my favorite craft book is often the one I’m reading right now, and that happens to be THE NUTSHELL TECHNIQUE by Jill Chamberlain. This is actually a screenwriting book, but also offers fiction writers an interesting no-frills framework to analyze the basic ingredients of all stories and their interrelationships.
ALRIGHT, THAT’S IT FOR THIS YEAR. Make room in your life for a book. Each one is a world on paper.
(Disclaimer: no books were harmed in the making of this post.)
////////////Random observation about baseball
HARD TO EXPLAIN how MLB teams are signing guys for 20-30-40 million a year right now, but just a couple months ago, they were saying the game’s popularity is slipping so far they have to change the rules to make it faster and more exciting. WTF?!
The Giants sure are killin’ it on the free agent market so far, right?
Long before TJ Holmes and Amy Robach there was Kelfy Couric and Gumby Damnit. Big time front page tabloid stuff back in the day.
Well Christmas
I’m dreaming of a well Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where there is no sneezing
And lungs aren’t wheezing
And masks aren’t needed when you go
I’m dreaming of a well Christmas
Without a fever or the chills
May your tests have nothing to tell
And may all your Christmases be we
Look, Santa: yes I’ve been a naughty boy, but only in the best possible way
Like many men, I had a difficult relationship with my father. Mostly because we had such different personalities. I admired him a lot, and as I get older, I become more like him. Part of the process of getting older, I suppose.
He was an accomplished man. Grew up in Yakima in their 20s and 30s, and was a student activist at the University of Washington where he led the successful integration of the University. He was a Rhoades scholar attending Oxford before going for a Ph.D. at Harvard. He served as under-secretary of labor for President Kennedy and Johnson. He taught at UC Berkeley, Michigan State, and Antioch University, before teaching at SF State where he taught for almost 30 years. He was politically active in the Bay Area, serving as the Berkeley Co-Op President. He was elected to serve as the President of the Peralta Board of colleges. He ran against Ron Dellums for Congress, but unfortunately lost. I miss him every day and regret that he died at age 65 in 1985 of cancer, and did not live long enough to see me become a foreign service officer.
For more see the following bios:
Curtis Cosmos Aller, Scholar
A native of Yakima, Curtis Aller received his bachelor of arts from the University of Washington in 1942. At the time he was awarded the Rhodes, Aller was doing graduate work at Harvard, where he earned an M.A. in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government. He taught at the University of California–Berkeley and Michigan State University, before joining the Department of Economics at San Francisco State University in 1959. While on the faculty, he held several posts in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. Aller was named Dean of San Francisco State School of Behavioral and Social Sciences in 1982.
Curtis Cosmos Aller
educator government official
Curtis Cosmos Aller, American educator, a government official
Background
Aller, Curtis Cosmos was born on September 22, 1918, in Seattle, Washington, United States. Son of Curtis Cosmos and Inga Pauline (Olsen) Aller.
Education
Bachelor of Arts Economics and Business magna cum laude, U. Washington, 1942. Doctor of Philosophy, Harvard, 1958. Bachelor of Letters, Oxford (England) University, 1950.
Career
Professor of economics San Francisco State College, 1959-1985, dean School Behavioral and Social Sciences, 1982-1985. Staff director select subcommittee labor United States House of Representatives, 1963-1964. Director Office Manpower Policy, Evaluation, and Research, Manpower Administration, Department Labor, 1965-1985.
Arbitrator labor-manpower disputes, 1953-1985.
Achievements
• Curtis Cosmos Aller has been listed as a noteworthy educator and government official by Marquis Who’s Who.
Membership
Member advisory council Bay View Federal Savings & Loan Association, 1960-1963. Member California Social Welfare Board, 1962-1985, also chairman Campaign manager 7th Congressional District California, 1956. Served with Army of the United States, 1946-1947.
Rhodes scholar from Washington State, 1948-1950.
Member American, Western economics associations, Industrial Relations Research Association, National Planning Association.
Connections
Married Mary Aldridge, on February 21, 1954. Children: Roger Curtis, John Cosmos, Thomas Arthur, Inga Maria.
Father:
Curtis Cosmos Aller
Mother:
Inga Pauline (Olsen) Aller
Spouse:
Mary Aldridge
child:
Roger Curtis Aller
child:
Thomas Arthur Aller
child:
John Cosmos Aller
child:
Inga Maria Aller
Fighting in Paradise: Labor Unions, Racism, and Communists …
books.google.co.kr › books
Gerald Horne · 2011
FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 343
Curtis Cosmos Aller Jr., “The Evolution of Hawaiian Labor Relations: From Benevolent Paternalism to Mature Collective … oral history transcript, Regional Oral History Office, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 265.
Sample correspondence wished I had more
September 28, 1976
Mr. Herb Willsmore
1806 Berkeley Way
Apartment #2
Berkeley, CA 94703
Dear Herb:
If you are still in the area, please call me. I have recommended that you be appointed to the Advisory Committee for the “Montoya” committee for the Peralta Community College District. You would represent the handicapped on a committee consisting of 18. We expect the committee will meet fairly frequently, my guess is every other month, to review and make recommendations on the future spectrum of adult and occupational training courses offered by the secondary and community college schools in this area. It is an important activity and one I hope you will be able to accept.
Unfortunately, the legislature did not provide fees for council members. Travel expenses can be reimbursed. Let me know if this opportunity for public service intrigues you.
Very truly yours,
Curtis C. Aller
Director
Employment Studies Program
Family History Revealed
The DNA results
Revealed some aspects
Of whom I am
Where I am from
But not everything
Was revealed
And much of my history
Remains hidden
My father was from Yakima
Ran away to the Bay Area
Where he became a college professor
Taught the dismal science of economics
Along the way
He met my mother
And after a whirlwind romance
had four children
My older brother,
Me
Younger brother
And sister
She was a refugee
From the dust bowl
Fled Arkansas
In the late ’30s
Never looked back
Settled down
In the Bay Area
Yet the south lingered on
She trained herself
To speak without an accent
The only time the southern came out
Was when she was talking to her sisters
She was the 10th of 11th children
My father was a moonshiner
A Cherokee medicine man to boot
Lived life in the Ozark mountains
She had two sons
From a prior relationship
That went south
We never really knew them
My father was an atheist
And a morning person
And a man with a plan
For everything
My mother
More make it up
As she went along
And a night owl
How and why
They met and stayed together
Is beyond me
They had a stormy relationship
My mother always said
Germans and Irish
Don’t mix
And never should marry
She also said
The world is divided into morning people
And night owls
And they are doomed to marry each other
Yet I suppose
There was real love
Beneath all the drama
And bluster
Father’s Son
I am my Father’s Son
I lived all my life
Fighting against turning
into a carbon copy
Of my father,
And I failed
as my father emerged
From the darkness of my soul.
The full German personality
And Scandinavian background
becoming clear
And peered out
and liked what he saw
As I became him
step by inexorable step.
Turning into my father
As he had turned his father
And his father into his father.
Since the dawn of time
We played this game.
Sons turning into their fathers
And watching grandsons
Start the dance all over again
Reflections on My Dad for Father’s Day
My father and I had a difficult relationship
We just had very different personalities
And growing up while I admired my father
I did not like him that much.
My father grew up
In German and Norwegian American families
And did not have much of a sense of humor
He was a dour, serious man.
He had a difficult relationship
With his father as well
And a difficult relationship
With his children.
He was not an easy man
To live with
Always getting us up
At dawn on the weekends
To deal with the endless household chores.
But as I get older
I find myself
Becoming my father
But I have maintained
My mother’s sense of humor.
Last month, we wrote a mom poem for Mother’s Day; so this month, with Father’s Day upon us…
Let’s write a dad poem. While not everyone gets (or even wants) to be a dad, everyone has a dad. On gift card holidays like this coming Sunday, the father is celebrated. That said, not everyone knows their dad, and some wish they did not. For many, whether they get along or not, the relationship can be very complicated. So explore that experience today.
Traveling with My Father to Wagontire, Oregon
1973
In 1973, I went on a road trip with my father during our summer vacation. We left Berkeley to go to Yakima, Washington, where my father had a summer cabin in the mountains near Mt. Rainer. He was a college professor and had July and August off. We spent the summers, every summer from 1968 to 1977, in the cabin and visiting my aunt and uncle, who had inherited the family fruit business in Yakima. Our whole dysfunctional family, my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, went there every summer. Our annual road trip to hell and back as we did not get along at all.
We decided to drive through Eastern Oregon, just my father and me, just for the hell of it. My father had driven everyone to Yakima already and had to go back for a meeting and picked me up then. I had gone off to a debate camp earlier in the summer.
My father and I shared a travel lust, one of the few things we shared. We drove up from Berkeley and spent the night in Klamath Falls. We left Klamath Falls, a real nothing burg in those days around 9 am. And hit the road.
And headed east along highway 395, often called the loneliness highway in the U.S. As we entered the desert of eastern Oregon, we entered a different world. High mountain desert, almost no one on the road, very small towns with just a gas station, motel, bar, church, and school, and not much else.
Then we saw the sign, Wagontire, Oregon, 100 miles ahead. We counted down the miles every mile posted along with the Burma shave cowboy poetry. An hour and a half later about 7 pm we pulled into the town. We had been expecting a giant truck stop with a Denny’s, motel six, and grocery store but we found there was Nothing there but a gas station, motel, and café.
We decided to stop, “Last gas for 100 miles” according to the sign and we were low on gas, and tired from driving all day.
We chatted with the owner, he was the sheriff, the fire chief, the owner of the motel, and gas station, and a sheep, pig, and cattle farmer. The only business in town, and the only place open for one hundred miles.
I noticed a highway sign outside,
“Welcome to Wagontire, Oregon
Population 2 ½ humans 50.000 sheep, 10,000 cows, 2,000 pigs, ten dogs and lots of feral cats.”
I asked the Sherriff,
“Say, who is the ½ human? “
My idiot son! “
And we left, 200 miles later we finally left Eastern Oregon
I did not know it at the time, but this was my last big solo road trip with my father. We drove to and from the cabin a few more times, last time in 1984, but this trip was special and one I will always remember. Mainly because my dad and I finally became “friends” during this trip, and got along great. Unfortunately, that moment did not last and we soon re-entered our difficult relationship, but during that trip, we got along famously.
A Special Time for My Dad and Me
This could be an outing with your dad and family or a memory of him that was special to you. This is a topic-based contest. Write a story based on the topic provided in the announcement.
The Poet will publish my poem, “My Mother’s History” in an upcoming anthology on Cultural Identity. My ethnic background is a bit complicated. Depending upon how I look at it, I have 18 to 20 nationalities in my tangled family DNA.
From my father’s side of the family, I inherited a German family name, Scandinavian blue eyes, with ancestors coming from France, Germany, Finland, Denmark, Lapland, Norway, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine, and somehow the Basque region. I also have some Jewish ancestry and a trace of Mongolian ancestry as do most people of Eastern European background. And my DNA test also claims that there is some Italian ancestry somewhere and perhaps Spanish ancestry.
From my mother’s side of the family, I am part Scot, part Irish, part French, part Dutch, part Cherokee and part Nigerian. Since she was part of the lost tribe of the Cherokee Indians, her story is particularly complicated as her ancestors fled before being enrolled in a tribe and lived in the Ozarks intermarrying with other Indian tribes, Scot and Irish settlers, and escaped slaves. In any event, there are so few people in her ethnic group -perhaps 25,000, that they don’t show in DNA tests. Since her parents show Cherokee, that means I am anywhere from 1/8 to 1/8 Cherokee. I met my uncle once, and he looked Cherokee to me.
The following are my poems exploring my ethnic history. Enjoy.
My Mother’s History
Why are there so many Fake Cherokees?
One day many a year ago
My mother spoke to me
About her family’s tangled history,
She spoke to me
Of lies, half-truths, and myths
Some of which may have been true
And throughout the evening
Her history came alive.
She was born in the hills
of North Little Rock
The 10th of 11 children
Of an ancient dying race.
The lost tribe of the Cherokees
who had run away
Refusniks
Refugees who fled in the hills.
Part of the lost tribe of the Cherokee nation
Part Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Osage, Seminole
African Americans, French, Scot and Irsh
Who fled to the mountains
To avoid the trail of tears.
Rather than join the rest
In the promised land
Of Oklahoma.
They did not exist
I did not exist.
The BIA told us
No Indian scholarship
For you
Since you can’t prove
You are in fact
Of Native American ancestry,
I asked my mother
What does this mean?
She said
No BIA money for you,
My non-Indian son.
Her family and Bill Clinton family
Were related
Bill Clinton and I are distant cousins
When I met him
I related my family history
He concluded that we were indeed cousins
Said I could call him Cousin Bill
And he would call me Cousin Jake
And he too was part Cherokee
Irish, Scotch, French
And African American
Part of the lost tribe
Of the Cherokee nation
I told my mom
This story
She said
It was true
She was a distant cousin
Of Bill Clinton
Still did not like
The lying SOB
Her people disappeared
From history’s eyes
And DNA data banks
My history was over
As was hers
And so,
I learned at last
The painful truth
That due to the genocidal crimes
of politicians so long ago
My mother’s people
Lost their land, their culture,
and their hope
And became
downtrodden forgotten people
Hillbillies they were called
Living in the hills and mountain dales
Clinging to the dim fading memories
Of their once glorious past
As proud Cherokees
Now no one knew their name
The old ways were forgotten
And the new world never forgave them
And they never forgave the new world
As they lived on
In the margins of society
Forgotten people
And I vowed that as long as I lived
Their history would not die
As I knew the truth
And I would become a proud
Cherokee
And make my mother proud of me
And my accomplishments
When I am down and out
I recall her stories and her warnings
And realize it is up to me
To live my life
To let the Cherokee in me
Live his life
And in so doing
My mother’s history does not die
It lives on in me
Until the day I die
Long live the Cherokee nation
Long live my mother
DNA Does Not Like or Does it?
I sent way
For one of those DNA tests
That promises to reveal
Your ethnic heritage
The only problem
is that claim
Is not yet true
The results
were surprising
To say the least
Family lore would have it
That I have 18 nationalities
In my tangled family history
Mostly Northern European
Part German, Norwegian, Swedish, Finish, Danish, Dutch, Laplander, Russian, Scottish, Basque, Mongolian, Jewish, Spanish, and French from my father
Part Cherokee, Dutch, Irish, Scottish, English, Italian, Nigerian, and French from my mother
100 percent born and raised in Berkeley
The DNA results showed
that I am 68% northern European
with trace elements of Jewish, Basque. Italian
Mongolian and Nigerian stock,
No native American at all
And my Germanic last name
For some reason
Did not register at all
Go figure I said
And I read the fine print
The state of the art is such
That claims that they can tell
Your ethnic background
Are exaggerated
The fine print read
Explaining why it is often inaccurate
The Cherokee background
Disappeared
Because my branch of the Cherokees
Disappeared into the mist of time
Part of the lost tribe of the Cherokee nation
Part Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole
African Americans, Scot, Irish,Dtuch and French
Who fled to the mountains
To avoid the trail of trees
The German background
Got swept up into the northern European thing
And at the end of the day
I remained as much a mongrel
half breed as anything else
Typical American
I suppose
All in all
A fascinating experiment
Family History Revealed
The DNA results
Revealed some aspects
Of whom I am
Where I am from
But not everything
Was revealed
And much of my history
Remains hidden
My father was from Yakima
Ran away to the Bay Area
Where he became a college professor
Taught the dismal science economics
Along the way
He met my mother
And after a whirlwind romance
had four children
My older brother,
Me
Younger brother
And sister
She was a refugee
From the dust bowl
Fled Arkansas
In the late ’30s
Never looked back
Settled down
In the Bay Area
Yet the south lingered on
She trained herself
To speak without an accent
The only time the southern came out
Was when she was talking to her sisters
She was the 10th of 11 children
Father was a moonshiner
A Cherokee medicine man to boot
Lived life in the Ozark mountains
She had two sons
From a prior relationship
That went south
We never really knew them
My father was an atheist
And a morning person
And a man with a plan
For everything
My mother
More make it up
As she went along
And a night owl
How and why
They met and stayed together
Is beyond me
They had a stormy relationship
My mother always said
Germans and Irish
Don’t mix
And never should marry
She also said
The world is divided
into morning people
And night owls
And they are doomed
to marry each other
Yet I suppose
There was real love
Beneath all the drama
And bluster
Thoughts on Visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC
Sam Adams
Had never been
To the Holocaust Museum,
Despite the fact
He had lived
And worked in DC for decades
One day after he retired
He said to himself
It was long past time
To finally see the holocaust museum
He went the week
After Charleston,
When the mob had chanted,
Jews will not replace us.
The museum affected him deeply
He had just confirmed
Through DNA
That he had at least 10 percent
Jewish ancestry
Among the 18 other nationalities
Swirling among these bloodlines
Sam Adams was concerned
Those elements of antisemitism
Were emerging among
The MAGA crowd.
But he dismissed
The fears that Trump
Was another Hitler
As liberal hyperbole
It could not happen here
A new holocaust
Would never happen
But now he was not so sure
I grew up in Berkeley, California in the 60s and 70s. Here are my Ode to Berkeley poems. Someday soon I want to return to live in my spiritual homeland.
Hark, I Hear the Spirits of Berkeley Calling Me Home. Berkeley
Short Version -40 Lines
Dreaming Of Returning To Berkeley Sam Adams
Rambling Man, Where Do I Belong?
Rambling Man -Where Do I Belong? 2
Berkeley California
Growing Up In Berkeley
Berkeley In The 60s And 70s
Berkeley Time Travels
Berkeley Nonet
Berkeley Street Scene 2015
Berkeley Time Warp
Stockton Time Travel
Berkeley Street Scene 1974
The Cosmic Cat
Hiking The Hills of My Youth
Free-Roaming Berkeley as a Kid
674 Santa Rosa Avenue
DNA Does Not Lie, Or Does It?
My Mother’s History
What Am I DNA Fortune Cookies
Mary Geneva Aller -there’s Method in Her Madness, Eulogy Poem
Hark, I Hear the Spirits Of Berkeley Calling Me Home. Berkeley
free roaming berkeley
Long Version
Hark,
I hear the spirits
Of Berkeley
Calling me home.
The more I roam in this world
The more I am drawn
Back to the land
From whence I came.
Berkeley, California
Is what it is
And sometimes
It is what it ain’t.
Berkely is a “how Berkeley, can you be vibe” town,
Home to CAL with 40,000 students who flood into the city nine months of the year, University professors, staff, and students,
Yet Berkeley is so much more the ultimate college town.
It is delicious food is everywhere around the corner sort of town, An artisanal craft beer, and spirits, coffee, herbal tea, Kombucha, and wine drinking city, where Coca-Cola is seldom served, gourmet ghetto, inventor of the new American cuisine revolution, home of Chez Panisse, the French Laundry, and so many other restaurants, a place where you can find every cuisine of the world at a most affordable price, a town where there are more restaurants per capita than anywhere else, where if you wanted to eat dinner at a different restaurant every day it would take you years to do so, with new places opening and closing every day.
An anti-big box store vibe, yet with a lively small business sector, more restaurants and coffee shops per capita than almost anywhere else, lots of upscale groceries, used to have a large Co-op (my father was the President) and ethnic foods markets, organic food markets, Berkeley Bowl market, farmers markets, plus usual corporate chain food stores.
MOES book rules, where Howl was written, where the beatnik writers and culture types used to hang out, and their spiritual Descendents still do.
Philip K Dicks hometown, (Philip K dick dated my mom before she met my father, end personal disclosures)Thornton Wilder and so many other great writers back in the day and here and now, Jack Kerouac and Alan Ginsberg lived and loved there,
Craft beer paradise, the hometown of Peets coffee, still the best damn coffee even though they have gone corporate, the coffee revolution of the late 50s and 60’s started here in the Coffee mecca of the United States, where Café Med proudly proclaimed to one and all
‘We Don’t Serve Establishment Coffee,
They invented the American version of the Latte” It seems there are more coffee shops in Berkeley per capita than almost anywhere else in the country,
Berkeley is also the home of a vibrant tea, smoothie, artisanal spirits, craft beer, and wine culture with urban wineries and brewpubs everywhere.
A gluten-friendly city with the best GF pizza in the world the Berkeley Cheese collective, a foodies delight,
A diverse although less day by day as it now a very expensive city,
A very ethnic town, used to have the largest Finnish community in the U.S,, lots of Russians and Eastern Europeans back in the day, a city with people, from all the known world, where 250 different languages are spoken at home, an African-American town, used to be a very black town, 40 percent back in the 70’s now perhaps twenty percent, a middle class suburb of Oakland back in the day, but with a black lower class, working class, who are still hanging on somehow, but still a lot of my African Americans brothers and sisters hanging on despite the high rents and housing costs, many property rich but cash poor, joined by so many African immigrants and Caribbean African immigrants as well, an Asian American city, home of a vibrant Chinese-American community, Korean-American, Hispanic City, Ohlone Tribal city, Native Americans from all different tribes still around city, Japanese-American, Indian-American city, an Iranian diaspora, and now Afghani diaspora as well, French people, European people, Jewish people, but no Jewish space lasers yet, Indian-American little Bombay community where you can get the latest Bollywood movies, food and Indian political gossip,
An artistic city, a creative city, Great art Museum at CAL, home of the Pacific Film Archives a real treasure for movie lovers, with more movie theaters per capita than anywhere else,
A book lovers city filled with great bookstores, the best public library in the country, and the University library system is among the best in the country as well.
Great one-of-kind bookstores, although sadly, Cody’s’ and Shakespeare’s books are long gone.
A great music city.
Great music at CAL
And in the city
Great acts always coming to town
Or the Bay Area
Live music is still alive at least it will be soon
As COVID dies down
Great music stores as well.
Great BHS music programs
Including the BHS Jazz band
Where many greats got their start‘
Rock n Roll fantasy world,
A Motown friendly city,
A funk lovers paradise
A Blues lover mecca
West Coast Rap town
Hip hop town
And there are even country fans
hometown to the Earthquake, Green Day, Jimi Hendrix’s last high school, the Rubinoos, The Psychotic Pineapple, Smoke and Fog, Tower of Power “East Bay Grease sort of town,
New flash for TJ Dave – hey dude, I loved your song, you ain’t Berkeley enough” just want to say I represent that remark, but I rep Berkeley worldwide dude and I am still as Berkeley as I wanna be, anywhere in the world, dude, end news flash
Not to mention so many jazz players including Peter Applebaum, Jim Davidson,
Joshua Redman, and so many others.
A Berkeley High school rocks place, (personal disclosures I was the BHS student body president in 1973-1974),
The home of the song, “Sitting by the dock of the bay,”
An anti-establishment sort of city, yet filled with students studying to be part of that despised establishment, all vowing to change the world but the world always changes them into yet more high-priced corporate drones.
With zany wacked out politics, a city at times lost in 1969, or lost in the future, A city where being called a “conservative “ is considered a vile insult,
A very progressive city, probably the most progressive city in the country, which in my opinion is a good thing, not something to be ashamed of,
A PC is a cool city that invented PC before it became a curse word of sorts, a city where there are real live Marxists, communists, and socialists but no one takes them seriously, and there are a few proto-fascist political science professors as well,
The spiritual home of the beatniks, the hippies, the yippies, and sadly the weathermen
The city that gave us “the Symbionese Liberation Army,” kidnapper of Patty Hearst,
(Personal disclosure: the SLA briefly terrorized the Bay Area, and my family during the 70s calling my father “a fascist insect that preys on the life of the people, his offense = demanding that students and staff at the Peralta college be required to wear ID’s to combat a rise in violent crime on the campuses, my father not having a sense of humor did not like my joke when one morning I said,
“Good morning fascist Insect how are you today?” My mother loved it and said
“Yeah, he is a fascist insect but he is our fascist insect,” and laughed. My father merely glared at the two of us. End Personal disclosure)
A Political city up the Yazoo town, a one-party town but with two rival political factions, republicans and there are some of them in town, feel like they are an endangered species, (another personal disclosure, my Dad was Curtis Cosmos Aller, the President of the Berkeley Co-op from 1968 to 1985 when he died, the President of the Peralta Board of Colleges, who ran for Congress in 1974 in the democratic primary against the legendary Ron Dellums, end personal disclosure) very few Q nuts but I am sure there are some, just as there are no doubt people who believe in the lizard shapeshifter conspiracy,
(Personal note: I am a human being but once I took an online quiz to determine whether I could be part alien and the quiz said I was an alien, go figure)
A very anti-Q town, pro-science, rational type of town, filled with humanists and secular humanists types,
A hate bigotry town. Where Ann Coulter and her fellow right-wing followers are not welcome, A town that proudly voted against Trump – 90 percent in 2016 and 2020) proud center of the “resistance” home of Antifa, BLM rules, the birthplace of the black panthers who met at the first African American high school history class in the US in the early 60s, at BHS of course, and home of the Gray Panthers,
a city whose representative is in Congress. Representative Barbara Lee, was the only representative to vote against the Iraq war in 2003, noting that Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11, to the rest of the country she was a dangerous left-wing radical, to the Bay Area, and me, a real American Patriotic hero.
A very marijuana-friendly city where the joke has always been pulling out a joint and its cool, pull out a cigarette and everyone wants to send you to jail, smoking cigarettes being so uncool nowadays,
At times, a very joyful city but not enough joy due to the political disputes and anger as people in Berkeley are very into political discussions and are news junkies,
A very frank town where everyone has an opinion and is not afraid to speak up,
Bike-friendly, an environmentally friendly city, recycling mecca, renewable energy, friendly, where the university engineers are working to solve the world’s energy problems and coming up with solutions to the climate change crisis, solar panels everywhere, transit-friendly, zip car-friendly, uber/lift friendly, BART friendly, walkable sort of town.
At times hot city, living with the constant fear of the mega drought, fires and the big one, atmospheric rivers, polar vortexes, and other global warming phenomena as climate change becomes nightmarishly real,
but most days the same, foggy cool mornings, nice, pleasant in the 70s afternoons, then more fog dipping into high 40s by midnight, used to be no rain between April and October just the cool morning fog, but nowadays with climate change, we get rain even in the summer, and they joke there are two seasons now in California the rainy season October to March and fire season April to October, all due to the non-existent climate change hoax,
To the rest of the world, a very “Berserkly place”
A Buddhist friendly city, including a Buddhist Zen Center, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Buddhist temples and a Buddhist Seminary, A Tai-Chi mecca, Yoga centric, very Zen attitude sort of town,
A liberal Christianity city where fundamentalists are not welcomed, where atheists, free thinkers, liberal Muslim, liberal Hindus, new-age types, and Wiccans are welcomed, home of several liberal Christian seminaries, a Buddhist seminary, and now a Muslim seminary all located on Seminary Hill)
A city where making fun of the street preachers is a fun game for the militant atheists of the city (personal disclosures that were me back in the day, I loved to heckle Holly Hubert joined at times by my old friend Julia Vino graduate, the bubble lady who used to blow bubbles at Holly Herbert as he ranted about how we would all go to hell for our heathen ways, Holly Hubert is long gone by now as that was almost 45 years ago)
A crazy city. A cool city, at times a cold city,
Filled with the scent of good craziness, and sometimes very bad craziness as sometimes on a bad night things can go bad if you are in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people, or are the victim of a drug deal gone bad when the guns come out to play to settle disputes, or knives are drawn and people get very crazy or are just unlucky to be caught up in the crossfire, or on a bad trip on bad drugs, just too many damn drugs and too many people whose minds were fried by the same damn drugs, in short Berkeley does have a dark side to it,
A city of big dreamers, a fast-paced city,
But for the most part, it is a friendly town, but not too friendly, A freaky place filled with freakeries, A funky vibe, a funny town all around,
And you can have fun there as well as get lucky and meet the woman or man of your dreams, as there are lots of young single men and women looking for Mr. Good or Ms. Good as the case may be,
An Oakland A, and SF giants town, forty-niners (although some hate them for moving to San Jose, the Northern California clone of LA. And Golden States warriors but everyone now hate the Las Vegas Raiders, as much every person born in Berkeley must hate LA, sort of the part of Berkeley and the Northern Californian DNA to be hating on LA, the LA Dodgers, and now the Las Vegas Raiders.,
A live and let live z tude, A loony tunes place, A happy go lucky sort of vibe city,
“Hella Berkeley “city, A historical city, A Hippie town back in the day, A hip hop center, A hip city where everyone knows what hip is but can say what it is, what is hip, yal? Do you know? Hipness, like Berkeley, is what is it is and sometimes is what is not,
Too many homeless people living on the streets of the city, panhandling, and becoming a nuisance, getting into everyone’s face, destroying everyone’s mellow, lonely at times city where many people have thousands of virtual friends but few real friends
Very LGBTQ friendly, a feminist city, a very pro-choice town,
An only in Berkeley kind of vibe,
A city where people still read a lot, where newspapers have not died but are mostly read online,
Home of a rich alternative press history, although sadly most have gone by the wayside, I remember the Berkeley Barb, the Berkeley Gazette, the SF Chronicle, the Bay Guardian, the East Bay Express, the Berkeley Voice, the great underground comics like Fritz the Cat, reading online Berkeley news outlets just not the same thing at all. And BHS used to have a daily newspaper, now a weekly paper although the CAL daily is still daily mostly read online.
A very sad town, a special city, A city that would welcome space aliens who might already be there, and OMG place,
A rainy blues sort of day place.,
Robots are the cool city where new robots are being developed every day, a city where people are building the singularity not fearing it,
A mask up follows the science town badly hit by the COVID pandemic, particularly the small business who took in on the chin,
The birth of Nanowrimo, the November write a novel in a month contest, (personal disclosure -I completed three of these)
A poet friendly place where people get poetry,
Rents are insane, housing prices too, the only people who can afford to buy are people with boatloads of money, and somehow there are lots of those types hanging out, and lots of people who don’t have money who somehow manage to get by, who can afford to live here? It takes serious piles of moolah, big piles of money, lots of cash, dollars up the yazoo, trust baby parents, or selling your soul to a start-up from hell, to be able to pay the rent or lots of roommates, yet people still flock to the city, how they can afford it is still a mystery to me.
A stand-up guy sort city,
Student-friendly, kind of a suburb of Oakland and SF, yet doing its own very Berkeley thing,
Home of great city parks,
San Pablo Park (home
Of the annual BHS alumnus picnic)
Indian Rock Peoples Park
Inspiration point,
Ho Chi Min Park in the 70s
The Rose Garden
Strawberry canyon,
Tilden Park,
Wildcat canyon
Part of the Bay Area Ridge Trails and Bay Area Bay trails which are almost complete, doing a thru-hike of both, the Appalachian, the cross-continental, and the PC trails are among my bucket list dreams,
Too cool for school,
Sometimes a traffic hell place, BART trains too crowded, pickpockets and other unsavory criminal types hanging out by the BART train stations, along with high school students, the druggies,
A “west Coast Rap kingdom, wine drinkers paradise, the former home of the weathermen and other leftist domestic terrorists) a wonderful world for the young at heart, a very unique city, a pro-vac place, vibrant, vegetarian and vegan friendly, yet still offering enough meat options for the carnivores, and still the ultimate university town but as you can see by now, so much more than that,
a yoga is God kind of town where yoga is mandatory, Yuppie place, a zany city, a zestful town, and lately a zoom work by home town, Berkeley is all of that and so more in short. Berkely is an of kind sort of place, unique in all the universe and it is my homeland,
But still, I am drawn
And want to return
Before my time is done,
As it remains
My spiritual homeland.
Hark, I Hear The Spirits Of Berkeley Calling Me Home – Short Version
Hark,
I hear the spirits
Of Berkeley
Calling me home.
The more I roam in this world
The more I am drawn
Back to the land
From whence I came.
Berkeley, California
Is what it is
And sometimes
It is what it ain’t.
Berkely is a “how Berkeley, can you be vibe” town, an African diaspora, an Asian American city, an anti-big box store vibe, an artistic city, A Berkeley High school rocks place, the Berkeley hills, the birth of the black panthers, the spiritual home of the beatniks, bike-friendly, The Berkeley Rep rules, To the rest of the world, a very “Berserkly place” a Buddhist friendly city, filled with deep, dark memories, a vibrant Chinese-American city, creative city, Home to CAL with 40,000 students who flood into the city nine months of the year, Coffee is God Mecca, craft beer paradise, a crazy city. A cool city, a cutting edge technology, delicious food is everywhere around the corner sort of town, a diverse although less day by day as it now a very expensive city,
A very unique city, a pro-vac place, vibrant, vegetarian and vegan friendly, yet still offering enough meat options for the carnivores, University professors, staff and students, city employees alike and still the ultimate university town but as you can see by now, so much more than that, yoga is God kind of town where yoga is mandatory, Yuppie place, a zany city, a zestful town, and lately a zoom work by home town, Berkeley is all of that and so more in short. Berkely is an of kind sort of place, unique in all the universe and it is my homeland,
But still, I am drawn
And want to return
Before my time is done,
As it remains
My spiritual homeland.
Dreaming of Returning to Berkeley
free roaming berkeley
Sam Adams
A child of the 70s Bay Area,
Having lived all over the world,
Visited all 50 states
And 60 countries.
But in his heart
He knew
That soon.
It would be time
To return
To his spiritual homeland.
Berkeley, California,
The center of his universe,
He heard the spirits
Of Berkeley calling him home.
Like a salmon returning
To his home waters
Before dying.
Berkeley Beckoning Me
The Richmond – San Rafael Bridge and industrial port of Richmond taken from Tilden Park’s Vollmer Peak.
I grew up
In Berkeley, California
In the early 70s
A wild and crazy time.
Berkeley shaped my soul
And my heart will always
Long for my homeland.
Berkeley was always
A wild and zany place
Filled with original characters
Drawn to the city by the bay.
The hills overlooking the city
The campus filled with students
The downtown shopping area
The suburban housing.
The street people
The vendors on Telegraph
The smell of marijuana
Hanging in the air
Long before it was legal.
In some ways
Berkeley seems stuck
In a time warp.
A certain corner
Seems to be forever
Stuck in 1969.
The city has changed
Over the years
Like most places
It has become harder
And harder for the working class
To afford to live there.
The yuppies took over
Decades ago
But despite that the city
Continues to be home
To a diverse population.
Little India emerged
Along with Berkeley’s Chinatown
The old black neighborhoods
Still manages to somehow
Thrive amid the gentrification.
And so as my life winds down
My thoughts keep returning
To my ancestral home
The homeland
Where I wish to die.
Rambling Man, Where Do I Belong?
Where is my home? Where do I belong?
I don’t know, always moving on to another place
Moved every other year it seems the last 45 years
Traveled to 50 states, 55 countries, drove across the U.S. eight times
Lived in Berkeley, Yakima, Stockton, Seattle, Alexandria, DC, Oregon, Korea, Thailand, India,
The Eastern Caribbean, and Spain
Where do I belong? Where is my home?
Neither here nor there, nowhere and everywhere
And so is that my rambling man’s fate
Never to belong anywhere at all
Rambling Man -Where Do I Belong?
I have been a rambling man
All my adult life
Grew up in Berkeley, California
Went to College in Hayward and Oberlin
During my lost year
Lost in a fog of booze and pot
Then I came back to reality
And went to college
In Stockton, California
The Central Valley
Ohio transplanted to California
Then after four years in Stockton
With extended weekends
And breaks in Berkeley
I became an expatriate wanderer
Peace Corps worker in Korea
Then taught ESL in Korea
For four years
Occasionally returning to my home
But always wanting to be elsewhere
Then back to Korea
And then Seattle for four years
Driving back and forth to the bay area
Stopping off in Southern Oregon
Eventually bought a house and duplex
In Southern Oregon
Vaguely thinking we would retire there
Some day when my rambling ways were over
Then back to Korea for three more years
Then I joined the Foreign Service
And my wife the military
And I wandered the world again
Always somewhere
Always dreaming of my next somewhere
Never there
As I was a permanent ex-pat
And a diplomat to boot
Never a local
But never really felt I belong there
Or in America
That was becoming more and more
A foreign land
The longer I stayed away
I stayed on in DC for almost ten years
Off and on
But never really
felt that I belong there
I was too West Coast in my heart
And DC seemed to be
Just a place to stay
In between travels
Stayed in Thailand
Then later India
And Eastern Caribbean
And later Spain
Traveled to 55 countries
Lived in ten
And now I am retired
Still torn between
Living the ex-pat life
In Seoul, Korea
And returning to the West Coast
And occasionally back to DC
and Florida as well
And I wonder
Where do I belong
Where do I belong
Other than wherever
My wife and I end up
Neither here nor there
Halfway there
a life in between
And so is that my fate
Never to belong
Never to have roots in the ground
Always wanting to be somewhere else
Always a stranger in my native land
And a stranger in my other home
Across the sea
There is no answer to these questions
As the rambling urge comes again
And I prepare to move yet again
Hoping someday I will be
Somewhere where I can stop
These rambling blues
And be there
ending my life
in between
Berkeley California
Growing up in the ’60s
In Berkeley
almost 50 years ago
I think back
At those turbulent times
Those crazy wonderful times
Berkeley is a wonderful place
In many ways
Stuck forever in 1967
A true-time travel experience
Every time I go back
And relive the memories
Of the ’60s
The 60’s never died
They continue
In college towns
Across the world
And Berkeley
Remains the mecca
Of the counter
cultural revolution
Many things have changed
But the organic food revolution
Became mainstream
Marijuana spread out
The sexual revolution
Became mainstream
So much of the world
Is but a reflection
Of the revolution of the ’60s
And the conservative
counter-revolution
That we are still fighting
So, I salute
My homeland
The center of my universe
Growing up in Berkeley
I grew up in Berkeley, California
A child during the 60s and 70s
Graduated high school in 1974,
Crazy times
Berkeley was a crazy
city back then
Still is to some extent
But then it was
the craziest place
In the whole U.S.
And it made an impact
I will always be a Berkeley child
Always have that Berkeley feel
In my soul.
No matter where I travel
I remain at the heart
A child of Berkeley
Berkeley Time Travels
I grew up in Berkeley, California
In the turbulent fabled late ’60s
And in Berkeley in those days
Time seems to standstill
On the corner of Dwight and Telegraph
Across from People’s park
It seems to be always May 1969
With the man
Down the street
Oppressing the hippies
On the street
As they smoked their weed
Dodging the bored cops
Who looked the other way
If they did not partake
And then I went to college
In the valley
And as I drove into Stockton
I felt I was traveling again
In time
Back to the fabled ’50s
As Stockton was also
Stuck in a time warp of sorts
And as I left the Bay area
And traveled the world
I would come back
To that corner
And just be there
Stuck in May 1969
Marveling at the changes
That had and had not occurred
To the corner of the land
Forever stuck in time
And space
My father was a local politician
In the SF Bay area
He was president of the Berkeley Co-Op
President of the Peralta Community Colleges
Because of my father’s position,
And political activities
He became known as a “conservative” in Berkeley,
And those were fighting words.
But I will always remember
The time he became known
Briefly as a “fascist insect.”
The radical terrorist group had put out a manifesto –
A hit list of people they deemed “fascist insects”
And called upon the people
To rise and assassinate the “fascist insects.”
My father got
On the SLA hit list
For daring to impose a mandatory ID requirement
For all students and faculty
At the community colleges
To combat a crime problem
And for making the campuses
Closed to non-students and staff.
For that, he became a “fascist insect”
“Enemy of the people”
And must die according to the SLA.
The Berkeley police dispatched police officers
To guard us 24/7
Along with the other 100
Or so people on the hit list.
One day I woke up,
Got the paper,
Chatted with the police officer on duty,
As I did when I saw them,
Thanking him for protecting the family,
Went in and saluted my father, saying
“Good morning fascist insect.”
My father
Being of stern German Scandinavian stock glared at me
As he did not have a sense of humor.
My mother, being of Irish and Cherokee background
Had a great sense of humor.
She came out and laughed and said,
“You got that right, son.
Yeah, he is a fascist insect”
And saluted him and we made fun of him
Until he stormed out of the house.
Berkeley Street Scene 2015
Coming back to Berkeley
Every year since I left
Remains me how much it has changed
And how little it has changed
The essences of Berkeley
The reasons why I keep coming back
Remains the same
It is a zany, wild, and crazy city
Filled with energy, enthusiasm
And big ideas
The University remains
The center of the town
But Berkeley was always more
Than a college town
It was a black suburb of Oakland
and still is
It was an Asian American suburb of Oakland
And remains to this day
It was a welcoming place for gays and lesbians
And still is
And of course, it was a student hangout
For Cal students and students from all over
And still is
It was a regional hangout for high school kids
And still is
BHS rocks
And it was a commuter stop on the BART
For white-collar workers from the city
And still is
It was a working-class town
And some of that is still there
And a center for movies
And the arts
And the food mecca
For all the foodies in the Bay area
And boy is it still the mecca
For good food
One can get in Berkeley
Food from almost every ethnic group
In the world
If you can’t find it Berkeley
Either in the stores
Or the hundreds of ethnic joints
You won’t be able to find it
Anywhere else in the U.S.
Over the years I tried
My first Chinese
My first Cambodian
My first Cuban
My first French
My first Greek
My first German
my first Italian
my first Korean
my first Japanese
My first Indonesian
my first Mexican
My first Russian
my first Spanish
My first Vientamese
And my first New Californian cuisine
And my first Mc Donald’s
And Burger King
first gourmet burger
first BBQ
First sashimi
first sushi
great sandwiches
great salads
great pizzas
great pasta
great wine
greet craft beer
great artisan spirits
great marijuana as well.
And of course
Who can forget
Their first Peet’s coffee?
And who can forget
Tilden Park
Inspiration Point at sunrise
And Wildcat canyon?
One day while glazing at the sunset
Over the bay bridge
I declared that Berkeley
was the center
Of my universe
So, I end this love song
To Berkeley California
Truly the center
Of this man’s universe
2009 Berkeley Time Warp
Time travel is possible
I do it every year
When I return to Berkeley
And go to the corner of Dwight and Telegraph
Down the street from People’s Park
I enter a time wrap
And find me in 1967
It is always 1967
With the sweet smell of pot
In the air
And the merchants selling
Tie die tea shirts
And talking shit
And the students walking by
And the older generation
Walking by in nostalgic memories
Of when it was the 60’s
and everything seemed possible
We would change the world
And then Nixon came
And the world turned ugly fast
And furious
And we have been on a dark trip
Ever since those days
Especially during the Trumpian nightmare
We are just getting out of
But in Berkeley
At Dwight and Telegraph
the resistance to trumpism
continues growing stronger
The 60’s live on
Long live the 60’s
Stockton Time Travel
When I was going to college
in Stockton, California in the 70s
It seemed as if every time
I went to Stockton
I was going through
a time and space wormhole
And emerging on the other end
In an Ohio farm town circa 1959
Then returning to Berkeley
And arriving in the mid-’70s
Except for Telegraph Avenue
Which is always stuck in 1967.
The time travel wormhole collapsed
As Stockton over time
Became an outer suburb of Sacramento
And the greater Bay Area
But the valley remains
A different time and space
Then the Bay Area
And so, time travel is still
The way to go
When going to the valley
From Berkeley
Berkeley Street Scene 1974
Growing up in Berkeley
In the late ’60s
and early to mid-’70s
Was such a trip
Berkeley and the Bay Area
Were already becoming
Almost a separate country
From the rest of the United States
And Berkeley was already
Such a diverse place
My high school had over 4,000 students
From over 150 countries
And had openly gay students
And even transgender students
Decades before that became common
Elsewhere in the country
My best friends were Jewish, Irish, Black,
Half Black Half White, Black and Asian
And I was the student body president
I belonged to no particular clique
Rather floated between different groups
And that is why perhaps I was a success
Berkeley taught me so much
And being there
Taught me so much
I lived through
such a turbulent time
The black panthers
The black revolution
The sexual revolution
The anti-war movement
We had tear gas days
And we used to hang out
On Telegraph watching the riots
Or watching the street preachers
On more peaceful days
And boy did we enjoy
Cheap eats
Oscar’s Burgers
Pizza
Chinese food
And hot dogs
TOP DOG rules
And sneaking over to CAL
To crash Fraternity parties
And get some free drinks
Life was interesting
In those days
And I will never
Forgot
The life lessons
I learned in the streets
Of Berkeley in the ’70s
674 Santa Rosa Avenue, Berkeley, California
674 santa rosa jpg
My childhood home for almost 15 years
was 674 Santa Rosa Berkeley California
A five-bedroom adobe California home
on the side of a hill
at the bottom of the Berkeley hills
in the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood
You entered on the top floor
across the street,
you entered on the bottom floor
thus, it was in the Berkeley Hills
The house had a large deck
with a perfect view of the golden gate
We used to sit outside
watching the sunset as we ate dinner
My Mom and Dad
would have their first of
many nightly cocktails on the deck
Before retreating inside to continue
their nightly fights and arguments
I grew up downstairs
hearing their constant words
of hatred, dismay, and outrage
yet still with profound love
despite their differences
My parents were the
proverbial odd couple
Perhaps never
should have married
But despite the hate
there was still some love
that kept them together
throughout the years
We had a rec room
with a pool table
and I hung out there
with my friends
My mother tolerated my friends
most of the time she would
be somewhat sober
until after they left
And the madness came over her
as she drank her whisky and wine
The basement rooms
was added later
was my younger brother’s room
later was my room
Whenever I visited from college days
hiding out downstairs
avoiding my mad mother
My old room lay abandoned
filled with books
thousands of books
that I had read over the years
When she died
I should have taken all the books
with me back to DC
Instead, I took about
one hundred just
no space for the books
of my childhood memories
I grew up in the Thousand Oaks neighborhood
of Berkeley, California
when they build the neighborhood
back in the twenties
the developers tried to save
as many of the old oak trees
as they could
building around the trees
rather than clear-cutting the lots
as so many developers
tended to do
so the neighborhood
had hundreds of old oak trees
including one in my front yard
and I often thought
how the neighborhood
was special
because of the old trees
that stood as witnesses
to the history of the town
and I wondered what they thought
what the trees knew
about the people
who lived among them
but the trees remained silent
whenever I asked them
about the history of the neighborhood
Not a tree thing to speak up
Balanced in Berkeley
“Gorgeous sunset from UC Berkeley!”
Born in Berkeley, California
a product of the wild ’70s
just a lost white brother
hanging about
downtown
brothers
can you hang about
listen to me lover
wildness left from the 60’ des
want to fly away from California
brothers
leave the 60’s
ride away my lover
can you dig that without a doubt
born in Berkeley, California.
1955 Berkeley
The day I was born
was the day that Rock N Roll
was born
on a Cincinnati Radio station
Roll Over Beethoven by Chuck Berry
was the first Rock song officially played
on the radio
coincidence, I think not
for I was born
rocking and a rolling
the day I burst out on the stage
yelling
whoa Jake
here I am!
In Oakland
I was the only white baby born
at the Kaiser hospital
near my father’s house
in the ghetto
in West Berkeley
where junior professors lived
escaped the draft
due to a typo on my birth certificate
born on the 30th at 4 am
the night nurse typed October 29
and that became my legal birthday
and of course
I celebrate both days
Why the hell not?
And Howl was written
in Berkeley
and performed in SF
many great writers
lived there
including the great Philip K Dick
who briefly dated my Mom
before she met my father
a few years later I attended
Thousand Oaks
a mostly white school
in a neighborhood
that was becoming
Berkeley’s China town
later went to King
which was 40 black
40 percent white
10 percent Asian
10 percent Hispanic
When I graduated from BHS
the percentages
had barely changed
still, the majority were the minority
and still is as far as I know
BHS school
1972 to 1974
we had tear gas days
when the students revolted
and were chased
down the street
we went to Cal
to watch the demonstrations
and cheer them on
we all hated the war
many of our older siblings
had gone and died
the black panther party
was founded at BHS
Jimi Hendrix’s last school
same with the CCR
Green Day
and so many other
great and not so great bands
and a famous porn star
an NBA player
and associated others
who can forget
Peets coffee
Jamba Juice
Cheese Collective
Oscars – now closed
Giant Burgers?
Bongo Burgers?
Top Dog
And the other quirky Berkeley establishment
Where establishment coffee was never served!
A few joined
the State Department
with me as well
I never went to CAL
My two brothers did
They had better grades than me
Better test scores too
As I traveled the world
These last decades
There is something
That I will always remember
You can take someone
Out of Berkeley
But you can’t take
Berkeley out of them
For you will always remain
Berkeley to the core
The best city
In the known universe
Long live Berkeley
The center of my universe
And the home of my heart
I know that someday
I will return
I am still Berkeley enough
Dude!
All that I know About Life I Learned at Berkeley High School
free roaming berkeley
All that I know about life
and how to deal with people
I learned while attending BHS
in Berkeley, California
back in the distant ’70s
so many memories
so many different people
from all over the world
in what was the most
multicultural high school
in the country back then
4, 000 students
from everywhere in the world
yet we were all together
and learned to get along
I ran for student body president
and won the election
no one thought I would win
For I was a classic nerd
but somehow I won the election
and somehow managed
to keep our little student council
working together
amid terrible times
all around us
the ending of the Vietnam war
Watergate and other corruption news
the 1974 election
student activism
in the first high school
to offer African American studies
the class that had launched
the black panther party
Jimi Hendrix’s last high school
I took Latin one of the few public schools
that still offered Latin
and was on the debate team
but always taking a far right-wing theme
as complete mockery
decades before Stephen Colbert perfected it
yes everything I learned
in life
began at Berkeley High School
Berkeley Roots Rock
So many musicians
got their start
at my alma mater
Berkeley High School
just to name a few
Jimi Hendrix’s last high school
was Berkeley High
Green Day
Started there
as did the Rubinoos
Earthquake
Smoke and Fog
My friend Jim Davison
Played in the Jazz band
and who can forget
the immortal Creedence Clearwater Revival?
Though they went to El Cerrito High School
Berkeley High School
was and is such a special place
where dreams come to fruition
and life begins
for so many students
Free-Range Child in Berkeley
Back in the day
Before helicopter parents,
Children were all free-range kids
Going everywhere
The parents mostly okay
With that.
And so, I went
Everywhere on foot
Or bus
or BART
Walking to Solano Avenue
Drinking coffee
At Peets coffee
Eating Chinese food
In Berkeley’s China town
Walking downtown
Walking to CAL
Eating top dog
Experiencing the late 60’s
Transforming Telegraph
And walking in the woods
In Tilden Park
High up in the hills
Overlooking the bay area
Tilden Park
I have been hiking these woods
Since I was a child
Over 50 years ago
Inspiration point was my favorite
And the haunted forest
That crowns the hill
And where I went just before
Attending my mother’s funeral
It is a special place
Filled with memories
And great views
Of the ever-changing bay area
Tilden Park Haiku
Tilden Regional Park is a regional park in the East Bay of California. It is between the Berkeley Hills and San Pablo Ridge.
Inspiration Point
High up in the Berkeley Hills
With a killer View
Hiking the Hills of My Youth
I grew up in Berkeley, California in the ’60s. Ever since I was a youngster I would wander the hills of Berkeley hiking for hours by myself and sometimes with my friends. I explored every nook and cranny every corner of the hills and got to know nature in its infinite beauty.
Ever since those days, I have longed for the day that I could spend my days hiking and wandering the hills. Now that I am retired and living in Korea I can go for a long walk in the hills every day I want. It is different from the hills I grew up, no vistas of the bay and it is in Korea to boot but most days it is sufficient as I head out early afternoon and conquer four or five miles of hills just enjoying that fact that I can still move and am still very much alive at age 62.
I grew up hiking the hills of Berkeley, California
Grew up knowing every corner of the hills
And the infinite beauty of the Bay Area
And now I find myself in a strange land
With time on my hands
I wander the hills above the airport
In Incheon Korea
And wander about here and there
Just being grateful
That I am still alive
And kicking at age 62
What Am I DNA Fortune Cookies
I just finished two rounds of DNA testing
The results were shocking and unreal
They revealed much of what I knew
And left gaping holes in my past life
The one thing that I know for sure
Is that I am 100 percent American
100 percent Californian
100 percent Berkeley
Yes I am Berkeley enough
The tests say that I am mostly Scandinavian
Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, perhaps Finnish,
and perhaps Laplander
That I know is real
The tests also reveal that I have lots of Irish,
Scottish, and Welsh background – also true
The tests hint at Jewish ancestry also hinted in family lore
The surprises were that they missed most of my native ancestry
The lost tribe of the Cherokees
are lost to the DNA database as well
The test failed to recognize
my substantial German heritage
missing my German last name
The test also claimed
that I have Italian and Southeast European ancestors
the tests confirmed that I have Eastern European ancestry
And the tests claim that like most people with Eastern European roots
I am part Mongolian thanks to Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun
The real surprise though is the African American that popped up
That is also consistent with my mother’s tangled history
The lost tribe of the Cherokees ran away into the hills
And mixed in with Scott Irish mountain farmers
Other Indians, and runaway slaves
In the end, the DNA tests neither confirmed
Nor denied my family tangled history
Leaving many questions behind
Almost as enigmatic as a fortune cookie
Or an astrological prediction
My Mother’s History
published in Ceracus Review
One day many a year ago
My mother spoke to me
About her family’s tangled history
She spoke to me
Of lies, half-truths, and myths
Some of which may have been true
And throughout the evening
Her history came alive
She was born in the hills of North Little Rock
The 10th of 11 children
Of an ancient dying race
The Cherokees who had run away
The lost tribe of the Cherokees
Homeless since the trail of tears
Refusniks
Refugees who fled in the hills
Rather than join the rest
In the promised land
Of Oklahoma
Her people disappeared
From history’s eyes
They did not exist
I did not exist
My history was over
As was hers
And so I learned at last
The painful truth
That due to the crimes of politicians
So long ago
My mother’s people
Lost their land, their culture, and their hope
And became downtrodden forgotten people
Hillbillies they were called
Living in the hills and mountain dales
Clinging to the dim fading memories
Of their once glorious past
As proud Cherokees
Now no one knew their name
The old ways were forgotten
And the new world never forgave them
And they never forgave the new world
As they lived on
In the margins of society
Forgotten people
And I vowed that as long as I lived
Their history would not die
As I knew the truth
And I would become a proud
Cherokee
And make my mother proud of me
And my accomplishments
And so when I am down and out
I recall her stories and her warnings
And realize it is up to me
To live my life
To let the Cherokee in me
Live his life
And in so doing
My mother’s history does not die
It lives on in me
Until the day I die
Long live the Cherokee nation
Long live my mother
The Wit and Wisdom of Mary Geneva Aldridge Aller -“There’s Method in Her Madness” Dedicated to My Mother Who Passed on July 31, 2005. Published in Contra Costa Times August 2005
Mary Geneva Aller
We are here today
To celebrate the life
Of Mary Geneva Aldridge Wilson Aller,
My mother.
As we are gathered together
to mark her passing
On to another, better world,
I thought we should reflect
On her life and its meaning.
Therefore, I have a message
That I hope we all leave here today.
I call this speech,
‘the wit and wisdom
of Mary Geneva Aldridge Wilson aller,
” there’s a method in her madness.”
Which was one of her favorite Shakespeare quotes.
I hope we will see the wisdom
That my mother tried so hard to impart
And what I hope
I have learned
from 52 years of watching
The life of my mother.
What have I have learned?
From Mary’s life
And her death
And what we can all learn
From her 85 years of experience
In this mad crazy corner
Of the world, she loved so dearly.
She was a true Berkeley original,
and it is only fitting
That we bury her
Here are a few blocks
From where she spent
Much of her life.
What can we learn?
From Mary’s life in this world?
Her favorite song from a musical was
“stop the world.
I want to get off.”
And today she gets her final wish
As she leaves this world
And moves on to another world.
My mother grew up
In Arkansas
In what could best be described
As hill country folk.
She was the 8th child of 10 children
Born on a family farm in the 1920s
High up in the Ozark mountains
North of Little Rock, Arkansas.
She graduated from high school
And lit out for the west coast
just as millions of people
Fled the dust bowl of the late ’30s and ’40s.
She arrived in the SF area
And settled in Berkeley.
She hated being considered an Oakie
and lost her accent
she cultivated an accent
She learned from
The classical radio deejays.
She then became involved
In labor and democratic politics.
She became a telephone operator union president,
Later was a real estate salesperson,
And became involved with the save the bay movement
And the league of women’s voters.
During the 60’s she accompanied
My father to Washington DC
When he was undersecretary of labor.
She could not wait to get back
To her beloved Berkeley
Because she felt at home
In the zany openness of the bay area
She once said
“every ten years the world flips
And all the nuts roll downhill
To California
That is how she got there
Part of the planetary nut reconfiguration program
A little known federal ABC agency “
She hated DC
As it reminded her why
She left the south so many years before.
In later years she helped my father
In his many political campaigns
And was his business manager for almost 10 years
when he ran an economic consulting business.
When she retired,
She kept her love of reading
Until just a few short years ago
When she finally
Was no longer able to read.
That for me was one
Of the saddest parts of her final years
As she loved to read.
What we all learned from Mary
– Mary’s wisdom can be broken
Down into four areas:
Question authority,
Think for ourselves
read everything there is,
And always do the right thing.
She always told us that we should question authority
and that we should never trust experts.
She said often what is an expert?
Just a guy with a PH. D
And we all know what means –
Piled high and deep.
And she laughed
As she was married to PH. D
And hated campus politics.
She hated with disdain
Almost all politicians
Except for Truman and Kennedy
And she had her own Truman story
She thought they were all crooks and liars,
Especially the southern-bred types.
She believed though in equal opportunity
And hated republicans as much as democrats.
No one ever measured
Up to her high standards
Of ethical behavior.
She often told us to do
The right thing.
But she refused to tell us
what would be
As we had to figure
That out on our own.
My final thoughts
Are on reading the lifelong
Love of books
That she gave me and my siblings.
She read an average of three to five books
Per week every week of her life.
We were always trading books
Stocking up books on our visits
To the family library
As I thought of it.
I have taken a part in the library
With me and will treasure all the books
That she shared with me and my siblings.
She always had an opinion
About everything.
One of her and my favorite books
Was the world according to Garp
And there was a “world according to Mary”
Where what you saw was what you got
And if you did not like her opinion,
then you had best get out of the way
Because Mary,
Was afraid of no one
And always stood her ground no matter what.
With Mary “what you saw was what you got.”
But I am happy that she
Let me in the “world according to Mary”
And I have lots of stories
from her life that would make great fiction,
For, in Mary’s improbable life,
Life was truly stranger than fiction.
Because my mother grew up in a Christian family,
It would be appropriate to read a bible quote.
My mother was raised as a Baptist
Although she left the church
After asking the minister,
“if god created the world,
Who created God?”
Here is one of her favorite bible quotes
Ecclesiastes 12 (King James version)
Ecclesiastes 12
1remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.
2while the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
3in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
4and the doors shall be shut in the streets when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low.
5also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goth to his long home and the mourners go about the streets:
7then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto a God who gave it.
8vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
9and moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
10the preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
11the words of the wise are as gods, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
12and further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14for God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Her minister friend said the short version is
” life is good.
Then we die
And it gets even better.”
When Mary was a telephone union president,
word came down
that she was invited
to meet Harry Truman.
She replied
I don’t want to meet
Harry unless he wants to meet me.
Hearing that quip,
Harry was amused
And sent his advance team to talk
Some sense into that feisty fiery woman
Out in SF
that Mary Aller.
Two government types,
dressed as I do,
showed up
Asked her if she was a communist
She responded
Boy, are you stupid?
If I were a communist, would I tell you?
I don’t think so.
Where do they get people?
Like you anyway?
The SF chronicle captured the moment
With a huge headline,
“Harry meets Mary.”
This sums up my mother’s fearless feisty
Stubborn personality and yes,
Truman was one of the few politicians
That got the Mary aller seal of approval
Now my final Mary story
Sums up her life for me.
In 1974 I was in this play,
the madwomen of the chalet
Where I played the waiter
Whose line was
“she’s not mad.
She’s the madwomen of Chaillot.”
But Mary was in the audience
And I lost my character
for a moment and said,
“she not’s mad,
She’s the madwoman of Berkeley, oops I meant Chaillot.”
Brought down the house.
I went home thinking I had done it,
insulted my mom in front of the whole school.
She laughed
And said that was okay
as she liked the phase.
I said
“well, Mary,
You are my madwoman of Berkeley
And I’ll have it no other way.
She laughed
And that was the end of it,
until now.
When I say,
“Mary, you were one of the most original people
Whoever lived,
And I treasure the fact
that I was your son.
You were at times
Very difficult to deal
With but in the end,
Your good karma
Will outlive you
As you always did the right thing,
and for that
And all the other words
Of wisdom, I learned over the years,
I salute you,
Our beloved madwomen of Berkeley.
The Cosmic Cat from Berkeley
I next encountered the divine
Many years later in Berkeley, California
I had gone home to be with my Mother.
While taking leave from my job
In the Foreign Service,
I had two weeks there by myself
My wife came later
Near the end of the trip.
Every morning I woke up
Had coffee
Did yoga
Spoke to my mother
Who was sliding into dementia.
Day by day losing her reason
Then I would go out
And explore the city
Go to a museum
Go to one neighborhood
And just be there
Rediscovering the Bay area
After years of being away
Having dinner with old friends
Seeing movies etc.
Every morning a black cat came to visit
The cat was friendly and waited for me
And then would join me in my morning rambles.
Following me to the bus stop
I started talking to the black cat
He looked at me with the spark of divinity
In his dark eyes.
I called him the cosmic cat
He seemed to like that
He would look at me
And I opened up to me.
Told the cat all my dark secrets
As I walked the streets
Of the old neighborhood.
Every morning and every evening the cat
Would be there to greet me
And to carry out our endless conversation.
Then I had to leave
And in our final conversation
I asked the cosmic cat.
Say, Cat are you just a cat
Or are you a demonic cat
Are you possessed by God
Or by Satan?
The cat looked at me
And I realized that God
Was indeed residing in the cat.
But that god was residing everywhere
All I had to do was open my mind
And the rest would follow
So I said Goodbye to the cosmic cat
And he purred and came up to me
And I felt the comforting
presence of the divine.
As I said goodbye to the cosmic cat
And said goodbye to my mother
As this was the last time
That we would be able to talk.
I told my mother about the cosmic cat
She smiled and said that the cat
Was there for me and her
To comfort us both in our hour of need
And that the cat was indeed
A cosmic cat
Cosmic Cat Nonet
evil cat
Cosmic cat from Berkeley
The cosmic cat was my best friend
He spent almost two weeks with me
Going everywhere I went
Just waiting for me
The cosmic cat
Was he god
Or just
Cat
Cat
Cosmic
In nightmares
The cat still comes
Many years later
Appearing In my dreams
The Cat comes every night
Cosmic cat spark of the divine
A god for sure sent the cat to me
I salute the cosmic cat from Berkely.
Communist Cats of Berkeley
black cat
growing up in Berkeley
in the infamous 70s
My best friend’s father
Was a Jewish Communist real estate agent
and his mother was a vegan Buddhist Nun
he grew up to become
a carnivorous Shakespearean actor
they had five cats, two dogs
and three mischievous monkeys
who lived in the trees
the cats were named
Stalin, Mao, and Lenin
communist hero cats
Stalin was the ringleader
A black panther-like cat
who was mean as hell
Mao was a pussy cat
a real pushover
and kind to all
Lenin was mischievous
always getting into trouble
they had two dogs
both Scotch terriers
Trotsky and Goldman
two real bad assed
proletarian dogs
the monkeys
Ho Chi Minh and Che
lived in the trees
and chased me
throwing fruit at me
when they saw me
boy do I miss
my communist cat buddies
the leftist dogs
and the mischievous monkeys
of my fabled youth
Father’s Family mostly German and Scandanavian including part Laplander
My family history is complex and many-layered. I did a DNA test a few years ago and have updated it since then. The DNA test had a few surprises. According to family lore, pieced together from what my father, Mother, Uncle, and Aunt told me over the years is that the Aller Family (paternal side) is descended from Hessian mercenaries who came to the US around 1775 to fight for George Washington. After the war, they settled in Pennsylvania, later moved to Ohio, and my grandfather made the trek to Washington State, where he was one of the founding fathers of the Yakima fruit industry, which took hold in the 1920s with the development of irrigation. He was also an avid horticulturist and invented the Edison Apple and green asparagus.
My father got his BA degree from the University of Washington and was a Rhodes scholar, studying in Oxford, getting an MPA degree, Later he obtained a Ph.D. from Harvard University. He taught at CAL State SF for 40 years before he died in 1985 of cancer. He had one brother and three sisters, all of whom have passed on.
He served as the Undersecretary for Labor for President Kennedy and President Johnson and was a local politician serving as President of the Peralta community colleges, and as President of the Berkeley Co-Op where he resided.
According to the DNA reports and family lore, the Aller family is descended from French Huguenots who settled in the Aller river valley near Hamburg. The family name was transcribed in English as either Aller, Allard, Eller, Ohler, or Oller and anyone with those last names is distantly related to me.
My ethnic background consists of (from my grandfather, Curtis Cosmos Aller, Sr.) German, French, Dutch, and Scotish, from my grandmother, Inga Maria Olsen, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Russian, Jewish, and Laplander (Sammi) ancestry. According to DNA records, we also have Ukrainian, Mongolian, Basque, and Italian ancestry. We also probably have distant relatives throughout Latin America as Allers were among the Spanish who conquered Latin America. Aller is a common name throughout Latin America.
Mother’s Sad Tale – Part of the Lost Tribe of the Cherokee Nation
According to my mother, her family is descended from the lost tribe of the Cherokee Nation. They were Cherokees who ran away into the Ozarks in Arkansas, Missouri, and Eastern Texas, intermarrying with other five civilized tribes members (Choctaw, Creek, Osage, and Seminoles), Scotts, Irish, Dutch, French, English settlers, and escaped black slaves. They are a small group less than 30,000 people, and their DNA samples have not made it into most commercial data banks according to Ancestry com.
They have been fighting for decades to gain both Federal and State recognition but so far the two Cherokee nations (the Oklahoma branch and the Eastern band) are opposed to such recognition because they consider their claim to being Cherokee very weak, as almost none of them retain any Cherokee culture or language, and most of their claims are that their great grandfather or great grandmother might have been1/4 Cherokee at best. And they could also be Choctaw, Creek, Osage, or Seminole for that matter . They are mostly white, and some are African American as well. Almost none of them have any documentary claims, and most also do not have any DNA evidence either.
The real reason for the opposition according to the self-proclaimed Ambassador of the Cherokee Nation whom I met at a State Department formal consultation with the Indigenous tribes, which is a formal consultation required under the UN Treaty on the Rights of the Indigenous which the US joined in the 1990s, the two Cherokee nations don’t believe that the lost tribe has enough Cherokee ancestry to be considered members of the tribe, and they also don’t want to have them to be able to open a Casino in Arkansas, or Missouri and they also don’t want to share BIA money with the Lost Tribe of the Cherokees.
But he added,
“We all know that they are our lost tribal members,”
and he supported recognition.
They remain a lost tribe. There is a ballot initiative in Arkansas that if it passes will give them at least State level recognition.
The DNA test does not reveal any native ancestry for the above reasons, but does reveal French, Dutch, Scottish, Irish, and English ancestry, and 1 percent Nigerian. My grandparents spoke Cherokee; therefore, my mother must have been at least ¼ and that makes me at least 1/8 Cherokee, which is good enough for me. If they ever get recognized, I will pursue getting recognized as well. In honor of my mother.
My mother ran away to the Bay Area where she ended up working as a Pacific telephone operator, later as a real estate broker and business manager for my father’s economic
She often said
“Every ten years, the world flips
And all the nuts roll downhill
To California
That is how she got there
Part of the planetary nut reconfiguration program
PNRCP A little known federal ABC agency “
I have included my father’s and mother’s obituaries following seven poems exploring my family’s rich history.
Family History Poems
Index
DNA Tests Do Not Lie or Do They?
Family History Revealed
My Mother’s History
Father’s Son
Thoughts on Visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC
Mary Geneva Wilson Aller, There’s Method to Her Madness
Curtis Cosmos Aller orbit
Mary Geneva Aller Orbit
DNA Tests Do Not Lie or Do They?
I sent way
For one of those DNA tests
That promises to reveal
Your ethnic heritage
The only problem is that claim
Is not yet true
The results were surprising
To say the least
Family lore would have it
That I have 18 nationalities
In my tangled family history
Mostly Northern European
Part German, Norwegian, Swedish, Finish, Danish, Dutch, Laplander, Russian, Scottish, Basque, Mongolian, Jewish, Spanish, and French from my father
Part Cherokee, Dutch, Irish, Scottish, English, Italian, Nigerian, and French from my mother
100 percent born and raised in Berkeley
The DNA results showed
that I am 68% northern European
with trace elements of Jewish, Basque. Italian
Mongolian and Nigerian stock.
No native American at all
And my Germanic last name
For some reason
Did not register at all
Go figure
I said
And I read the fine print
The state of the art is such
That claims that they can tell
Your ethnic background
Are exaggerated
The fine print read
Explaining why it is often inaccurate
The Cherokee background
Disappeared
Because my branch of the Cherokees
Disappeared into the mist of time
Part of the lost tribe of the Cherokee nation
Part Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole
African Americans, Scotish, Irish,
English, French and Dutch.
Who fled to the Ozark mountains
To avoid the trail of tears.
The German background
Got swept up into the northern European thing
And at the end of the day
I remained as much
a mongrel
breed as anything else
Typical American
I suppose
Overall
A fascinating experiment
Family History Revealed
The DNA results
Revealed some aspects
Of whom I am
Where I am from
But not everything
Was revealed
And much of my history
Remains hidden
My father was from Yakima
Ran away to the Bay Area
Where he became a college professor
Taught the dismal science economics
Along the way
He met my mother
And after a whirlwind romance
had four children
My older brother,
Me
Younger brother
And sister
My Mother was a refugee
From the dust bowl
Fled Arkansas
In the late ’30s
Never looked back
Settled down
In the Bay Area
Yet the south lingered on
She trained herself
To speak without an accent
by listening to the classical radio deejays,
The only time the southern came out
Was when she was talking to her sisters
She was the 10 of 11 children
Father was a moonshiner
A Cherokee medicine man to boot
Lived life in the Ozark mountains
She had two sons
From a prior relationship
That went south
We never really knew them
My father was an atheist
And a morning person
And a man with a plan
For everything
My mother
More make it up
As she went along
And a night owl
How and why
They met and stayed together
Is beyond me
They had a stormy relationship
My mother always said
Germans and Irish
Don’t mix
And never should marry
She also said
The world is divided into morning people
And night owls
And they are doomed
to marry each other
Yet I suppose
There was real love
Beneath all the drama
And bluster
My Mother’s History
One day many a year ago
My mother spoke to me
About her family’s tangled history,
She spoke to me
Of lies, half-truths, and myths
Some of which may have been true
And throughout the evening
Her history came alive.
She was born in the hills
of North Little Rock
The 10th of 11 children
Of an ancient dying race.
The Lost Tribe of the Cherokees
who had run away
Refusniks
Refugees who fled in the hills.
Part of the lost tribe of the Cherokee nation
Part Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole
African American, Scottish, Irish, English
French, and Dutch.
Who fled to the Ozark mountains,
To avoid the trail of tears.
Rather than join the rest
In the promised land
Of Oklahoma.
They did not exist
I did not exist.
The BIA told us
No Indian scholarship
For you
Since you can’t prove
You are in fact
Of Native American ancestry,
I asked my mother
What does this mean?
She said
No BIA money for you,
My non-Indian Cherokee son.
Her family and Bill Clinton family
Were related
Bill Clinton and I are distant cousins
When I met him
I related my family history
He concluded that we were indeed cousins
Said I could call him Cousin Bill
And he would call me Cousin Jake
And said he too was part Cherokee
Irish, Scotch, French
And African American
Part of the lost tribe
Of the Cherokee nation
I told my mom
This story
She said
It was true
She was a distant cousin
Of Bill Clinton
Still did not like
The lying SOB
Her people disappeared
From history’s eyes
And DNA data banks
My history was over
As was hers
And so,
I learned at last
The painful truth
That due to the genocidal crimes
of politicians so long ago
My mother’s people
Lost their land, their culture,
and their hope
And became
downtrodden forgotten people
Hillbillies they were called
Living in the hills and mountain dales
Clinging to the dim fading memories
Of their once glorious past
As proud Cherokees
Now no one knew their name
The old ways were forgotten
And the new world never forgave them
And they never forgave the new world
As they lived on
In the margins of society
Forgotten people
And I vowed that as long as I lived
Their history would not die
As I knew the truth
And I would become a proud
Cherokee
And make my mother proud of me
And my accomplishments
When I am feeling down
I recall her stories
and her warnings
And realize it is up to me
To live my life
To let the Cherokee in me
Live his life
And in so doing
My mother’s history does not die
It lives on in me
Until the day I die
Long live the Cherokee nation
Long live my mother.
Father’s Son
I am my Father’s Son
I lived all my life
Fighting against turning
into a carbon copy
Of my father
And I failed as my father emerged
From the darkness of my soul
The full German personality
And Scandinavian background
becoming clear
And peered out
and liked what he saw
As I became him
step by inexorable step
Turning into my father
As he had turned his father
And his father in his father
Since the dawn of time
We have played this game
Sons turning into their fathers
And watching grandsons
Start the Cosmic dance
all over again.
Thoughts on Visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC
Sam Adams
Had never been
To the Holocaust Museum,
Despite the fact
He had lived
And worked in DC for decades
One day after he retired
He said to himself
It was long past time
To finally see
the holocaust museum
He went the week
After Charleston,
When the mob had chanted,
Jews will not replace us.
The museum affected him deeply
He had just confirmed
Through DNA
That he had at least 10 percent
Jewish ancestry
Among the 18 other nationalities
Swirling among these bloodlines
Sam Adams was concerned
Those elements of antisemitism
We’re emerging among
The MAGA crowd.
But he dismissed
The fears that Trump
Was another Hitler
As liberal hyperbole
It could not happen here
A new holocaust
Would never happen
But now he was not so sure
Poetic Version for April 2021 Contest – Write an Elegy Poem Writing Com Dew Drop-In Prompt Posted April 14, 2021 (April 13 Est)
The Wit and Wisdom of Mary Geneva Aldridge Aller -“There’s Method in Her Madness” Dedicated to My Mother Who Passed on July 31, 2005.
We are here today
To celebrate the life
Of Mary Geneva Aldridge Wilson Aller,
My mother.
As we are gathered together
to mark her passing
On to another, better world,
I thought we should reflect
On her life and its meaning.
Therefore, I have a message
That I hope we all leave here today.
I call this speech,
‘the wit and wisdom of Mary Geneva Aldridge Wilson Aller,
” there’s a method in her madness.”
Which was one of her favorite Shakespeare quotes.
I hope we will see the wisdom
That my mother tried so hard to impart
And what I hope
I have learned
from 52 years of watching
The life of my mother.
What have I have learned?
From Mary’s life
And her death
And what we can all learn
From her 85 years of experience
In this mad crazy corner
Of the world, she loved so dearly.
She was a true Berkeley original,
and it is only fitting
That we bury her
Here are a few blocks
From where she spent
Much of her life.
What can we learn?
From Mary’s life in this world?
Her favorite song from a musical was
“stop the world.
I want to get off.”
And today she gets her final wish
As she leaves this world
And moves on to another world.
My mother grew up
In Arkansas
In what could best be described
As hill country folk.
She was the 10th child of 11 children
Born on a family farm in the 1920s
High up in the Ozark mountains
North of Little Rock, Arkansas.
She graduated from high school
And lit out for the west coast
just as millions of people
Fled the dust bowl
of the late ’30s and ’40s.
She arrived in the SF area
And settled in Berkeley.
she hated being considered an Oakie
and lost her accent
She cultivated an accent
She learned from
The classical radio deejays.
She then became involved
In labor and democratic politics.
She became a telephone operator
union president,
Later was a real estate salesperson,
And became involved
with the save the bay movement
And the league of women’s voters.
During the 60’s she accompanied
My father to Washington DC
When he was undersecretary of labor.
She could not wait to get back
To her beloved Berkeley
Because she felt at home
In the zany openness
of the bay area
She once said
“Every ten years the world flips
And all the nuts roll downhill
To California
That is how she got there
Part of the planetary nut reconfiguration program
PNRCP A little known federal ABC agency “
She hated DC
As it reminded her why
She left the south so many years before.
In later years, she helped my father
In his many political campaigns
And was his business manager for almost 10 years
when he ran an economic consulting business.
When she retired,
She kept her love of reading
Until just a few short years ago
When she finally
Was no longer able to read.
That for me was one
Of the saddest parts of her final years
As she loved to read.
What we all learned from Mary
– Mary’s wisdom can be broken
Down into four areas:
Question authority,
Think for ourselves
read everything there is,
And always do the right thing.
She always told us that we should question authority
and that we should never trust experts.
she said often what is an expert?
Just a guy with a PH. D
And we all know what means –
Piled high and deep.
and she laughed
As she was married to PH. D
And hated campus politics.
She hated with disdain
Almost all politicians
Except for Truman and Kennedy
And she had her own Truman story
She thought they were all crooks and liars,
Especially the southern-bred types.
She believed though in equal opportunity
And hated republicans as much as democrats.
No one ever measured
Up to her lofty standards
Of ethical behavior.
She often told us to do
The right thing.
But she refused to tell us
what would be
As we had to figure
That out on our own.
My concluding thoughts
Are on reading the lifelong
Love of books
That she gave me and my siblings.
She read an average of three to five books
Per week every week of her life.
We were always trading books
Stocking up books on our visits
To the family library
As I thought of it.
I have taken a part in the library
With me and will treasure all the books
That she shared with me and my siblings.
she always had an opinion
About everything.
One of her and my favorite books
Was the world according to Garp
And there was a “world according to Mary”
Where what you saw was what you got
And if you did not like her opinion,
then you had best get out of the way
Because Mary,
Was afraid of no one
And always stood her ground no matter what.
With Mary “what you saw was what you got.”
But I am happy that she
Let me in the “world according to Mary”
And I have lots of stories
from her life that would make great fiction,
For, in Mary’s improbable life,
Life was truly stranger than fiction.
Because my mother grew up in a Christian family,
It would be appropriate to read a bible quote.
my mother was raised as a Baptist
Although she left the church
After asking the minister,
“if god created the world,
Who created God?”
Here is one of her favorite bible quotes
Ecclesiastes 12 (King James version)
Ecclesiastes 12
1remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.
2while the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
3in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
4and the doors shall be shut in the streets when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low.
5also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goth to his long home and the mourners go about the streets:
7then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto a God who gave it.
8vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
9and moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
10the preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
11the words of the wise are as gods, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
12and further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14for God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Her minister friend said the short version is
” life is good.
Then we die
And it gets even better.”
When Mary was a telephone union president,
word came down
that she was invited
to meet Harry Truman.
She replied
I don’t want to meet
Harry unless he wants to meet me.
Hearing that quip,
Harry was amused
And sent his advance team to talk
Some sense into that feisty fiery woman
Out in SF
that Mary Aller.
Two government types,
dressed as I do,
showed up
Asked her if she was a communist
She responded
Boy, are you stupid?
If I were a communist, would I tell you?
I don’t think so.
Where do they get people?
Like you anyway?
The SF chronicle captured the moment
With a huge headline,
“Harry meets Mary.”
This sums up my mother’s fearless feisty
Stubborn personality and yes,
Truman was one of the few politicians
That got the Mary aller seal of approval
Now my final Mary story
Sums up her life for me.
In 1974 I was in this play,
“the madwomen of Chailoit”
Where I played the waiter
Whose line was
“she’s not mad.
She’s the madwomen of Chaillot.”
But Mary was in the audience
And I lost my character
for a moment and said,
“she not’s mad,
She’s the madwoman of Berkeley, oops I meant Chaillot.”
Brought down the house.
I went home thinking I had done it,
insulted my mom in front of the whole school.
She laughed
And said that was okay
as she liked the phase.
I said
“well, Mary,
You are my madwoman of Berkeley
And I’ll have it no other way.
she laughed
And that was the end of it,
until now.
When I say,
“Mary, you were one of the most
original people
Whoever lived,
And I treasure the fact
that I was your son.
You were at times
Very difficult to deal
With but in the end,
Your good karma
Will outlive you
As you always did the right thing,
and for that
And all the other words
Of wisdom, I learned over the years,
I salute you,
Our beloved madwomen of Berkeley.
the prompt was to write an elegy poem. I delivered this at my mother’s funeral in 2005.
When Curtis Cosmos Aller was born on 16 November 1889, in Carrollton, Carroll, Ohio, the United States, his father, Daniel Wilbur Aller, was 24 and his mother, Drusilla McCausland, was 22. He married Inga Pauline Olsen on 30 September 1917, in Bremerton, Kitsap, Washington, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Summit view, Yakima, Washington, the United States in 1930 and Election Precinct 108 West Summit view, Yakima, Washington, the United States in 1940. He died on 12 August 1956, in Yakima, Yakima, Washington, United States, at the age of 66, and was buried in Terrace Heights Memorial Park, Yakima, Yakima, Washington, United States.
There is an Aller river in Germany, and in Spain and there is an Aller village in Sussex country, England.
Aller History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Origins Available:
Germany
The name Aller comes from the German region of Westphalia. The tradition of adopting hereditary surnames came to Germany after the 12th century, and the names of places where people lived were a primary source. Many local names carry the prefix “von”, meaning “of” or “from,” which was originally an indicator of land ownership, and is sometimes a mark of nobility. The Aller family originally lived by an alder tree. Ancient records reveal the name Aller is derived from the Old German word elre or alre, which means alder. There are also numerous places named Eller in the northern German states, such as the Rhine and Moselle areas, which adopted the name of an old stream called the Ellera. Thus, the name Aller is both a topographic surname, a type of local surname that was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree, and a habitation name, a type of local name that was originally derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
Early Origins of the Aller family
The surname Aller was first found in Westphalia, where the family emerged in mediaeval times as one of the notable families of the region. From the 13th century the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation.
Early History of the Aller family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Aller research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1354, 1424, 1680, 1690 and 1730 are included under the topic Early Aller History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Aller Spelling Variations
In the medieval era, many different cultural groups lived in the German states. There are thus many regional variations of German surnames from that era. Westphalians spoke Low German, which is similar to modern Dutch. Many German names carry suffixes that identify where they came from. Others have phrases attached that identify something about the original bearer. Other variations in German names resulted from the fact that medieval scribes worked without the aid of any spelling rules. The spelling variations of the name Aller include Eller, Ellers, Eler, Aller, Aler, Ellern, Ellere, Elera, Ellera, Ellerer and many more.
Early Notables of the Aller family (pre 1700)
Notables of the period with the name Aller were Wolf Ernst von Eller (d. 1680), who was the Governor of Minden and Sparenberg, a military general, and Privy Councillor for defense to the prince…
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Aller Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Aller migration to the United States+
For many Germans, emigration to North America was an inviting alternative to the trials of life in the old country. From the mid-17th into the present century, thousands of Germans migrated across the Atlantic. They capitalized on the chance to escape poverty and persecution, and to own their own land. After 1650, Germans settled throughout the states of Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California. Many also landed in Canada, settling in Ontario or father west on the rich land of the prairies. Among them:
Aller Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
Peter Aller, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1749 [1]
Michael Aller, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1753 [1]
Contemporary Notables of the name Aller (post 1700)+
Javier Aller Cervera (1972-2018), Spanish film and television actor from Madrid
Rodney Goddard Aller (1916-2005), American lawyer, naval officer and masters skier
Lawrence Hugh Aller (1913-2003), American astronomer from Tacoma, Washington
Victor Aller (1905-1977), American pianist
Eleanor Aller (1917-1995), American cellist and founding member of the Hollywood String Quartet
Related Stories+
The Aller Motto+
Aller History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Origins Available:
Germany
The name Aller comes from the German region of Westphalia. The tradition of adopting hereditary surnames came to Germany after the 12th century, and the names of places where people lived were a primary source. Many local names carry the prefix “von”, meaning “of” or “from,” which was originally an indicator of land ownership, and is sometimes a mark of nobility. The Aller family originally lived by an alder tree. Ancient records reveal the name Aller is derived from the Old German word elre or alre, which means alder. There are also numerous places named Eller in the northern German states, such as the Rhine and Moselle areas, which adopted the name of an old stream called the Ellera. Thus, the name Aller is both a topographic surname, a type of local surname that was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree, and a habitation name, a type of local name that was originally derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
Early Origins of the Aller family
The surname Aller was first found in Westphalia, where the family emerged in mediaeval times as one of the notable families of the region. From the 13th century the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation.
Early History of the Aller family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Aller research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1354, 1424, 1680, 1690 and 1730 are included under the topic Early Aller History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Aller Spelling Variations
In the medieval era, many different cultural groups lived in the German states. There are thus many regional variations of German surnames from that era. Westphalians spoke Low German, which is similar to modern Dutch. Many German names carry suffixes that identify where they came from. Others have phrases attached that identify something about the original bearer. Other variations in German names resulted from the fact that medieval scribes worked without the aid of any spelling rules. The spelling variations of the name Aller include Eller, Ellers, Eler, Aller, Aler, Ellern, Ellere, Elera, Ellera, Ellerer and many more.
Early Notables of the Aller family (pre 1700)
Notables of the period with the name Aller were Wolf Ernst von Eller (d. 1680), who was the Governor of Minden and Sparenberg, a military general, and Privy Councillor for defense to the prince…
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Aller Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Aller migration to the United States+
For many Germans, emigration to North America was an inviting alternative to the trials of life in the old country. From the mid-17th into the present century, thousands of Germans migrated across the Atlantic. They capitalized on the chance to escape poverty and persecution, and to own their own land. After 1650, Germans settled throughout the states of Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California. Many also landed in Canada, settling in Ontario or father west on the rich land of the prairies. Among them:
Aller Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
Peter Aller, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1749 [1]
Michael Aller, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1753 [1]
Contemporary Notables of the name Aller (post 1700)+
Javier Aller Cervera (1972-2018), Spanish film and television actor from Madrid
Rodney Goddard Aller (1916-2005), American lawyer, naval officer and masters skier
Lawrence Hugh Aller (1913-2003), American astronomer from Tacoma, Washington
Victor Aller (1905-1977), American pianist
Eleanor Aller (1917-1995), American cellist and founding member of the Hollywood String Quartet
Curtis Cosmos Aller, Jr. Undersecretary of Labor 1963-1968.President of teh Rhodes Scholar, Harvard PHD President of the Berkeley Co-Op
James Elwood Aller Admiral retred Navy Academy graduate University of Virginia Professor of Applied Mathematics, coiner of the term ‘Computer bug”.
John (Jake) Cosmos Aller US diplomat 1981 to 2016 retired.
The Aller Motto+
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: Gloria virtutis umbra Motto Translation: Glory is the shadow of virtue.
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: Gloria virtutis umbra Motto Translation: Glory is the shadow of virtue.
Aldrige (mother’s maiden name)
Early Origins of the Aldridge family The surname Aldridge was first found in the counties of Sussex , Suffolk, and Surrey, where the Aldridge family held a family seat from very early times. The family had the Saxon spellings of Alderich, Ealdric, or possibly Aelfric before the Norman Conquest)
Mary Geneva Aldrige Aller
Mary Geneva Aldridge Aller Sept. 9, 1923 – July 31, 2007, Former Resident of Berkeley Mary was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, and came to the Bay Area in the 1940s and settled in Berkeley where she resided until 2003.
During the 1950s, she was active in the labor movement and served several years as the President of the Pacific Telephone Operators Union. During the late 1950s, she was a real estate agent and involved with the Berkeley League of Women’s Voters, and the “Save the Bay” movement.
In 1952, she made local headlines when she told President Truman’s staff that she did not want to meet him unless he wanted to meet her. The San Francisco Chronicle authored a big article with the Headline “Harry Meets Mary.” She was a long-term political activist and active member of the Berkeley Co-Op along with her husband, Dr. Curtis Aller, who passed away in 1985.
During the 1960s, she accompanied her husband to Washington, D.C. when he served as the Undersecretary of Labor. She returned to Berkeley in 1968 where she worked with her husband until 1984 as the business manager for the Center for Applied Manpower Research. Mary is survived by two sisters, Mildred and Robbie who live in Arkansas. She is also survived by six children, Roger Aller of Sebastopol, California, John (Jake) Aller of Washington, DC, Thomas Aller of Albany, California, Inga Aller of Gualala, California, Richard, and Larry Wilson from her first marriage, and many grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. The family will have a private ceremony Friday, August 3 for interment. Flowers can be sent to the Sunset View Funeral Home, 101 Colusa Avenue, in El Cerrito (510) 525-5111.
Day 20 Trail of Tears – My Family Connection
Crazy times
Germany
Aller migration to the United States