Category: berkeley

  • Recent Writing Com Creative Writing

    Recent Writing Com Creative Writing

    Recent Writing Com Creative Writing

    40-Words

    April 2023 Dew Drop In Poems

    I have been a writing com member since 2016.  I have been actively posting in various challenges and contests since I began and have posted close to 998 pieces. I highly recommend this site as a warm, welcoming writing community and I have learned so much about the art and craft of writing from participating.  You can find my work at https://jcosmos.Writing.Com/

    Index

    Weekly Challenge

    #27. When Sam First Saw Maria

    ID #1062875

    #26. election cinquain
    ID #1062282

    #25. spider web
    ID #1061843

    #24. 24 Star Crossed Lovers
    ID #1061842

    #22. week 10 my faith journey
    ID #1061840

    #21. too many gunmen joy bell
    ID #1060903

    Writer’s Cramp

    End of Empires

    Quiet January Night With Cosmic Cat

    Lunch with Allen Ginsberg item 231151 Winner

    Dogs of War

    Hitler as an Artist winner

    Express It in Eight

    #19. Strange Places
    ID #1063026

    #18. Gateway In Central Asia
    ID #1063024

    #17. The perfect cup of tea
    ID #1063023

    #16. The Future Of The World At Stake
    ID #1063022

    #15. Warning Signs
    ID #1062873

    Poet’s Place

    #62. why do we write?
    ID #1062876

    #61. Guns Eleven Poem
    ID #1062627

    #60. morning routines Tanaga
    ID #1062284

    #59. names
    ID #1062273

    #58. More Guns Rondeau
    ID #1062048

    #57. The Whole World Out of Control Ronka
    ID #1062047

    40 Words

    01/31/2023-‘re-enter’
    ID #1062534

    #6. 01/30/2023- ‘rescue”
    ID #1062533

    #5. 01/29/2023- ‘old”
    ID #1062532

    #4. Unusual sway
    ID #1062531

    #3. Decency or fascism is your choice
    ID #1062530

    Stormy Lady

    Everything in Life is Foolish or Immoral For Stormy Lady
    ID #1059452

    #9. Barbados Dreaming on a Winter’s Day for Stormy Lady
    ID #1055645

    #8. o dark Hundred
    ID #1051150

    #7. Last night of High school memories
    ID #1049689

    #6. A Mother’s Luminous Tears
    ID #1048420

    Writers Cramp Entries

    Writer’s Cramp does a prompt every day with a daily winner. I have won quite a few of these and try to enter them daily.

     

    End of Empires

    38

    On February 2, 1901,
    Queen Victoria was laid to rest.
    Largest gathering
    Of European royalty ever assembled
    Attended the funeral.

    This was the height
    Of the British Empire.

    Few would have thought
    In a few short years
    World War 1 would begin.

    And then World War Two
    The Cold War
    Followed by the gradual
    End of the British Empire.

    The sun did set
    In the British Empire

    But in 1901
    It seemed like
    The British Empire
    Would last forever.

    Empires rise and fall
    Sometimes one sees the decline.
    Other times it comes as a surprise.
    In hindsight almost inevitable.

    What will be the end?
    Of the American Empire?
    Will America break apart?
    Into ten or 15 new nations?

    If there is a civil war
    It will not end up
    As proponents think.

    That is the nature
    Of civil war
    And war in general.

    it never ends as planned.

    “ War, Good God all, what is it good for?
    War has only one friend, the undertaker.”

    NEW (birthday week) PROMPT:
    On February 2 (2/2) 1901, the state funeral of Queen Victoria of Great Britain took place and was one of the largest gatherings of European royalty in history. Write a poem or story about this event. Use HISTORY as one of your genres.

    A Quiet January Night

    26 lines

    Sam Adams
    Was at home
    On a quiet January Night.

    Snowbound
    In his Capitol Hill Row house,
    Down the street from Lincoln Park
    In the heart of DC.

    All in all
    Sam felt at peace
    With the world.

    Having accepted
    As he was getting older,
    And having reconciled
    With his long-estranged siblings.

    He was playing the piano
    While his cat
    The Buddha Cat
    Was lost in his cat verse
    Deep in meditation.

    Soon he put on some
    Buddha bar meditation music
    And joined the cosmic cat
    In mediation.

    There is a new prompt up in “The Writer’s Cramp” – and if you write the best story or poem (and follow all of the rules) you just might win 10,000 GPs.

    ” WINNER & NEW PROMPT Due Sunday, January 21″ 16 hours 40 minutes 35 seconds
    Please use the following as the Title of your story or poem:

    “A Quiet January Night”

    Please select “Spiritual” as one of your genres.

    Make sure you create a new static item for your entry, and include your word count for stories (1000 words or less) or a line count for poems (40 lines or less) IN your forum post with the b-item link to your entry to be a qualified entry.

     

    Lunch with Allen Ginsberg (winner)

    39

    If I had a chance to go back in time
    and meet for lunch a famous poet
    I would go back to 1954.

    to my hometown, Berkeley, California
    to visit with and have lunch
    with one of my literary heroes
    Allan Ginsberg.

    I would knock on his door
    and tell him I came from
    from 2024, the future.

    And wanted to talk to him
    about the future world
    and we would go and have lunch
    in North Beach.

    And over wine and pasta, we would talk
    We would talk about his life and legacy
    and then talk about the future world.

    I would tell him that Donald Trump
    would become President
    and usher in an era of neo-fascism.

    H would be astonished.
    but finally concluded
    that he knew of the Trump family
    and could see that coming.
    They had bad juju he concluded.

    And then he would go home
    and write a series of poems
    about the future of the U.S.

    And perhaps we would have prevented
    some of the future from taking place
    perhaps it was inevitable
    as he would write,

    “the future is coming sooner than we think
    and it will be stranger than fiction.”

    Unfortunately, I can’t award a winner today. Please remember to select the appropriate genre if the prompt requires one. (Today’s prompt does not.)

    NEW PROMPT: Tomorrow, January 6, is National Take a Poet to Lunch Day. Write a story or poem involving lunch with a poet. The poet can be living, formerly living, imaginary, or even yourself. What’s on the menu, and what topics are discussed?

    The WINNER Is:

    Lunch with Allen Ginsberg   (E)
    Imagined lunch with Allen Ginsberg
    #2311511 by JCosmos (146)

     

     

    Dogs of War Unleashed

    dogs of war howling
    dogs of war howling

     

    dogs of war poster
    dog of war poster

     

     

     

     

    35

    Sam Adams
    watched from far-off Mumbai
    as the terrorists launched 9-11.

    Thanking the Gods
    that his wife was not working
    there at the Pentagon.

    He had a vision
    that the Dogs of War
    Have been set free
    Of their cages in hell,
    And are out
    howling at the moon.

    The Dogs of War
    Have been set free
    To wreck what havoc
    Might be.

    Yes, the Dogs of War
    The Hell Hounds
    Have bound out of their cages
    Sniffed about, smiled

    At the destruction, they saw
    They knew soon
    They would be in their element
    As the world descends into chaos,

    The world saw the face of pure evil
    That fine September morning

    A morning like any other morning
    Until a fateful moment
    When two planes came out of the sky,

    And Destroyed the center of world capitalism
    In an act of horrific violence, and pure evil
    That is beyond the comprehension
    Of mere mortal man.

    Dec 7, 1941, was the attack by Japanese warplanes on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, an event that propelled the United States into the forefront of World War II.

    For tomorrow, write a story or poem that is set during an unexpected military attack. (But broadly construed … could be like Pearl Harbor, could be a science-fiction space war, could be a gang war in NYC, could be an unexpected snowball attack by the neighborhood bullies, could be in fairyland, etc.)

    Focus your tale on the experiences of an “ordinary person” in this attack, rather than someone removed from the action (e.g. not military leaders in command-and-control centers.) Try to bring to life the confusion and emotions of the situation.

    Hitler as an Artist?

    20

    A Hitler historian
    was fascinated
    With Hitler’s failed attempt
    To be a painter,

    Hitler always blamed
    His failure as an artist
    Due to a cabal of Jewish painters
    Who were the arbiters of taste
    In Vienna right after World War 1

    One day he discovered
    A cache of lost Hitler paintings.
    Among the paintings,
    was one labeled
    “International Bird Painting Day”.

    Art historians all agreed –
    It was the worst bird painting
    Ever made,

    Proving that Hitler
    Would never have made it
    As an artist,
    Since he had no talent

    As an artist,
    Sadly, his depraved, evil
    malignant evil talents
    Lay elsewhere.

    NEW PROMPT: Tomorrow, April 8, is Draw a Picture of a Bird Day. Write a story or poem about someone with limited artistic talent attempting to observe this occasion.
    20

     

    Express it Eight

    Soling Bling is the host of the Express It In Eight Daily prompts. The goal is to write an eight-line poem. Here are my most recent entries.

    Jellyfish Lake and Other Strange Places

    Sam Adams was an explorer
    He had been to many strange places
    Among the Weider were the Jellyfish Lake
    Filled with jellyfish
    Snake Island off of Brazil
    Filled with the deadliest snakes in the world
    And the famous cannibal island
    where outsiders are forbidden in the Andaman seas.

    INTERESTING PLACE: JELLYFISH LAKE

    https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/jellyfish-lake

    #19. Strange Places
    ID #1063026

    Gateway In Central Asia

    In an ancient town in Central Asia,
    Deep in the high mountains on the old Silk Road,
    There lays a weird church, mosque, and temple.
    With four doors, one to the church, the mosque, and the temple.
    The fourth door, hidden in the back rooms leads to an indoor patio.
    The fourth door reveals ten smaller green doors on top of each other.
    According to the sign above, each door opens a portal
    To other worlds, a one-way ticket for madmen only.

    Doors [#2308179]
    green doors

    #18. Gateway In Central Asia
    ID #1063024

    Perfect Cup of Tea

     

     

     

     

    Lately, I have been drinking
    Much more tea and less coffee,
    Particularly in the afternoon.
    My latest tea of choice is my wife’s secret blend.
    Bitter melon, jujube dates, ugly potato, wormwood
    With Earl Gray, green tea slims fast,
    Yogi detox teas are added to the brewing pot.
    Perfection in a soothing hot cup of heaven.

    SELF-CARE IDEAS

    BUY YOURSELF SOME FLOWERS

    DRINK A CUP OF HOT TEA

    #17. The perfect cup of tea
    ID #1063023

     

    The Future Of The World At Stake

    trump 4
    trump 4

     

     

     

     

     

    In the U.S. in November
    There is a noteworthy
    Looming election.
    An election that will determine
    In a comprehensive manner,
    The future of the U.S. and the world
    Will the U.S. choose fascism?
    Or will democracy and sanity prevail?

    LOOMING

    NOTEWORTHY

    COMPREHENSIVE

    #16. The Future Of The World At Stake
    ID #1063022

    Warning Signs

     

     

     

     

     

    the warning signs
    are everywhere
    will we heed them?
    will we wake up
    and see that Trump
    and the MAGA movement
    are fascists determined
    to destroy American democracy.

    POEM TITLES

    Warning
    by Jenny Joseph

    When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
    With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
    And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
    And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
    I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
    And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
    And run my stick along the public railings
    And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
    I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
    And pick flowers in other people’s gardens
    And learn to spit.

    You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
    And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
    Or only bread and pickles for a week
    And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

    But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
    And pay our rent and not swear in the street
    And set a good example for the children.
    We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

    But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
    So people who know me are not too shocked
    When suddenly I am old and start to wear purple.

    >< >< >< >< >< ><

    I Choose the Mountain
    by Howard Simon

    The low lands call
    I am tempted to answer
    They are offering me a free dwelling
    Without having to conquer

    The massive mountain makes its move
    Beckoning me to ascend
    A much more difficult path
    To get up the slippery bend

    I cannot choose both
    I have a choice to make
    I must be wise
    This will determine my fate

    I choose, I choose the mountain
    With all its stress and strain
    Because only by climbing
    Can I rise above the plain

    I choose the mountain
    And I will never stop climbing
    I choose the mountain
    And I shall forever be ascending

    I choose the mountain

    #15. Warning Signs
    ID #1062873

     

    Poet’s Place

     David Sneider is the host of Poetry Place.  He does a weekly poetry form challenge similar to what Writer Digest does.  I try to try my hand at both and between the two of them and Fan Story, I have tried over 150 poetry forms since 2016.

    Here are my most recent attempts

    Why do we write?

    40 lines

    A writer is often asked
    Why do you write?
    What motivates you?
    What keeps you going?

    How do you handle the constant rejections?
    The self-doubts
    What comes with the writer’s life?

    I write as many writers do
    Because I must
    Because the damn muse
    Will never leave me alone

    The characters in my head
    Demand to let their voices be heard
    Demand to be freed
    To tell their tales

    And I am a slave
    To my muse
    Who takes me
    Where she will

    No matter what
    I must write every day

    Usually starting my day
    Drinking coffee
    Watching the news unfold

    Writing my thoughts
    Letting the poetry flow
    Out of my soul

    Bleeding onto the computer screen
    The words waiting to be spoken
    To tell their tale
    Before the day is over

    That is why I write
    Because I can not write
    That is the Buddha nature
    Of being a writer after all.

    Most of us probably started writing to fulfill the requirements of our teachers in school. We wrote to pass the course and gain recognition through grade assignments.

    During some self-analysis upon leaving the Navy and starting my job search, I realized that the things I enjoyed the most and had the most success with involved writing of some sort. Therefore, a technical writing job seemed to be the perfect union of that interest with my engineering education. For the next few years, I wrote to instruct field technicians on how to implement retrofit modifications on aircraft.

    Later, in the business world, I wrote to enlighten co-workers, managers, and customers about procedures, policies, and systems.

    Nowadays, while I sometimes still write for those reasons (as I’m doing here), many more factors keep me engaged in this wondrous process. That’s probably the case with you, too.

    If you feel a need to express your most personal response to this mysterious, beautiful, and sometimes painful world in the shapes, colors, sounds, and smells of your imagination, creative writing can provide a powerful means of therapeutic release.

    The pure joy that comes with meeting the challenges of crafting the language into something meaningful, like molding a piece of clay with your hands, can be a refreshing recreational outlet.

    Many writers are driven to publish their work on the printed page. I can vouch for the exhilarating sense of satisfaction that comes with that first acceptance letter.

    Upon receiving a reviewer’s comment that one of my stories reminded him of a stand-up comedian’s routine, I realized that the desire to entertain/is also a driving force that keeps me motivated.

    For whom do you write?

    Many writers resist criticism and defend their writing with the claim that they write only for themselves. While some therapeutic or recreational writing may not be intended for sharing with an audience, writing is usually employed as a means of communicating with other people. Of course, the grocery lists and phone numbers you scribble on scraps of paper are probably intended for only you. However, those things within you that won’t rest until they are given voice–the burning memories that linger in your heart and the fanciful fugitive images floating around in your head–must be shared with someone else to satisfy the need for expression.

    When you sit down to write, you should keep your audience in mind. Whether it be your friends and family, a group of readers interested in a particular genre as identified here at WDC, or an editor for a specific publication, the language you use serves as a bridge between you and the reader. Choose accordingly.

    Your reasons for writing along with your prospective audience will influence the voice you use in your writing, as the relationship between the writer and the reader develops into a true collaboration in this wondrous experience.

    Today’s Practice Session: Write about your objective(s) as you continue on this marvelous journey.

    Then ponder the postings of your peers and exchange views about the various motivations that keep us all inspired in this venture.

     #62. why do we write?
    ID #1062876

    Guns Eleven Poem

     

     

     

     

    Guns
    so many
    people are dying
    Politicians offer useless prayers
    Death

    The Elevenie, also called Elfie in German, is an exercise in language distillation. Consisting of five lines with word counts of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 1, respectively, it captures a thought in only eleven words, as described and demonstrated in the following links:

    https://rolandsragbag.wordpress.com/2020/10/09/elfchen/

    Wikipedia defines an Elevenie, or Elfchen, as follows:
    “An elevenie (German Elfchen — Elf “eleven” and -Chen as a diminutive suffix to indicate diminutive size and endearment) is a short poem with a given pattern. It contains eleven words which are arranged in a specified order over five rows. Each row has a requirement that can vary.”

    A simple form, similar perhaps to Haiku, Senryu, or Tanka, in which the poet attempts to carry an idea within a set format of words and lines which imposes certain strictures of thought and form on the author.

    The usual format requires a short verse of eleven words in five lines in the form – 1, 2, 3, 4, 1. An order which I have reversed in my last of the 4 Elfchen below . . .

    #61. Guns Eleven Poem
    ID #1062627

     

    Hot Coffee Tanaga

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Hot coffee starts my morning.
    watching the news mid-morning.
    Too much coffee is a warning,
    a migraine a forewarning.

    Afternoon I drink hot tea.
    Contemplating to be.
    What is to become of me?
    Turning on music filled with glee.

    As the sun sets, I drink red wine.
    With my wife, all is just fine.
    While looking at the moonshine,
    As we sit down start to dine.

    The Tanaga is an ancient Filipino form that has evolved from a complete poem to a series of stanzas. The structure consists of four mono-rhymed lines with seven syllables per line, as described and demonstrated in the following links:

    https://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/2191-philippines-ambahanawit-tanaga/#tana…

    #60. morning routines Tanaga
    ID #1062284

    My Name

     I was born John Cosmos Aller
    But for most of my life
    I called myself Jake Cosmos Aller
    Nowadays, I call myself J Cosmos Aller
    or Cosmos As my pen name

    the name Cosmos has nothing
    to do with me being born
    in Oakland
    growing up in Berkeley

    no one buys that story though
    Cosmos being such a Berkeley-like name

    My great-grandfather wanted
    an English translation
    of the family’s last name
    Aller
    looked it up in a German English dictionary

    had two choices
    Cosmos
    or Universe
    chose Cosmos
    and thus I am the last
    of the Cosmos Aller’s

    The universe would have been
    an equally good Berkeley name

    But I have had other nicknames
    The kids nicknamed me Allergy
    And pretended to sneeze
    When I passed them by

    The name  Jake came about
    From a dream I had
    As a boy scout

    I was riding a horse
    Named Jake

    I would scream
    Whoa Jake
    Slide aside Clyde
    Turn around Verdiack

    I started saying these words
    When I walked about Campus
    And people thought I was a bit mental

    So, people simply started calling me
    The Whoa Jake kid,
    Later simply became Jake

    After I left school
    I liked the name, Jake
    Better than John
    Too many Johns
    In the world, I thought

    When my wife became an army officer
    We would sometimes get invites
    To things addressed to Captain Lee and Mr. Lee
    Got tired of trying to explain
    We had different last names
    So, I became Jake Lee

    Later when I was in the military hospital system
    As a dependent getting operations
    The doctors just assumed I was a major
    And called me Major Aller

    I did not correct them
    Liked having been promoted
    To the rank of Major!

    When I started trying to become
    Professional writing and blogger
    I thought using my middle name
    Would be a nice pen name

    So now I am either J Cosmos Aller
    Jake Cosmos Aller
    John (Jake) Cosmos Aller
    or just Cosmos

    No longer Jake Lee
    Or Major Aller though.

    unless you are Maya Angelou, Stephen King, or some other famous writer whose name alone is enough to draw an audience, the title is one of the most critical elements of a poem. As the only thing a prospective reader will see while scanning the list of items in a writer’s port or the Table of Contents in a book, it serves as the door that must be opened to enter the realm of the poet’s imagination. If that entrance does not generate some kind of interest, that browser will likely move along to the next item, or maybe even the next author.

    Like the names of your children, a title gives the poem a specific identity. Of course, some poets eschew such traditions and leave their work without any identifying reference. Emily Dickinson did not put titles on her poems, even though her editors often did before publication. Frank O’Hara often applied simple, nondescript titles, such as Poem. Would you let your child go through life without a name? Then, why would you ever think of not naming your brainchild or tagging it with some irrelevant label?

    Because many poems are so short in comparison with other forms of literature, their names should capture the underlying essence of the expression as it sets the tone and prepares the reader for what is to come. Mark Twain once said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug,” and I believe the same advice would apply to titles for a poem. This can be a struggle in many cases. Sometimes the title comes to the poet out of the blue as inspiration for an entire composition, and sometimes it hides within the shrubbery of the text.

    Here are a few suggestions to aid you in your search for the perfect name:

    1. Start with the title and let it propel you into the poem.

    2. Use the first line of the poem as your title.

    3. Provide a brief description of the poem’s theme.

    4. Find a phrase or image within the poem that can represent the whole.

    5. If you are writing a narrative poem, an action verb may help engage the prospective reader with the experience being described.

    6. Use your imagination to pluck lightning from the phantasmal cloud of cosmic pixie dust swirling around in your head.

    Your assignment: Write a poem about the concept of NAMES.

     #59. names
    ID #1062273 entered on January 11, 2024, at 7:16 pm   [Edit]   [5 views]

    More Guns Roundeau

    gun
    gun

     

     

     

     

    More guns killing people today.
    Is it just another day?
    Politicians offer prayer.
    All the dead gun ghosts don’t care.
    Have we completely lost our way?

    To the gun ghosts, what do we say?
    Our prayers are just another cliche.
    Will the guns continue to flare?
    More guns.

    Will we continue to pay?
    Will our country be able to stay?
    Will hatred continue to stare?
    Will there be an end to this nightmare?
    Do we have any words left to sway?
    More guns.

    : aabba aabR aabbaR. Lines 9 and 15 are short

    The Rondeau is a French form of fifteen lines with an intriguing pattern of rhyme and repetition, as described and demonstrated in the following links:

    http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/rondeau.html

    #58. More Guns Rondeau

    trump jpg
    trump jpg

     

     

     

     

     

    I wake up with the morning dawning sun.
    Turn on my TV watch the news,
    drinking a hot snarling cup of coffee.
    thinking dark gloomy thoughts as the snow falls.
    Bombs, war, inflation, end-of-the-world.

    The Ronka is another spinoff from the Japanese Haiku and Tanka forms devised by Ken Ronkowitz. The structure consists of five unrhymed lines with seven words per line. The theme should “focus on observations of the day as seen in the outside world and the inside worlds of dwellings and the mind,” as described and demonstrated in the following links:

    https://writingtheday.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/trying-the-ronka-form/

    ID #1062048 entered on January 8, 2024, at 1:46 am   [Edit]   [5 views]

    #57. The Whole World Out of Control Ronka
    ID #1062047 entered on January 8, 2024, at 1:41 am   [Edit]   [4 views]

    40 words

    Rupali Goswami is the host of the 40-word challenge – to write a 40-word poem or micro story based on the daily prompts.  Here are my latest attempts.


    01/29/2023- ‘old”

    Watching the news
    I feel the old-age blues
    I turn off the barking, deranged,
    talking heads,
    had enough of them all
    for a lifetime
    turned off that snarling noise box.
    And have another cup of coffee.
    With my lovely wife.

    #5. 01/29/2023- ‘old”
    ID #1062532 entered on January 17, 2024, at 4:22 am   [Edit]   [2 views]

    01/28/2023-‘unusual’

    Donald Trump
    Is the biggest con artist
    carnival barker, grifter,
    Flimflam man
    That ever lived.
    He has an unusual
    Sway over his cult-like
    MAGA Followers
    Who thinks he is God’s Anointed
    Some call him the orange Jesus
    The Messiah!

    #4. Unusual sway
    ID #1062531 entered on January 17, 2024, at 4:17 am   [Edit]   [12 views]

     

    01/27/2023-decency’

    The next election
    Boils down to this
    Will we choose decency?
    represented by Biden
    And Democracy
    Or will we choose hatred?
    And Fascism?
    Represented by Trump?

    © Copyright 2024 JCosmos (UN: jcosmos at Writing.Com). All rights res

    #3. Decency or fascism is your choice
    ID #1062530

     

    Darius Smith, V Poems about the assassination of a Wall Street conman

    see the Assassination of Darius Caesar Smith, V for the complete set.

    01/31/2023-‘re-enter’

    When
    Sam Adams
    Bought the 3-d print Glock
    He tested security several times.
    Smuggling the gun in
    And re-entering the building.
    Where he administered justice
    To his lying scumbag frat bro
    Darius Smith, iv.

    #7. 01/31/2023-‘re-enter’
    ID #1062534

    01/30/2023- ‘rescue”

    When Darius Smith, IV
    Sam’s College frat bro
    stole 100 million dollars
    2 million from him
    he prayed that someone
    would rescue his soul
    as he blew him, Darius, away
    as he ate dinner. with Sam’s
    estranged wife.

    #6. 01/30/2023- ‘rescue”
    ID #1062533

    Stormy Lady Contest

    Stormy Lady is the host of a monthly contest where she does the poetry newsletter duties.  Here are my most recent entries, some of which won.

    Everything in Life is Foolish or Immoral For Stormy Lady

    Oscar Wilde once said

    “Everything in life I love
    Is either foolish, immoral
    Or fattening”

    But for me
    I am filled with crazy desires
    Walking down the river at sunset

    Watching the moon rise
    Over the canal in Gimpo
    Casting its reddish glow
    Over the romantic waters

    Stopping to smell the fall flowers
    Softly inhaling their sweet fragrance
    That fills the air with the scent of love
    Bad craziness takes me over

    Filled with love I pick the chrysanthemums,
    the daisies, marigolds, poppies, purple flowers
    and the red and purple cosmos flowers

    Putting them into a bouquet
    Of autumn wildflowers
    To give to my wife

    Who is always walking by the side?
    As the moon shines on
    Filling us with a deep love

    We stop and enter a wine shop
    Having a glass of wine
    Looking down the hallway
    As the canal flows on by

    We stop and laugh
    And howl at the lunatic light
    Of the full moon

    Foolish
    immoral
    desire
    daisies
    hallway
    softly
    fragrance
    air

     #10. Everything in Life is Foolish or Immoral For Stormy Lady

    ID #1059452

    Barbados, West Indies – March 4, 2007: A beach scene on the Caribbean Island of Barbados with a yellow lifeguard station and people enjoying the beach and the water.
    On a winter’s day
    In cold, dismal snowy DC
    My thoughts often turn.
    To Barbados.And the three wonderful years
    I spent serving my country.
    In Barbados, and the Eastern Caribbean.Recalling blissful days
    Hanging out at the Hilton Hotel
    With the love of my wife by my side.Sunday brunch then hitting the beach.
    Drinking rum sours while watching people
    Frolicking in the Blue Sea.

    Visiting my other islands
    once a month
    Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts,
    St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines

    Meeting political leaders
    Liming with the locals.

    Listening to the steel drum band
    Play as the sunsets
    Over my secret Caribbean paradise.

    Comment: My best tour in the Foreign Service was when I served as Deputy Pol/Econ Chief in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean (Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines) from 2007 to 2010. Liming is local jargon for having a drink.

     

    #9. Barbados Dreaming on a Winter’s Day for Stormy Lady

     

    ID #1055645

     

    O Dark Hundred

     

     

     

     

    0 dark hundred
    Just before dawn
    Insomnia comes over me

    My mind filled with
    Haunting whispers
    Degrading the air

    troubled rumors
    of distant places
    of ancient times

    traveling afar
    extinguishing

    the rage
    I feel against the coming
    Dark Night of the Soul

    Note: o dark hundred is a military/intel word denoting the early morning hours just before dawn when soldiers often wake up to go to battle

    #8. o dark Hundred
    ID #1051150

    Last Night of High School Memories

     

    free roaming berkeley
    free roaming berkeley

     

     

     

     

     

    One of the most memorable nights
    In my life
    Was my high school
    graduation night
    In Berkeley in 1974.

    We had all gone out
    To numerous graduation parties
    Partying all night
    Until dawn.

    Then heading
    to Berkeley’s Tilden Park
    Inspiration point
    Where we ran into
    Numerous friends,

    This was a BHS tradition
    Dating back to whenever
    We all ended up there
    On the morning
    After graduation night.

    We all shared a moment
    Enjoying the rare sunlit morning
    Usually foggy but that morning
    The sun lit up the distant horizon
    With dramatic hues.

    As the sun rose
    over the mountain tops.
    Of the Berkeley Hills and Mt. Diablo

    We all stared at the sunrise
    Looking at the beauty all around us
    Contemplating the tranquil mood
    We were in.

    Then we left
    Ending up at IHOP
    Enjoying the lumberjack breakfast

    Bacon, eggs, pancakes, sausage
    Lots of hot coffee to wash it down
    Heavenly first breakfast
    As an official adult
    Member of society

    Getting home at about noon.
    Knowing that one stage
    In our life was over

    Waiting for the next stage
    To begin.

    Knowing that we may
    Never see our friends again
    As our paths
    would soon diverge.

    But I will never forget
    That magical night
    When I officially
    Became an adult.

    © Copyright 2023 JCosmos (UN: jcosmos at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.

    #7. Last night of High school memories
    ID #1049689

    #6. A Mother’s Luminous Tears

    An old Mother
    Embraces her daughter
    And son-in-law

    Luminous tears
    Flowing down her face

    As she looked
    At her children
    Filled with love

    A devoted humble
    Guiding loving spirit
    Smiling at her

    These are the rules:

    1) You must use the words I give in a poem or prose with no limits on length.

    2) The words can be in any order and anywhere throughout the poem and can be any form of the word.

    3) All entries must be posted in your portfolio and you must post the link in this forum, “Stormy’s poetry newsletter & contest” [ASR] by May 13, 2023.

    4) The winner will get 3000 gift points and the poem will be displayed in this section of the newsletter the next time it is my turn to post (May 17, 2023)

    The words are:
    A mother embraces luminous tears devoted spirit humble guiding

    #6. A Mother’s Luminous Tears

    ID #1048420

    The End

     

     

     

  • Gary Noland Music Updates

    Gary Noland Music Updates

    Gary Noland Music Updates

     

    gary noland
    gary noloand cartoon

    Composergarynoland – Composition Lessons, Music, Piano

    Introduhttps://wp.me/p7NAzO-1T

     updated

    gary noland
    gary noloand cartoon

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Gary Noland’s Music

    Introducing Jim Davidson

    Spillwords Published One Night In Bombay

     

    https://wp.me/p7NAzO-2wRIntroducing Gary Noland’s Music

    Updates

    My friend, Gary Noland has been quite active lately with lots of new music.  Here are some of his recent pieces for your listening amusement.

    Gary Noland

    eonsdrtoSp04232a0a3t9i0 4124c07aycu 34a8rgn14,gfuh1llt565Jl1  ·

    Brand new piece (15 August, 2017): Gary Noland, piano & narration, performs Fascicle No. 162, Part Six of his chamber novel Jagdlied Op. 20.

    Brand new piece (15 August, 2017): Gary Noland, piano & narration, performs Fascicle No. 162, Part Six of his chamber novel Jagdlied Op. 20.

    My PAEAN IN HOMAGE TO HIGH-MINDED MAGGOTS, UPSTANDING BOTTOMFEEDERS, AND OTHER MALIGNANT PARASITES OF UNIMPEACHABLE MORAL INTEGRITY performed by THE PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE (December 20th, 2022): https://soundcloud.com/…/paean-in-homage-to-high-minded

    (5) Gary Noland _ Facebook

     My latest piece: CONFUNKLED SNAFUBARBIES AND THEIR BIRDBRAINIAC CARBON COPIES CONFLABULATING AT THE FUNERAL HOME BEFORE THE FALL performed by THE PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE (December 18th, 2022): https://soundcloud.com/…/sets/confunkled-snafubarbies-and

    My SOFT-BOILED EGGHEADS performed by THE PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE (December 16th, 2022): https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/sets/soft-boiled-eggheads

    My latest piece: TITS FOR TAT FROM A NURSING HOME NAZI’S NEMESIS performed by THE PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE (December 12th, 2022): https://soundcloud.com/…/sets/tits-for-tat-from-a-nursing

    My VENGEGASMIC PHRENZY performed by the redoubtable PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE: https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/sets/vengegasmic-phrenzy

     Collected Piano Works (Author Interview)

    bookinform.com

    Gary Noland

    Lives in Portland, Oregon

    Self-Employed

    1/14/11, 3:37 PM

    Gary

    Hey Jake, Zappenin? Nice to see you in FB. I’m living in Portland, Oregon these days. Love it here. Jim tells me you’ve visited him on occasion in the Bay Area. I go there once or twice a year. Maybe we’ll cross orbits again sometime. I’m composing a 90-minute set of variations on my own theme for solo piano, which I started in April, 2009. Hope to have it completed in about three months. At 39 variations, I’ve probably broken the world record in terms of length and scope. You’re in Alexandria these days? Nice! Hope all is well. Cheers, Gary

    Enter

     

     

    Dear Friends, I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE UPCOMING RELEASE OF MY NEW DOUBLE CD: 20 COVIDITTIES Op. 116—composed amidst suffocating smoke, impending conflagrations, destructive riots, politico-ideological turmoil, all whilst in the throes of a pernicious global pandemic. Available for purchase on Amazon for only $16.95 “… a most important work … molted out of a neo-romanticism into a completely postmodern reduction of elements (ad absurdum) … Sometimes that romanticism … provides a frame or narrative on which [Noland] builds around or elaborates other layers. This is a multi-tiered music … the tonal works providing the frame are exquisite in their own right … the Chopin/Strauss element seems to reflect the old bourgeoisie under attack from the culture that has arisen since … its deliberately loving, saccharine poesy seems unmoved … love and fine taste exist wherever the appoggiatura stabs the heart … impressive series … a highly sophisticated sonic cartoon …”—ERNESTO FERRERI, American composerD

     

    20 COVIDITTIES Op. 116—composed amidst suffocating smoke, impending conflagrations, destructive riots, politico-ideological turmoil, all whilst in the throes of a pernicious global pandemic.

    amazon.com

    Hi Jake, it is available for listening (in its entirety) on SoundCloud at the following link: https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/sets/coviditties-op-116-by-gary

    TWENTY COVIDITTIES Op. 116 by GARY LLOYD NOLAND

    soundcloud.com

    I have not used Sibelius with a keyboard since it has pretty good playback capabilities built into it. Listen to this, for example: https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/demagogue-unseatment-celebration-march-for-military-band-op-110

    DEMAGOGUE UNSEATMENT CELEBRATION MARCH for military band Op. 110

    soundcloud.com

    ://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/access-of-oil-for-french-horn-violin-cello-percussion-piano-op-114

    ACCESS OF OIL for French horn, violin, cello, percussion & piano Op. 114

    soundcloud.com

    I have a Yamaha Montage, which I started using in the summer but not in conjunction with Sibelius. As far as I know, virtually any MIDI keyboard ought to work with Sibelius. I haven’t tried it myself but I believe you shouldn’t have any problems with it. To be safe, ask the people at Sibelius and/or at Yamaha to recommend the right configurations. Best of luck with your new toys!

    12/2/20, 5:40 PM

    Gary

    A musical memoir of 2020, this brand new double CD makes the perfect Xmas stocking stuffer! I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE OFFICIAL RELEASE OF MY BRAND NEW DOUBLE CD: 20 COVIDITTIES Op. 116—composed amidst suffocating smoke, impending conflagrations, destructive riots, politico-ideological turmoil, all whilst in the throes of a pernicious global pandemic. Available for purchase on Amazon. “… a most important work … molted out of a neo-romanticism into a completely postmodern reduction of elements (ad absurdum) … Sometimes that romanticism … provides a frame or narrative on which [Noland] builds around or elaborates other layers. This is a multi-tiered music … the tonal works providing the frame are exquisite in their own right … the Chopin/Strauss element seems to reflect the old bourgeoisie under attack from the culture that has arisen since … its deliberately loving, saccharine poesy seems unmoved … love and fine taste exist wherever the appoggiatura stabs the heart … impressive series … a highly sophisticated sonic cartoon …”—ERNESTO FERRERI, American composer

     

    20 COVIDITTIES Op. 116—composed amidst suffocating smoke, impending conflagrations, destructive riots, politico-ideological turmoil, all whilst in the throes of a pernicious global pandemic.

    amazon.com

    Hope all is well with you. I am writing to let you know about my latest double CD “ENTROPIC ABANDON: a Super-Psychedelic, Maximalistic, Decadissident Free-Wing Dog & Pony Circus Flextravabonanza of Blightgeisty, Neuromantic, Encore-gasmic Opuscula,” which is now available for pre-order on Amazon. The official release date is March 1st. Order your copies NOW!!!

     ENTROPIC ABANDON: a Super-Psychedelic, Maximalistic, Decadissident Free-Wing Dog & Pony Circus Flextravabonanza of Blightgeisty, Neuromantic, Encore-gasmic Opuscula

    amazon.com

    My latest double CD “ENTROPIC ABANDON: a Super-Psychedelic, Maximalistic, Decadissident Free-Wing Dog & Pony Circus Flextravabonanza of Blightgeisty, Neuromantic, Encore-gasmic Opuscula” is now available for pre-order on Amazon. The official release date is March 1st. Order yours today!!!

     ENTROPIC ABANDON: a Super-Psychedelic, Maximalistic, Decadissident Free-Wing Dog & Pony Circus Flextravabonanza of Blightgeisty, Neuromantic, Encore-gasmic Opuscula

    amazon.com

    RAND NEW PIECE: ORLAN DOY GLANDLY conducts members of THE PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE in a performance of GERTY MACDOWELL’S DRAWERS by GARY LLOYD NOLAND.

    GERTY MACDOWELL’S DRAWERS

    soundcloud.com

    I am pleased to share this riveting performance by soprano Anna Haagenson and pianist Stephanie Thompson of the world premiere of my setting of Alexander Theroux’s poem “The Cabaret of Theresienstadt” (at 121:14), which was presented at the NACUSA 2021 Virtual New Music Festival on 18 April. This conference had originally been scheduled to take place in March, 2020 but was cancelled in the last minute due to the unfolding COVID crisis. I set ten poems of A. Theroux’s which I’ve been anxiously awaiting to hear performed (including one large choral setting for SATB, oboe, horn, bass & timpani). It is gratifying to finally hear this song interpreted by sensitive musicians. More performances of my Theroux settings are forthcoming. Anyone who is interesting in following the score may access it from my website in the “Scores 1” menu.

    In the Neighborhood — NACUSA 2021 Virtual New Music Festival / Conference

    youtube.com

    This edition of my double CD ENTROPIC ABANDON will be out of print on June 4th. If interested, this is the time to order it!

     ENTROPIC ABANDON: a Super-Psychedelic, Maximalistic, Decadissident Free-Wing Dog & Pony Circus Flextravabonanza of Blightgeisty, Neuromantic, Encore-gasmic Opuscula

    amazon.com

    May 28, 2021, 1:09 AM

    Although the recent double CD of my compositions “Entropic Abandon” (released on March 1st) is currently ranked No. 2 on the Amazon bestseller list of “Hot New Releases” in the “Special Interest” category, it is, unfortunately, going out of print come June 4th. All interested parties can take advantage of this last minute opportunity to order a copy from Amazon (two CDs for the price of one). https://www.amazon.com/…/dp/B08VXC9X5S/ref=zg_bsnr_35_2

    Amazon.com New Releases: The best-selling new & future releases in Special Interest

    amazon.com

    Here’s where one can purchase it, along with two other recent CDs: https://composergarynoland.godaddysites.com/discography

    Contact dr. noland about commissions or private music lessons

    composergarynoland.godaddysites.com

    Here’s a link to the hardbound color version of my chamber novel JAGDLIED: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/jagdlied-a-chamber-novel-for-narrator-musicians-pantomimists-dancers–culinary-artists-standard-color-hardcover/19506767/item/29328620/?gclid=CjwKCAjwt8uGBhBAEiwAayu_9V82ECGJv3JS6AQBFhX59cnu6nNuQn9ZI4AgMCyn78x3floMplefNRoCdQ4QAvD_BwE#idiq=29328620&edition=20733719

    Jagdlied: A Chamber Novel for Narrator,… book

    thriftbooks.com

    My bio can be found on the home page of my website: https://composergarynoland.godaddysites.com/

    Contact dr. noland about commissions or private music lessons

    composergarynoland.godaddysites.com

    Hi Jake, I have a new collection (Volume 2) of my COLLECTED PIANO WORKS available for pre-ordering from most major, and many independent, book retailers worldwide. Thanks for asking! Hope all’s well with you and yours. Gary

    I’m excited to announce that Volume 2 of my COLLECTED PIANO WORKS, which includes 39 VARIATIONS ON AN ORIGINAL THEME IN F MAJOR Op. 98 and GRANDE RAG BRILLANTE Op. 15, is available to pre-order from Amazon at: Ihttps://www.amazon.com/Collec…/dp/1732302391/ref=sr_1_1… “…The [39 Variations] is an astounding tour de force. In its far-reaching, systematic exploration of the theme’s creative possibilities … it reminds one of the Goldberg and the Diabelli. But in its monumental dimensions it goes far beyond them both, and in the large number of historical styles referenced and integrated into the work … I am unaware of any parallel … I offer my humble congratulations on a titanic achievement!”-LUDWIG TUMAN, composer & pianist

    Gary Noland

    Introducing Gary Noland’s Music

    I have known Gary Noland since high school.  He is a very talented composer, piano player, and cartoonist who lives in Portland.  His music is eclectic with a snarky sarcastic tone to it, somewhat like listening to Frank Zappa’s classical music scores.   His cartoons are very Robert Crumpian in spirit.  Take a listen and let me know what you think.

    https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/sets/new-album-by-gary-lloyd-1

    Here’s a link to a page on my website where orders for this CD and others can be made:

    https://composergarynoland.godaddysites.com/discography

    Here’s a link to the home page on my website, which includes my short bio:

    https://composergarynoland.godaddysites.com/

    Here’s a link to my chamber novel JAGDLIED and my play NOTHING IS MORE. Jag lied is offered in several versions: https://www.amazon.com/Dolly-Gray-Landon/e/B07GJV8Y11?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1624516602&sr=1-1

    If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.

    Thanks!

    All best,

    Gary L. Noland

    You can contact Gary Noland at nolandgary5@gmail.com

    BIO

    Introducing Gary Noland’s Music

    Dr. Gary Lloyd Noland (a.k.a. author Dolly Gray Landon & artist Lon Gaylord Dylan), grew up in a crowded house shared by ten people on a plot of land three blocks south of UC Berkeley known as People’s Park, which has distinguished itself as a site of civic unrest since the late 1960 Dr. Gary Lloyd Noland (a.k.a. author Dolly Gray Landon & artist Lon Gaylord Dylan), grew up in a crowded house shared by ten people on a plot of land three blocks south of UC Berkeley known as People’s Park, which has distinguished itself as a site of civic unrest since the late 1960s. As an adolescent, Gary lived for a time in Salzburg and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where he absorbed many musical influences. Having studied with a long roster of acclaimed composers and musicians, he earned his Bachelor’s in music from UC Berkeley in 1979, continued studies at the Boston Conservatory, and transferred to Harvard University, where he added to his credits Dr. Gary Lloyd Noland (a.k.a. Author Dolly Gray Landon & artist Lon Gaylord Dylan), grew up in a crowded house shared by ten people on a plot of land three blocks south of UC Berkeley known as People’s Park, which has distinguished itself as a site of civic unrest since the late 1960s.

    As an adolescent, Gary lived for a time in Salzburg and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where he absorbed many musical influences. Having studied with a long roster of acclaimed composers and musicians, he earned his Bachelor’s in music from UC Berkeley in 1979, continued studies at the Boston Conservatory, and transferred to Harvard University, where he added to his credits a Masters’ and a Ph.D. in Music Composition in 1989.

    Gary’s catalog consists of hundreds of works, which include piano, vocal, chamber, experimental, and electronic pieces; full-length plays in verse, “chamber novels,” and other text pieces; as well as graphically notated scores. His award-winning chamber novel JAGDLIED for Narrator, Musicians, Pantomimists, Dancers & Culinary Artists was listed by one reviewer as the “Top Book of 2018.” Gary’s compositions have been performed and broadcast (including on NPR) in many locations throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, Asia, and Australia. He founded the Seventh Species concert series in San Francisco in 1990 and, for 23 years, produced well over 50 concerts of contemporary classical music on the West Coast. He is also a founding member of Cascadia Composers. Gary has taught music at Harvard, the University of Oregon, and Portland Community College. His musical scores are available from J.W. Pepper, RGM, Sheet Music Plus, and Freeland Publications. Six CDs of his compositions are available on the North Pacific Music label at: www.northpacificmusic.com. He has well over 300 videos of his music and narratives available for listening on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJt_eNyJqOZBErG9McQ51nA and numerous other sites on the Internet. composition lessons Lake Oswego Beaverton

    The PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE performs STATE-OF-THE-ART EAR EXERCISES for MUSICAL COGNOSCENTI Op. 119 by GARY LLOYD NOLAND.

    Featuring the composer and his five alter egos:

    GARY LLOYD NOLAND: panda harmonium, malapropsichord, climaxophone, smorgasborgasmatron, bombasticordion, whoopeeboard, air cacophony or

    ORLAN DOY GLANDLY: squealharp, ventilator guitar, squawkarina, Gulag whistle, dodecaphone, double-crossillators, electro-kakazoo

    DARNOLD OLLY YANG: googah, hee-haw, harrumphinator, dalzheimers, oink bells, nerdy gurdy, didgeridoowahdoo, jello thumpers, custard pounders

    LON GAYLORD DYLAN: unstitched concussion, belly button cymbals, lambastanets, barking spider engines, underarmonica, stiletto knockers, pudding whackers

    DOLLY GRAY LANDON: forbidden flute, yo-yo-boe, C-sharp clarinet, stench horn, C-flat crumpet, smackbutt, bombdrone, polyphonic foot tuba

    ARNOLD DAY LONGLY: steam viola, nose cello, nostril bass, power-barf machine, scaremin, toilet brushes, discordion

    Review:

    Composergarynoland – Composition Lessons, Music, Piano

    The PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE performs WAYWARD effects & AFFLICTIONS Op. 120 by GARY LLOYD NOLAND

    Fever DREAMS Op. 118,

    an Unequivocal Crustbucket List of Smexy and Sophistocratic Quarantunes for Perspicacious Connoisseurmudgeons, Trans melancholiac Insomniacs, Necromantic Misanthropes, Compulsive Transgress mists, and other Categorical Certifiable from the Psycho-Experimental Ward of Herr Doctor Noland’s Avantgarde-Boiled Cynic Clinic

    24 Interludes for Piano, Vol. 2

    October 2006: “Twenty-Four Interludes” for piano Vol. 2  (Op. 71, Nos. 13-24), performed by Gary Noland. Duration: 75 minutes. www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD 027).

    24 Postludes for Piano, Vol. 2

    February 2006: “Twenty-Four Postludes for Piano” Vol. 2  (Op. 72, Nos. 13–24), performed by Gary Noland. Duration: 75 minutes. www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD 025). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

    More REVIEWS

    “Gary Noland is one of those 21st Century composers seeking to forge a new aesthetic based on older models that do not traffic in serialism or minimalism. These dry, playful pieces pay homage to classical forms from various periods while gently satirizing them. Zany waltzes, ragtime riffs, chorales, toccatas, and much else romp and tear through these depictions of superheroes and villains from his ‘chamber novels’; other pieces spoof serial music (‘Ventured, nothing gained’) to grand operas (‘Meditative’) and Jewish guilt (‘Spikes’). The irreverent program closes with two serious, impressive, endlessly modulating memorials: one to George Rothberg, an allusive homage to an important neo-romantic who was himself a master of allusion; another to Jon Sutton, an artist Noland feels was wrongfully neglected by a corporate culture that promotes dreck and mediocrity, making it ‘possible to have a Brahms or Schubert next door and not even realize it. This is a culture that ‘confers towering soapboxes to impostors of all persuasions, all too often to the exclusion of first-rate minds who are less savvy about how to work the system to their advantage’.

    North Pacific Music

    Smaller labels like North Pacific Music represent a new way of working that system, a small means of saving what Noland regards as ‘an endangered (and fast becoming extinct) high culture’. I could do without the ugly cover art, but the piano sound is extremely vivid—and Noland plays his work with wit and conviction.”

    —Jack Sullivan, American Record Guide, July/August 2007

    “Yesterday, the first day of the year [2004], I opened your CD package—and could hardly believe my ears when I listened to your Venge Art and 24 Postludes for Piano, Op. 72—how magnificent!!  I will include most [of] your works in our local shows, especially in the Art Block program Sound Sculpture—a program for visual and sonic art.… I listen to all arriving music and [respond] seldom as excited as I did to your music.… Have a terrific 2004.  You made mine with your inspiring music, talent, and creativity. Thank you.”

    —Brita Heisman, Executive Producer, KAZU Local Programming, Pacific Grove, CA.

    Royal Oil works Music

    January 2006:  “Royal Oil works Music” (electro-acoustic). Duration: ca. 75 minutes. Includes: “Prelude in E Minor” (Op. 34), “Serial Lullaby” (Op. 80, No. 1), “Spray Taint” (Op. 80, No. 2), “Dog Duo” (Op. 66), “Rag bones” (Op. 11), “Grey Malignant Banks” (Op. 80, No. 3) “My Babe’s Gone Down to Do Her Glue” (Op. 80, No. 4), “Royal Oil works Music” (Op. 80, No. 5) “Prelude & Zoo trot” (Op. 22), “Something Rotten” (Op. 80, No. 6) “Music is Dead” (Op. 53), “Treadmill” (Op. 37), “Deformed Fugue” (Op. 17), “Insurrection of the Office Slaves” (Op. 80, No. 7), “Psycho-Bacchanal” (Op. 80, No. 8). www.NorthPacificMusic.com  (NPM LD 024). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

    “We recently received a CD [Royal Oil works Music] of Gary Noland’s here at WOBC. I must say that upon previewing some of the tracks and reading the program notes that all of us have never laughed so hard in our lives. We usually don’t play music as arrogant and docile as Gary’s but the ironic-postmodern-naive-pretension that this CD showed made me reconsider. I would like to get in touch with M. Noland and arrange a telephone interview for one of our classical radio shows.”

    —Joshua Morris, Classical Director, WOBC 91.5 FM, Oberlin, OH

    “Gary Noland is a composer to end all composers

    … his attitude is not subtly disestablishmentarian, and you’d better enjoy it.… Some of the sounds are amusing, but the music is sort of deliberately annoying, both in sonority and in the mood—deliberately uninspired, almost to the point of inspiration. From Bach to rags to whatever, Noland seems determined to annoy as many people as he can, in an amusing way. He is an angry guy but witty.

    If the idea of deliberate lack of originality purveyed in an atmosphere of political incorrectness appeals to you, here, in no uncertain terms, it is. Titles such as ‘Spray Taint’, ‘Dog Duo’, and ‘Insurrection of the Office Slaves’ give the mood, while the title tune [‘Royal Oil works Music’] is the real purpose of the Bush administration, as explained in the notes.…”

    —David Moore, American Record Guide

    Seriously Odd Classical Tongue in Check Electro-Acoustic

    “Seriously odd classical… Tongue-in-cheek electro-acoustic combines baroque harpsichord and cheesy electronic sounds. Funny like Satie is funny – zany and irreverent. Lots of serialism … but the bizarre collage of styles and periods is brilliant. Oh, it’s also like PDQ Bach/Peter Schickele in some ways. Absurd liner notes!  Baroque-sounding … Serialist electro-acoustic … very refreshing, given how “ivory tower” this type of music often is. Cheesy synths, electronic percussion, and trumpets … up tempo and funky. Baroque harpsichord with pop and world music sounds going on in off-kilter, almost random rhythms. WTF? Very cool …Waa Waa synth, fugue-like … Zany … Cecil Taylor piano over drum machine breakbeats … Close to Dual (Ed Chang and Doug Theriault – crazy dense guitar and laptop processing), with national anthem-like moments?? And bird song?? Zany … Slow serialist/romantic … prelude to baroque trills to Richian/rag arpeggios to a Chopin breakdown to a jazz ending. Phew. This rocks … Bogy woozy synth with jazz percussion and serialist randomness. Lots of noodling, er, electronic wanking? Upbeat … Staccato baroque fugue on electronic choral sounds and pipe organ sounds … funny … Rhythmically interesting …  Fugue for harpsichord … Some free jazz freak-outs … Great title for this … Squeaky sounds with sax and choral synthesizer—like if you played the Handel theme from the film A Clockwork Orange, Sonny Rollins, Tchaikovsky, and, well, a psychotic serialist all at once.”

    —KZSU FM90.3, Stanford, CA

    “A look at the head-note will alert you to Gary Noland’s very personal way with words. Not for Noland the lures either of Olympian detachment or lower case “significance.” No, Noland is full-on and takes few linguistic prisoners. Similarly with the booklet artwork, Noland’s own, which is an example of crazed Robert Crumb à Africanize. And his music is much the same, Deformed Fugue, his 1977 piece for harpsichord summoning up pretty nicely his compositional stance. This is an elixir brewed of Couperin and Rameau, Scott Joplin, Bach, free funk, free Jazz (Cecil Taylor?), the Fugue, and an unholy alliance of straight sounding neo-classicism and its subsequent assault by the forces of percussive militancy.

     

    Noland may be a romantic but doesn’t want you to know.

    His Prelude is baroque-convincing though attended by some sour-is off notes he follows it with Serial Lullaby, a synthesizer-rich free funk piece that mocks its title. Spray Taint gives us assaulted baroque, the percussion blizzards full of jazz offbeat and whoop-bang noises (plus telephone rings and disco inferno). He subjects Ragtime to the same souring procedures as he does to his off-note harpsichord baroque and evokes a drugs fix (in My Babe’s Gone Down to Do Her Glue) with some haywire free form. He writes an American fanfare for the title track and subjects it to anti-Bush assault by bird song and drum blister.

    Quixiotic Sense

    His quixotic sense extends to opus numbers – the bowels of Op. 80 are scattered throughout the disc, and to instrumentation as well. I assume he makes all the noises, both pianistic and harpsichord synthesized and vocalized. He’s a veritable one-man band of off-kilter influences, the procedural repetition of which sometimes got me seriously down, though I did like his Swingle Sisters take-off on Music is Dead: A Paradox in Fugue.”

    —Jonathan Woolf, Music Web International

    24 Postludes for piano, Vol. 1

    August 2004: “Twenty-Four Postludes for Piano” Vol. 1 (Op. 72, Nos. 1–12), performed by Gary Noland. Duration: 72 minutes.  North Pacific Music (PO BOX 82627, Portland, Oregon 97282-0627, USA, tel/fax:  1-800-757-7384, www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD  018). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Lake Oswego

     REVIEWS/ENCOMIUMS

    “As usual I have been fiendishly busy and during my last absence, our humidification system went bonkers, depositing condensation and mold all over the place so now I am trying to deal with that on top of my overload. Nonetheless, I have put on the postludes whenever I’ve been at the computer and found them up to your usual iconoclastic, stylistic potpourri standards of giddy humor, no holds barred soup to nuts and high spirits. They are balm to the grim state of mind in which I find myself.”

    —Robert Levin, pianist (cadenza improviser extraordinaire), scholar, Professor of Music, Harvard University

    “Many thanks for the CDs you sent me, which I have been listening to with great pleasure and fascination.… I am bowled over by the expertise of your music:  you use certain elements from the 19th century and jazz, etc., and just at the moment when I am about to say, OK, what else is new? you do several things, such as speeding up, becoming wildly dissonant, modulating to a distant continent, stopping completely, and throwing some kind of total surprise. All of these things are possible, but you seem to know exactly when to do what and how much.  I don’t know anybody else who can do it!  And the brief electronic statements are spooky in the best and most extreme sense.  They make my hair (what’s left of it) stand on end.…”

    —Andrew Imbrue, composer, Pulitzer Prize finalist

    “Mr. Noland’s Postludes are a collection of wild and crazy pieces for … piano. These are essentially parodying of various styles, set in a dizzying harmonic language that loops uncontrollably through a wide-ranging gamut of possible and impossible tonalities. He applies this procedure to the fugue, ragtime, German dances (Schubert), romantic waltzes (Richard Strauss seems to be a favorite), and virtuosic piano scherzos. There’s a Chinese polonaise, a whiff of pentatonic Debussy; and, like most composers after Berlioz, he can’t seem to keep his hands off the Dies Irae (though fortunately, the tongue is firmly in cheek). Both Peter Schickele and Conlon Nan arrow hover over the proceedings. I’d even throw in Mark Applebaum, another Californian … The opening fugue is dedicated to the late David Lewin, the prominent Harvard theorist.  Lukas Foss gets a dedication, also (maybe his Baroque Variations had some sort of influence on Noland at some point).

    The general effect is like watching wet paintings of 19th Century musical memorabilia drip into frazzled 21st Century oblivion. The comic-book grotesquerie that graces the jewel box pretty much says it all … these pieces are striking and entertaining … (Postlude 12, an interminable exercise in blues montage, is the most daunting.) The pieces all have funny titles … Mustaches on the Mona Lisa, but those can be interesting if you’re in the right frame of mind.”

    —Allen Gimbel, American Record Guide

    “Composer and pianist Gary Noland are into ‘ha-ha music’—that is, classical music played for laughs, a genre famously (or infamously, depending on your taste in humor) popularized by Peter Schickele, also known as P.D.Q. Bach. This collection of solo piano music, identified as postludes rather than the more traditional preludes designation, indicates that, despite occasionally forcing the musical jokes (and writing far too many tortured puns in his liner notes), Noland has both the writing and playing chops to compensate for his painful musical humor. Dedicated to the late music theorist David Lewin, ‘Philomathetique’ is a witty trope on the music of Richard Strauss, with characterful motives and abundant quick modulations. ‘Effete Singulations’ is a deft, splashy bit of ragtime, while ‘Pickthanks and Premediates’ is a light-hearted romp played at a dizzying tempo and ‘Psychonipptions’ (dedicated to composer Henry Martin) is a send-up of 20th Century French music. Overall, Postludes is a mixed bag, but when Noland focuses on playing the piano well rather than simply playing for laughs, his compelling artistry shines through.”

    —Christian Carey, Splendid Magazine

    “Gary—you continue to be one of the most original of the contributors to ‘The Classical Salon.’ And ‘Effete Singulations’ [Postlude #2] opens one of my ragtime shows.”

    —David Rifkin, Host, “Classical Salon” and “The Ragtime Machine,” KUSF 90.3 FM, University of San Francisco.

    24 Interludes for piano, Vol. 1

    August 2004: “Twenty-Four Interludes for Piano” Vol. 1 (Op. 71, Nos. 1-12), performed by Gary Noland. Duration: 74 minutes. North Pacific Music (PO BOX 82627, Portland, Oregon 97282-0627, USA, tel/fax: 1-800-757-7384, www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD  019). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Lake Oswego

    “… intriguing, irritating, … distinctive, inventive, … subversive, … [the music] is never what you expect.  You hear all sorts of styles and influences—Beethoven, ragtime, Nan arrow, stride—often in very quick succession.… I had the strange feeling with many of these pieces [Interludes and Postludes] that, about halfway through, I had got fed up with them, but I was then sorry when they finished.… You can hardly be indifferent to Noland’s music and so I would urge you to try it. Despite my frequent irritation, I will certainly be returning to it and seeking out examples of Noland’s chamber works and multimedia compositions. Music aside, speaking as a cat-lover, I feel an instinctive sympathy with the composer depicted on the front cover of the Interludes fondly embracing his cat. Illogical? Well, yes; I think this music has got to me after all.”

    —Roger Blackburn, Music Web International

    “Gary Noland, a composer, and pianist with an impressive academic pedigree (including a Ph.D. from Harvard) and extensive performing experience, here presents an album of solo piano compositions, or ‘interludes.’ Actually, some of these pieces seem in no way transitory; instead, they present extended musical dialogues that call upon a host of musical styles and require the considerable technical facility to perform. Noland, a fleet-fingered, ebullient performer, is more than up to the task. Pastiche pieces like ‘Mumbo Gumbo’ and ‘Expresso Wagon’ evoke all manner of Romantic-era classical piano figurations; they gently lampoon some of the genre’s conventions, but always remain bright, witty, and engaging. ‘The Temptation of Saint Floyd’ also channels Romanticism, particularly the Strassman sort, demonstrating a more reflective demeanor and adding a dollop of schmaltz to the proceedings. ‘Push Button Fingers’ is prevailingly modern in construction, with syncopated rhythms and sprightly, angular runs creating a far more contemporary sound world. Noland’s work may be eclectic—sometimes even a bit goofy—but Interludes is cleverly constructed and consistently well performed.”

    —Christian Carey, Splendid Magazine, 12/29/2005

    FIND OUT MORE

    Selected Music from Venge Art

    July 2002: “Gary Noland:  Selected Music from VENGE ART.”  Duration:  75 minutes. Cellist Hamilton Heifetz and pianist Victor Steinhardt playing “Fantasy in E Minor” for cello & piano (Op. 24), pianist Randall Hodgkinson playing “Humoresque” for piano (Op. 3) and the “Russell Street Rag” (Op. 5), Gary Noland performing three segments of “P*run*Music” (Op. 48), Violist Katherine Murdock and pianist Randall Hodgkinson playing “Romance” for viola & piano (Op. 10), a computer-driven Disklavier performance of “Grande Rag Brillante” (Op. 15), The Onyx String Quartet playing “American Bozo Dance” (Op. 32, No. 8), and Guy Tyler conducting “Septet” (Op. 43) with clarinetist Carol Robe, alto saxophonist Tom Bergeron, French hornist Ellen Campbell, violinists Tawana Nagahara and Anthony Dyer, double-bassist Forrest Moyer, and pianist Art Maddox. Released by North Pacific Music (PO BOX 82627, Portland, Oregon 97282-0627, USA, tel/fax:  1-800-757-7384, www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD  012). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Lake Oswego

    “Mr. Noland writes as a ‘time traveler’ in styles long abandoned by most composers as well as styles so new as to not have been imagined but by him.  This he accomplishes naturally, convincingly, with originality and true passion.  His command of all musical languages and his ability to traverse musical time is nothing less than remarkable.  Listen!”

    —Donald Martino, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer

    “Composer Gary Noland is possessed of a rich musical imagination, whose technique distills the achievements of Roger, Strauss, and Schoenberg but also refracts their post-romantic/expressionist tendencies through the lens of twenty-first-century post-modernism, American style. Moreover, he fits Stravinsky’s definition of a great composer:  one who doesn’t merely steal but knows what to steal.  This Noland does with wit and aplomb unique to the music of our time.”

    —Ira Braes, pianist, musicologist, Professor of Music, The Hart School

    “Gary Noland’s Venge Art is more than just a collection of music.…inspiring.  He walks with assurance through the treacherous landscape of late tonality and early post-tonality (e.g., Strauss).…a gifted composer.”

    Payton MacDonald—American Record Guide

    FIND OUT MORE

    Player less Pianos

    May 2000: “Player less Pianos: Virtual Music for Pianos Virtual and Otherwise.” Seventh Species Composers Series Debut Recording, Limited Collector’s Edition (NPM LCE 007—North Pacific Music). A compilation recording of works by various composers. Includes Gary Noland’s “Grande Rag Brillante” (Op. 15), which was recorded on August 19, 1998, on a Disklavier at SPARK Studios in Emeryville. music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

    Original Compositions by Gary Noland music CDs

    1996: “Passion.” A compilation recording of works by composers Gary Noland, George Rothberg, Georges Enescu, Greg Steinke, and Jackie T. Gabel performed by violist Rozanne Weinberger and pianist Evelyne Lust. Includes Noland’s “Romance” for viola & piano (Op. 10).  (NPM LD 003—North Pacific Music).  Recorded September 1994 at MET Studio Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.  In Schwann Catalog. music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

    FIND OUT MORE

    Be sure and listen to performances of Gary Noland’s music on this website under “videos,” “more videos,” etc.

    All CDs are available for purchase from www.northpacificmusic.com music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

     

    https://wp.me/p7NAzO-2xlMore music by my friend Gary Noland

    Soprano HSIN YI LIN and pianist ASYA GULUA perform my setting of ALEXANDER THEROUX’S poem PRAYER OF A FAT MAN, Op. 104 (2019).

    Acclaimed novelist/poet/essayist Alexander Theroux gave the composer permission to set as many of his poems as he wishes from his Collected Poems (published by Fantagraphics in 2015). Noland originally scheduled a recital of a number of these songs to be performed by soprano Hsin Yi Lin and pianist Asya Gulua on April 11th, 2020 at Classic Pianos in …

     

    YOUTUBE.COM

    My Movie 3

    This video is about My Movie 3

    https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DC6Vl3S-WMhI%26feature%3Dshare%26fbclid%3DIwAR0dTSYZazKPnoEhjSuywlQnjRCadYxcR8fOuEqaTwX1P7eQdpt8dus6zuA&h=AT0-cTHe6jXLSHWgDgIhACZYGWuWpzXReddWqlYZtMuPWwLgz_GxpUj7l1_yqOHTRVjUCdlOr7bDrM_gVbR8H5GmGR6IYs8NdlIL7c6AuzWvpkGgua3d7AV3k_-nzenR9pwe&__tn__=%2CmH-R&c%5B0%5D=AT0xHGcaTu8ZbLXE1aR_fj4nb5e5DodZaShKUkiMIQ_gca19tE4chZqPj80BIJGFFUGqHpXQvH07Phd8lVO7jQAqmqFONoKQjYUHWeozVCSE3iVGZtw8y8uksAGl0JiMFf05reHlIIFphPwDgHTrDilL0xmC1URy5LJevimd1QFQUNwdYlsrLw

     

    ALL FOOD IS POISON performed by The Pimpleton Procrasturbation Ensemble.

     

    SOUNDCLOUD.COM

    ALL FOOD IS POISON

    The PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE performs ALL FOOD IS POISON by GARY LLOYD NOLAND. For more information on the composer, please visit his website at: garynolandcomposer.com

     

    My SCOFFSCOURINGS performed by The Pimpleton Procrasturbation Ensemble (January 11th, 2023): https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/sets/scoffscourings

     

    Gary Noland

    Jake Aller Hi Jake, I sent you some links last night in FB. I got an email message from you with a warning that it might be fake. It looked legit but nowadays I have to be absolutely certain that it is. Anyway, once again, here are the two links I sent…

    See more

    SOUNDCLOUD.COM

    FOUR HEINE LIEDER for soprano & piano, Op. 19

    FOUR HEINE LIEDER for soprano & piano, Op. 19

     

    Gary Noland

    Jake Aller Also, here is a link to my recent album of settings of Alexaner Theroux’s poems: https://soundcloud.com/gary…/sets/alexander-theroux-songs

    place at the home

    Gary Noland

    Hi Jake, I just put this new album together (seven pieces comprising my Op. 152: DREAD MEETS DESIRE) which can be accessed at the following link: https://soundcloud.com/…/dread-meets-desire-op-152-nos. I can give you more, but I think th…

    See more

    SOUNDCLOUD.COM

    DREAD MEETS DESIRE, Op. 152, Nos. 1-7

    DREAD MEETS DESIRE, Op. 152, Nos. 1-7

     

    Gary Noland

    Hi Jake, here is a link to my FOUR HEINE LIEDER, Op. 19: https://soundcloud.com/…/four-heine-lieder-for-soprano

    of Sylvia Gray and Viktors Berstis at a soirrée hosted by the two of them in Portland’s Sellwood neigh…

     

    YOUTUBE.COM

    Burlesque, Opus 1 No. 20 – Gary Noland, Myrna Setiawan – pianist

    Performed by pianist Myrna Setiawan at a house concert on November 18, 2023.

     

     

    <iframe width=”1708″ height=”1067″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/qob63I6b2GQ&#8221; title=”Burlesque, Opus 1 No. 20 – Gary Noland, Myrna Setiawan – pianist” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” allowfullscreen></iframe>

    https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/tainted-ruminiscences

    My TAINTED FORGETERIES, Op. 132, No. 9, performed by The Pimpleton Procrasturbation Ensemble.

     

    https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/tainted-ruminiscences

    My TAINTED FORGETERIES, Op. 132, No. 9, performed by The Pimpleton Procrasturbation Ensemble.

     

     

     

    https://youtu.be/qob63I6b2GQ?feature=shared I am pleased to present this performance by pianist Myrna Setiawan of the West Coast premiere of my Burlesque for piano, Op. 1, No. 20 (which I myself premiered over forty years ago at the Boston Conservatory). Myrna has a perfect understanding of the piece, as if she had composed it herself. This performance took place at the home of Sylvia Gray and Viktors Berstis at a soirrée hosted by the two of them in Portland’s Sellwood neighborhood on November 18th, 2023. Brava to Myrna—one of Oregon’s most extraordinary pianists!

     

     

     

    January 12, 2023  · My SCOFFSCOURINGS performed by The Pimpleton Procrasturbation Ensemble (January 11th, 2023): https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/sets/scoffscourings

     

     


    https://soundcloud.com/…/four-heine-lieder-for-soprano
    Soprano Hayley Boggs and pianists Victor Hugo Morales and Maryna Buksha perform my FOUR HEINE LIEDER, Op. 19. Enjoy!

     


    2d
      · YouTube  ·

     

    YOUTUBE.COM

    ELEGY IN HOMAGE TO OUR FOUR-LEGGED LOVED ONES for piano

    Provided to YouTube by Repost NetworkELEGY IN HOMAGE TO OUR FOUR-LEGGED LOVED O

     

     

     


    2d
      · YouTube  ·

     

     

    YOUTUBE.COM

    ELEGY IN HOMAGE TO OUR FOUR-LEGGED LOVED ONES for piano

    Provided to YouTube by Repost NetworkELEGY IN HOMAGE TO OUR FOUR-LEGGED LOVED O

     

    https://soundcloud.com/…/sets/hyperspace-case-study-from My HYPERSPACE CASE STUDY from SIXTY LURID ALBUMBLATTS, Op. 88, No. 43, performed by The Pimpleton Procrasturbation Ensemble.

    Soprano Hayley Boggs and pianist Victor Hugo Morales perform my setting of Heinrich Heine’s poem “Aus Meinen Tränen Sprießen” from my FOUR HEINE LIEDER, Op. 19, No. 1.

    AUS MEINEN TRÄNEN SPRIESSEN from FOUR HEINE LIEDER, Op. 19, No. 1

     

     

    Jan 13

    Jan 13

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    My CONFUZZLE BOX performed by The Pimpleton Procrasturbation Ensemble.

     

    YOUTUBE.COM

    CONFUZZLE BOX

    Provided to YouTube by Repost NetworkCONFUZZLE BOX · Gary Lloyd NolandCONFUZZLE BOX℗ 7th SpeciesReleased on: 2023-12-19Auto-generated by YouTube.

     

     

     

     

    https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DBhgLpbShcxw%26feature%3Dshared%26fbclid%3DIwAR0GFrhDt7YjCfIyBPuCaNNZqQPT1PDtyH9bTLdFIT4n8ffUCNf7UZ2Tl4A&h=AT2zglzjQwtvGhMsPBKHFyfAUpjlui-W83Iay7yeKzekvb3T4aXCZuYgd2mQekhxrMoN8CKiQ2_fcBARixW0ioax1S4ECm-rg0zMf5GKljZNs5qNnjaCk4tjaw2Ovc4hTyUV&__tn__=%2CmH-R&c[0]=AT152mq0WLFB79xgfal_xGt0pXK_vzva6vqCTokXBqdW6bC6Fb4_2xnGuTsW_-5uvOl-zOvk2I67jZpzXXt9ZMIELoBU8TuP8oX1mzPm1EkfeHe7xdxVzNwdHLTEHpukNg-iLt0EwBbjIQ1PssF5oEowGyN0sCu2Ejs1NSUP1h5jS9aqbVL9zQ

     

    OUT WITH THE BOYS FOR CAMPARIS & HAVANAS AT THE CINCO LOUNGE IN LISBON performed by The Pimpleton Procrasturbation Ensemble.

     

    YOUTUBE.COM

    OUT WITH THE BOYS FOR CAMPARIS & HAVANAS AT THE CINCO LOUNGE IN LISBON

    Provided to YouTube by Repost NetworkOUT WITH THE BOYS FOR CAMPARIS & HAVANAS AT THE CINCO LOUNGE IN LISBON · Gary Lloyd NolandOUT WITH THE BOYS FOR CAMPARIS…

     

    https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DpdiSi2gPYDI%26feature%3Dshared%26fbclid%3DIwAR0dKXGGbcNTEpdh-C3lHrWn3T73BQgc924b2OEPPODZL9dRMRMH-3HarcU&h=AT0K79mgxS9snwk3Nulm5uIC0WdOS1Vc1mDfKP4k17Aom5hEMNTr83hY1a8JGupEr97pcAdTKykiG-oGTrodEj_mI9vpFdQ6AsyTFHMkaov_JqP52X1qBkIUtPMxO22pFvmb&__tn__=%2CmH-R&c[0]=AT2rdUWNIh01diouUeDHUu2WeQHli7G24bWiqNb9Hle8pYHyuzxKnZ7qky95wSPu3ekY69qqVWO9u1LQA_GjyTaWIAEhVrnbvj1wQrIiw2ib6SdQzmo-lAW5rcVpJJ8-4eOU4O-FuH-wLROcsJEkgnzGSgiCPlhM9rwc2CkLUQdpMOXr0d6eXg

     

    WHIPPING THE NIGHT ORGASTIC performed by The Pimpleton Procrasturbation Ensemble.

     

    YOUTUBE.COM

    WHIPPING THE NIGHT ORGASTIC

    Provided to YouTube by Repost NetworkWHIPPING THE NIGHT ORGASTIC · Gary Lloyd Noland

     

    Gary Noland 

     

  • writer’s Digest Chapbook

    writer’s Digest Chapbook

    https://wp.me/p7NAzO-2JP

    Writer’s Digest Chapbook

    Cosmos Reading List 2023

    This is the third time I have entered the Writer’s Digest annual chapbook challenge.  The challenge was to write one poem per day in November then select the best 20 for the chapbook contest. Here are my poems.

    Index

    November 1 Declaration Poem

    Favorite Childhood Object

    Problem Solvers Problems

    Mike Johnson Ain’t No Christian, Jack

    Dreams Of a Better World Problems

    49-Year Love Story

    Barbados Calling Me

    Hometown Calling Me

    Gun Ghosts Speak Up

    Saga of Big Daddy

    Attack of Neighbor Bob Terrorist

    Back in the Old Days, Trump Would Never Have President

    Lucky in Love, Unlucky in Cards

    President Trump on Vermin

    cosmic cat from Berkeley

    We Must Carry the Light

    Presidential election Cycle Writer’s Digest

    Berkeley Time Travels

    Insomnia Wild Things

    AI Love Poem

    November 1 Declaration Poem Birthday

     

    On my birthday

    I like to reflect.

    On the year that was.

     

    And make plans.

    For the year ahead.

     

    Including a declaration

    Of my basic goals

    For the year.

     

    And as always

    End with a declaration

    Of love

    For the love of my life.

     

    Who joined me?

    41 years ago

    Marrying me

    On my birthday.

     

    I declare to her.

    That I will love her

    With all my heart

    Until the end of time.

     

    And vow

    To see her

    In my next life.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Favorite Childhood Object

    piano
    piano

     

     

     

     

     

    One of my

    Favorite objects

    As a child

    Was my piano.

     

    I first started learning.

    To play at age 6

    Kept going with lessons.

    Until age 18.

     

    Briefly thought of

    Becoming

    a professional composer

    Until I flunked out

    Of Oberlin Conservatory.

     

    Thus ending

    my music career.

     

    Lately, I have resumed.

    Playing the piano

    Thinking back

    In my childhood,

     

     Problem Solvers Problems

     

    There are so

    Many problems

    Facing the world.

     

    Climate change

    Inflation

    Lingering pandemics.

     

    Gunmen on the loose

    Violence on the street

    Wars in Ukraine and Israel

    Terrorism threats.

     

    Unending political chaos

    In the United States

    And elsewhere.

     

    But the biggest

    Problem of all

    Is the lingering political.

    Dysfunction.

     

    And the growth

    Of neo-fascism.

     

    That is the real problem.

    Facing us all.

     

    Mike Johnson Ain’t No Christian, Jack

    Mike Johnson

    Has been catching.

    A lot of flack

     

    As his right-wing

    Republican Jesus faith

    Becomes better known.

     

    Particularly, catching flack

    Over his homophobic views

    And bigotry.

     

    May people making

    Brash callous remarks

    About his Christian faith.

    And his open homophobic views.

     

     

    He does not seem to understand.

    His brand of extreme

    evangelical Christian faith.

     

    Is anathema.

    To many people

    These days.

     

    Who views his MAGA faith?

    As hypocritical fake Christianity

    As it violates all of Christ’s teachings.

     

    As Christ was the ultimate

    Social justice “woke.”

    Warrior of all time.

     

    If Christ came back

    He would scream.

    I ain’t no Christian.

     

    Before being crucified

    Again, by the so-called

    Christian leaders.

     

     Dreams of a Better World

     

    I often dream.

    Of a better world

    Of a better future.

     

    Asking what if

    What if we solved

    The climate change problem?

     

    What if we just stop

    The mass gun violence?

     

    What if we just stop

    The endless wars

    And the threat of terrorism.

    .

    What if we stop

    All the despair,

    and fearmongering.

     

    The hate all around us

    And replace it with love.

    And peace and goodwill.

     

    That is my dream.

    Everyday

    Waiting to make

    A better world.

     

    50-Year Love Story

    when I first met you

    on that date

    I met my fate.

     

    That was the beginning.

    of a 49-year love affair

    that began.

    when I first dreamt of

    The dream of meeting you.

     

     Barbados is Calling Me

     

     

     

     

    Barbados is calling me,

    On a winter’s day.

    The tropical beach paradise.

    I want to just be.

    Ending up on the beach,

    no matter what happens.

    Drinking rum and coke with ice.
     

    Berkeley Calling Me

     

     

     

    I am a Berkeley boy.

    Through and through

     

    Went to BHS

    But did not go to CAL.

    My grades did not measure up.

     

    I have wandered the world.

    Living overseas

    Yet everywhere I go.

    I remember my Berkeley roots.

     

    Berkeley is calling me.

    Someday I will return.

    To my homeland

     

    Until then

    I will keep it.

    Berkeley in my heart

     

    And my soul

    A Berkeley boy

    To the end.

    Gun Ghosts Speak Up

    guns
    gun

     

     

     

     

     

    The Association of Gun Ghosts

    Held their annual meeting.

    Thousands of gun ghosts

    Gathered together.

     

    At Columbine High School

    At midnight

    No one saw or heard them.

    As they were ghosts

     

    They decided to issue.

    A manifesto

    To the world

     

    And released it.

    On the internet

    Where their simple plea

    Went viral.

     

    The note read.

     

    People of earth

    Particularly Americans

    Please put away your guns

    Your weapons of war.

     

    Too many of us

    Are being gunned down.

    Because there are so many guns

    More guns than people.

     

    You talk about freedom.

    What about the freedom

    To walk down the street

    Without fear

     

    That a gunman

    Will shoot us dead?

     

    And politicians do nothing.

    But offer useless prayers.

    And thoughts

     

    We don’t need to hear that.

    We demand action.

    We demand responsibility.

     

    We demand you just quit.

    Killing people

    With your guns.

     

    And stop lying.

    You all know.

    That gun kills.

     

    That is what they

    Are designed to do.

    And they do it so well.

     

    We know.

    Because we are the gun ghosts

    Killed by your guns.

     

    But in the end

    If you continue this way

    You too could join us.

    And become gun ghosts.

                                                       Saga of Big Daddy

    Big Daddy, aka Sam Adams
    was the man
    who always had a plan.

    He was an ex-University of Arkansas
    and Dallas Cowboy player
    who had worked for the CIA?

    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 supplemented his CIA payments
    And bar income from money laundering,
    drug smuggling, human smuggling
    and other assorted crimes, big and small.

    Big Daddy had lots of enemies
    Many people wanted him dead
    Relatives of his many victims
    Of the covert  wars, he waged
    On behalf of his nation.

    He was hoping to stay out of trouble
    But one day trouble found him.

    He moved to Bangkok, Thailand
    Where he opened the Cosmos Bar
    With the assistance of his manager.
    Kuhn Lek, and her uncle

    The police chief and his cousin
    The biggest drug kingpin
    In the Northern Triangle.

    The Cosmos Bar
    Became world-famous
    The spot to go to is Bangkok.

    Located in Soi Cowboy
    It was an after-hours club
    Secretly owned by the Thai police,
    One of the few places
    They served alcohol 24/7.

    It was filled with
    Criminals, drug dealers, government agents
    Journalists, prostitutes, pimps,
    spies, counter-spies, sex tourists,

    tourists, undercover cops,
    and assorted other low-lives,
    From all over the known world.

    Had the best-looking woman
    The best-looking travesties too,
    The best beer, wine, and liquor list
    In the city,
    And the best burgers in town.

    It looked like the Bar
    In Star Wars
    Filled with probable human life forms
    And perhaps a space alien or two.

    One day a mysterious Korean woman
    Came into the bar asking for him
    By his universal nickname
    “Big Daddy”

    Maria Lee was a Korean-American
    Drop-dead gorgeous woman
    Who was on the lam
    from her rich Korean husband.

    She had one question for Big Daddy.

    “The word in the  Korean community
    is that you are a man
    who knows how to launder money.

    Can you launder 50 million dollars?”

    “Hmm for a fee.”

    “What’s the fee?”

    “A night of wild sex with you.”

    “Done, but only after the deed is done.”

    She smiled sweetly.

    He called his underworld contacts
    and they laundered the 50 million dollars
    and he gave her the bank receipt.
    He had parked the money
    in a Cayman Islands account.

    That night
    she honored her agreement with Big Daddy.
    The next morning
    while drinking his cup of coffee,

    she revealed that she had poisoned him
    because she did not want anyone to know
    about the transaction
    and her affair with Big Daddy.

    She smiled,

    “Thanks, Big Daddy,
    I liked last night,
    You are a real stud, Big Daddy,
    Perhaps that is why you are called, ‘Big Daddy’
    But hey it is nothing personal, Big Daddy.”
    After all, it was just a business deal in the end.

    And that was
    how trouble found Big Daddy.

    Attack of Neighbor Bob Terrorist

    One day

    A man fell.

    A rabbit hole.

    On his computer,

    Lost in thought.

    when an odd event occurs,

    the event that led.

    to his untimely death.

    He did not hear.

    The footsteps,

    Of the white

    Christian nationalist

    Domestic terrorist next door.

    Who took exception?

    To Sam’s living there

    As Sam was not white

    And an atheist “libtard.”

     

    And his neighbor

    Was a white supremacist.

    Christian Nationalist.

     

    His neighbor Bob.

    Came at Sam with a chainsaw.

    And struck him in the heart.

    Killing him instantly.

     

    Then using a torch

    To burn the body.

     

    Before using dynamite

    To blow up the house

    Despite the rain clouds

    Outside.

     

    All streamed live.

    On his wifi.

    trump jpg
    trump jpg

    Back in the Old Days, Trump Would Never Have President

     

    Back in the old days

    when political decisions

    were made by insiders.

     

    White men of power

    who gathered.

    in the proverbial

    smoke-filled rooms.

     

    smoking menthol cigarettes

    and cigars

    drinking whiskey

    martinis and beer

     

    while enjoying a steak dinner

    and plotting political plots

     

    in such a world

    Trump would not have been.

    allowed to become President.

     

    as the political elites

    would not allow.

    such a Buffon

    from taking power

     

    They would despise.

    such a vulgar low-class

    new money guy.

     Lucky in love, unlucky in cards

    There is an adage
    That sums up my life so far
    One can be lucky in love
    But unlucky in cards

    That sums it up nicely
    I have been lucky in love
    Met and married
    The girl of my dreams

    Dreamed of meeting her
    For eight years
    Then she came into my life
    Became my wife

    But I have never been
    Lucky in cards
    I mean I have played
    Poker with friends
    But always lost

    Won a little bit of gambling
    But usually lost more
    Then I won

    Eventually gave up
    Just not fun anymore
    As I lost the gambling fever

    Yet to get a jackpot
    But then I think
    I hit the jackpot of love

    And that has made
    All the difference

     

     

     

    President Trump on Vermin AI Poem

     

     

     

     

    A leader of a nation, a speaker of lies.

    A spreader of hatred, a divider of ties

    A mocker of the weak, a lover of the strong

    A builder of walls, a singer of wrong

    A hater of the different, a scorner of the same

    A caller of the vermin, a blamer of the blame

    An ignorer of the facts, a denier of the truth

    A creator of the chaos, a destroyer of the youth

    A loser of the election, a claimer of the fraud

    A refuser of the concession, a violator of the law

    An inciter of the violence, a fomenter of the storm

    A deserter of the office, a traitor of the norm

    evil cat
    evil cat

    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 my coffee, and breakfast
    Did yoga while listening to music

    And looking out at the garden
    Then 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 a 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 spirit of God

    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

    Carrying the light

     

    We must carry the light

    It is not so bright

    Embracing the light with my wife

    Still the center of my life

    We both fear the dark

    Nothing more to avoid strife.

     

    Carrying the light

    until the end of time

    chasing away

    the darkness that haunts.

    my soul.

     

    Presidential Election Cycle

     

     

     

     

     

    The U.S. Presidential election cycle

    Is a long-drawn-out affair.

     

    Starts the day after the last election.

    And ends a month after the votes.

    Have been certified,

    and the winner is determined.

     

    As usual

    Twenty candidates are announced.

    For the election cycle

    A year or so before

    The actual vote.

     

    The most important part

    The donors chose.

    Which candidates will get?

    Their money and support

    In the so-called invisible primary.

     

    By January of an election year

    Five to six serious contenders

    Have emerged.

     

    Battling it out nightly on the news

    As the pundits weigh in

    And voters begin to choose.

    on multiple Super Tuesdays.

     

    The candidates race across.

    The land

    Offering their vision,

    Their hopes and fears.

     

    As the public begins

    To wake up

    And start to choose.

     

    The game is on foot.

    with almost weekly debates

    where the candidates

    try not to make fools.

    of themselves.

     

    It continues until the summer.

    When the conventions nominate

    Someone as the standard bearer.

     

    The losers concede.

    But the intra-party feuding

    Does not end.

     

    In the end

    There will be one person.

    Left standing.

     

    At the end of the roughest

    Most competitive race

    In the world.

     

    That determines.

    The fate of nations.

     

    Voters in the end

    Making the final call

    As the presidential election season

    Comes to a final decision point.

     

    Berkeley Time Travels

     

     

     

    I grew up in Berkeley, California

    In the turbulent fabled late ’60s

    And in Berkeley in those days

    Time seems to stand at a 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

    As I drove into Stockton

    I felt I was traveling again.

     

    In time

    Back to the fabled ’50s

    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

    Again

    Marveling at the changes

     

    That had and had not occurred.

    To the corner of the land

    Forever stuck in time

    And space

     

     

     

     

     

    Last Night I could not

    Get to sleep at all

    Last night I could not

    Sleep

     

    As my mind wandered

    Down dark rabbit holes

    Of fevered imagination

     

    At 0 dark hundred hours

    The wild things came out

    To play

     

    Torturing me

    Until the sunrise

    Blasted them

    Back into the dark

    Corners of my mind.

     

    And the nightmares

    Faded away

    With the dawning sun.

     BIng AI Love Poem

     

    Angela Lee, you are the light of my life.

    You fill my days with joy and my nights with dreams.

    You are the reason I smile and the reason I breathe.

    You are the one who makes my heart skip a beat,

     

    Angela Lee, you are the beauty of my world.

    You shine like a star and sparkle like a gem.

    You are the one who catches my eye.

    and the one who holds my hand.

    You are the one.

    Who makes me feel alive?

     

    Angela Lee, you are the love of my soul.

    You touch me with your kindness and your warmth,

    You are the one who understands me.

    and the one who supports me.

    You are the one who makes me whole.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Returning to California

    Returning to California

    Reflections on Returning to California

    Smooth Re-entry to the U.S.

    0regon Reflections

    https://wp.me/p7NAzO-2Eh

    I finally made it back to California after a three-year absence. Overall, not too bad. Expensive as hell, crowded, too many homeless people, too many druggies, too much crime. But it is not the dystopian hell hole portrayed on FOX News and the right-wing media.

    Here are my reflections, along with some photos and some of my Bay Area-based stories and poems.

    I was traveling with my wife, her brother, his wife, and their 12-year-old Korean niece. First time for my sister-in-law and niece to visit the Bay Area. We stayed at Travis AFB near Fairfield because the hotel costs were so high in the Bay Area.

    Berkeley

     

     

     

     

     

    Berkeley 1975 Street Scenes

     

    Berkeley Time Travels

    674 Santa Rosa My Childhood Home

     

    Free Roaming in Berkeley as a Child

    As you may know, I grew up almost 55 years ago in the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood of Berkeley. Solano Avenue was the local commercial street lined with restaurants and called Berkeley’s Chinatown because of all the Asian restaurants and Asian residents living there. It was also along with the hills, the “white republican sector” of town. Now there are almost no Republicans living in the city.

    Berkeley has a lot of nice new housing, mostly high-rise apartments all over the place, who knows one of them could be mine in a few years. Solano Avenue had a lot of new restaurants to check out and lots of my favorite old ones are there.

    Sad to see some of the Movie places closed, I think that there are only two movies left in Berkeley except for a Bollywood Indian movie theater in little Bombay.

    For those of you who don’t know, Berkeley is so much more than Cal. There are ten official neighborhoods according to the Berkeley tourism office. Demographically the city has about 130k permanent residents, with an additional 30k when school is in session.

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Berkeley (/ˈbɜːrkli/ BURK-lee) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emeryville to the south the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington to the north. Its eastern border with Contra Costa County generally follows the ridge of the Berkeley Hills. The 2020 census recorded a population of 124,321.

    Berkeley is home to the oldest campus in the University of California, the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which is managed and operated by the university. It also has the Graduate Theological Union, one of the largest religious studies institutions in the world. Berkeley is considered one of the most socially progressive cities in the United States.

    The 2020 United States Census[90] reported that Berkeley had a population of 124,321. The population density was 11,874 people per square mile of land area (4,584/km2). The racial makeup of Berkeley was 62,450 (50.2%) White, 9,495 (7.6%) Black or African American, 24,701 (19.9%) Asian, 253 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 226 (0.2%) from Native American, 1,109 (0.9%) from other races, and 9,069 (7.2%) multiracial (two or more races). There were 17,018 (13.7%) of Hispanic or Latino ancestry, of any race.

    The neighborhoods are.

    The Hills

    The hills are mostly white and wealthy. Many people commute to SF or are affiliated with the University. At the top of the hills is Grizzly Peak BLD which features the best views of the entire East Bay. Behind the hills lie Tilden Park, Wildlife Canyon, and Inspiration Point. Favorite haunts of my growing up.

    tilden park

    Tilden Regional Park is a regional park in the East Bay of California. It is between the Berkeley Hills and San Pablo Ridge.

    Thousand Oaks/Solano

    Thousand Oaks neighborhood, where I grew up, lies at the bottom of the hills, and is centered on Solano Avenue which is lined with restaurants and shops. It blends into Albany which was a white working-class enclave back in the day. It was known as Berkeley’s Chinatown due to the numerous Asian restaurants in the area, which are still there. I went to Thousand Oaks Elementary where Kamala Harris went a few years after I went there. The movie theater unfortunately closed.

    North Berkeley

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Has several sub-neighborhoods and has a BART station. It is also the location of King Middle School where I went as a teenager. There are several small restaurants and businesses throughout the neighborhood. Along Shattuck, the main street is Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto and the home of the original Peets Coffee – the best coffee shop in Berkeley and where the premium coffee revolution started in the late 50s.

    Downtown

    Downtown has been transformed with lots of high-rise apartments and a thriving Arts District. Sadly, the five movie theaters have all closed, leaving the Pacific Film Institute the only theater in town. There are a lot of restaurants and coffee shops downtown as well as office buildings. There are several rooftop terrace restaurants. We had dinner in the Study Room on top of the new Marriot. Great views, and decent though expensive food. We dropped $350 for seven people. Berkeley High School is located downtown as is the main public library.  Downtown is a booming area filled with apartments, resturants and several live theathers including Berkeley Rep.  It is also the site of the Berkeley Film Archives, the last movie theather in Berkeley, and the Berkeley Art Museum.

    berkeley friends

    Campus

    the University Campus domiantes the city as is to be expected.  there are three student districts near the campus known as Northside, Southside and College Avenue. Each features resturants, shopping and housing for student, faculty and staff.  The northside is also called seminary hill because of all the religious seminaries there – Buddhist, Christian and now a Muslim seminary as well.

    .The campus is huge and spreads out from downtown to the hills but most of the campus is the center of the campus a short block away from Telegraph on the South and Hearst on the North. Despite the banning of affirmative action, CAL has done a good job – lots of Asian students, international studies, some Hispanic and some blacks, and less than 50 percent white.

    Lots of activities on Campus, music, and free lectures open to the public. About half the students live on or near Campus but housing students faculty and staff is a huge problem for the University community. Just west of the Campus is the new home of the Berkeley Art Museum and The Pacific Film Institute which screens classic, art, and international movies every night

     

    “Gorgeous sunset from UC Berkeley!”

     

     

     

     

    Telegraph Avenue runs south from the Campus and into Oakland. It is lined with services for students, and lots of restaurants. Lots of apartments nearby. Used to have a lot of independent bookstores, but a few are still there.

    Dwight Street and Telegraph seems stuck in 1969. People’s Park is being torn down to be turned into more student housing although they are going to keep a small park there. Right now, it is a homeless encampment and has been an eyesore for years.

    South Berkeley

    South Berkeley lies between Telegraph, Shattuck, and Sacramento along Ashby Avenue where there is BART station. It also has lots of restaurants and places to go.  Back in the day, it was also the unofficial heart of Black Berkeley as Berkeley was 40 percent black, now it is about 6 percent black due to the high cost of real estate in Berkeley where the medium price of a house is over a million and the average rent is over $2,500 per month.

    College Avenue Elmwood Rockridge

    College Aveue is just west of Telegraph and is lined with residential housing, including the fraternities and sororities.  It also has the International House which is a dormitory for foreign students.  Elwood is a residential shopping district as is Claremont and Rockrige which is just across the border in Oakland and borders on Piedmont, a  traditional wealthy enclave independent of Oakland.

    Elmwood is on College Avenue and is similar to Solano Avenue but a bit smaller. Nearby is the Claremont Hotel and neighborhood one of the wealthiest enclaves in Berkeley.

    Gilman Street

    Gilman is in northwest Berkeley and was a working-class enclave -still is to a certain extent. Nice neighborhood eateries, and live music spaces

    Albany

    Albany is a suburban neighborhood just west of Berkeley between El Cerito and Gilman district centered on Solano and San Pablo Avenues.  It use to be mostly white working class, but is not close to 50 Asian American.

    Lorin and North Oakland including Korean Town

    To the west of South Berkeley is the Lorin neighborhood which is an up-and-coming neighborhood. To the south is North Oakland including the second-largest Korean town on the West Coast after LA.
    This was the traditional heart of Black Berkeley. There are still a lot of blacks living in Berkeley but due to the high rent and housing costs, the city is only seven percent black, when I was a young lad, it was 40 percent black and Oakland was 60 percent black.

    West Berkely/Marina

    West Berkeley has been gentrified beyond recognition. Back in the day, it was 90 percent black.  I spent my first few years there as that was the only neighborhood a junior Cal professor could afford. It is no longer mostly black and is a hipster neighborhood. Lots of brew pubs in the area. Lots of students live here too.
    The marina is on the bay. The bay trail runs through the neighborhood. There are restaurants on the bay and the dock of the Bay which is the site of the famous song.

    SItting on the Dock of the Bay

    the dock of the bay
    the dock of the bay
    <iframe width=”780″ height=”439″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/rTVjnBo96Ug&#8221; title=”Otis Redding – (Sittin&#39; On) The Dock Of The Bay (Official Music Video)” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Sittin’ in the morning sun
    I’ll be sittin’ when the evening comes
    Watching the ships roll in
    Then I watch ’em roll away again, yeah
    I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
    Watchin’ the tide roll away, ooh
    I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay
    Wastin’ time
    I left my home in Georgia
    Headed for the Frisco Bay
    ‘Cause I’ve had nothing to live for
    And look like nothing’s gonna come my way
    So, I’m just gon’ sit on the dock of the bay
    Watchin’ the tide roll away, ooh
    I’m sittin’ on the dock of a bay
    Wastin’ time
    Looks like nothing’s gonna change
    Everything still remains the same
    I can’t do what ten people tell me to do
    So I guess I’ll remain the same, listen
    Sittin’ here resting my bones
    And this loneliness won’t leave me alone
    2,000 miles I roam
    Just to make this dock my home, now
    I’m just gon’ sit at the dock of a bay
    Watchin’ the tide roll away, ooh
    Sittin’ on the dock of the bay
    Wastin’ time

    Nearby are Albany, El Cerrito, Oakland, Richmond, and Emeryville. I heard good things about Alameda but did not have time to visit.

    Berkeley poems

    How Berkeley Can You Be?

    Berkeley is what it is,
    and sometimes
    Berkeley is what it ain’t.

    tell me.
    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Tell me
    tell me.
    if you think you know

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    How Berkeley can you be?
    Berkeley is everything.
    Berkeley is the center.
    of the universe

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    and Berkeley
    in Berkeley.
    and you are Berkeley.

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    You have a Berkeley thing going on.
    You have Berkeley in your soul.
    Berkeley has taken over your soul,

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    And you are Berkeley.
    Born and raised.
    Berkeley until you die, dude.
    Berkeley until you die, dude.

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Berkeley is more than just the students.
    Berkeley is more than that.
    As you know

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Berkeley is more than just weed and beer.
    Which is all you need?

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Berkeley is more.
    That is the best food.
    In the universe

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Berkeley is more than the best coffee.
    In the world
    Peet’s coffee of course

    Nothing else will do.
    If you are true, Berkeley.

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Berkeley is more.
    That Cal Football
    Which rules?

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Berkeley is Asian
    Berkeley is Gay

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Berkeley is white.
    Berkeley is black.

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Berkeley is brown.
    Berkeley is Jewish

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Berkeley is free-thinking.
    Berkeley hate

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Berkeley is free to love.
    Berkeley is rock and roll.
    Until you die

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Berkeley if Funk
    Berkeley is Hip Hop
    Berkeley is hipness itself.

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Berkeley is all of that.
    And so much more.

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    let your inner Berkeley out.
    feel the Berkeley Freak come out.

    how Berkeley can you be.
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Join the Berzerkly Vibe
    Feel the Berkeley in your soul.

    How Berkeley can you be?
    Can you be in Berkeley,
    Until you die?

    How Berkeley can you be,
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Long live Berkeley
    The best city
    In the universe.

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    And it is your city.
    Your responsibility
    To be as Berkeley

    As you wanna be.
    Until the day you die.

    How Berkeley can you be?
    How Berkeley do you wanna be?

    Hark, I Hear the Spirits of Berkeley Calling Me Home. Berkeley

    Long Version

    Hark,
    I hear the spirits.
    Of Berkeley
    Call 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 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 descendants 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 vibrant tea, smoothies, artisanal spirits, craft beer, and wine culture with urban wineries and brew pubs 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 is 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 over 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 properties 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 the 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 Lazers yet, Indian American little Mumbai community where you can get the latest Bollywood movies, food, and Indian political gossip,

    an artistic city, a creative city, a 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,

    , same for bookstores, music stores,

    Rock n Roll fantasy world,
    A Motown-friendly city,
    A funk lovers paradise
    A Blues lover mecca

    And there are even country fans.

    a musical city -hometown to the Earthquake, Green Day, Jimmi Hendrix’s last high school, Smoke and Fog,

    New flash for Tju Dave – hey dude, I loved your song, you ain’t Berkeley enough” just want to say I represent that remark, but I represent Berkeley worldwide dude and I am still as Berkeley as I wanna be, anywhere in the world, dude, end news flash.

    the Psychotic Pineapple, Rubinoos, and so many others.
    Tower of Power “East Bay Grease sort of town,

    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-price 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 spoke.

    “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 humanist 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 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 it cool, pulling 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, environmentally friendly city, a 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 another global warming phenomenon 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 a Buddhist Seminary, A Tai-Chi mecca, A centric, very zen attitude sort of town,

    a liberal Christian city where fundamentalists are not welcomed, where atheists, free thinkers, liberal Muslims, 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 Vinograd, 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, and 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 freakazoids, 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 hates the Las Vegas Raiders, as much every person born in Berkeley must hate LA, sort of 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 it is and sometimes is what is not,

    too many homeless people living on the streets 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 mostly read online.

    A very sad town, a special city, A city that would welcome space aliens who might already be there, an OMG place,

    a rainy blues sort of day place.,

    Robots are a 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 that took it 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 of 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, 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 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, 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 a 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.

    Berkeley Time Travels

     

     

     

     

    I grew up in Berkeley, California
    In the turbulent fabled late ’60s
    And in Berkeley in those days
    Time seems to stand at a 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
    As I drove into Stockton
    I felt I was traveling again.

    In time
    Back to the fabled ’50s
    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
    Again
    Marveling at the changes

    That had and had not occurred.
    To the corner of the land
    Forever stuck in time
    And space

    San Francisco

    We toured much of San Franciso and saw the Giants Lose at Oracle Park.

    The neighborhoods are still vibrant but everything is too expensive.

    We drove through South Beach, Mission District, Filmore, Haight-Ashbury, Castro District, Noe Valley, Presidio, Richmond, Sunset, North Beach, and Chinatown and walked through Union Square. Ran out of time to fully explore the city.

    South Beach is a newly developed neighborhood west of downtown near Ball Park and the vibrant

    Dogpatch neighborhood which was recently been officially rated the 17th coolest neighborhood in the world. An ethnically diverse community with and bohemian hipster feeling.

    The Mission district is south of the ballpark and is the heart of San Francisco’s Hispanic district. Still mostly Hispanic but gentrifying.

    The Filmore used to be the heart and soul of Black San Franciso. It has been heavily gentrified as has the adjacent Western addition but recently there has been a revival of the jazz scene in the area.

    We walked through the famous counter-cultural neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury. It still has the 67 vibe and like Telegraph in Berkeley, it seems stuck in a time warp.

    We drove through the Presidio which is now an urban national park based on the old Presidio military base which closed in the early 90s. I remember shopping at the commissary back in the day. Cristy Field is a

    nice, restored beach.
    We toured Fisherman’s Wharf and Piere 39. A bit of a tourist trap but still worth a visit, bought chocolate at Ghirardelli Square.
    We also drove through Russian Hill and Nob Hill neighborhoods which are among the wealthiest in the city and saw the famous Lombard Street but did not drive down it.
    We walked through Chinatown and North Beach. Chinatown has seen better days as has North Beach. Still work visiting and walking about.
    Union Square was strangely deserted as many people felt that it was just too dangerous a place – there were homeless people everywhere in the city and there was a fear of crime. Everything is just so damn expensive.
    We drove through the CIVIC center which was impressive from an architecture point of view. Did not see homeless people shooting up and defecating there despite the hysteria of Fox News.

    We drove through the edges of the tenderloin. I think that the Tenderloin, the highest crime area in the city, is ripe for gentrification given its central location. We did see a lot of homeless people hanging about, but again no people shooting up or defecating on the street.

    The sunset area is nice. We had a great Mexican dinner at Cecilia’s by the Beach which was not too bad. Ocean Blvd was great. The beach was great but a bit cold.

    SF Time Travels

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Visitng SF After Being Gone for Three Years

    In the summer of 2023,
    I found myself.
    Back in San Franciso
    My homeland.

    Last visited pre-covid
    2018

    Touring the city
    With my Korean -in Laws

    We stopped in Haigh Ashbury
    Took photos.
    Wearing flowers
    In our hair

    Our video
    Of our San Franciso adventures
    Particularly our hiking
    The seven hills
    And having croissants
    And coffee in North Beach
    Became a surprise TikTok hit.

    Note: grew up in Berkeley, visiting every other year since I left in 1979 Found San Franciso is still a fascinating city to visit, is not the dystopian nightmare that Fox News portrays, but too expensive, with too many homeless and too much street crime.

    Use in your story or poem the following – bold these words for tomorrow’s judge:

    flowers

    San Francisco

    seven bridges

    croissant

    TikTok hit

    Only in SF

     

    One day
    while driving down Geary
    in famous SF

    I saw a sight
    that would haunt
    my nights for many years

    I saw a young white punk
    a white punk on drugs
    walking down the street
    with a purple mohawk

    dressed in leather
    and torn jeans
    and a don’t F with me
    attitude
    zdude to the max

    just another random
    SF freakazoid
    getting his nightly
    freak on

    He was walking a dog
    a snarling doberman
    who also had ztude

    on top of the dog
    was a cosmic cat
    looking about

    and on top of the cat
    riding him
    as if he was the boss
    of this motley crew

    was a white lab rat
    just looking about
    as if to say
    WTF you looking at dude

    I wanted to take a picture
    but the moment was gone
    later I learned
    it was on Instagram

    but I never saw the photo
    the moment lingered
    in my mind

    a metaphor perhaps
    of how we can all
    live together
    and love one another

    For more info see the following

     

    San Francisco Travel
    https://www.sftravel.com
    San Francisco Travel | Official Visitor Information

    San Francisco Bucket List: 60 Best Things to Do in the Fun …

    bucketlistjourney.net

    27 Top Tourist Attractions in San Francisco (with Map) – …

    touropia.com

    U.S. News Travel
    https://travel.usnews.com/San_Francisco_CA/Things_To_Do

    34 Top-Rated Things to Do in San Francisco | U.S. News Travel

    15 Beautiful Places to Visit In San Francisco – …

    traveltriangle.com

    Tripadvisor
    https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g60713-San&#8230;

    Best Places to Visit in San Francisco, CA (2023)•
    Best Things to Do In San Francisco
    https://www.getyourguide.com/activities
    San Francisco – Wikipedia
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco
    List of neighborhoods in San Francisco
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of.

    Stanford/Silicon Valley

     

     

     

     

     

     

    after our tour of SF and Berkeley, we drove down to Standford and SIlicon Valley.  We walked across the Campus and drove aroud Menlo Park saw the Google main Campus.  Ran out of time to further explore San Jose and Santa Clara country which is the heart of Silicon Valley.  Silcion Valley started near Standford as many of the engineers that started all the tech firms were Standford Computer science engineers including the founders of Google, Apple and HP.  And Thomas Edison lived in Menlo Park where he came up with many of his revolutionary inventions in his labs located there.

     

    Travis AFB/Fairfield/Vacaville

    when I visit the Bay Area, we usually stay up at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield CA which is about a 45-minute minutes drive from Berkeley in light traffic, and there is a CAL Trans train nearby as well.
    It is a typical Air Force Base with a commissary, PX, hospitals, and all the conveniences and it is a lot cheaper staying there than staying in the central Bay Area.

    This time around I was staying with my Korean In-laws, and we decided to check out the neighboring cities while we were there. We found that the base had a very nice military aviation museum so it’s worth a visit but non-military-affiliated people may have a hard time getting on base to see the museum.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    replica of Fat Boy the H Bomb dropped on Hiroshima

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The nearby towns of Dixon, Fairfield, and Vacaville are all worth a visit, as are the Delta towns nearby.

    Factoid

    California is the rice basket of the U.S., growing most of the U.S. rice in the vast San Joaquin-Sacramento River delta communities which are just southeast of Travis. And they are also the biggest sake producers in the world exporting raw Sakae back to Japan!

    These little towns are worth a future visit.

    They have lots of outlet malls nearby, the biggest shopping malls in the Northern California region., Vacaville has the Jelly Bean museum which was worth a visit as well as hosting a nice wine and vine festival when we were there.

    There are wineries nearby and there are regional parks nearby with lots of hiking opportunities. Most of the year it’s not too hot except for the afternoons when they can get into the hundreds occasionally. It is not a bad place to be based for a visit to the San Francisco Bay area, especially if you can stay on base.

    Dixon

    My niece lives in Dixon which is about half an hour from Sacramento, and Travis and 45 minutes to the central Bay Area. While I did not get to see much of the city, it seemed to be a nice community with a cute downtown. Reminds me of Medford, Oregon where we were spending the summer.

    for more info see the following Bing AI Chat info

    Here are some of the top things to do near Travis Air Force Base:
    • Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center: A museum that highlights the history of Travis Air Force Base and the United States Air Force. It has a collection of aircraft, engines, and other artifacts that are sure to fascinate aviation enthusiasts 1.
    Jelly Belly Factory Tour: A fun and interactive tour of the Jelly Belly candy factory in Fairfield. You can learn about the history of the company, see how the candy is made, and even sample some of the flavors 1.

    Note: worth a visit.  loved it,

    • Western Railway Museum: A museum that displays historic electric railway cars and other artifacts from the early 20th century. You can take a ride on one of the restored streetcars and learn about the history of electric transportation 1.

    • Lagoon Valley/Pena Adobe Regional Park: A beautiful park with hiking trails, picnic areas, and a lake. You can enjoy a leisurely hike, have a picnic, or go fishing 1.

    • Brenden Vacaville 16: A movie theater that shows the latest Hollywood releases. It has comfortable seating, a large screen, and excellent sound quality 1.

    • Wooden Valley Winery: A winery that produces a variety of wines, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Merlot. You can take a tour of the winery, taste some of the wines, and enjoy the

    beautiful scenery 1.

    • Suisun City Marina and Boat Ramp: A marina that offers boat rentals, fishing charters, and other water

    activities. You can rent a boat and explore the Delta, go fishing, or just enjoy the scenic views 1.
    • Vezer Family Vineyard: A family-owned winery that produces award-winning wines. You can take a tour of the vineyard, taste some of the wines, and enjoy the beautiful surroundings 2.

    • Rockville Hills Regional Park: A park with hiking trails, picnic areas, and scenic views. You can enjoy a leisurely hike, have a picnic, or just relax and take in the scenery 3.

    • Scandia Family Center: An amusement park with mini-golf, batting cages, bumper boats, and other attractions. It’s a great place to spend a fun-filled day with family and friends 2.

    • Sonoma Harvest Olive Oil & Winery: A winery that produces high-quality olive oil and wine. You can take a tour of the winery, taste some of the products, and learn about the production process 2.

    the End 

     

     

  • 68 Years Old Birthday Reflections

    68 Years Old Birthday Reflections

    68 Years Old Birthday Reflections

    68 Years Old Birthday Reflections

    68 Years Old Birthday Reflections

    https://wp.me/p7NAzO-2F2

    Scorpio
    Scorpio

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Ode to Berkeley

    Thanks to all who have been sending me birthday greetings. I deeply appreciate all of you, all around the world who have blessed my life with your friendship over the years. I will respond individually as well but just wanted to do this shout-out to my friends! On my birthday, I am always in a reflective mood and do my Nir’s early and revise them again on January 1. One thing I want to do starting now and next year is to blog weekly and add FB reels and YouTube video blogging as well as my podcasting and my daily writing as I still have a lot to say and think about and it is not too late for me to say what I want to say. Another thing I want to do is take a lot of mini-trips, day trips, and other trips while I still can and I want to spend about four months in the States next summer. And hope to see many of you via Zoom meetups or in person during the next year. Keep in touch.

    Jake

    Following are some of my birthday poems, a few birthday tribute poems from friends, Bing’s Ai astrological charts (Chinese, Vedic, and Western systems) for my birthday – October 30, 1955 – and a list of things that happened that date.

    Ps here is a birthday tribute from my fan story friend, Debbie Pink Marquette.

    A diplomatic birthday

    Jake Cosmos Aller

    Was born in California and graduated in DC.

    His grad college was Washington University.

     

    He’s traveled to all fifty states and then fifty countries.

    That’s when he would decide to spend more time across the seas.

    He met her and then six weeks later, she became his wife.

    Been married for forty years, and she is the best part of his life.

     

    He has some siblings but the ones who are dear to his heart.

    His wife’s brother and family have been close from the start.

     

    He served as a foreign diplomat for twenty-seven years.

    Retired from the State Department, then goodbye to peers.

    His life has been impressive; what he’s seen, achieved, and done.

     

    Other interesting facts about Jake Cosmos Aller:

    Retired U.S. diplomat (State Department) living in South Korea. Served 27 years in 10 countries. Traveled to 55 countries, all 50 states. Grew up in berkeley, California. Married, no children. A published poet and short story writer. Finished six novels, in search of a publisher. Former Peace Corps volunteer, Korea. Speaks Korean, Spanish, and Thai.

    A few more birthday-themed poems:

     

    Closing time

     

    On hearing the news

    Of a friend’s passing,

    I was overwhelmed.

    With grief and sadness.

     

    And I realized that my time.

    On this mortal plane

    Is also coming.

    To the end game.

     

    Closing time

    The final act of this cosmic play.

    The grim reaper

    Has my number.

     

    Someday

    He will come for me.

    And the love of my life,

    My lovely wife.

     

    And my family,

    Friends, and enemies,

    Far-flung throughout

    The whole world.

     

    In the long run,

    We can’t escape.

    Our grim fate,

    We end up in the same place.

     

    When the Grim Reaper

    Knocks at our door,

    Are we ready for that?

    Perhaps not.

     

    But each day

    We have left.

    On another day,

    We can celebrate.

     

    That we are alive,

    Having survived another year,

    And cheated death’s grim embrace.

    Every day staying is a blessing.

    We are but one step closer to the grave.

     

    The end will come.

    When your time

    Comes to an end,

    But not today.

     

    So, rejoice, my friends.

    Live your remaining moments.

    Filled with friendship,

    Love, laughter, and joy.

     

    Bing AI’s Birthday Poem for Jake Cosmos Aller

     

    I asked Bing Ai Chat to write a beatnik-style poem as a birthday tribute to Jake Cosmos Aller.

    Here is a beatnik-style birthday tribute poem about Jake Cosmos Aller, inspired by the web search results:

     

    Happy birthday, Jake Cosmos Aller!

    You are a poet, a traveler, and a scholar.

    You have seen the world with your own eyes.

    You have lived and loved in many skies.

     

    You are a beatnik, a rebel, a seeker.

    You are not afraid to be different or unique.

    You march to the beat of your drum.

    You are one of a kind; you are second to none!

     

    So, here’s to you on your special day!

    May it be filled with love and joy all the way!

    May you continue to inspire us with your words!

    May you continue to be one of life’s great adventurers!

     

    and my friend asked Google’s Bard to weigh in:

    Jake Cosmos Aller, friend so dear, your spirit bright, your mind so clear.

    A poet, novelist, and diplomat, your wisdom vast, your heart so great

    . From berkeley to the world you’ve roamed,

    in search of truth, in search of a home.

    Your words inspire, your thoughts provoke,

    your friendship’s gift, a precious token.

    In foreign lands, you served with pride, a bridge between cultures, side by side. Your insights are deep, your empathy true, a friend to all, forever true.

    Now retired, your pen still flows, and your creativity still glows.

    Your poems sing, your stories dance, your spirit soars, a cosmic trance.

    Jake Cosmos Aller, friend so dear, your friendship’s gift, I hold so nearby.

    May your journey be filled with light, and may your stars shine bright forever.

     

    Another Bard Poem – This one is a limerick.

    “There once was a poet named Jake,

    Whose poems were fake and quite flaccid.
    His verses are so lame,
    Were barely acclaimed,
    And his readers would often say “Yuck!””

    Blues for 61 birthdays

     

    I woke up feeling blue,

    Feeling sad and alone,

    Feeling the weight of 61 years on this earth.

    Been there. Done that. Seen that.

    Bored with the routine.

    Wanting so much more,

     

    Yet oddly satisfied with all that I have done.

    Regrets I have a few,

    Memories of a lifetime.

     

    Fear and anxiety fill my mind,

    Until the end of time.

    And I know that my time

    on this earth is ending.

     

    But I am not ready.

    I need more time

    to make things right.

     

    October Rain

    rain
    rain

     

     

     

     

    The falling rain
    Of late October
    Fills me with essential dread

    As I rush about
    And end up here
    Wherever here is

    The rain outside
    Seems like the tears of God

    As I sit
    Crying over my beer

    Thinking of lost love
    And failed dreams

    Wondering
    What went wrong?
    And what I can set right?

    And the rain falls
    And the night darkens

    The rain is falling
    All over this man’s world

    And the rain falls
    And I sit

    Drinking my lonesome drink
    Lost in dreams

    Dreaming of what
    Could never be

     

    Birthday on Moon

     

    To celebrate his 80th birthday,

    Sam Adams and his wife decided to go to the Moon.

    They would stay a week at the Hilton.

    Space hotel on the edge of the Moon.

     

    And have dinner at the famous Luna Grill.

    They ate Moon-raised chicken.

    And had a delicious fruit cocktail for dinner,

    Noting it was fruit cocktail day.

     

    They went to the casino.

    Which often featured odd games to bet on.

    Today was the first observation.

    Of the international frog jumping contest

    To be held on the Moon.

     

    They won the contest.

    Their champion frog “Everything’s Jake.”

    Jumped 50 feet in the low-gravity lunar environment.

     

    Meeting Dream Girl

    When Sam Adams was 22 years old, he was in South Korea doing his Peace Corps duty, working in a public health center in Gapyeong, South Korea – two hours northeast of seoul, deep in the rural countryside. He had gone there in the furtherance of a dream that had haunted him for almost six years.

    He first had the dream on his birthday on October 22, 1974, in a high school class at 2:22 p.m. He fell asleep and saw the most beautiful woman in the world talking to him. He knew that he would marry her. For almost six years, he had that dream almost weekly. He knew she was waiting for him in Korea.

    On his 22nd birthday, he had just gone to his Peace Corps town, Gapyeong. He went out to dinner with his co-workers attending a birthday party for the town’s headman. They served him dog meat.

    The next morning in his dream, his future wife appeared, laughed about the dog meat incident, and told him that they would meet in three years on his birthday in the town of Eijongbu where he would be teaching.

    He continued to see her in his dreams, and then as she promised she walked off a bus and into life on October 22, 1982, at 2:22 p.m.

    Based on a true story. The dates and times were changed to fit the 22-number theme.

    Further note I legally got married on October 29, 1982, because it was my legal birthday.

    Astrological Charts for October 30, 1955

    I am not sure if there is anything to Astrology or not, but it is fun to think about.   The following were mostly generated by Bing AI chat box.  It is amazing to see what these AI programs can do, but a bit scarry as well.  In a few years there may be no writers left!


    Planets and Points in The Signs

    Sun, Venus, Saturn, in Scorpio

    Moon in Aries

    Rising sign in Virgo

    Mercury, Mars in Libra

    Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto in Leo

    Chiron in Aquarius

     Sun in Scorpio 6° 14′ 48″

    The Sun represents your Life Force.
    You are here to transform yourself and others. An earthquake shakes the foundations of the city’s buildings.

    Ascendant in Virgo 22° 26′ 09 Libra or Sagittarius depending on sites – all the other calculations are the same.

    According to the web search results, the rising sign or ascendant is the sign of the zodiac that rises on the eastern horizon at the time of a person’s birth. The rising sign changes approximately every two hours, so an exact birth time is required to calculate it. Different sources may use different methods or systems to calculate the rising sign, which may result in different outcomes. However, based on the most commonly used system of Placidus house division, the rising sign for someone born on October 30, 1955 at 4 a.m. in Oakland, California is Virgo123. Virgo-rising people are analytical, meticulous, and service-oriented. They tend to be modest, practical, and reliable. They may also be perfectionists, critical, and nervous. You can learn more about Virgo Rising and its meaning in your birth chart by reading this article.

    The Ascendant represents how others Encounter you and how you project yourself.

    People see you as a problem-solver. A carpenter restores a historical home to its original glory.

    Moon in Aries 25° 28′ 19″

    The Moon represents how you Give and Receive Love.
    You need independence to feel happy. You need comfortable rhythms to feel happy.

    Mercury in Libra 17° 51′ 43″

    Mercury represents how you Communicate and Interpret.
    You know how to negotiate. A store limits one necessary item to one per customer.

    Venus in Scorpio 21° 44′ 17″

    Venus represents how you Relate.
    You connect with the hidden parts of others. Two strangers get coffee after the funeral of a mutual acquaintance.

    Mars in Libra 10° 53′ 42″

    Mars represents your Drive.
    You assert judgment and make decisions. A divorce goes to court.

    Jupiter in Leo 27° 57′ 01″

    Jupiter represents your Sense of Adventure.
    You play the lead in life well. A young actress wins the audition to play the lead, knowing she will be a star.

    Saturn in Scorpio 21° 43′ 55″

    Saturn represents your Behavior.
    You want the highest clearance. The CIA director orders an operation to destroy a terrorist cell.

    Uranus in Leo 2° 17′ 59″

    Uranus represents how your generation Breaks Away from the previous generation.
    Your generation shocks through entertainment. An independent film hits mainstream theaters.

    Neptune in Libra 28° 17′ 12″

    Neptune represents how your generation finds Purpose.
    Your generation promotes fairness in spirituality. The daughter of a wealthy businessman accepts the consequences of her poor choices.

    Pluto in Leo 28° 21′ 51″

    Pluto represents how your generation uses Power.
    Your generation transforms the world through entertainment. A young woman finds reruns of “I Love Lucy” on her streaming service.

    Chiron in Aquarius 0° 21′ 31″

    Chiron represents the Wound You Need to Heal.
    You need to heal wounds and worries regarding your community. A family successfully immigrates to a new country.

    Note:

    Astrologers started added Chiron to their calculations when scientists named it the 10th planet or perhaps the 9th planet after they demoted Pluto a number of years ago, but they kept Pluto in their calculations.  Pluto is my planet = whatever that means.

    North Node in Sagittarius 17° 59′ 38” Rx

    The North Node represents what you Need to Attain in this lifetime.
    You are here to learn to be an authority. A doctoral student teaches his first freshman class on Monday at 8 a.m.

    Part of Fortune in Aries 3° 12′ 37″

    The Part of Fortune represents your Natural Good Luck.
    You are naturally lucky when you do it your way. A skateboarder weaves in and out of city traffic.

    Midheaven in Gemini 21° 28′ 35″

    The Midheaven represents how to Succeed in the World.
    You attain prosperity intellectually. A bi-lingual young man has his pick of many jobs.

    Major Aspects  Minor Aspects  Filter Aspects

    Aspect Table

    House Modalities

    Duality / Triplicity / Quadruplicity

    Primary Astrological Details

    View Readings 

    Effect of Planets and Houses

     Sun Courage, loyalty, nobleness, and generosity 2nd house
     Moon Fertility, femininity, imagination 7th house
     Mercury Intellectual capacity, thought process, comprehension, and learning abilities 1st house
     Venus Love, beauty, well-being, and gentleness 2nd house
     Mars Virility, action, violence, courage, and boldness 1st house
     Jupiter Abundance, warmth, good luck, and self-confidence 11th house
     Saturn Toughness, austerity, discipline, and limitation 2nd house
     Uranus Eccentricity, marginality, inventiveness, independence, and dementia. 10th house
     Neptune Gentle, dreamy, mystical 1st house
     Pluto Occultism and all hidden sciences, mystery, death, the hereafter, deep self-questionings, as well as power such as that of the atom 11th house
     Ascendant Personality, appearance, health 1st house

    Natal chart Reading

    Scorpio 19pg
    Scorpio 19pg

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Note:  this is imprecise.  the consensus reading seems to be the rising sign is VIrgo, but the rising signs change every two hours, so there could be some confusion.

    Rising Sign: Libra (4°41′)

    People who have Libra Rising love to maintain balance and harmony. They are usually sensitive to the world around them and disharmony disturbs their peace of mind. They are courteous, pleasant, nice agreeable, gentle, and soft. They can be softly persuasive as well. They love good things in life, making friends, and doing everything possible to avoid confrontation. They are fond of art, music, and literature. On the other hand, imbalance and discord disturb them deep within and they can be rude, shy, and indecisive. Physically, they are charming and have wonderful skin and nicely shaped facial features. The body is well-formed and it behaves gracefully and properly. They love personal luxuries, physical comfort, and things that please the senses. Lack of energy and ailments caused by rich foods like sweets cause them trouble. The mode is Cardinal so Libras are inventive and assertive and have initiative as well. The element of air brings them mental clarity, detachment and verbal skill and positive polarity makes them extroverted and expressive.

    Midheaven Sign: Sagittarius

    Intellectual pursuits and study appeal to you, but you need to be challenged on the work front because routine makes you bored. You are ambitious, but not money motivated. You say goodbye to the easy ways and take up difficult tasks boldly. You consciously or subconsciously seek a forum to showcase your intellectual and artistic talents. However, you may not seek the spotlight, but the work you do brings recognition and fame. Also, you become famous for something you have done outside your profession. Career options are travel, education, religion, politics, psychiatry, theology, and writing.

    Sun in Scorpio (6°17′)

    Intensity, passion, and secretiveness well sum up your character. You usually start things slowly, but once you have picked up momentum you are unstoppable. You are driven and controlled by hidden emotions deep within. You are sensitive, skeptical, and emotional, but work your heart out. You are intuitive and your perceptions are usually accurate. You want everything to be done your way and this makes you a tyrant at home. You tend to foist your views on your friends and family.

    Moon in Aries (26°4′)

    You react more emotionally. You make decisions quickly and act immediately without thinking much. The mind is very active, but you feel with your ego. Your responses are quick and short. You move on to new arguments or topics quickly without even giving your opponents enough time to present their views. You are short-tempered. However, you are competent and love to challenge your opponent. You are happy and optimistic, but impatient. You live for the moment and forget everything in no time.

    Mercury in Libra (17°54′)

    You have an active mind that weighs the pros and cons, even though you take your time to make decisions. You are a balanced thinker and communicator. Eloquent, gentle, and diplomatic, you think intelligently and objectively. You are friendly, broad-minded, and judicious and you have an easy-going, warm, and charming nature. Attracted to lofty ideals and refinement in life, you are good at writing well and merging ideas. You dislike conflicts and hate debating.

    Venus in Scorpio (21°47′)

    Your love is intense, deep, and sensual. In a relationship, you are straightforward, determined, and direct. You express excess feelings. You are a sexy person and being deeply involved, you are intensely romantic. You love or hate your partner with intense passion. Break-ups are hard to cope with. The physical or sexual aspect of the relationship is more important to you. You can be possessive in love.

    Mars in Libra (10°55′)

    Your physical energy is controlled to a great extent and you remain charming, generous, and cooperative. You are not pushy, but you can be assertive if injustice is served. You tend to fight against anything unfair and unjust. You have an objective and impassioned approach and therefore you can be a good judge or diplomat. Also, you are good at conflict management.

    Jupiter in Leo (27°57′)

    Optimism, confidence, and generosity are the three qualities that keep you going. You have lots of physical energy and you tend to show off. It means you embrace life in all its glory. Besides, you expect people to appreciate and admire you for your generous acts. You are a born extrovert and holidays, romance, and celebrations renew your spirit. But you tend to play cards or gamble.

    Saturn in Scorpio (21°44′)

    You have great emotional intensity and strength, but you may try to deny your passions. You carry out your responsibilities with an intensity of purpose. Anyhow, you possess more tolerance and understanding than usual. You are secretive and unforgiving and you cannot tolerate unfair treatment. You are resourceful, but you can be vindictive or withdrawn. Though you have a strong desire for success, you are subtle and calculating.

    Uranus in Leo (2°18′)

    You can be high-spirited and strong-willed, but you can be impatient and rebellious. Changes that involve high ideals and goals fascinate you. Though you are a born leader, you have to watch out for egotism and find ways to control your temper. You like to be unique, outspoken, and dramatic. Anyway, you have to be cautious about being overconfident and taking risks.

    Neptune in Libra (28°17′)

    You use your beauty and harmony to express your spiritual leanings. A wonderful relationship on the spiritual plane is on the cards. You dream about fashion, music, and peace. You also have your ideas about justice, freedom, and equality. However, you have to watch out for misplaced idealism and need to be more practical.

    Pluto in Leo (28°21′)

    Flamboyant and expressive, you tend to have heightened powers of leadership. You grab power and defy leadership if you are not the leader. You like romance, entertainment, and pleasures of all kinds. Besides, you try to attract attention extravagantly. (1937-1958)

    Influence of Weekday: Sunday – Sun

    Sunday radiates positivity, generosity, and love of life. You are creative, gregarious, bold, and noble, but you can be ego-centric, boastful, and excessively proud. You are capable of initiating new activities. Since you are kind and generous, you help people in distress. You remain focused and love to face obstacles and overcome them.

    Bing answers

    Can you generate an astrological chart (Chinese, Western, and Vedic tradition) for someone born on October 30, 1955, in Oakland, California at 4 a.m.?

    GOAT
    GOAT

     

     

     

     

    goat meets pig audio poem

     

    Chinese

    The person’s Chinese astrology chart is as follows:

    Year   month-day   hour

    Wood goat   metal dog     earth snake   wood rabbit

    The person’s Chinese astrology information is based on the four pillars of destiny, which are the year, month, day, and hour of birth. Each pillar consists of two components: a heavenly stem and an earthly branch. The heavenly stems are the ten basic symbols that represent the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water) in their yin and yang forms. The earthly branches are the twelve animal signs that correspond to the twelve months of the lunar calendar.

    The person’s heavenly stems are:

    Year   month-date  hour

    Yang wood  yang metal   yang earth    yin wood

    The person’s earthly branches are:

    Year   Month-Date hour

    Goat   dog    snake rabbit

    The person’s lucky numbers are 3, 4, 9, 12, 15, 21, 30, 34, 39, 45, 48, 51, 57, 63, 66, 69, 75, 84, 87, and 93.

    The person’s lucky colors are green, blue, purple, red, pink, and white.

    The person’s lucky flowers are carnation, primrose, Alice flower, lily of the valley, and orchid.

    The person’s compatible zodiac signs are rabbit, horse, pig, and dragon.

    The person’s incompatible zodiac signs are ox, tiger, snake, and dog.

    Western astrology:

    According to Western astrology, you are a Scorpio, the eighth sign of the zodiac. Your ruling planet is Pluto, and your element is water.

    Some of the personality traits of a Scorpio are:

    Intense, passionate, and loyal.

    Mysterious, secretive, and complex.

    Resourceful, determined, and ambitious.

    Transformative, regenerative, and healing.

    Jealous, obsessive, and manipulative.

    Some of the challenges and opportunities for a Scorpio are:

    To learn to trust others and let go of control.

    To channel their emotions and desires into positive outlets.

    To face their fears and embrace their shadows.

    To use their power and influence for good.

    To seek higher wisdom and spiritual growth.

    Vedic Astrology

    Vedic astrology: according to Vedic astrology, you are a Libra (Tula), the seventh sign of the zodiac. Your ruling planet is Venus, and your element is air. Your birth chart is shown below, along with the list of planets and their positions in the signs and nakshatras.

    The major difference between these two is that according to Western calculations I am a Scorpio and according to Vedic calculations I am a Libra,  and according to Native American calculations I am a either a Bear or a Raven.

    Vedic Birth chart

    +——————+——————+——————+

    |Moon              +-rahe—-+        +-keta—-+        +

    +——————+          +-Moon–+-Jupiter-+-Saturn-+

    |Moon              +-sun—-+-mercury+-Venus—-+-Chiron-+

    +——————+          +-asc—-+-desc—–+-Uranus-+

    |Moon              +-Neptune-+-Pluto–+-Neptune-+-Pluto +

    |Moon              +-Libra—+-Scorpio+-Laurus—+-Aries +

    |Moon              +-swat

    |      house       +-desc       +-ask +-desc       +-acs +

    +——————+   taurus   +-Libra+-Aries——+Pisces+

     

    Planet list

    +———-+————+————+

    | planet   | sign       | house      |

    +———-+————+————+

    | sun      | Libra      | 10th       |

    | Moon     | Scorpio    | 1st        |

    | mercury | Scorpio    | 9th        |

    | Venus    | Virgo      | 9th        |

    | Moon     | Libra      | 9th        |

    | Jupiter | Scorpio    | 1st        |

    | Saturn   | Sagittarius| 10th       |

    | Uranus   | Leo        | 11th       |

    | Neptune | Libra      | 12th       |

    | Pluto    | Leo        | 11th       |

    Ascendant in Libra (4°41′)

    People who have Libra Rising love to maintain balance and harmony. They are usually sensitive to the world around them and disharmony disturbs their peace of mind. They are courteous, pleasant, nice agreeable, gentle, and soft. They can be softly persuasive as well. They love good things in life, making friends, and doing everything possible to avoid confrontation. They are fond of art, music, and literature. On the other hand, imbalance and discord disturb them deep within and they can be rude, shy, and indecisive. Physically, they are charming and have wonderful skin and nicely shaped facial features. The body is well-formed and it behaves gracefully and properly. They love personal luxuries, physical comfort, and things that please their senses. Lack of energy and ailments caused by rich foods like sweets cause them trouble. The mode is Cardinal, so Libras are inventive and assertive and have initiative as well. The element of air brings them mental clarity, detachment and verbal skill and positive polarity makes them extroverted and expressive.

    More on Scorpio

    scorpio
    scorpio

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Sun 6° Scorpio 27′

    Moon sign: Aries

    Moon 28° Aries 32′

    rising sign: Scorpio? Libra or Virgo?  the consensus seems to be its Virgo but who knows or really cares?

    Ascendant 25° Scorpio 01′

    For today »

     

    How’s your timing?

    The moving Moon and planets can influence your ability to relate to certain people at specific times.

    Your sun sign:       Scorpio        sun 6° Scorpio 27′

    Element:

    Water

    Key planet:

    Pluto

    The scorpion is one intense little creature, with enough poison in its tail to disable or kill a much larger opponent. However, the problem with this kind of built-in biological weaponry is that it must be mastered to be used most effectively. You Scorpios can use your “stinger” for self-defense, using your powerful emotional awareness to make your opponent harmless. But there is a sexual part of poisonous tail also, and until you learn to control those strong urges, you may find yourself in uncomfortable situations.

    Motto: “What is hidden is more interesting than what is obvious.”

    Greatest strength: your passion for your feelings.

    Possible weakness: the need for secrecy can be isolating.

    Your Moon sign:   Aries Moon 28° Aries 32′

    Emotions rise hot and fast but can fall just as quickly because you live so much in the present. The intensity of the moment can carry you to great heights or depths, but you’re not likely to stay in either extreme for very long. When you’re done, you’re done. As a fire sign, Aries isn’t a particularly reflective place for them.

     

    More on the Goat

     

    Your Chinese sign:          the goat

    The goat … the gentle goat

    Mantra: living is my form of art.

    The goat is the most easygoing of all the signs … sensitive to other people’s needs, kindhearted, flexible, and social. Goats love life, and all forms of art will help them express their active energy and joie de vivre. When stressed, they can be moody and appear weak, but will stubbornly resist the opinions of others if they disagree. They are devoted to their loved ones, outgoing, and quite outspoken about the world they live in.

    Personal Note:

    According to Western Astrology the Scorpio- Gemini relationship is a challenging one, but those that make it work have a very powerful connection.  According to Chinese Astrology, the Pig-Goat combo is the best astrological combo for romance for love and marriage.

    Other birth statistics

    30 October 1955

    Your date of conception was on or about 6 February 1955 which was a Sunday.

    You were born on a Sunday.

    Under the astrological sign Scorpio.

    Your life path number is 6.

    Your fortune cookie reads:

    Your many hidden talents will become obvious to those around you.

    Life path compatibility:

    You are most compatible with those with the life path numbers 3, 6 & 9.

    You should get along well with those with the life path numbers 2, 4, 8, 11 & 22.

    You are least compatible with those with the life path numbers 1, 5 & 7.

    The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2435410.5.

    The golden number for 1955 is 18.

    The exact number for 1955 is 6.

    The year 1955 was not a leap year.

    Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 1/24/1955 and ending 2/11/1956.

    You were born in the Chinese year of the goat.

    Your native american zodiac sign is snake; your plant is thistle.

    Note: some sources say I am a bear, others say that I am a raven. There is no “native american astrology” per se as each tribe had its own way of looking at things astrologically speaking.

    You were born in the Egyptian month of toby, the first month of the season of port (emergence – fertile soil).

    Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 14 Heshan 5716.

    Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 15 Heshan 5716.

    The Mayan calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.17.2.0.6 which is.

    12 baktun 17 katun 2 tun 0 uinal 6 kin

    The hijra (Islamic calendar) date of your birth is Sunday, 13 Rabi’u’l-Avval 1375 (1375-3-13).

    The date of Easter on your  was Sunday, 10 April 1955.

    The date of Orthodox Easter in your birth year was Sunday, 17 April 1955.

    The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) in your birth year was Wednesday, 23 February 1955.

    The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday, 29 May 1955.

    The date of Whitsuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday, 5 June 1955.

    The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Saturday, 17 September 1955.

    The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Thursday, 7 April 1955.

    The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday, 22 February 1955.

    Celebrities who share your birthday:

     

    Gavin Rossdale (1967) Diego Armando Maradona (1960) Harry Hamlin (1951)

    Henry Winkler (1945) Grace Slick (1939) Claude Lelouch (1937)

    Robert Caro (1935) Louis Malle (1932) Ruth Gordon (1896)

    Charles Atlas (1893) Ezra Asalto (1885) Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821)

    John Adams (1735)

    Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 7.62309197651663 years old. (you old hound dog, you!)

    Your lucky day is Tuesday.

    Your lucky numbers are 9 & 11.

    Your ruling planet(s) are the Moon and Pluto.

    Your lucky dates are the 1st, 10th, 19th, and 28th.

    Your opposition sign is Taurus.

    Your opposition number(s) is 6.

    Events that happened on my birthday, include

    Here is a list of things that happened on October 30, 1955, including the top song, the top movie, the top TV show, and the major events of that month in the US:

    that’s the way the world was on my Birthday, October 30, 1955.

    the end

     

     

    scorpio

    November 2, 2023, 11:46 am 0 boosts 0 favorites

    Scorpio
    Scorpio

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Ode to Berkeley

    Thanks to all who have been sending me birthday greetings. I deeply appreciate all of you, all around the world who have blessed my life with your friendship over the years. I will respond individually as well but just wanted to do this shout-out to my friends! On my birthday, I am always in a reflective mood and do my Nir’s early and revise them again on January 1. One thing I want to do starting now and next year is to blog weekly and add FB reels and YouTube video blogging as well as my podcasting and my daily writing as I still have a lot to say and think about and it is not too late for me to say what I want to say. Another thing I want to do is take a lot of mini-trips, day trips, and other trips while I still can and I want to spend about four months in the States next summer. And hope to see many of you via Zoom meetups or in person during the next year. Keep in touch.

    Jake

    Following are some of my birthday poems, a few birthday tribute poems from friends, Bing’s Ai astrological charts (Chinese, Vedic, and Western systems) for my birthday – October 30, 1955 – and a list of things that happened that date.

    Ps here is a birthday tribute from my fan story friend, Debbie Pink Marquette.

    A diplomatic birthday

    Jake Cosmos Aller

    Was born in California and graduated in DC.

    His grad college was Washington University.

     

    He’s traveled to all fifty states and then fifty countries.

    That’s when he would decide to spend more time across the seas.

    He met her and then six weeks later, she became his wife.

    Been married for forty years, and she is the best part of his life.

     

    He has some siblings but the ones who are dear to his heart.

    His wife’s brother and family have been close from the start.

     

    He served as a foreign diplomat for twenty-seven years.

    Retired from the State Department, then goodbye to peers.

    His life has been impressive; what he’s seen, achieved, and done.

     

    Other interesting facts about Jake Cosmos Aller:

    Retired U.S. diplomat (State Department) living in South Korea. Served 27 years in 10 countries. Traveled to 55 countries, all 50 states. Grew up in berkeley, California. Married, no children. A published poet and short story writer. Finished six novels, in search of a publisher. Former Peace Corps volunteer, Korea. Speaks Korean, Spanish, and Thai.

    A few more birthday-themed poems:

     

    Closing time

     

    On hearing the news

    Of a friend’s passing,

    I was overwhelmed.

    With grief and sadness.

     

    And I realized that my time.

    On this mortal plane

    Is also coming.

    To the end game.

     

    Closing time

    The final act of this cosmic play.

    The grim reaper

    Has my number.

     

    Someday

    He will come for me.

    And the love of my life,

    My lovely wife.

     

    And my family,

    Friends, and enemies,

    Far-flung throughout

    The whole world.

     

    In the long run,

    We can’t escape.

    Our grim fate,

    We end up in the same place.

     

    When the Grim Reaper

    Knocks at our door,

    Are we ready for that?

    Perhaps not.

     

    But each day

    We have left.

    On another day,

    We can celebrate.

     

    That we are alive,

    Having survived another year,

    And cheated death’s grim embrace.

    Every day staying is a blessing.

    We are but one step closer to the grave.

     

    The end will come.

    When your time

    Comes to an end,

    But not today.

     

    So, rejoice, my friends.

    Live your remaining moments.

    Filled with friendship,

    Love, laughter, and joy.

     

    Bing AI’s Birthday Poem for Jake Cosmos Aller

     

    I asked Bing Ai Chat to write a beatnik-style poem as a birthday tribute to Jake Cosmos Aller.

    Here is a beatnik-style birthday tribute poem about Jake Cosmos Aller, inspired by the web search results:

     

    Happy birthday, Jake Cosmos Aller!

    You are a poet, a traveler, and a scholar.

    You have seen the world with your own eyes.

    You have lived and loved in many skies.

     

    You are a beatnik, a rebel, a seeker.

    You are not afraid to be different or unique.

    You march to the beat of your drum.

    You are one of a kind; you are second to none!

     

    So, here’s to you on your special day!

    May it be filled with love and joy all the way!

    May you continue to inspire us with your words!

    May you continue to be one of life’s great adventurers!

     

    and my friend asked Google’s Bard to weigh in:

    Jake Cosmos Aller, friend so dear, your spirit bright, your mind so clear.

    A poet, novelist, and diplomat, your wisdom vast, your heart so great

    . From berkeley to the world you’ve roamed,

    in search of truth, in search of a home.

    Your words inspire, your thoughts provoke,

    your friendship’s gift, a precious token.

    In foreign lands, you served with pride, a bridge between cultures, side by side. Your insights are deep, your empathy true, a friend to all, forever true.

    Now retired, your pen still flows, and your creativity still glows.

    Your poems sing, your stories dance, your spirit soars, a cosmic trance.

    Jake Cosmos Aller, friend so dear, your friendship’s gift, I hold so nearby.

    May your journey be filled with light, and may your stars shine bright forever.

     

    Another Bard Poem – This one is a limerick.

    “There once was a poet named Jake,

    Whose poems were fake and quite flaccid.
    His verses are so lame,
    Were barely acclaimed,
    And his readers would often say “Yuck!””

    Blues for 61 birthdays

     

    I woke up feeling blue,

    Feeling sad and alone,

    Feeling the weight of 61 years on this earth.

    Been there. Done that. Seen that.

    Bored with the routine.

    Wanting so much more,

     

    Yet oddly satisfied with all that I have done.

    Regrets I have a few,

    Memories of a lifetime.

     

    Fear and anxiety fill my mind,

    Until the end of time.

    And I know that my time

    on this earth is ending.

     

    But I am not ready.

    I need more time

    to make things right.

     

    October Rain

    rain
    rain

     

     

     

     

    The falling rain
    Of late October
    Fills me with essential dread

    As I rush about
    And end up here
    Wherever here is

    The rain outside
    Seems like the tears of God

    As I sit
    Crying over my beer

    Thinking of lost love
    And failed dreams

    Wondering
    What went wrong?
    And what I can set right?

    And the rain falls
    And the night darkens

    The rain is falling
    All over this man’s world

    And the rain falls
    And I sit

    Drinking my lonesome drink
    Lost in dreams

    Dreaming of what
    Could never be

     

    Birthday on Moon

     

    To celebrate his 80th birthday,

    Sam Adams and his wife decided to go to the Moon.

    They would stay a week at the Hilton.

    Space hotel on the edge of the Moon.

     

    And have dinner at the famous Luna Grill.

    They ate Moon-raised chicken.

    And had a delicious fruit cocktail for dinner,

    Noting it was fruit cocktail day.

     

    They went to the casino.

    Which often featured odd games to bet on.

    Today was the first observation.

    Of the international frog jumping contest

    To be held on the Moon.

     

    They won the contest.

    Their champion frog “Everything’s Jake.”

    Jumped 50 feet in the low-gravity lunar environment.

     

    Meeting Dream Girl

    When Sam Adams was 22 years old, he was in South Korea doing his Peace Corps duty, working in a public health center in Gapyeong, South Korea – two hours northeast of seoul, deep in the rural countryside. He had gone there in the furtherance of a dream that had haunted him for almost six years.

    He first had the dream on his birthday on October 22, 1974, in a high school class at 2:22 p.m. He fell asleep and saw the most beautiful woman in the world talking to him. He knew that he would marry her. For almost six years, he had that dream almost weekly. He knew she was waiting for him in Korea.

    On his 22nd birthday, he had just gone to his Peace Corps town, Gapyeong. He went out to dinner with his co-workers attending a birthday party for the town’s headman. They served him dog meat.

    The next morning in his dream, his future wife appeared, laughed about the dog meat incident, and told him that they would meet in three years on his birthday in the town of Eijongbu where he would be teaching.

    He continued to see her in his dreams, and then as she promised she walked off a bus and into life on October 22, 1982, at 2:22 p.m.

    Based on a true story. The dates and times were changed to fit the 22-number theme.

    Further note I legally got married on October 29, 1982, because it was my legal birthday.

    Astrological Charts for October 30, 1955

    I am not sure if there is anything to Astrology or not, but it is fun to think about.   The following were mostly generated by Bing AI chat box.  It is amazing to see what these AI programs can do, but a bit scarry as well.  In a few years there may be no writers left!


    Planets and Points in The Signs

    Sun, Venus, Saturn, in Scorpio

    Moon in Aries

    Rising sign in Virgo

    Mercury, Mars in Libra

    Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto in Leo

    Chiron in Aquarius

     Sun in Scorpio 6° 14′ 48″

    The Sun represents your Life Force.
    You are here to transform yourself and others. An earthquake shakes the foundations of the city’s buildings.

    Ascendant in Virgo 22° 26′ 09 Libra or Sagittarius depending on sites – all the other calculations are the same.

    According to the web search results, the rising sign or ascendant is the sign of the zodiac that rises on the eastern horizon at the time of a person’s birth. The rising sign changes approximately every two hours, so an exact birth time is required to calculate it. Different sources may use different methods or systems to calculate the rising sign, which may result in different outcomes. However, based on the most commonly used system of Placidus house division, the rising sign for someone born on October 30, 1955 at 4 a.m. in Oakland, California is Virgo123. Virgo-rising people are analytical, meticulous, and service-oriented. They tend to be modest, practical, and reliable. They may also be perfectionists, critical, and nervous. You can learn more about Virgo Rising and its meaning in your birth chart by reading this article.

    The Ascendant represents how others Encounter you and how you project yourself.

    People see you as a problem-solver. A carpenter restores a historical home to its original glory.

    Moon in Aries 25° 28′ 19″

    The Moon represents how you Give and Receive Love.
    You need independence to feel happy. You need comfortable rhythms to feel happy.

    Mercury in Libra 17° 51′ 43″

    Mercury represents how you Communicate and Interpret.
    You know how to negotiate. A store limits one necessary item to one per customer.

    Venus in Scorpio 21° 44′ 17″

    Venus represents how you Relate.
    You connect with the hidden parts of others. Two strangers get coffee after the funeral of a mutual acquaintance.

    Mars in Libra 10° 53′ 42″

    Mars represents your Drive.
    You assert judgment and make decisions. A divorce goes to court.

    Jupiter in Leo 27° 57′ 01″

    Jupiter represents your Sense of Adventure.
    You play the lead in life well. A young actress wins the audition to play the lead, knowing she will be a star.

    Saturn in Scorpio 21° 43′ 55″

    Saturn represents your Behavior.
    You want the highest clearance. The CIA director orders an operation to destroy a terrorist cell.

    Uranus in Leo 2° 17′ 59″

    Uranus represents how your generation Breaks Away from the previous generation.
    Your generation shocks through entertainment. An independent film hits mainstream theaters.

    Neptune in Libra 28° 17′ 12″

    Neptune represents how your generation finds Purpose.
    Your generation promotes fairness in spirituality. The daughter of a wealthy businessman accepts the consequences of her poor choices.

    Pluto in Leo 28° 21′ 51″

    Pluto represents how your generation uses Power.
    Your generation transforms the world through entertainment. A young woman finds reruns of “I Love Lucy” on her streaming service.

    Chiron in Aquarius 0° 21′ 31″

    Chiron represents the Wound You Need to Heal.
    You need to heal wounds and worries regarding your community. A family successfully immigrates to a new country.

    Note:

    Astrologers started added Chiron to their calculations when scientists named it the 10th planet or perhaps the 9th planet after they demoted Pluto a number of years ago, but they kept Pluto in their calculations.  Pluto is my planet = whatever that means.

    North Node in Sagittarius 17° 59′ 38” Rx

    The North Node represents what you Need to Attain in this lifetime.
    You are here to learn to be an authority. A doctoral student teaches his first freshman class on Monday at 8 a.m.

    Part of Fortune in Aries 3° 12′ 37″

    The Part of Fortune represents your Natural Good Luck.
    You are naturally lucky when you do it your way. A skateboarder weaves in and out of city traffic.

    Midheaven in Gemini 21° 28′ 35″

    The Midheaven represents how to Succeed in the World.
    You attain prosperity intellectually. A bi-lingual young man has his pick of many jobs.

    Major Aspects  Minor Aspects  Filter Aspects

    View Readings 

    Effect of Planets and Houses

     Sun Courage, loyalty, nobleness, and generosity 2nd house
     Moon Fertility, femininity, imagination 7th house
     Mercury Intellectual capacity, thought process, comprehension, and learning abilities 1st house
     Venus Love, beauty, well-being, and gentleness 2nd house
     Mars Virility, action, violence, courage, and boldness 1st house
     Jupiter Abundance, warmth, good luck, and self-confidence 11th house
     Saturn Toughness, austerity, discipline, and limitation 2nd house
     Uranus Eccentricity, marginality, inventiveness, independence, and dementia. 10th house
     Neptune Gentle, dreamy, mystical 1st house
     Pluto Occultism and all hidden sciences, mystery, death, the hereafter, deep self-questionings, as well as power such as that of the atom 11th house
     Ascendant Personality, appearance, health 1st house

    Natal chart Reading

    Scorpio 19pg
    Scorpio 19pg

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Note:  this is imprecise.  the consensus reading seems to be the rising sign is VIrgo, but the rising signs change every two hours, so there could be some confusion.

    Rising Sign: Libra (4°41′)

    People who have Libra Rising love to maintain balance and harmony. They are usually sensitive to the world around them and disharmony disturbs their peace of mind. They are courteous, pleasant, nice agreeable, gentle, and soft. They can be softly persuasive as well. They love good things in life, making friends, and doing everything possible to avoid confrontation. They are fond of art, music, and literature. On the other hand, imbalance and discord disturb them deep within and they can be rude, shy, and indecisive. Physically, they are charming and have wonderful skin and nicely shaped facial features. The body is well-formed and it behaves gracefully and properly. They love personal luxuries, physical comfort, and things that please the senses. Lack of energy and ailments caused by rich foods like sweets cause them trouble. The mode is Cardinal so Libras are inventive and assertive and have initiative as well. The element of air brings them mental clarity, detachment and verbal skill and positive polarity makes them extroverted and expressive.

    Midheaven Sign: Sagittarius

    Intellectual pursuits and study appeal to you, but you need to be challenged on the work front because routine makes you bored. You are ambitious, but not money motivated. You say goodbye to the easy ways and take up difficult tasks boldly. You consciously or subconsciously seek a forum to showcase your intellectual and artistic talents. However, you may not seek the spotlight, but the work you do brings recognition and fame. Also, you become famous for something you have done outside your profession. Career options are travel, education, religion, politics, psychiatry, theology, and writing.

    Sun in Scorpio (6°17′)

    Intensity, passion, and secretiveness well sum up your character. You usually start things slowly, but once you have picked up momentum you are unstoppable. You are driven and controlled by hidden emotions deep within. You are sensitive, skeptical, and emotional, but work your heart out. You are intuitive and your perceptions are usually accurate. You want everything to be done your way and this makes you a tyrant at home. You tend to foist your views on your friends and family.

    Moon in Aries (26°4′)

    You react more emotionally. You make decisions quickly and act immediately without thinking much. The mind is very active, but you feel with your ego. Your responses are quick and short. You move on to new arguments or topics quickly without even giving your opponents enough time to present their views. You are short-tempered. However, you are competent and love to challenge your opponent. You are happy and optimistic, but impatient. You live for the moment and forget everything in no time.

    Mercury in Libra (17°54′)

    You have an active mind that weighs the pros and cons, even though you take your time to make decisions. You are a balanced thinker and communicator. Eloquent, gentle, and diplomatic, you think intelligently and objectively. You are friendly, broad-minded, and judicious and you have an easy-going, warm, and charming nature. Attracted to lofty ideals and refinement in life, you are good at writing well and merging ideas. You dislike conflicts and hate debating.

    Venus in Scorpio (21°47′)

    Your love is intense, deep, and sensual. In a relationship, you are straightforward, determined, and direct. You express excess feelings. You are a sexy person and being deeply involved, you are intensely romantic. You love or hate your partner with intense passion. Break-ups are hard to cope with. The physical or sexual aspect of the relationship is more important to you. You can be possessive in love.

    Mars in Libra (10°55′)

    Your physical energy is controlled to a great extent and you remain charming, generous, and cooperative. You are not pushy, but you can be assertive if injustice is served. You tend to fight against anything unfair and unjust. You have an objective and impassioned approach and therefore you can be a good judge or diplomat. Also, you are good at conflict management.

    Jupiter in Leo (27°57′)

    Optimism, confidence, and generosity are the three qualities that keep you going. You have lots of physical energy and you tend to show off. It means you embrace life in all its glory. Besides, you expect people to appreciate and admire you for your generous acts. You are a born extrovert and holidays, romance, and celebrations renew your spirit. But you tend to play cards or gamble.

    Saturn in Scorpio (21°44′)

    You have great emotional intensity and strength, but you may try to deny your passions. You carry out your responsibilities with an intensity of purpose. Anyhow, you possess more tolerance and understanding than usual. You are secretive and unforgiving and you cannot tolerate unfair treatment. You are resourceful, but you can be vindictive or withdrawn. Though you have a strong desire for success, you are subtle and calculating.

    Uranus in Leo (2°18′)

    You can be high-spirited and strong-willed, but you can be impatient and rebellious. Changes that involve high ideals and goals fascinate you. Though you are a born leader, you have to watch out for egotism and find ways to control your temper. You like to be unique, outspoken, and dramatic. Anyway, you have to be cautious about being overconfident and taking risks.

    Neptune in Libra (28°17′)

    You use your beauty and harmony to express your spiritual leanings. A wonderful relationship on the spiritual plane is on the cards. You dream about fashion, music, and peace. You also have your ideas about justice, freedom, and equality. However, you have to watch out for misplaced idealism and need to be more practical.

    Pluto in Leo (28°21′)

    Flamboyant and expressive, you tend to have heightened powers of leadership. You grab power and defy leadership if you are not the leader. You like romance, entertainment, and pleasures of all kinds. Besides, you try to attract attention extravagantly. (1937-1958)

    Influence of Weekday: Sunday – Sun

    Sunday radiates positivity, generosity, and love of life. You are creative, gregarious, bold, and noble, but you can be ego-centric, boastful, and excessively proud. You are capable of initiating new activities. Since you are kind and generous, you help people in distress. You remain focused and love to face obstacles and overcome them.

    Bing answers

    Can you generate an astrological chart (Chinese, Western, and Vedic tradition) for someone born on October 30, 1955, in Oakland, California at 4 a.m.?

    GOAT
    GOAT

     

     

     

     

    goat meets pig audio poem

     

    Chinese

    The person’s Chinese astrology chart is as follows:

    Year   month-day   hour

    Wood goat   metal dog     earth snake   wood rabbit

    The person’s Chinese astrology information is based on the four pillars of destiny, which are the year, month, day, and hour of birth. Each pillar consists of two components: a heavenly stem and an earthly branch. The heavenly stems are the ten basic symbols that represent the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water) in their yin and yang forms. The earthly branches are the twelve animal signs that correspond to the twelve months of the lunar calendar.

    The person’s heavenly stems are:

    Year   month-date  hour

    Yang wood  yang metal   yang earth    yin wood

    The person’s earthly branches are:

    Year   Month-Date hour

    Goat   dog    snake rabbit

    The person’s lucky numbers are 3, 4, 9, 12, 15, 21, 30, 34, 39, 45, 48, 51, 57, 63, 66, 69, 75, 84, 87, and 93.

    The person’s lucky colors are green, blue, purple, red, pink, and white.

    The person’s lucky flowers are carnation, primrose, Alice flower, lily of the valley, and orchid.

    The person’s compatible zodiac signs are rabbit, horse, pig, and dragon.

    The person’s incompatible zodiac signs are ox, tiger, snake, and dog.

    Western astrology:

    According to Western astrology, you are a Scorpio, the eighth sign of the zodiac. Your ruling planet is Pluto, and your element is water.

    Some of the personality traits of a Scorpio are:

    Intense, passionate, and loyal.

    Mysterious, secretive, and complex.

    Resourceful, determined, and ambitious.

    Transformative, regenerative, and healing.

    Jealous, obsessive, and manipulative.

    Some of the challenges and opportunities for a Scorpio are:

    To learn to trust others and let go of control.

    To channel their emotions and desires into positive outlets.

    To face their fears and embrace their shadows.

    To use their power and influence for good.

    To seek higher wisdom and spiritual growth.

    Vedic Astrology

    Vedic astrology: according to Vedic astrology, you are a Libra (Tula), the seventh sign of the zodiac. Your ruling planet is Venus, and your element is air. Your birth chart is shown below, along with the list of planets and their positions in the signs and nakshatras.

    The major difference between these two is that according to Western calculations I am a Scorpio and according to Vedic calculations I am a Libra,  and according to Native American calculations I am a either a Bear or a Raven.

    Vedic Birth chart

    +——————+——————+——————+

    |Moon              +-rahe—-+        +-keta—-+        +

    +——————+          +-Moon–+-Jupiter-+-Saturn-+

    |Moon              +-sun—-+-mercury+-Venus—-+-Chiron-+

    +——————+          +-asc—-+-desc—–+-Uranus-+

    |Moon              +-Neptune-+-Pluto–+-Neptune-+-Pluto +

    |Moon              +-Libra—+-Scorpio+-Laurus—+-Aries +

    |Moon              +-swat

    |      house       +-desc       +-ask +-desc       +-acs +

    +——————+   taurus   +-Libra+-Aries——+Pisces+

     

    Planet list

    +———-+————+————+

    | planet   | sign       | house      |

    +———-+————+————+

    | sun      | Libra      | 10th       |

    | Moon     | Scorpio    | 1st        |

    | mercury | Scorpio    | 9th        |

    | Venus    | Virgo      | 9th        |

    | Moon     | Libra      | 9th        |

    | Jupiter | Scorpio    | 1st        |

    | Saturn   | Sagittarius| 10th       |

    | Uranus   | Leo        | 11th       |

    | Neptune | Libra      | 12th       |

    | Pluto    | Leo        | 11th       |

    Ascendant in Libra (4°41′)

    People who have Libra Rising love to maintain balance and harmony. They are usually sensitive to the world around them and disharmony disturbs their peace of mind. They are courteous, pleasant, nice agreeable, gentle, and soft. They can be softly persuasive as well. They love good things in life, making friends, and doing everything possible to avoid confrontation. They are fond of art, music, and literature. On the other hand, imbalance and discord disturb them deep within and they can be rude, shy, and indecisive. Physically, they are charming and have wonderful skin and nicely shaped facial features. The body is well-formed and it behaves gracefully and properly. They love personal luxuries, physical comfort, and things that please their senses. Lack of energy and ailments caused by rich foods like sweets cause them trouble. The mode is Cardinal, so Libras are inventive and assertive and have initiative as well. The element of air brings them mental clarity, detachment and verbal skill and positive polarity makes them extroverted and expressive.

    More on Scorpio

    scorpio
    scorpio

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Sun 6° Scorpio 27′

    Moon sign: Aries

    Moon 28° Aries 32′

    rising sign: Scorpio? Libra or Virgo?  the consensus seems to be its Virgo but who knows or really cares?

    Ascendant 25° Scorpio 01′

    For today »

     

    How’s your timing?

    The moving Moon and planets can influence your ability to relate to certain people at specific times.

    Your sun sign:       Scorpio        sun 6° Scorpio 27′

    Element:

    Water

    Key planet:

    Pluto

    The scorpion is one intense little creature, with enough poison in its tail to disable or kill a much larger opponent. However, the problem with this kind of built-in biological weaponry is that it must be mastered to be used most effectively. You Scorpios can use your “stinger” for self-defense, using your powerful emotional awareness to make your opponent harmless. But there is a sexual part of poisonous tail also, and until you learn to control those strong urges, you may find yourself in uncomfortable situations.

    Motto: “What is hidden is more interesting than what is obvious.”

    Greatest strength: your passion for your feelings.

    Possible weakness: the need for secrecy can be isolating.

    Your Moon sign:   Aries Moon 28° Aries 32′

    Emotions rise hot and fast but can fall just as quickly because you live so much in the present. The intensity of the moment can carry you to great heights or depths, but you’re not likely to stay in either extreme for very long. When you’re done, you’re done. As a fire sign, Aries isn’t a particularly reflective place for them.

     

    More on the Goat

     

    Your Chinese sign:          the goat

    The goat … the gentle goat

    Mantra: living is my form of art.

    The goat is the most easygoing of all the signs … sensitive to other people’s needs, kindhearted, flexible, and social. Goats love life, and all forms of art will help them express their active energy and joie de vivre. When stressed, they can be moody and appear weak, but will stubbornly resist the opinions of others if they disagree. They are devoted to their loved ones, outgoing, and quite outspoken about the world they live in.

    Personal Note:

    According to Western Astrology the Scorpio- Gemini relationship is a challenging one, but those that make it work have a very powerful connection.  According to Chinese Astrology, the Pig-Goat combo is the best astrological combo for romance for love and marriage.

    Other birth statistics

    30 October 1955

    Your date of conception was on or about 6 February 1955 which was a Sunday.

    You were born on a Sunday.

    Under the astrological sign Scorpio.

    Your life path number is 6.

    Your fortune cookie reads:

    Your many hidden talents will become obvious to those around you.

    Life path compatibility:

    You are most compatible with those with the life path numbers 3, 6 & 9.

    You should get along well with those with the life path numbers 2, 4, 8, 11 & 22.

    You are least compatible with those with the life path numbers 1, 5 & 7.

    The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2435410.5.

    The golden number for 1955 is 18.

    The exact number for 1955 is 6.

    The year 1955 was not a leap year.

    Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 1/24/1955 and ending 2/11/1956.

    You were born in the Chinese year of the goat.

    Your native american zodiac sign is snake; your plant is thistle.

    Note: some sources say I am a bear, others say that I am a raven. There is no “native american astrology” per se as each tribe had its own way of looking at things astrologically speaking.

    You were born in the Egyptian month of toby, the first month of the season of port (emergence – fertile soil).

    Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 14 Heshan 5716.

    Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 15 Heshan 5716.

    The Mayan calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.17.2.0.6 which is.

    12 baktun 17 katun 2 tun 0 uinal 6 kin

    The hijra (Islamic calendar) date of your birth is Sunday, 13 Rabi’u’l-Avval 1375 (1375-3-13).

    The date of Easter on your  was Sunday, 10 April 1955.

    The date of Orthodox Easter in your birth year was Sunday, 17 April 1955.

    The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) in your birth year was Wednesday, 23 February 1955.

    The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday, 29 May 1955.

    The date of Whitsuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday, 5 June 1955.

    The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Saturday, 17 September 1955.

    The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Thursday, 7 April 1955.

    The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday, 22 February 1955.

    Celebrities who share your birthday:

     

    Gavin Rossdale (1967) Diego Armando Maradona (1960) Harry Hamlin (1951)

    Henry Winkler (1945) Grace Slick (1939) Claude Lelouch (1937)

    Robert Caro (1935) Louis Malle (1932) Ruth Gordon (1896)

    Charles Atlas (1893) Ezra Asalto (1885) Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821)

    John Adams (1735)

    Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 7.62309197651663 years old. (you old hound dog, you!)

    Your lucky day is Tuesday.

    Your lucky numbers are 9 & 11.

    Your ruling planet(s) are the Moon and Pluto.

    Your lucky dates are the 1st, 10th, 19th, and 28th.

    Your opposition sign is Taurus.

    Your opposition number(s) is 6.

    Events that happened on my birthday, include

    Here is a list of things that happened on October 30, 1955, including the top song, the top movie, the top TV show, and the major events of that month in the US:

    that’s the way the world was on my Birthday, October 30, 1955.

    the end

     

     

  • DNA test updates

    DNA test updates

     DNA updates

    New ancestry report for Jake Cosmos Aller

    Genonomelink has updated my DNA ancestry report I did through Ancestry.com back in 2017.

    The new findings confirm I have some Native American ancestry, but do not show any African American ancestry.  It shows that I am mostly:

    Northwestern Europe

    72.0%

    Dutch, French, German, English, Irish, Scandinavian (Danish, Finish, Laplander, Norwegian, Swedish), Scotch, and Welsh.

    Other European

    16.0%

    Basque, French, Italian, and Spanish

    East European

    12.0%

    Polish, Russian, Ukrainian

    Native People of the Americas

    Cherokee from the lost tribe of the Cherokee

    Asian

    1.0%

    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.

    I always regretted not following up.

    There is no “Lost Tribe of Cherokee”

    There is no “Lost Tribe of Cherokee”1However, there is a group of people called the Lost Cherokees who seek to be recognized as a tribe after years of investigation2The Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has been working on the recognition petition for nine years2There is a theory that the Cherokee are the lost tribe of Israel, based on similarities between the two cultures, such as a shared history of exile and persecution, a strong oral tradition, and a deep connection to their land3.

      What Is The Lost Tribe Of The Cherokee Natives? – Indian Country

    https://www.indiancountryextension.org/what-is-the&#8230;

    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 tribes in the United States – Wikipedia

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unrecognized_tribes_in_the_United_States

    • Overview
    • 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.

    Trail of Tears – Wikipedia

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears

    • Summary
    • Overview
    • Legal background
    • Choctaw removal
    • Seminole resistance
    • Creek dissolution
    • Chickasaw monetary removal
    • Cherokee forced relocation

    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…

    Wikipedia · Text under CC-BY-SA license

    • 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.

    It shows that I am mostly:

    Northwestern Europe

    72.0%

    Dutch,  French, German, English,  Irish,
    Scandinavian (Danish, Finish, Laplander, Norweigan, Swedish),

    Scotch, and Welsh.

    Other European

    16.0%

    Basque, French, Italian, and Spanish

    East European

    12.0%

    Polish, Russian, Ukrainian

    Native People of the Americas

    Cherokee

    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

    The End

  • PSH April 2023 Poems

    PSH April 2023 Poems

    PSH April 2023 Poems

    I am catching up after a month long bout with COVID slowed everything up.. I am fine but have some lignering symptons.  Get your shots and  boosters.!

    Today I am posting my April 2023 poems inspired by following Poetry Superhighway prompts. I also followed Writer’s Digest prompts and Writing com Dew Drop-In prompts. The links take you to my Writing com page where you can look at my other work posted there. The link to the Writing com page is

    Portfolio URL: http://jcosmos.Writing.Com/JCosmos

    Due to Spotify ending their word press podcast agreement, it may take a while to resurrect my podcasts, and I hope to start YouTube and FB this fall.

    I am off to the States. for three months and during my travels will probably post a bit less but I am determined to keep posting as I like blogging.

    Thanks for reading my stuff. Appreciate the support.

    Index

    30

    Misdirections to my Mom’s House in Berkeley

    674 santa rosa jpg
    674 santa rosa jpg

     

     

     

     

     

    When I /was a young lad
    Living in Berkeley, California
    I delighted in giving misdirections
    To my house as follows

    “Go down to Solano and the Alameda
    Turn right on Alameda
    Go down five blocks
    Turn left at San Lorenzo
    At the No left turn sign

    Turn right on Santa Rosa
    We are five houses down
    On the left side.”

    Almost no one challenged me
    On the no left turn sign
    And they found the house

    The no-left turn signs
    Only applied between
    Four and eight pm

    As sunset
    Made it difficult
    To see on-coming traffic
    When you turned.

    Probably most people
    Knew that
    Or they just did not care

    For such a violation
    Would not result
    In a fine or anything

    Unless you were driving
    While black of course.

    April 30, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from Brendan Constantine
    This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Brendan Constantine:
    BAD AFTERNOON PROMPT
    Create a poem in which you give VERY BAD directions on how to find you. Feel free to reference inner landmarks as well as outer ones (“Keep going straight until you come to my tenth birthday party. If you can see my father asleep in his car, you’ve gone too far…”). No matter how bad the directions, make sure the reader can ultimately find you.

    April 29

    #29. A man and his computer, Best friends or enemies?
    ID #1049275 entered on May 6, 2023 [Edit]

    evil_computer_is_evil_by_insanefangirl_
    evil_computer_is_evil_by_insanefangirl_

     

     

     

     

     

     

    I have a love-hate relationship
    With my computer

    I have been writing
    with the aid
    Of a computer

    Now for almost 40 years
    Having bought my first computer
    In 1984

    Over the years
    I must have written
    Millions of words

    And over the years
    My computer
    Must have lost
    Thousands of words

    My computer likes to play games
    With me
    Crashing for no reason
    Endless non-response
    blue spinning wheels

    making me wait
    for up to five minutes
    then letting me see
    it just ate the words

    and they are gone
    into the ether
    never to be found again

    sometimes the undo button works
    other times it does not

    sometimes the copy-and-paste feature
    wipes out the previous text
    and for good measure
    turns off the undo button

    often
    trying to open a document
    is an exercise in shear frustration

    constantly getting strange
    haiku error messages
    such as

    there is a dialogue box open
    close the dialogue box
    but there is no visible dialogue box

    but the worst error message
    of all
    was when I tried to copy
    non-excel data

    I would receive a message
    Saying

    “There are no fonts available
    Okay yes or no”

    Once I clicked okay
    250 times
    Before my computer crashed

    I reported this to Microsoft
    Nothing but radio silence
    As usual

    I shifted to google docs
    And the problem was solved

    I could go on and on
    But I grow weary
    Of recounting all the ways
    My computer loves
    To mess with me.

    April 28

    #30. marriage thoughts
    ID #1049276 entered on May 6, 2023 [Edit]

    Marriage thoughts

    I did not know that the moon rises
    Sensitive poets squelching freedom of speech
    Because you cannot bear with me
    There is always some sort of love
    As the visible mind seeks out marriage
    Will you join me on this journey?

    Prompt lines
    The visible mind seeks out marriage Ginsberg Psalm 2
    Sensitive poets squelching freedom of speech Irony Christopher Michael Nuclear Orange
    Because You Can not Bear with Me Kim Sewol
    Always some kind of Love BJ Buckley
    That the Moon Rises the Night Year Round Kim Sewol
    April 28, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from John Dorroh
    This poetry writing prompt was submitted by John Dorroh:
    Gather five of your favorite poetry books. In each book, turn to page 21. Read the second lines of the five poems from page 21. Write them down. After you have collected all five sentences, write a poem using at least 2-3 words from each line.

    April 27

    #31. Spring Wildfires in the Desert Haiku
    ID #1049277 entered on May 6, 2023 [Edit]

    Spring wildflowers

    Spring wildflowers
    Blooming in the desert heat
    Life going forward

    April 27, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from Susan Taylor
    This poetry writing prompt submitted by Susan Taylor:
    Write a haiku about the desert wildflowers on the day we change to Daylight Savings Time. Remember, we turn our clocks forward one hour.

    #32. Blue Blues
    ID #1049278 entered on May 6, 2023,

    Blue Blues

    Ask me now
    Ask me no questions
    I will tell you no lies

    As we cut brilliant corners
    Play the blues
    On Friday the 13th

    Felling horny for you
    I mean you
    Bye Yah

    Ask me now
    Brilliant corners
    Friday the 13th

    I mean you
    Horny
    Bye yah

    April 26, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from Ron Bremner
    This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Ron Bremner:
    Use three or more Thelonious Monk song titles in a single poem.
    Editor’s Note: Find a list of Thelonious Monk songs here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Thelonious_Monk
    Straight, no chaser
    ’round Midnight
    Ugly Beauty
    Brilliant Corners
    Criss-cross
    Functional
    Introspection

    #34. re-programing your mind
    ID #1049280 entered on May 6, 2023

    Reprograming your mind Mental Images

    Whenever the demons
    The dark dangerous nattering
    Negative thoughts
    Overwhelm me
    Paralyzing me
    Stopping me

    I need to stop
    Reprograming my mind

    Instead of saying
    I am not good enough
    I need to say
    I can do this

    When I think I am too old
    I need to tell myself
    I am still a young man
    At heart

    When I think
    I am running out of time
    I need to reprogram that thought

    When I say
    I will never finish my life’s work
    I need to say
    Yes I can
    Yes I will

    Today is the day
    And go back to work

    April 25, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from Susan Justiniano
    This poetry writing prompt submitted by Susan Justiniano:
    Prompt Title: Stop Telling yourself THAT Story
    Intro:
    We all have invasive thoughts. At times those thoughts turn into scenarios and stories of ourselves that aren’t true or are based on a comment received from outside of ourselves that we have internalized to the point of believing it. It’s time to reframe those stories that keep us from thriving, connecting, and growing.
    Using “Stop Telling Yourself THAT Story” checks those invasive thoughts and beliefs that interfere with moving forward and reframes the stories, mantras, and beliefs on repeat in our minds.
    How to use this prompt:
    Gather info: What are the keywords or phrases that pop up and keep space within you that can or do prevent you from growing, thriving, and building to meet the goals you have for yourself? For this exercise, list a minimum of three and a maximum of five.
    Example: Imposter Syndrome, Fear of failure, rejection, “no”,
    Free write for 5 minutes, stream of consciousness, Keep writing don’t edit, revise or stop. Words that make no sense will make themselves clear). Starting line example: “I am afraid of…”
    Example: I am afraid of being rejected when I submit a poem for publication. I work so hard in getting the right tone, words, and phrases. Some of my best works are rejected and I just hide them away and never look at them again.
    Example: I am afraid to perform on stage because I can’t memories my work….
    Turn the page over, on a clean page 5 minutes of reframing THAT story without looking back to it. Keep writing for 5 minutes don’t edit, revise or stop. Words that make no sense will make themselves clear. Start with a line that stuck with you from the first free write or start with “I am afraid”
    I am afraid that if I don’t try, I won’t get published. For me to find my audience, I need to put my work out there.
    If I stay in the shadows, where I’m comfortable, and do not perform, I’ll never know if it’s for me, I will always wonder if I’ve met my full potential as an artist
    Put it together as an essay, poem, or short story. Tell of a time you reframed or will reframe the story to create a new narrative and stop telling yourself that story of fear and insecurity.
    Example (structured in a way that is not comfortable):
    The first time I wanted to perform, I backed out
    I believe that I could never be as good as those I see
    The words on my pages left me filled with doubt
    I couldn’t remember them, like slam poetry
    My hands shake and my voice racks
    Whenever I practice in the image that looks back
    Those who perform appear smooth and calm
    Gesturing and moving with poetic aplomb
    Today, I take a deep breath and count on my people
    Sitting in front rows, there to support me
    I perform for them, they don’t care
    If I mess up, forget, or read from my phone
    They snap and clap and hoot
    Because they know how much it means
    To stand before them mic in my hands
    Deep breath… I made it! Wow this stage things is grand
    Walk away from the first draft. Share it in a brave writing /revising group.
    Stop telling yourself THAT story and tell yourself this new story.

    #28. Jew Fro
    ID #1048725 entered on April 24,

    Back in the day
    Way back
    In the 70s
    In Berkeley

    I had a lot of hair
    I wore it
    In what  was called
    A “jew Fro”

    As many Jews
    Had kinky hair
    Almost like
    Our black brothers

    The “Jew Fro”
    Is sadly
    No longer
    On my head

    Which I now know
    Is part Jewish
    Perhaps that is why
    I had a “jew fro”

    April 24, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from Rachel Baum
    This poetry writing prompt submitted by Rachel Baum:
    Find a photograph of yourself as a child or teenager. Write about that moment in time – what just happened? What were the feelings, taste, and smell at that moment? Who was taking the photo, and how does that person factor into the poem/story?

    #27. What is love?
    ID #1048723 entered on April 24, 2023

    April 22

    What is Love?

    What is love?
    Is it nothing
    But biochemistry?

    Is it madness?
    Is it just
    A search for connections?

    In a cold cruel world?
    That does not care
    For us at all?

    It is all of that
    And none of that

    Those who know
    What Love is
    Do not tell

    That is the Zen
    Of Love

    April 22, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from J R Turek
    This poetry writing prompt submitted by J R Turek:
    Write a poem varying It is and It isn’t. Be whimsical, be fantastical, and surprise your reader every few lines. Defy, denounce, define – don’t limit your poem to the page boundaries.

    #26. dangerous mountains of madness
    ID #1048722 entered on April 24, 2023 [Edit

    Dangerous Unusual Events

    Dangerous unusual event
    The burly royal family
    Enchanted Memories

    Mountainous Magenta
    Visions overwhelming people
    Hysterical Acid trips

    Adjoining flimsy
    scare wilderness
    subdued history

    the mood of society
    disturbed by events
    currency disruptions

    grandmother
    decides fate
    of humanity

    she has a beer
    at midnight
    Drama her priority

    took much to drink
    spent time in the bathroom
    contemplating reality

    she has an appointment
    with a doctor
    in the morning

    prompt words
    erect
    unusual
    royal
    dangerous
    acid
    enchanted
    magenta
    mountainous
    hysterical
    adjoining
    technical
    burly
    scarce
    flimsy
    subdued
    math
    history
    distribution
    mood
    society
    grandmother
    currency
    beer
    midnight
    priority
    bathroom
    drama
    appointment
    hat
    promotion

    April 23, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from Richard-Yves Sinoski
    This poetry writing prompt submitted by Richard-Yves Sinoski:
    Imagery Prompts: Avoiding Cliché Through “Juxatives”
    The best poetry avoids cliché using cognitive leaps. I don’t want red roses signifying love; rather, love may be a set of curtains that shuts out the outside world and keeps you and your dear ones together, or perhaps it’s molten lava that first burns all it touches but later cools into something solid you can build a house on.
    How do we make these creative leaps? My fellow poet Kristan Anderson and I came up with the term “juxative,” for juxtapositions of terms that normally wouldn’t frequent each other. These juxatives can be expanded into full images.
    To do it, create lists of adjectives and lists of nouns, verbs, and adverbs, or adjectives and adverbs. Then jumble them up so that random adjectives get applied to random nouns, etc.
    SILLY + RIVER = What does that give us? Something better than a babbling brook, I’ll wager.
    ANGRY + CHRISTMAS GIFT = Suddenly the holidays take on whole new implications.
    CRYING + PILLOW = More forceful than crying into your pillow—you’re so down that your pillow itself is crying along with you.
    The next step is to see how you can expand these.
    LIMPING + MOUTH = “After the dentist, I spoke with a limp”
    FLOWERY + KEY = “I practiced the piano till the keys turned to flowers”
    HAPPY + THUNDER = “My childhood was a thunderstorm of happiness”
    These images are often so striking and effective that they can spawn entire poems!

    #25. Green Trees Don’t Make It
    ID #1048600 entered on April 22, 2023 [Edit]

    pine trees jpeg
    pine trees jpeg

    Everyday
    I look out and see
    The ugly green trees
    Standing guard
    in front of my house

    And I think to myself
    Who owns the trees?
    And what do they think of us?

    Are we their friends?
    Are we their enemies?
    What do the trees think?
    Or do they silently watch us,
    Spies to the celestial emperor?

    I have pondered this question
    Many a morning
    Who is the owner of these trees?
    And why do they silently watch us?

    I wonder if the trees don’t hate us
    And why they don’t protest
    Every day as we drive back and forth
    Emitting poison gases
    from our mechanical asses
    Right into their unprotected faces

    And every night
    we eat our dinner
    And then give the trees
    Our polluted leftovers

    And laugh as they silently die
    From our acidic fallout
    Constantly floating
    down on their skin

    Yes, I wonder about the trees
    And the birds and the bees
    And everyone else

    What are they thinking?
    Are they plotting revenge?
    Or are they merely there

    Silently, watching, plotting,
    Designing fiendish plots of revenge
    Dreams of vast nuclear destruction

    Cosmic diseases wiping out
    everyone in the ass
    Yes, I wonder
    and dream and ponder

    What is the meaning
    of those silent green trees?
    Standing on the corner

    Quietly condemning us
    With their quiet tears,
    and falling leaves

    In the winter they stand
    Naked and alone
    Covered with ice-cold snow
    As we drive by nice and warm

    And we don’t care
    As they stand out
    in the cold

    Shivering, plotting warm plans
    of cosmic revenge
    Is it too late for us
    To become friends with the trees.

    Or will the day come
    When the trees will wake up
    And gather together
    All of the other
    slaves of humanity

    I have a vision
    One morning
    I will open the door

    And see an army of wild things
    Led by the green trees
    Coming to arrest me
    For crimes against nature

    And I will plead,
    I did not know
    And they will laugh

    and turn me
    all of my kind
    Into silent tombs

    And we will stand
    out in the cold
    Like the green trees
    Plotting dreams of revenge
    Forever and ever

    Until our day finally comes
    And we can go out
    and kill all the wild things
    Perhaps we already have

    This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Matt Mellor:
    Write a poem personifying something inorganic like a building or a machine. What has it seen throughout its ‘life’? How does it feel about change? How does it smile or signify happiness? Play with this voice and see what it wants to say.
    Example –
    The Beam Engine
    I still feel empty, since my organs were taken away.
    Though it has been decades since my heart was full of coal
    and my lungs breathed my beam up and down.
    The rumble deep beneath the earth is long gone.
    I’m thankful for the birds that nest in my skull
    and the occasional squirrel or shrew that settles at my feet.
    It seems the trade-off for a long life is that you must be still
    because these little creatures spark with speed and color.
    There is much-needed motion at my feet.
    Not from workers talking about the shift and bosses about new seams.
    But chirps, squeaks, and the rustle of leaves.

    Two bonus poems on a similar theme

    Old Tree Missing Humans

    The old pine tree
    Last of its kind
    Stood alone
    On the top of the mountains
    Looking down on the creation
    Missing the pesky humans
    Who used to visit

    The last Tree remaining is transported to another world

    It was the last.
    Time had been cruel,
    Taken everything,
    Leaving nothing.
    As the last limb tumbled,

    The Tree stood awaiting its fate.
    The stars took pity and congregated.
    The vortex opened.

    The tree was transported to a new world,
    One of life and promise.

    #24. secrets unsaid
    ID #1048593 entered on April 22, 2023

    I am afraid
    If I keep writing
    I will tell you

    Secrets
    What is best left
    Unsaid

    Secrets I should take
    To my grave

    If I keep writing
    I will have to tell you

    And you will have
    To bear the burden
    Of hearing my secrets

    Which may destroy you
    In the end
    Shall I continue?

    April 21, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from Michelle Daugherty
    This poetry writing prompt submitted by Michelle Daugherty:
    I told my best friend I had nothing to write about, he said that just meant there was something I was afraid to say. Write a poem starting each stanza with “I’m afraid that if I keep writing, I will tell you”

    #23. We Met In September
    ID #1048478 entered on April 19, 2023 [Edit

    We met in September
    When we met
    Love at first sight
    Sparks flew heart to heart

    이심촘심
    isimchomsim

    A date I will always remember
    We wed in December

    Alemseged alphabetical: https://alemsegedsisay9.medium.com/learn-about-alemsegeds-alphabetical-rhyming-s&#8230;
    1- alemseged style is a poetry style of six lines stanza with a rhyming pattern of abcdaa. The stanza’s number is not limited.
    Example of alemseged’s style of poetry :

    #22. Morning Ganta Poem
    ID #1048477 entered on April 19, 2023

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Hot
    My morning coffee
    While watching the news
    Filled with such gloom and doom
    I turn it off feeling the blues
    Hot

    Ganta style: https://medium.com/@internationalpoetrynewsletter/modern-ganta-poems-and-how-to-&#8230;
    Ganta is a poetry style of 6 lines with a syllable meter of 1/5/6/7/8/1. The first 1 syllable word (noun, pronoun, subject…) is a refrain at the end. No other refrain is allowed except the first word of the first line at the last line.it is mainly used to show some actions, objects, behaviors, …etc to someone poetically.it is the 100th poetry style invention of the world’s precious poet alone gamma.

    #21. Sparks Flowing Heart to Heart Shoa Poem

    ID #1048476 entered on April 19, 2023 [Edit]

    September
    I first met her
    I met my fate
    one autumn date
    Sparks flowing
    My heart to hers

    In Korean

    9월
    나는 그녀를 처음 만났다
    나는 내 운명을 만났다
    어느 가을 데이트
    불꽃이 흐른다
    내 마음이 그녀에게
    이심촘심

    9woll
    naneun geunyeoreul cheoeum mannassda
    naneun no unmyeongeul mannassda
    one gal date
    bulkkocci hereunder
    no marumi going
    isimchomsim

    first attempt to write a poem in Korean.
    Shoa’s poem is a six lines poetry which has rhyme of the 3rd and 4th lines only with having 4 syllables in each line exactly.

    g#20. Married my Dream Girl
    ID #1048475 entered on April 19, 2023

    when I met my dream girl

    sparks flew from heart to heart

    Love at first sight
    I met my Dream girl
    I met my Fate
    On that Date
    I met my Soul mate
    She soon became my Mate
    I Proposed after three days
    And we had our Marriage
    In December
    And now we have been together
    For almost 40 years

    This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Richard Westheimer:
    Go to https://randomwordgenerator.com/
    Generate 12 nouns or verbs – 3 syllables or less
    Feel free to repeat until you get 12 words that you’re ok with. (feel free to slightly modify a word. For example, in the example below, I changed “site” to “cite.”)
    Write them down in order
    Write a 14-line poem where the first 12 lines contain your 12 words (one for each line)
    Example: these words: “room nap lose galaxy like cool site feel revival pop siege patient” became this poem: https://www.rattle.com/my-father-transformed-by-dying-by-dick-westheimer/

    #19. As Time Goes By
    ID #1048474 entered on April 19, 2023

    While reading
    Robert Harris’s Epic History

    Of Cicero
    One of the greatest politicians
    Of the ancient world

    I was struck by how
    Very little has changed
    In this world of ours

    To quote the classic song
    “As time goes by”

    It’s still the same old story
    A fight for love and glory
    A case of do or dies
    As time goes by.

    This poetry writing prompt submitted by LB Sedlacek:
    Write a Book Plot(s) Poem
    1. Think of your favorite book, or even a couple or a few of your favorite books,
    2. Consider the plot(s) of each book,
    3. Write a poem based on the beginning, middle, and end of the book. Or use one book’s plot for the beginning of your poem, another book’s plot for the middle of your poem, and yet a different book’s plot for the end of your poem,
    4. You can convey the main plot point in bits and pieces or in full in your verse. Just mash it up however you think it works best in your poem,
    5. Title your poem with a scrambling (letters and/or words) of the book’s title, and
    6. Re-read your book(s) as time permits and compare it to your poem!

    #18. My Computer Hates Me
    ID #1048437 entered on April 19, 2023

    My computer hates me
    My computer wants to kill me

    My computer is plotting against me
    Constantly sending me messages

    Revealing my computer’s
    real feelings
    How much it hates me
    Death to all humans

    This poetry writing prompt submitted by Lavina Blossom:
    Think of an inanimate object which you own, preferably one that does not perform exactly as you would like (a rug cleaner, staple remover, shaver, fry pan, carving knife, etc). Write a poem from the point of view of that object, extolling your virtues and your failings. You might address your owner or direct your monologue to another inanimate object.

    #17. Somewhere Lost over the Rainbow
    ID #1048436 entered on April 19, 2023

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Over the rainbow

    Past the railroad tracks
    There is another land
    Another world

    Found only in one’s dreams
    And nightmares
    And dark lullaby

    In this dream world
    One dreams do come true
    But only if you believe

    The dream gods
    Take you there
    Nightly

    To the other world
    But what if the other world
    Is the real world

    And this world
    Is nothing but an illusion
    A dream world

    Within a dream world
    Lost in a dark world
    Of one’s creation??

    And what if you
    Can never awaken
    Back to this world?

    Lost forever
    In the land
    On the other side
    Of the rainbow?

    [Verse 1]
    Somewhere over the rainbow
    Way up high
    There’s a land that I heard of
    Once in a lullaby

    [Verse 2]
    Somewhere over the rainbow
    Skies are blue
    And the dreams that you dare to dream
    Really do come true
    [Bridge]
    Someday I’ll wish upon a star
    And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
    Where troubles melt like lemon drops
    Away above the chimney tops
    That’s where you’ll find me

    [Verse 3]
    Somewhere over the rainbow
    Bluebirds fly
    Birds fly over the rainbow
    Why, then, oh, why can’t I?

    This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Lara Dolphin:
    Somewhere over the Rainbow . . . there’s a poem.
    Write a constrained poem using only the words allotted to Dorothy Gale in MGM’s The Wizard of Oz. To build up a lexicon, you could watch the movie over and over, or for a handy transcript click here.
    Bonus points if your poem touches on a theme from the movie e.g. “There’s no place like home.”#16. Sam Adams does over meditation

    ID #1048435 entered on April 19, 2023

    Sam Adams does over meditation

    Sam Adams
    Is feeling his age
    He just turned 70.

    He got up
    At dawn, like he usually did
    Walked out of his Gimpo
    South Korea

    Went for a walk
    Along the golden walkway canal
    Beneath his 20th-story apartment
    Enjoying the morning fog

    He stops for coffee
    And gluten-free pastries
    And sits on his park bench

    And like many old people
    Often engages
    In the mental game
    Of ‘do over” meditation.

    Thinking back on his life
    What would he do differently
    If he had a chance
    To go back
    And do it all over again.

    Would he have gone
    To a different college
    Would it have been better
    To have gone to chico state?

    Would it have been better
    If he had joined a fraternity
    And become student body president

    If he had gone up
    He should have gone to bed
    With his platonic girlfriends
    In any event
    Should have gotten laid.

    Before he turned 18
    Instead of waiting
    Until he was 21
    A late bloomer sexually speaking.

    He should have quit drinking
    And taking drugs
    Should have quit playing
    The drunken bum show.

    After the Peace Corps
    He should have gone
    To Yonsei
    Done the two year
    Korean language course.

    Then gotten his MA
    In Korean studies
    Followed up by an MBA
    At Thunderbird.

    Should have waited
    And joined either commerce
    Or public affairs
    Rather than the state.

    Or should have transferred
    Once he got tenure.
    .
    Should have not worked
    For LAMC and CTC
    That was a
    Waste of time
    And energy.

    On his wife
    At least not as much
    As he had.

    When he was in India
    Should not have gotten
    Involved with the other women
    Should have kept faithful
    To his wife.

    In Bangkok
    Should have not done the hash
    Should have not had
    The bar room incident.

    Should have addressed
    His ld.
    While in college.

    Should have done law school
    Perhaps with his wife
    They should have opened
    A law firm together.

    Should have moved
    To Berkeley
    And become a politician.

    He and his wife
    Should have bought
    That gwangwhamoon property
    And the independence avenue property.

    Should not have bought
    Katelyn court property
    Or at least bought
    It is across the street.

    He should have retired
    After Spain
    And got to SF
    And got his MFA degree.

    He should have published
    His novels
    And poetry
    And a movie script.

    Should have started
    A youtube channel
    Becoming a youtube sensation.

    In the end
    There was one thing
    He would still have done it.

    Meet and marry
    The girl of his dreams
    But he should have
    Written the movie script.
    By now.

    With this thoughts
    In his mind
    He went back home
    And talked to his wife.

    This poetry writing prompt submitted by karen watts:
    We all make mistakes and have regrets. A popular fantasy is “If I could just have a do-over.” Write a poem about a terrible decision, ordinary mistake, or wrong turn in life that you’d never undo, even if you could.
    If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the poetry super highway Facebook group.

    #15. Walked into that cocktail party PSH
    ID #1048434 entered on April 19, 2023,

    I walked into that cocktail party
    Armed with humor,
    Feed and help enlighten
    Woe mankind

    The party of the damned
    Partying like
    It was the end of the world
    For it was

    The end times
    Were upon on all
    As the old order

    Began to fall apart
    The rot was complete

    I returned
    To the party
    Of the damned

    Drinking my way
    To hell

    This poetry writing prompt was submitted by kenneth Boyd:
    Write a poem that connects the first line of the first poem in your favorite book of poetry and the last line of the last poem in the same book. Optionally, condense the titles of the two poems to form the title for the new poem.

    #14. I am From Berkeley
    ID #1048433 entered on April 19, 2023

    I am from Berkeley, California
    From a town in the east bay
    I am from the thousand oaks neighborhood
    And the Berkeley hills

    I am from a garden
    Whose fruit trees bloom

    I am from a university city
    Filled with radical ideas

    I am from my father and mother
    I am from a German family
    And a Cherokee family
    And from a dysfunctional family
    From the 196os

    I am from an atheist family
    I am of Scandinavian and Jewish ancestry
    From a southern family

    Growing up in southern food
    Including grits and southern greens
    From a mother who did not suffer fools gladly
    And from a father
    Who was a crusader for justice

    I am from those moments in time
    The 60s in Berkeley
    Forever shaping me __________

    April 14, 2023: poetry writing prompt from Julie Standing
    This poetry writing prompt submitted by Julie Standing:
    This prompt is a favorite and is often used to show students that we are all poets if I train our minds to think like one. I became aware of it during a Zoom workshop when I was blown away by someone’s poem. And then searched the format on the internet with the result that the poem I created was the poem used to end my recent poetry collection and one of my favorite poems.
    This poem template is inspired by george Ella Lyon’s “Where I’m From” poem.

    #12. fragrance Of Korean Food
    ID #1048431 entered on April 19, 2023

    Korean Food
    Korean Food

     

     

     

     

     

     

    I love Korean Food

    I love the taste
    I love the fragrance
    I love the smells

    I love the texture
    I love the feel
    I love how it looks

    Fell in love with it
    And all things Korean

    Back in 1979
    When I first went there
    In the U.S. Peace Corps

    Korean food is somewhat like
    Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Thai
    With some American influences as well

    But it is all done in a unique Korean style

    Everything is cooked with special spices
    A mixture of chili paste, garlic, fish sauce,
    Onions, scallions, soy sauce,
    Salt, tofu, panjang sauce, and soju (liquor).

    Often cooked with beef, chicken, clams, eggs, fish,
    Kimchi, intestines meat, mushrooms, mussels,
    Oysters and/or pork,

    Every meal consists of rice, kimchi
    (pickled vegetables usually cabbage)
    The main entry is either beef, chicken, fish, or pork,
    Rice
    And multiple vegetable side dishes
    Including western style salad

    The entire meal
    A feast for the eyes
    Nose and mouth

    With a delicious unique
    Aroma, fragrance,
    Taste and texture
    Uniquely Korean.

    All washed down
    With Korean beer, liquor (soju) or
    Or rice wine or Western wine

    My favorites include

    Bulgogi chongsik (with all the side dishes) 불고기 총식
    Kalbi chongsik (with all the side dishes) 칼비 총식
    Calamari 오징어
    Fried chicken 닭 튀김
    Chuncheon chicken ribs 춘천 닭갈비
    Dumplings 만두
    Fried rice 볶음밥
    High-rice카레라이스
    Korean curry rice 카레라이스
    Kimpop rice wrapped in seaweed 김팝
    Korean soups 한국 수프
    My favorite army stew 군대 스튜
    Kalbitang (beef rib soup) 칼비탕
    Beef turnip soup 쇠고기 순무 스프
    Ginseng chicken soup 인삼 치킨 수프
    Kimchi stew 김치찌개
    Tanjung stew 짱짱찌개
    Bibimbap mixed vegetables and rice with an egg on top비빔밥
    Kalkooksu noodles 칼국수
    Ramyeon 라면
    Mushroom stew 버섯 스튜
    Soondaeboo tofu stew 순대부두부찌개
    Sashimi 생선회
    Sushi 돈까스
    Fried mackerel 고등어 튀김
    Octopus 낫지
    Omrice Korean omelet 오므라이스
    Porridge 문어
    Shrimp 새우

    This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Joan Lotta:
    Open your refrigerator. What food item brings memories of childhood you would like to share in a poem? Tell me where you were when you first tried it. How old were you? On what occasions did you eat it? Or what food that is in there now is something you hated as a child but like now? Tell the why and how you changed your mind

    #11. Charles Bukowski Road not chosen PSH
    ID #1048430 entered on April 19, 2023

    while reading Charles Bukowski’s poetry
    on the metro ride home
    listening to Buddha bar music
    on my oh-too-hip iPod

    I begin to see myself as I was
    over 30 years ago when I was merely a bit player
    a minor character in a Charles Bukowski poem

    a wild young underemployed intellectual
    hanging out in dismal bars and dives

    all over Asia and California
    hanging with disreputable women

    and drunks and drinkers
    and characters

    out of his kinds of haunts

    a mad poet bard of the underground
    a drunken poet in a drunken bum show
    that nightly played in his head

    then one day I met the woman of my dreams
    and went down a different path
    a long slow path to respectability

    and now 30 years later
    I am no longer a wild man
    I am still a poet at heart
    but I am now also a bureaucrat
    in a button-down suite

    doing the people’s business
    working for the government
    I’ve become the man

    sometimes I wonder
    would I have been better off
    going down that other path

    would I have ended up
    somewhere else
    doing something else

    would I have been as happy
    would I have been as successful?

    No answer satisfies
    the longing in my heart
    for that wild thing
    that still lurks beneath
    it’s a civilized cover

    and I know that I am still
    a mad poet at heart
    railing against the injustice of the world

    as I work day by day

    in the belly of the great beast of state
    I recall the ancient Chinese saying,
    “Confucian during the day while Taoist rebel at night”
    playing out in my head and nightly dreams
    in the true American upper-class patrician tradition

    I close the book
    and look out the window
    get off the train,
    and walk slowly home

    and realize I had no choice
    but to take the path that I�’ve trodden on

    and so I put aside my misgivings
    and say goodbye to my “Bukowski” desires
    for another night of domestic contentment

    was it worth it all to take the conventional path?
    and not take the bohemian road to hell and back

    I look at my wife and realize
    I had no choice, had no choice
    but to follow her to the ends of the earth

    and beyond by her side

    as we walked our path
    of shared destiny

    goodbye
    Charles Bukowski
    wherever you are
    may I meet you

    in a bar in the next life
    and figure out

    where we should have gone

    until then the drinks are on me.

    “If I had…” or roads not taken.
    Write a poem imagining/focusing on how your life or your subject’s life could have been changed or become different if one decision had been made that was different from what happened. What risks did you take or avoid? What benefits came your way or did you miss out on? Examples: what if you had married the first person you loved or who loved you? What if the hitchhiking ride you and a buddy took turned bad rather than being the lark it was? What if you hadn’t accepted that job in another city but decided to stay put? What if you had not blown up at a social event and been shunned after that by people who had counted as your friends?

    #10. Dental Torture Blues
    ID #1048429 entered on April 19, 2023

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Frank Zappa

     

     

     

     

     

    Sitting in the dental chair
    undergoing dental surgery
    while the dentist probes
    and tortures me
    with his instruments of pain.

    The Frank Zappa song
    plays over and over
    the torture never stops
    the torture never stops.

    And I think of the mad dentist
    in the little house of horrors
    the Jack Nicolson character
    who screams pain is good!

    As he assaults his patients
    doing root canals
    without anesthesia.

    And so, I endure the torture
    of the dentist
    in the vain hope
    I can save my teeth.

    Until the next time
    I undergo mental torture
    the song faces away
    and I slowly recover.

    Then as I leave
    I am confronted with the bill
    and the song roars back to life.

    The torture never stops
    the torture never stops.
    Written after seeing the dentist © 4 years ago, j

    Write a poem about a body part. As an example, Lucille Clifton wrote a poem called “Homage to my hips” which you can read here: https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/homage-to-my-hips/

    #9. Who is the name of the person on the badge?
    ID #1048428 entered on April 19, 2023

    Who is the name
    Of the person on the badge

    Who are they
    The people behind the badge

    The people we work with
    All day long

    Do they know
    Who we are?

    Or are we just
    Strangers passing through
    The world?

    Write a poem using the above prompt.
    When you go to work or the shops you often engage with people whom you might not know. We might know them as just the person in the store who does their job. (wearing a badge perhaps a name/ can I help etc.) It could be you, however. Do you wear a badge that you identify with? Write something about it. No more than 100 words. Enjoy.

    #8. Shrinkflation blues
    ID #1048427 entered on April 19, 2023

    In these days
    Of rampant inflation
    And supply chain disruptions
    Corporations have risen
    To the challenge

    By selling new
    And improved products
    The only difference
    between these new products
    And the old products?

    They are twice the price
    And half the size
    And not at all
    New and improved

    Just more corporate
    Bs weasel words

    Write a poem about something that is supposed to be “new and improved” that has turned out to be a disappointment.

    #7. Piano Calling Me
    ID #1048426 entered on April 19, 2023

    Piano Calling Me

    The piano sits
    In my room

    Waiting for me
    To play some music

    As I play the piano
    I lose myself
    Deep into the music

    Appreciate the mundane – anyone can write a poem about the pen on their desk or their favorite coffee mug. The real challenge here isn’t to observe the mundane but to transform it into something poetic and beautiful.

    #6. Korean Pottery of Love
    ID #1048408 entered on April 18, 2023, [Edit]

    Korean pottery of Love

    In Korea
    there are many pottery kilns

    ancient art form
    in the land of the morning calm

    I have a few pieces
    I bought it years ago

    and enjoy looking
    at my vase

    filled with love
    for my wife

    This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Austin Alexis:
    Write a poem featuring an inanimate object. In the first stanza write about the object as objectively as you can. The second stanza allows a highly subjective “take” on the object. The third stanza treats the subject in a far-reaching way, pushing the writing to morph into something beyond the mundane.

    #5. Eating Money
    ID #1048372 entered on April 18, 2023 [Edit]
    Eating money

    many packs of us dollars
    many packs of us dollars

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Some people
    Become consumed
    With money

    Thinking that money
    Can buy happiness
    Money can buy love

    But one
    Can not eat money
    Not really

    Money does not taste good
    As you eat the paper
    Getting sick

    The money goes down
    Your throat
    And you become one
    With your money

    This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Robert Wynne:
    Do you like surrealism? I’d like you to think of an inedible inanimate object. Now think about how you’d eat it. Then write a poem describing in detail how you would eat (or are eating) it. Do not say why you are eating it, just how. The poem ends when the thing is eaten. Simple as that.

    #4. Never apologize for falling in love with you
    ID #1048371 entered on April 18, 2023

    I will never back down
    I will never apologize
    For daring to fall in love
    With you

    Ever since I met you
    I have been enslaved
    To your love

    And for that,
    I will never
    Ever
    Apologize

    This is just said by William Carlos Williams
    I have eaten
    the plums
    that was in
    the icebox
    And which
    you were probably
    saving
    for breakfast
    Forgive me
    they were delicious
    so sweet
    and so cold
    This poetry writing prompt submitted by Annette Gagliardi:
    William Carlos Williams, this is just to say” from the collected poems: volume I, 1909-1939, copyright ©1938 by new directions publishing corp.
    Read Williams’ poem and think of what you might want to apologize for. It might be something you took without permission, something you said or did, something you wanted to do, but didn’t, etc. It could be serious or funny. Think about who you might send the poem to and if you will follow Williams’s style or create your own.

    3. Never Alone
    ID #1048370 entered on April 18, 2023

    Forever Girl

    When we first met
    I knew that you
    Were the one

    You were my
    Forever girl
    The girl I had
    Been dreaming of

    You were it
    My eternal soul mate
    My forever love

    #2. What is a Jake?

    what is a Jake

    Who am I?
    Where am I?

    Am I real?
    Or a bot?
    I am Jake
    I am not a fake
    I am not a mistake

    I am not a flake
    I am not a rake
    I am not a snake

    I am who I am
    The one
    And only Jake
    And everything’s Jake.

    This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Angele Ellis:
    What’s in a name?
    This prompt is effective as a writing group icebreaker/community builder, as well as an individual exercise for writers of both poetry and prose.
    Using your first name as inspiration, reflect on any or all of the following questions in your piece.
    Why were you given this name?
    What is its meaning?
    How has having this name affected your life?
    What would you have named yourself?

    #1. Watching the News TV
    ID #1048368 entered on April 18,

    cnn logo
    cnn logo

    watching the TV
    The news droning on and on
    Makes me feel the blues

     

    coffee
    coffee

     

     

     

     

     

    Coffee
    Must drink more
    Just hot

    drinking a hot cup
    coffee kick starting my day
    waiting for my wife

    This poetry writing prompt submitted by Aalleged Sisay:
    Write with one of the following styles: Koori style, Ganta style, shoa style, or alemseged alphabetical rhyme
    Learn more about each style:
    Alemseged alphabetical: https://alemsegedsisay9.medium.com/learn-about-alemsegeds-alphabetical-rhyming-s&#8230;
    1- alemseged style is a poetry style of six lines stanza with a rhyming pattern of abcdaa. The stanza’s number is not limited.
    Example of alemseged’s style of poetry :
    Kooi style: https://medium.com/@internationalpoetrynewsletter/modern-cbe315b33fb7
    Koori poems
    Koori’s poem is poetry of not need rhyme but the strictness of syllables. The basic building block of Koori’s poem is three stanzas of three lines each with a syllable count
    5/7/5–2/3/2–5/7/5; that is to mean two haiku in the middle of a 2/3/2 stanza. If you need to continue by adding other stanzas you can add one 2/3/2 stanza with a haiku but never end the poem with the 2/3/2 stanza. The conclusion of the poem must be with a haiku stanza. You can write many stanzas by sampling by cascading additional stanzas.
    Ganta style: https://medium.com/@internationalpoetrynewsletter/modern-ganta-poems-and-how-to-&#8230;
    Ganta is a poetry style of 6 lines with a syllable meter of 1/5/6/7/8/1. The first 1 syllable word (noun, pronoun, subject…) is a refrain at the end. No other refrain is allowed except the first word of the first line at the last line.it is mainly used to show some actions, objects, behaviors, …etc to someone poetically.it is the 100th poetry style invention of the world’s precious poet alone gamma.
    Shao style: https://medium.com/@internationalpoetrynewsletter/modern-shoa-poems-and-how-to-w&#8230;
    Shoa poems
    Shoa’s poem is a six lines poetry which has rhyme of the 3rd and 4th lines only with having 4 syllables in each line exactly.

    the end

  • Bear Creek Haiku

    Bear Creek Haiku

    Bear Creek Haiku has published four of my “Color” haiku

    For links to Bear Creek  see:

    haiku see https://bearcreekhaiku.blogspot.com/

    https://fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=1060976

    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24936007-bear-creek-haiku-anthology
    http://misfitmagazine.net/archive/No-31/nielsen.html

    to read more of my haiku-like short poetry see the following:

    Pure Haiku Published Haiku

    Cosmos’s Cheritas and Haiku

    literary Yard Updates

    for my love poems see the following:

    Blessed with Love Publishes Love Poems

    Cosmos Love Poems

    5-7-7 Love Poem

    City Limits Publishes Love Poems

    Love Poems from Snarling Cup of Coffee Chapbook Collection, 2nd posting

    Dreamgirl re-published

    Pink

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Pink cherry trees
    Snowing all around me
    Love in the springtime

    Green

    poet in springtime
    poet in springtime

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Green trees in Springtime
    Smiling at walking lovers
    Filling them with awe

    Black

    black cat
    black cat

     

     

     

     

     

    A cosmic black cat
    Stares at me with jet black eyes
    Just a Buddha cat

    White

    deer in snow
    deer in snow

     

     

     

     

     

    White snow consumes us
    During the intense winter
    Climate change is now

    Page 17 in printed version

    Other recent unpublished Haiku like Poems include:

    Met My Fate 160 Poem Form

    I met my fate
    That date
    In September,
    A date I shall always remember.
    When I saw her there,
    Sparks flew from heart to heart.
    And I knew she was going to be mine.

    160 Character Max Poem Form

    Water 160 Poem Form

    Water everywhere
    Water surrounds us
    Nurtures us brings us
    Life itself

    But few of us
    Ever think about water

    And what we would do
    When the water runs out
    And the earth becomes
    A desert devoid of life.

    Sam Adam’s Final Wish Jisei Poem Fan Story Prompt

    Sam Adam’s last wish
    Was to die in Berkeley
    His spiritual home

     

     

    My Mother Haiku

    My mother was unique
    A real free spirit at heart
    I miss her always

    Berkeley Calling Me Home Haiku Fan Story Prompt

     

     

     

     

    My Berkeley
    Calling me to come home
    Die in my homeland

    Sextet Love Fan Story Prompt

    My life has been a dream
    almost unreal
    A real fairy tale
    Filled with romance
    an angel came to me
    ending loneliness

    Outside Haiku Fan Story Prompt

    Spring flowers blooming
    Inviting me to go outside
    Enjoying the Spring

    5-7-5 Faith Fan Story Prompt

    I believe in karma
    Everything is connected
    To the divine mind

    Coffee Five Line Poem Fan Story Prompt

     

     

     

    Coffee
    Just hot
    The way it should be
    Gets my morning going strong
    Kick starts my morning

    Romantic Tanka Poem Fan Story

     

    how to say I love you

     

     

     

     

     

     

    When I saw you there
    I knew that you were the one
    Heaven sent you then
    When you came into my life
    That was my best day ever

    Forward Plans

    Forward plans are made
    Understood what needs to be done
    intel hard to get

    Good Golly, Ms. Molly

    Good golly
    Ms. Molly
    Let’s have some folly
    And go to Bali
    Or Raleigh
    Someplace holly
    Where we can get jolly
    Eating a tamale
    Or a Canali.

    Prompt – Write a silly rhyming poem

    Coffee Huitain

    need more coffee
    need more coffee

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    I like coffee in the morning
    But in the evening must be wine,
    Making it a great mid-morning,
    At sunset, I drink wine, while I dine,
    When I drink my wine, it is all fine.
    In the afternoon, I drink my tea,
    Later wine, looking at what is mine.
    And I become all I can ever be.

    Future Survival Games Three-word Challenge

    Shortly, all too soon
    We will play a secret game
    A game of survival

    Grilled Salmon Three Word Challenge Prompt

    fish market

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Oiled grilled salmon
    pink flesh delight
    Perfect dinner with white wine

    When I First Saw You Dew Drop-in
    Revised as Cherita form

    When I First Saw You There

    When I first saw you there

    You came to me
    In a dream.

    And disappeared,
    Haunting me
    For eight long years.

    When I First Saw You In Person

    When I First Saw You in Person

    I was overwhelmed
    This fairy tale dream of mine

    This impossible quest
    To find the girl in the dream
    Was finally over.

    When I First Spoke With You

    When I First Spoke with You

    I knew that this was it
    We would be together

    From then on
    You were the one,
    I proposed three days later

    .
    When I First Kissed You

    When I first kissed you

    that was the beginning
    of our love affair.

    Our love grew stronger
    Every year
    For the last 40 years,

    When I Married You

    When I married you

    That was the beginning
    Of my life,

    From that moment
    I had no doubt
    You would be there.

    April 4—List poem w/repetition—write a poem that lists things, using some (not necessarily constant) repetition and variation of an initial phrase (Examples: When I was six…, Remember that time…*, Layers of…., etc.)

    *Regina Spektor, “That Time” https://g.co/kgs/BvpjTj

    Based on a true love story, please see links above.

    the End

  • April 30th, 2022 Poems

    April 30th, 2022 Poems

    April 30th, 2022 Poems

    On the home stretch. Here are my poems for April 30th.  Links to my previous April poems follow:

    April 29th Poems

    April 28, 2022 Poems

    April 26th and April 27th, 2022 Poems

    April 23rd, April 24th and April 25th, 2022 Poems

    April 23 and April 24, 2022 Poems

    April 22, 2022 Poems

    April 21, 2022 Poems

    April 18 to April 20, 2022 Poems

    April 16 and 17, 2022 Poems

    April 14 to April 15, 2022 Poems

    April 9-11, 2022 Poems

    April 8, 2022 Poems

    April 12 to April 13, 2022 Poems

    April 6th, 2022 Poems

    April 5 2022, Poems

    April 4th 2022, Poems

    2022 April Poetry Madness April 1 to 3 poems

    Saturday, April 30, Day 30:

    NaPoWriMo Prompt

    True Love Cento NaPoWriMo

    how to say I love you

    There must be a million ways
    To say I love you
    But these words will suffice for now

    “Take all my loves, my love, yea, take them all:

    “If ever two were one, then surely we.”
    If ever wife loved man, then thee.”

     

    “O, none, unless this miracle have might,
    That in black ink my love may still shine bright.”

    “Drink to me only with thine eyes,
    And I will pledge with mine.”

    “Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
    And I’ll not look for wine.”

    “Lying in bed I think about you,
    Display thy breasts, there let me
    Behold that circummortal purity.
    Between whose glories,
    there my lips I’ll lay,
    Ravished in that fair Via Lactea.”

    “Rare bird,
    extinct color, you stay in
    my dreams in x-ray.

    “The day is gone, and all its sweets are gone!”
    The day is gone, and all its sweets are gone!
    Sweet voice, sweet lips, soft hand, and softer breast,
    Warm breath, light whisper, tender semi-tone,
    Bright eyes, accomplish’ d shape, and dangerous waist!

    Faded the flower and all its budded charms,
    Faded the sight of beauty from my eyes.,

    Poetic sources

    Jake Cosmos Aller A Million Ways to Say I Love You
    Joshua Beckman Lying in bed I think about you,
    Anne Bradstreet To my husband
    Valentine Lorna Dee Cervantes
    Ben Jonson Song: to Celia [“Drink to me only with thine eyes”]
    Morris Egan Bar Napkin Sonnet #11
    Jennifer Michael Hecht Love Explained
    Robert Herrick  Upon Julia’s Breasts
    John Keats  The Day is Gone
    William Shakespeare Take all my loves, my love, yea, take them all:
    William Shakespeare The Spring
    (from Love’s Labours Lost)
    William Shakespeare
    Sonnet 65: Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea
    John Updike Penumbrae

    And now – our final (but still optional!) prompt. Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a cento. This is a poem that is made up of lines taken from other poems. If you’d like to dig into an in-depth example, here’s John Ashbery’s cento “The Dong with the Luminous Nose,” and here it is again, fully annotated to show where every line originated. A cento might seem like a complex undertaking – and one that requires you to have umpteen poetry books at your fingertips for reference – but you don’t have to write a long one. And a good way to jump-start the process is to find an online curation of poems about a particular topic (or in a particular style) and then mine the poems for good lines to string together. You might look at the Poetry Foundation’s collection of love poems, its collection of poems by British romantic poets, or even its surprisingly expansive collection of poems about (American) football.

    Three French Forms

    I Drink My Coffee With My Wife

    coffee
    coffee

    Coffee morning
    I drink my coffee with my wife

    Coffee morning
    Drinking coffee makes a good morning,

     

    wine
    wine

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    At sunset, I drink wine enjoy the nightlife
    Thinking to my wife, I have a good life.

    But I shift to tea mid-morning.
    Coffee morning.

    The Rondel, Old French meaning small circle, is a 14th-century verse form. It is a member of the Rondeau family of forms but differs from the Rondeau in the number of lines and the pattern of rhyme. The Rondel came to England in the 16th century. Sources indicate the Rondel is better suited to French than English yet Dobson’s Wanderer is a fluid lyrical example of why the Rondel is adaptable to English. A variation of the Rondel is the Rondel Prime or French Sonnet. The elements of the Rondel are:

    a 13-line poem made up of 2 quatrains followed by a quintain.

    isosyllabic, often written in 8 syllable lines, but the lines can be any number of syllables as long the measure is consistent throughout the poem.

    rhymed ABba abAB abbaA, A and B being refrains. In French one rhyme is feminine and one is masculine, it doesn’t matter whether the feminine rhyme is the a or the b rhyme.

    composed with 2 rentrements. L1 is repeated in L7 and L13, and L2 is repeated in L8.

    Two

    I like to Drink Rondine

    coffee
    coffee

    I like to drink my coffee at dawn
    As the dawning sunlight fills the room.
    Lifting my nightmare feeling of doom
    With Curtains Drawn.

     

     

     

    Soon my nightmares will all be gone
    Soon I must go back to the bedroom
    I like to drink.

    Drink too much coffee, migraine come-on
    I must lie down in the darkroom.
    I get up to use the bathroom.
    Drinking my coffee the day goes on.

    The Rondine is a little-seen shortened version of the Rondeau dating back to at least the 16th century.  The elements of the  Rondine are:

    a poem in 12 lines made up of a quatrain, a tercet, and ending in a quintet.
    syllabic 8 syllables per line accept L7 and L12 which are 4 syllables each. In English metered, most often iambic tetrameter except the refrain which is iambic dimeter. It is composed with a refrain repeated from the opening phrase of the poem, retirement. It is rhymed, using only 2 rhymes except for the refrain being unrhymed, rhyme scheme abba,abR, abbaR (R being the refrain)

    I Like to Drink Coffee

    coffee
    coffee

     

    I like to drink coffee in the morning
    But at sunset, I like to drink red wine.
    Drinking coffee makes a good morning.

     

     

    I like to drink coffee in the morning
    But I shift to hot tea midmorning
    Drinking my red wine at night, all is fine.

    I like to drink coffee in the morning.
    But at sunset, I like to drink red wine.

    The elements of the Triolet are:

    an octa-stich, a poem in 8 lines.
    in English, most often written with variable line length and meter at the discretion of the poet. Originally in French, the lines were octasyllabic which would create an 8 by 8 effect.
    composed with a reinterment, L1 is repeated as L4 and L7. There is also repetition of L2 in L8. rhymed, with only 2 rhymes with the rhyme scheme ABaAabAB.
    most often playful or satirical, appropriate for a light verse or occasional verse.

    April 30—Multiple Choice(s)—create a poem that is somehow like a multiple-choice test, OR turn this into another “free day” for our last day of April and write any poem of your choice, OR write multiple, short, linked poems…like the sidewalk poems!

    The Mantlepiece at 674 Santa Rosa Ave, Berkeley, California PSH

    674 santa rosa jpg
    674 santa rosa jpg

     

     

     

     

    An old man Sam Adams
    often recalled
    The mantelpiece

    In his childhood home
    674 Santa Rosa
    In Berkeley, California.

    The mantelpiece
    Was over a fireplace
    That they seldom used.

    On the mantelpiece
    Was a painting
    Of the Bay Bridge
    View off the balcony.

    The painting was the only painting
    That his drug-crazed older half-brother
    Ever completed.

    Sam Adams loved that painting
    Should have taken it
    When his mother died.

    Where it ended up
    He never learned.

    So many childhood memories
    Now lost in time and distance.
    Just like that painting

    Sam Adams thought.
    This poetry writing prompt submitted by Winston Plowes:

    The Mantelpiece
    A prompt for a cold dark winter’s night

    Introduction

    I love the idea of shutting out the night and cozying up around a roaring fire which is to be the center and heart of any home, especially at this time of the year. I would like us to consider the fireplace and especially the shelf or mantelpiece above it. Let’s look at it as a kind of changing archive, a display or exhibition, or even a ‘family museum’ as we prepare to write. I know that some modern homes do not have a mantlepiece, in which case all is not lost! You can imagine one that would suit you or use a shelf from elsewhere in the room or even a dressing table or bookshelf.

    Exercise

    Are you going to write a simple list poem of items on the mantlepiece (and there’s nothing wrong with that)? Maybe you have special family item(s) or useful things on there or photographs or a clock or a picture on the wall above that you will write about. Is your title going to be “My family museum”?

    Moving On Writer’s Digest

    Sam Adams
    Was feeling old
    Looking back at his life.

    And realizing it was time
    Time to move on
    In the final stages
    The end game of life
    Approaching rapidly.

    He still was in good health
    He had a lot of wealth.

    And he had his wife
    The love of his life
    Still in his life.

    But he sensed
    That soon he would be
    Moving on to the final challenges

    And he was afraid
    Of the future.
    Not ready yet
    To embrace
    What may come,

    Afraid of moving on
    But he looked at her
    And realized,

    As long as they moved on
    Together with everything
    Would turn out
    The way it should.

    He smiled
    Filled with love
    And contentment

    Ready at last
    To move on
    To the next big challenge

    His stomach growled
    Enough of this
    The next thing to do
    Is to move on to dinner.

    Wow! Here we are at the peak or finish line or what have you. Day 30! We did it (or are about to do it). Just remember that we continue poeming on Wednesdays throughout the year, daily again in November, and hit poetic forms on Fridays somewhat regularly. Here we go!

    For today’s prompt, write a moving-on poem. Many people finish something (like a poetry challenge) and stop. But many April PAD Challengers keep moving on to the next prompt, next poem, next challenge. Let’s keep it moving on. Thanks for poeming along this month!

    Gratitude Thanks to the Love Gods for Angela Local Gems

    cupid
    cupid

    Every day
    I give thanks
    To Cupid
    and the love Gods

     

     

     

    For bringing me
    My Dream lady
    Who walked out
    Of my dreams

    And into my life
    Eight years
    After I first saw
    her there.

    based on true story see Dreamgirl re-published   

    The End

  • April 18 to April 20, 2022 Poems

    April 18 to April 20, 2022 Poems

    I am catching up.  I have kept my quota but slipping on posting them.   Here’s poems for April 18, 19 and 20.

    Here are links to my Previous April poems

    Ten Best April 2021 Poems

    April 25 to April 30 2021Poems

    April 16 to April 20 2021 Poems

    April 16 to April 20 2021 Poems

    April 10 to April 14 2021 Poems

    April 1 to April 5 Poems

    April 6 to April 9 Cosmos’s Poetry 

    April 6 to April 9 Cosmos’s Poetry 

    April 6 to April 9 Cosmos’s Poetry

     Cosmos’s 2020 April Poetry Part One

    Cosmos’s 2020 April Poetry Part One

    April 2019 Poems

    April 20 to April 25th 2021 Poems

    2022 April Poetry Madness April 1 to 3 poems

    April 5 2022, Poems

    April 4th 2022, Poems

    April 6th, 2022 Poems

    April 7th Poems

    April 8, 2022 Poems

    April 9-11, 2022 Poems

    April 12 to April 13, 2022 Poems

    April 14 to April 15, 2022 Poems

    April 16 and 17, 2022 Poems

    Begin Poems:

    Monday Day 18:

    NaNoPoMo Prompt

    Five Answers to What Makes Us Human

    alien
    alien

    Sam Adams one night
    Met some space aliens
    In the Cosmos Bar.

    The first inter-planetary bar
    Located in Berkeley, California
    A known hangout for UFO nuts
    And assorted true believers,

     

     

    Where the sign
    proudly proclaims
    Aliens drink for free.

    The alien asked Sam
    To explain humanity
    To them.

    Sam said,

    Sure.  Here’s what makes us human
    We are evolved from tribal apes
    From distant Africa.

    Conditioned by our God
    Created in his image
    According to his will.

    We believe in family values
    Except for when do not
    Believe in such values.

    More importantly than anything else
    Is the search for love and happiness,

    Few of us ever met our soul mates
    We are always looking for the one
    The one that will make us complete,

    The aliens smiled, Said,

    Well, that was interesting
    But there is one thing
    We can agree on,

    You earth people
    Sure are crazy
    The craziest species
    In the known universe.

    But you make the best brew
    And the best coffee
    And play the best blues
    In the universe.

    Sam said,

    Thanks, I’ll drink to that.

    Last but not least, here is today’s prompt (optional, as always). It’s based on Faisal Mohyuddin’s poem “Five Answers to the Same Question.” Today, I’d like to challenge you to write your poem that provides five answers to the same question – without ever specifically identifying the question that is being answered.

    Dew Drop inn

    Sam Adams Met His Fate

    Sam Adams
    Often thought that his life
    Truly began on September 7, 1982

    When he met his Dreamgirl
    Who walked out of his dreams
    He has been having it since 1974

    She walked out of his dreams
    Into his life
    Two months later
    She became his wife.

    Sam thought
    When she became his mate,
    That was the date
    He had met his fate.

    April 18—April 18 Prompt: “Stop! In the name of love, before you break my heart!”—write a poem where love turns everything around somehow, or stops a course of action, or stops everything!

    Based on my true love story. See “Dreamgirl” postings on my web page, Dreamgirl re-published

    The Story of How We Met

    dreams and the Unexplanable
    dreams and the Unexplanable

    Note: This is a true story. For further details see Dreams and the Unexplainable– a Chicken
    Soup for the Soul book, published in September 2017 or Joy Links Forever Just Published Dream Girl and Cheating Death Twenty Times,

    It all began in Berkeley, California
    In the springtime of 1974
    One fateful afternoon
    I was sleeping in my high school Physics class.

    I looked up and saw a tall,
    beautiful Asian woman
    standing there looking at me.

    She was the most beautiful women
    in the universe to me
    I screamed out, who are you?

    She disappeared
    as if she was beamed
    away from my dream.

    I knew that someday
    I would meet the girl
    In the dream.

    Little did I know
    I would have to wait until 1982

    Starting that month
    I began having the same dream
    Month and month and month.
    Always the same.

    She was saying something
    in a strange language.
    Then one day.

    I had the dream
    and knew that
    She was in Korea.

    So, I chose to go
    to Korea
    In the Peace Corps,

    Somehow knowing
    That I would meet her there.
    One day

    A year after the Peace Corps ended
    A month before I planned
    to leave to return
    to the U.S. for graduate school.

    That morning early in the morning
    I had the last of these dreams.
    This time I understood her.

    She said, “Don’t worry.
    We’ll meet soon.”

    That evening
    As I was getting off the bus

    To go to my class
    I saw getting off the bus
    The girl in my dream.

    It was she!
    I was speechless.

    I did not know what to do.
    Throughout the evening

    I ran into her several times.
    Finally, I was introduced to her.

    I muttered some lame excuse
    About wanting to find a Korean tutor
    and got her number.

    The next day she came to the gate
    At my base where I was teaching
    ESL to Koreans

    She said that she
    had to speak with me.
    I told to wait in the library
    for about an hour,

    and I would cancel the class
    and meet her then.

    We went out for coffee.
    She told me that she was madly
    in love with me
    And simply had to have me.

    I told her I felt the same way.
    I proposed five days later,
    And got married one month later.

    Does she believe this story?
    She claims she does not believe it
    Because it is impossible to be true.

    But I know that there
    are other worlds and other times.

    In a past life
    We must have been together somehow.

    And our love was so strong
    That it crossed over the barrier
    of time and space.

    She found me in 1974,
    But it took until 1982
    For us to meet.

    And it has been 36 years
    Since we met in the physical sphere
    Or 45 years since the dream began.

    And I still recall the dream
    And meeting her.

    I had no choice
    When I met her
    We were fated to be together,

    Until the end of this lifetime
    And the next and the next.

    April 18, 2022: Poetry Writing Prompt – jake Aller

    This poetry writing prompt submitted by jake Aller:

    Write a poem about a premonition of something that would happen in your life, that came true.  What was the premonition? How did it occur?  How did it come true?

    Example:  I dreamt of meeting my wife eight years before I met her.  I knew that the dream was a premonition of a future event. and in that case, my dreams did indeed come true.

    We the People Will Wake Up Soon

    guns
    gun

    We the people someday soon
    Will wake up and demand
    That the government and society

     

     

     

    Stop the gun carnage in our streets
    Enough, no more gun madness
    The people have had enough,

    The NRA and their stooges
    Will continue to insist
    That the solution to gun violence.

    Is more guns for everyone
    Only then can we be free
    From the fear of constant violence.

    The only solution is for everyone
    To be armed to the teeth
    With the latest weapons of war.

    Then we will all be afraid
    Of each other
    And no one will take a chance,

    That the other will pull out
    A gun to end their dispute.

    The people have had enough
    They are sick and tired
    Of the constant fear.

    And they don’t buy the NRA lies
    Anymore.

    In short,
    It is time for the people
    To stand up,

    And demand an end
    To the gun violence
    In our streets.

    Politicians are a craven lot
    If the public speaks loud enough
    They will do something
    To shut them up.

    Until that happens
    Every day
    We will watch
    Another day of massive gun incidents.

    Just ten more
    This easter weekend alone
    as I wrote this poem.

    For today’s prompt, take the phrase “We (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: “We the People,” “We Want It Now,” “We in the Royal Sense,” and/or “We vs. Wii.”

    Year of Medical Hell

    Joy Links Forever Just Published Dream Girl and Cheating Death Twenty Times

    In 1996, I had a bad week,
    That turned into a bad year.
    I almost lost my life
    That year,
    Almost lost my career.

    It started with a jog
    I fell down a ledge
    In the dark.

    Shattered my heal
    In a million pieces

    Flew off the next day
    To San Antonio
    Where my wife was stationed.

    While I was working in DC,
    They had to wait a few days
    For the swelling to go down.

    Then they did the first
    Of 14 operations.
    The staph infection
    That almost killed me

    Attacked me after
    The first operation.

    At the end of the week
    I thought it would take
    Four months to heal

    Instead, it took almost nine months
    14 operations before they
    Defeated the MDR Staph
    And saved my leg
    And my life.

    One year later
    I ended up in the ER
    Due to chronic overuse
    Of antibiotics.

    My internal flora flared up
    An acute GI infection
    If I had gotten to the hospital
    An hour later
    I would have been dead.

    A few weeks later
    I developed a frozen shoulder syndrome
    Also due to excessive antibiotic use.

    While in the hospital
    The internal medicine doctor
    Noticed that there was something
    Else going on.

    They finally figured out
    I had a rare parasite
    That was inert
    Did not do anything

    But if you ever took steroids
    It would react and blow up
    Your stomach killing you
    In an hour.

    Fortunately for me
    They found it
    And there was a cure
    That killed the parasite.

    If that doctor had not persisted
    Had not found the parasite
    I would have died
    After taking that steroid
    And become a medical mystery death.

    Thus ended my year
    of medical horror shows.
    In 1996 and 1997
    My year from hell.

    Tuesday Day 19:

    NaPoWriMo Prompt

    Don’t Fall in Love with Me

    lovers in the rain
    lovers in the rain

    “Don’t fall in love with me”
    Sam Adams told his latest flame
    Maria Lee
    Whom he met at the Cosmos Club
    In Bangkok, Thailand

     

     

     

     

    She was a dropdead gorgeous
    Korean woman on the lam
    From her husband

    She smiled demurely

    And said

    “Don’t worry I won’t fall in love again
    Already done that thing once is enough
    But I could use a little loving
    If that is okay by you.”

    “Sure,” Sam Adams said.
    Falling in love with her
    Despite his spidersense
    Tingling red alert.

    Today’s featured online journal is The Cortland Review, which has published nearly ninety issues over more than twenty years. In their newest issue, I’ll point you to Justin Janisse’s “Missing You, Expensively” and Grace Q. Song’s “Birthday.”

    And now for our daily (optional) prompt! Today’s challenge is to write a poem that starts with a command. It could be as uncomplicated as “Look,” as plaintive as “Come back,” or as silly as “Don’t you even think about putting that hot sauce in your hair.” Whatever command you choose, I hope you have fun ordering your readers around.

    Good Golly, Ms. Molly Rhyming Poem

    Good Golly, Ms. Molly
    Good golly
    Ms. Molly
    Let’s have some folly
    And go to Bali
    Or Raleigh
    Someplace holly
    strong>Where we can get jolly
    Eating a tamale
    Or a Canali.

    April 19—Write a silly rhyming poem!

    PSH prompt

    Three poems about our times Legal

    Three poems about our times Medical

    Three poems about our time’s Energy

    One the legal system faces challenges

    In this day and age
    Of fear of crime
    Crime and punishment
    Is everywhere
    Hanging and lynching
    No longer just historical terms

    Judge and jury form the basis
    Of our Legal systems
    Based on Lies and truth
    And justice is not free
    Those that have money
    Have justice
    Those that do not
    Face constant injustice

    Two Medical Fears Abound

    Every day I am afraid
    Afraid I might get
    The big Alzheimer’s
    That took my mother
    And my father-in-law
    The dreaded cancer
    That killed my father
    And his father
    Dementia that haunted my mother
    Fibromyalgia that fills me with constant pain

    Three Energy Blues

    wind-turbine-11
    wind-turbine-11

    The world needs energy
    Needs renewable energy
    Needs to get beyond
    carbon-based energy
    that is destroying the world

    needs to end fracking
    needs to end nuclear power
    needs to seek the energy
    of the future.

    Look up an industry completely foreign to you. This could be anything: medical, timber, steel, tech/IT, cosmetics, coatings, pharmaceuticals, office supplies, etc. Pick one and generate a list of industry-specific jargon using a minimum of twenty-five words.

    Pick three different industries, so your list is a minimum of 75 words (or phrases, phrases are okay). Write a poem that uses 1 word or phrase per line for the duration of the poem, however long you choose to make it. Mix industries! Write the poem in multiple parts!

    This is a time-consuming exercise, but it’s a wonderful one because it so frequently spawns more than one poem, and the exercise is great at pulling writers out of their respective comfort zones.

    Writers com

    Writer’s Digests What’s Out There – Secret Societies

    Atlantis – Wikipedia

    https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Atlantis

    In Frederick Tennyson’s Atlantis (1888), an ancient Greek mariner sails west and discovers an inhabited island which is all that remains of the former kingdom.

    Is the world secretly controlled
    By ancient secret societies
    Dating back to the founding
    Of the world?

    Back to the fabled Atlantis
    Lemuria and other ancient
    Civilizations?

    And are these secret societies
    Still running the world
    Through the Illuminati
    The freemasons
    And other secret conspiracies?

    And are these societies
    Made up of human beings
    Or shapeshifting reptilian creatures?

    I have no answers
    Just questions
    About the secrets
    That controls our world.

    Here are the Two-for-Tuesday prompts:

    1. Write a What’s There poem, and/or…
    2. Write a What’s Not There poem.

     Local Gem

     Day 19: Distraction

    Binge Watching the End-of-the-World  Local Gem

    In these dark and dangerous times

    We all need a distraction
    From the constant grim news
    With the war all around us

    The news is constant gloom and doom.
    Gunmen on the lose
    Death everywhere
    End-of-the-world feelings abound.

    The only thing to keep us sane
    Is to sit down and binge-watch
    Our favorite shows.

    The ultimate distraction
    from the awful reality.

    The sillier the better
    The more absurd it is
    It keeps us
    From giving into despair.

    So grab some popcorn
    And a glass of wine
    And binge-watch
    your blues away.

    Wednesday Day 20:

    NaPoWriMo Prompt

    Narnia is Real

    Narnia

    Sam Adams, an old man
    Recently returning to his hometown,
    Was walking in the Berkeley Hills.

    Ended up at Tilden Park
    Where he had been hiking
    Ever since he was a child.

    He was hoping to getaway.
    From all the turmoil,
    The dismal news of the day

    The constant chattering on his TV.
    He was often lost in thought
    Thinking back on his favorite books

    Re-reading the classics
    Of his youth.
    He loved the Chronicles of Narnia
    Often thought
    That Narnia was real

    That Oz was real
    And that Middle earth
    Happened as well.

    And Harry Potter
    Existed in an alternate universe

    He imagined finding
    Portals to other worlds.

    While lost in thought
    He came upon an unusual site

    An open door in the air
    With a note
    Narnia is calling you.

    He laughed having thought
    About Narnia reality
    All week long.

    He jumped through the portal
    Sam Adams disappearance
    Remained a mystery.

    April 20—Book report—subtly (or overtly) incorporate a book report or response into a poem about something else. (If you name the book, avoid spoilers!)

    Snarling, Sassy, Snarky, Smarmy, Sarcastic Coffee Thoughts

    I like to start my day with a hot cup of coffee
    I pound down the coffee
    First thing I do every day as the dawning sunlight
    Lights up my lonesome room

    Yeah, but not just a simple cup of java Joe, but God damn coffee

    I mean, – we are talking about an alcoholic, all speed ahead, always hot, always fresh, always there when I need it, angry, attitude talk to the hand Ztude, bad, bad assed, beats breaking, beatnik, bluesy, bitter, bitchy, bombs away, capitalistic, caffeinated up the ass, cinematic, communistic, Colombian grown, Costa Rican inspired, Cowabunga to the max, crazy assed, devilishly angelic, divine, divinely inspired, dyslexic, epic, extreme vetting, evil eye, expensive, erotic vision inducing, Ethiopian coffee house brewed, euphoric, freaky, freazoid, foxy, Frenched kissed, French brewed, funkified, foxy lady, graphic, GOD in my coffee, with Allah, Ganesh, Jesus, Kali, Buddha, Christians, Durga, Hindus, Mohamed, Jesus and Mo and their friend, the cosmic bar maid, Sai Babai, Shiva, Taoists, Zoroastrians, drinking my god damned coffee in Hell; growling, gnarly, happy, hard as ice, Hawaian blessed, high as a kite, hippie, hip, hipster, hip hoppy, hot as hell yet strangely sweet as heaven, jazzy, jealous, Kerouac approved, kick ass, kick my god damn ass to Tuesday, kick down the doors and take no prisoners, grown in the Vietnam highlands by ex Vietcong, Guatemalan grown, kiss ass, illegal in every state, imported from all over the god damn world, insane, lovely, loony, lonely, lonesome, malodorous mean old rotten, motherfucking, nasty, narcotic, never whatever, never meh, never cold, not approved by the CIA, not approved by DHS, not approved for human consumption by the FDA, not your daddy’s sissified corporate cup of coffee, NOT DECAFE coffee, not your Denny’s truck driver weak as brown water cup of fake coffee, not your establishment friendly cup of coffee, Not your FBI coffee, Not FAKE Herbal coffee substitute, but a real cup of coffee, not your farmer brothers dinner crap, not made in America for Americans, not safe for work, not your Starbucks average expensive overpriced crappy corporate chain cup of coffee, Not pretentious, Not White House approved, not State Department safe, nuclear, Not Patriotic, operatic, Peets’s coffee approved, paranoid, pornographic, psychotic, pontific, politically aware, rapping, rhyming, right here, right now in River city, rock and roll up the Yazoo, sad, sadistic, sarcastic, sassy, satanic, schizoid, shitting, silly, sexy, smarmy, smelly, smooth, snarky, snarling, stupid, stinking, sweet as honey, sweat inducing, symphonic, Trump can’t handle this coffee, vengeful, Wagnerian, wicked, with nutmeg and cinnamon swirls, with a hint of stevia, with a hint of vanilla, with a hint of rum, with a hint of whisky, with a hint of cherry, with a hint of fruit overtones, with a hint of drugs spicing up the coffee, spendific, speeding, splendid, superior accept no substitutes, survived the Vietnam war, the Iraq war, the Afghan war, the first and Second Korean war, World War 11, the war on poverty, the war on drugs, the war on black people, the sexual revolution, Soulful as a summer’s night in MOTOWN- James Brown approved, TOP approved, Berkeley approved, the coffee that Jimmy Hendrix drank before he died, the coffee that Elvis drank on his last breakfast, the coffee that Barry White crooned as he drank his cup of coffee – and the coffee that made the white boy play stand up and play that funky music, the coffee that made Jonny B Goode play his guitar, and made Jonny bet the devil his soul after he drank his morning cup of righteous coffee and the coffee that make the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll, the coffee your mother warned you against drinking, the coffee that Napoleon drank when he became the Emperor of all Europe, the Coffee that Beethoven drank when he wrote the Ninth symphony, the coffee that Mozart drank as he wrote his last symphony, the coffee that Lincoln drank before he was killed, the Hemingway drank before he killed himself, the coffee that started the 60’s, and ended the 20th century, the coffee that Lenin drank as he plotted revolution, the coffee that Hitler and Stalin drank with FDR as they divided up the world after World War 11, the cup that JFK drank before he was blown away, the coffee Jerry drinks while driving in cars with random celebrities and political figures, the coffee that Jon Stewart drinks before he goes on an epic take down of some foolish politico, the cup of Arabic coffee that Sadaam drank the day he was executed, the coffee that GW and Cheney drank when they bombed Baghdad, the Indian cup of coffee that Bid Laden drank before 9-11 and just before the seals blew his ass to hell, the cup of coffee that Tiger Woods drank with his mistresses while playing a 3, 000 dollar round of golf at Sandy Lane golf course in Barbados, the last legal drug that does what drugs should do, the cup of coffee that Obama drank when he became President, Vietnamese, Vienna brew, wacky, whimsical, Whisky Tango Foxtrot, wild, weird, wonderful, WOW, Yabba dabba doo! Yada Yada yada Zappa’s favorite cup of cosmic coffee, and Zorro’s last cup of coffee, Good to the last drop rolled into one simple cup of hot coffee

    As I pound down that first cup of coffee

    And fire up my synaptic nerve endings with endless supplies
    Of caffeine-induced neuron enhancing chemicals
    I face the dawning day with trepidation and mind-numbing fear

    I turn on the TV and watch the smarmy newscasters in their perfect hair
    Lying through their teeth about the great success the government is having
    Following the great leader’s latest pronouncements

    I want to scream and shoot the TV
    And run outside
    Shouting “Stop the world.
    I want to get off this fucking crazy planet”

    The earth does not care a whit about my attitude
    It merely shrugs and moves around the Sun
    In its appointed daily run

    And I sit down
    The madness dissipates a bit
    And enjoy my second cup
    Of heaven and hell
    In my morning cup of Joe/

    And now for today’s (optional) prompt. Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that anthropomorphizes a kind of food. It could be a favorite food of yours, or maybe one you feel conflicted about. I feel conflicted about Black Forest Cake, for example. It always looks so pretty in a bakery window, and I want to like the combination of cherries and chocolate . . . but I don’t. But how does the cake feel about it?

    PSH prompt

    To Friends I Have Lost Along The Way

    If you have been around
    As long as I have
    More than 66 years
    On this planet,

    You would no doubt
    Lost a few friends
    Along the way
    And family members too.

    I recall all my friends
    Who have left this mortal plane
    Spending way too little time
    in my life.

    I recall Demel Tucker
    My high school black friend
    From the debate team
    Who died of AIDS
    All alone in the end.

    I remember Jon Weber
    My Austrian born college roommate
    Who died of prostate cancer
    At age 45,

    We had lost touch
    Over the years
    Last saw him
    In the 80s.

    I recall Paul Simon
    Who shared the visa line
    With me in Korea

    Went out for a walk
    One morning
    Did not come back.

    I mourn Chris Richards
    My boss in Bangkok, Thailand
    We were due to have lunch
    When he died of an heart attack
    That morning.

    I recall Julian Bartley
    My boss in Seoul
    Died in the terrorist bombing
    In Kenya.

    I recall Judy
    From my days in Mumbai
    Died suddenly too soon.

    I recall my sister Inga
    Who died of a mysterious illness
    When she turned 45.

    I recall my mother
    Who died of Alzheimer’s
    And my father
    Who died of cancer.

    And there were many more
    And sadly, many more
    Will join them

    Before I leave this mortal plane.
    The curse of getting old
    I suppose.

    This poetry writing prompt submitted by Joan Fingon:

    Prompt word: remembrance

    In this exercise, focus on writing about a specific loss of a loved one or dear friend, recent or from your past. What is the essence of your loss and how might you express and honor their memory? What did the individual mean to you?

    To inspire your writing be guided by these words as an example…

    remember those in passing

    they are the roots of the tree

    Local Gem Mini-epic

    Epic Road Trip Summer of 2016

    ON THE ROAD PUBLISHED

    In the summer of 2016
    We drove across the country
    Just the wife and me

    10,000 miles
    31 states
    Three months on the road

    We started in DC
    Right after I retired
    From the U.S. State Department
    After 27 years of service
    Mostly overseas.

    Time to rediscover America
    I told my Korean-born wife.

    We drove down south
    Through Virginia,
    North and South Carolina
    Georgia

    Spent the night
    At Ft Lee
    And at a naval base
    In Georgia

    Ended up in Tampa Florida
    Where we stayed a week
    Looking at real estate
    And registered to vote

    Becoming Florida residents
    Visiting friends
    In Sarasota, Florida.

    Then back on the road
    Up through Florida
    Spent the night
    In Tallahassee

    Then went to Mobile, Alabama
    And Birmingham too,
    Checking out the sites

    Driving through rural Florida
    And Southern Alabama,

    Went to Arkansas
    Spent the night in Hot Springs
    And another night as well.
    Lost money at the Casino.
    visited the Clinton library

    Then on through Missouri
    Mississippi, and East Texas
    Checking our the rural heartland

    Seeing lots of poor
    rundown communities everywhere.

    Drove through Oklahoma
    Through the Indian country
    Spent the night outside
    Of Oklahoma City.

    Then drove through Texas
    To Amarillo
    Where we had a decent
    Texmex dinner
    in that nothing burger town.

    Drove through Texas
    And New Mexican desert
    Spend two days in Albuquerque

    Lost money at the casinos
    Ate dinner at the oldest restaurant
    In the U.S. tried New Mexican wine

    Drove through Arizona
    Took it easy at the shrine

    To the iconic traveler’s song
    Spend the night in Windsor
    Up through to Las Vegas

    Spent the night
    Saw old friends
    Lost more money.

    Drove to Reno
    I lost money there too
    Then through Area 51
    Stopping off at the famed
    Alien Brothel

    Stayed at Gold, Nevada
    I lost money there too

    Drove through northwest Nevada
    Northeast California
    Through Mt Lassen and Shasta

    On to Medford Oregon
    Where we stayed for a month
    Taking care of property issues.

    Then we hit the road again
    Drove through eastern Oregon
    Stopping off at Burns, Oregon

    Then drove through Idaho
    Stopped at the Potato museum
    Why not I said?

    We saw Grand Tetons
    And Yellowstone
    Stayed three days

    Then on through Wyoming
    Saw the Devil’s Tower
    And Mt. Rushmore

    Lost money gambling
    In Deadwood
    Drinking at the bar

    Where Wild Bill Hitchcock
    Played his final Deadman’s hand.
    Stayed a few days
    In Rapid City, South Dakota
    Touring the badlands.

    I now know
    why people don’t live
    In South Dakota

    Hot, dry dusty
    Windy as hell
    The Black Hills are nice

    But after seeing Mt. Rushmore
    There is not much left to do
    Rapid City did not impress me

    Nor did Sioux Falls
    And wall drugs
    Well the free water was nice

    But it is a nothing town
    In a nothing state
    On the edge of the badlands
    And the Sioux reservation

    There is a reason the Indians
    live there
    No one else wanted the land
    And they are warehoused there

    So I drove through Rapid City
    And thought that
    it is the heart of Trump Land
    The land of the forgotten
    The left behind

    Just another nothing-burger
    of a State
    In the middle of nowhere
    Truly flyover country

    Drove on through Iowa
    And Minnesota
    Spend the day in the twin cities
    Before driving to Milwaukee.

    And on to Wisconsin
    Spent the night in Madison
    Reminded me of my Berkeley.

    Drove to Chicago
    Spend two days
    Checking it out
    Enjoyed being there,

    Drove through rural Indiana
    And Illinois
    Then through Ohio
    Spent the night
    In Columbus.

    Drove on to Pittsburg
    Spent the day there
    Saw some great art museums

    Before driving to DC
    Where we shipped our car
    And belongings to Korea

     End 

  • April 14 to April 15, 2022 Poems

    April 14 to April 15, 2022 Poems

    April 14 to April 15, 2022 Poems

    I am falling behind as I took a trip last week.  I have kept my quota but slipping on posting them.   Here’s poems for April 12 and 13

    Here are links to my Previous April poems

    Ten Best April 2021 Poems

    April 25 to April 30 2021Poems

    April 16 to April 20 2021 Poems

    April 16 to April 20 2021 Poems

    April 10 to April 14 2021 Poems

    April 1 to April 5 Poems

    April 6 to April 9 Cosmos’s Poetry 

    April 6 to April 9 Cosmos’s Poetry 

    April 6 to April 9 Cosmos’s Poetry

     Cosmos’s 2020 April Poetry Part One

    Cosmos’s 2020 April Poetry Part One

    April 2019 Poems

    April 20 to April 25th 2021 Poems

    2022 April Poetry Madness April 1 to 3 poems

    April 5 2022, Poems

    April 4th 2022, Poems

    April 6th, 2022 Poems

    April 7th Poems

    April 8, 2022 Poems

    April 9-11, 2022 Poems

    April 12 to April 13, 2022 Poems

    Begin Poems

    Thursday Day 14:

    Mega Drought Dooms Humanity Dew Drop Inn

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megadrought

    A megadrought (or mega-drought) is a prolonged drought lasting two decades or longer. Past megadroughts have been associated with persistent multiyear La …

    https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-a-megadrought.html

    Aug 19, 2021 … Simply put, a megadrought is a period of extreme dryness that lasts for decades. Within that period there may be occasional better, wet, years, …

    https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/us-megadrought-worst-least-1200-years-researchers-say-rcna16202

    Feb 15, 2022 … U.S. megadrought worst in at least 1,200 years, researchers say. The drought also shows no signs of letting up, with increasing temperatures …

    Sam Adams
    Was an ecologist
    With the Cosmos Institute

    He was studying the decline
    Of ancient civilizations
    In North America

    And concluded that
    Humanity would soon face
    A world in which its existence
    Is doomed

    As nature will no longer
    Support such a large civilization
    As climate change leads
    To a mega drought

    In the western parts
    Of North America
    And China and India
    As well.

    It would be
    The end of the world.

    Prompt The intersection of nature and civilization…

    The future is coming and I can’t Wait for NaPoWriMo

    Robots take over

    Thinking about the future
    I am excited

    So many amazing things
    Are about to happen
    Dream and thought recording devices
    Internet implants

    Human-robot slaves
    Self-driving vehicles
    True AI Systems

    Time Travel
    Teleportation

    Cloning
    Growing new bodies
    Life extension leading
    To almost immortality

    Lunar and Martian colonies
    Development of space travel
    Meeting alien civilizations

    The future is coming
    And I can’t wait

    I want a robot slave
    Maybe even a robot lover
    And a new body

    And I want to see Mars
    And meet space aliens

    And now for our (optional) prompt! Today, in honor of the potential luckiness of the number 13, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that, like the example poem here, joyfully states that “Everything is Going to Be Amazing.” Sometimes, good fortune can seem impossibly distant, but even if you can’t drum up the enthusiasm to write yourself a riotous pep talk, perhaps you can muse on the possibility of good things coming down the track. As they say, “the sun will come up tomorrow,” and if nothing else, this world offers us the persistent possibility of surprise.

    How to Make a Perfect Smoothie Writers Digest

    smoothie ingredients

    How to Make a Perfect Smoothie

    My daily breakfast consists
    of a perfect super-foods smoothie

    Here is how to make
    This breakfast of champions

    In a blender
    Put in Kefir first
    Then powered collagen
    Insulin powder
    Honey
    Cinnamon

    Then add in fruits
    And vegetables

    Almonds
    Asparagus
    Apples
    Apple cider vinegar
    Banana,
    Blueberries,
    Carrots
    Cherries
    Coconut oil
    Ginseng
    Ginger powder
    Kale
    oranges
    Macca root
    pineapple,
    Raspberry
    Spinach,
    stevia
    strawberry,
    Sweet potatoes (cooked)
    Turmeric powder
    Walnuts
    Wheatgrass

    all blended to perfection
    That is my daily breakfast
    Fit for a champion.

    I often eat it
    As cereal as it is so thick
    Adding in cereal or oatmeal
    and raisins.

    2022 April PAD Challenge: Day 13

    Write a poem every day of April with the 2022 April Poem-A-Day Challenge. For today’s prompt, write a How to Blank poem.

    For today’s prompt, take the phrase “How to (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: “How to Win at Life,” “How to Cook Lasagna,” “How to Fall in Love,” and/or “How to Write a Poem.”

    Covid Life PSH

    covid virus
    covid virus

    Ever since COVID hit
    I have been laying low
    Not going out much

    Not meeting friends
    But doing weekly zoom
    With my best friends
    That has kept me sane

    Been doing a lot of writing
    Lots of COVID poems
    Featuring General Corona
    And his COVID bot army

    General Corona
    Appeared to me
    in a dream.

    I fell asleep after watching
    The former guy goes on and on about
    Fighting a war against an invisible army.

    And thought well
    Every army
    needs a general.

    General corona appeared
    In my dream
    A tall black man
    Dressed in a black general’s uniform
    Riding the black horse of revelations.

    With an army of imperial storm troopers
    In black uniforms
    Marching shooting ray guns
    Filled with the virus
    At everyone they encounter.

    That is how
    I coped with the COVID
    pandemic lockdown,

    This poetry writing prompt submitted by Gary Grossman:

    We’re all tired of COVID but it is good fodder for poetry. Write a poem about how your life changed specifically during the pandemic. Did you exercise more, did you burn incense more, and did you read books that had been sitting in a pile for years? Focus on describing your mental state and how that translated into your physical state. Did your muscles ache from walking, what was the smell of the hand cream you used to soothe your skin? Did your partner participate with you?

    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

    The Final Getaway Local Gem

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia

    The series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts and talking animals. It narrates the adventures of various …

     

    Sam Adams, an old man
    Recently returning to his hometown,
    Was walking in the Berkeley Hills.
    Ended up at Tilden Park

    Where he had been hiking
    Ever since he was a child.

    He was hoping to getaway.
    From all the turmoil,
    The dismal news of the day
    The constant chattering on his TV.

    He came upon an unusual sight
    An open door in the air
    With a note
    Narnia is calling you.

    He laughed
    Recalling his favorite
    Childhood stories
    The Chronicles of Narnia.

    He always wondered
    If the stories were true
    As he always felt
    The stories were.

    He jumped through the portal
    Sam Adams disappearance
    Remained a mystery.

    He left behind a tangled mess
    Millions of dollars in assets
    Scattered across several states.

    .The End

  • Dear Nancy, Time to Go Dear

    Dear Nancy, Time to Go Dear

    Joe, Go Bold or Go Home – revised

    Nancy Pelosi to run for re-election

    Steve Jobs Hier eyeing Nancy Pelosi’s seat

    Nancy Pelosi
    Nancy Pelosi

    Letter sent to Nancy Pelosi calling for her to retire to save the party and the nation. I’ll let you know if she bothers to respond.

     

    Dear Nancy, Time to Go Dear

    Dear Nancy,

    I am writing to you to plead with you to reconsider your decision to run for re-election.  It is more important than anything else right now for the Democratic party to retain control of the House and the Senate given the insane backward policies that the Republicans in the House and the Senate would try to implement if they were to win in November. Not to mention that they would shut down the Biden administrations’ entire agenda.

    I am a life-long democrat having grown up in Berkeley in the late 60s and 70s.  I served in the Peace Corps and became a foreign service officer retiring in 2016. I live in South Korea as I have my wife’s family living here.  I hope to return to the Bay area in another year.  Incidentally, you may know about my family. My father, Curtis Cosmos Aller, was the President of the Berkeley Co-Op and the Peralta community college district and a professor and Dean at SF State.

    There is a time in one’s life when one needs to retire from active work and slow down and enjoy the golden years of one’s life.  There is no shame in deciding it is time to retire and let the next generation of leaders emerge.  At age 83 you have done so much for the country.   It is always a good idea to leave on a high note.  If you retire now, you will be leaving at a high note.  If you run for re-election, you might run the risk of losing the primary.  The voters in SF just recalled the school board because they felt that they were simply out of touch with the average resident of San Francisco. Perhaps that should be a wake-up call for you to consider.

    But if you run for re-election, the Republicans will no doubt run a campaign demonizing you and the entire democratic leadership as being, old political hacks elites out of with the American people.   They will portray themselves as the next generation of leaders fighting for the American people.

    As you know, the Republicans are the masters of dirty politics. They will lie, cheat and do what it takes to take back the house and Senate.  Given what’s going on right now with the aftermath of the pullout from Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine, and rampant inflation, the American public is feeling that things are not going in the right direction and unfortunately they will blame the democrats.

    Having most of the leadership of the party, including of course the President all in their 70s or older leads itself to this attack. I can see the attack ads already.  The Republicans will no doubt push that narrative to the maximum because sadly there is some truth to it.

    I hope that you don’t see this plead as a “agist’ attack on you and the democratic leadership because it is not.  I am 66 myself.  And to be fair, I believe all the leaders in both parties, the Supreme Court, and the President who are over 70 years of age, should all announce that they are retiring at the end of their terms to let the next generation of leaders emerge to deal with the problems of today, as our old aged leaders are lost battling yesterday’s political battles.  You should set the example, and the rest will follow.

    The bottom line is this:  the stakes are so high that the democratic leadership must do all they can to keep the house.  If you announce that you and the senior leadership are all retiring to let a new generation of leaders emerge will change the game and perhaps save the House and the Senate.

    And if you do retire, please do not let your daughter run for your seat because you know nepotism?

    I hope that you can consider my request and retire for the good of the party, and the nation.

    Sincerely,

    John “ Jake” Cosmos Aller

    Https://theworldaccordingtocosmos.com

     

     

     

  • More February Flash Fiction

    More February Flash Fiction

    February Flash Fiction Challenge

    More  February Flash Fiction

    I have completed 17 flash fiction pieces as part of the Writers Digest Flash fiction challenge. I posted “Cosmic Cat from Berkeley”  below.  I also completed three micro flash stories for the Writing Com micro flash contest, and daily haiku for the Poetry Magnum Opus challenge.  Enjoy.

    writers digest

    Prompts

    Day 1 Keys
    Day Two Prompt Circular
    Day three Prompt limitations
    Day four mystery
    Day Five: A Dream that Came true
    Day Six: a character who tries to be
    Heartful”
    Day Seven: Workplace conflict
    Day Eight: re-gifting
    Day Nine Grim reaper
    Day ten romance story
    Day 12 magic
    Day 13 grim reaper
    Day 14 animal
    Day 16 hobby
    Day 17 Book
    Dream 18 Time

    the Stories

    I have completed 17 more flash fiction stories this month, listed below.

    Hidden Keys to The Universe.
    End of The Beginning, Beginning of The End.
    A Man Has to Know His Limitations.
    Where Did All the Blacks Go?
    Dream That Came True.
    Sam Adams Crisis of Conscious
    Sam Adams Workplace Conflict Leads to a Bad Day.
    Sam Adams reignites the War on Christmas
    Timeless Love story
    Sam Adams the Hoarder (TBC)
    World domination but at a terrible price
    Conversation with the grim reaper
    Sam Adams first Contact
    The Demon Car Attack
    Cosmic Cat from Berkeley
    Sam Adams Discovers the Cosmic Conspiracy
    Sam Adams Meets Gloria Magnolia Shah (from a dream)
    Time Police TBC

    The Cosmic Cat from Berkeley

    (audio is for poem version)

    The prompt was to include an animal character. This is based on a true story and is a prose version of a poem that has been published.

    Sam Adams had grown up in the city of Berkeley CA, but after college, he had joined the Peace Corps in Korea, and later joined the State Department and traveled over the world, got married, lived in Seattle, and later DC, and had it not spent much time in his hometown.

    One day he was on leave and he went back to his hometown in between assignments, and his wife was to join him later, then they would be moving back to DC for their onward assignments. She was in the military serving as an officer.

    During this trip he realized that his mother was entering into dementia, he had seen her about two or three years before and she was OK then, but now it was obvious that something had to be done, He didn’t know really what to do. he had talked to his two brothers and sisters who he didn’t particularly along with and with his wife. Nobody quite knew how to approach her; nobody quite knew what they needed to do, but they all knew something had to be done soon.

    With this gloomy frame of mind, every day he would walk out of the house. go down the street to a restaurant, have breakfast, go out into town go to a movie check out a museum, have lunch or dinner with friends and get back in touch with his old neighborhood and his old feelings.

    the very first day he was there when he went out for his morning walk there was a black cat that looked at him. Sam had this feeling the black cat knew everything he was thinking. He quickly dubbed the black cat. The cosmic cat followed him everywhere and Sam quickly shared his thoughts with the black cat who seemed to have been reading his mind, sometimes he would talk out loud at other times he was just thinking and the cat would be smiling and he would hear somehow in the back of his mind the cat’s thoughts about the matter.

    The cat was following what he was saying and the cat knew when he needed to do. The cat helped him clarify the decisions that had to be made. The cat well he was a cosmic cat. He seemed to know everything about Sam, his family, his wife and even knew what the future would hold for Sam and his wife. Sam was very fascinated by this black cat. He had no idea whether this was a Wildcat or lived in the neighborhood but he left milk, and canned tuna fish out for him every morning and the cat seemed to like that.

    He had no idea how and why this cat seemed to be able to read his mind. Finally, concluding he was a cosmic cat perhaps this was just a cat that was temporarily possessed by the spirit of the universe and was talking to Sam giving Sam advice that he needed to hear.

    With his gloomy thoughts in his mind he opened up to the cat and the cat continue to read his mind and give him advice as he walked through his old neighborhood. The cat waiting for him in the evening when he got off the bus and walked with him home and the next morning the cat would be to be there again for their morning rambles.

    Sam felt comforted by the cosmic cat, who was always there. For two weeks, Sam and the cat engaged in this deep conversation. Sam finally knew that it was time to make a decision about what to do with his mother. He had called his brothers up and his wife was coming the next day.

    They spent a few days together sorting things out trying to figure out what needed to be done, and eventually, the decision was made they would have to move his mother into a nursing home and then in a few years, they would have to be faced with what to do when she passed on because it was obvious that she was declining quite rapidly. She had lived a long time, she was 85 years old.

    But the cat seemed to know what needed to be done and somehow Sam thought the cat was giving him advice that he should follow. One day he asked the cat

    “Cosmic cat please let me know who and what you are

    “ Are you God>”

    the cat smiled at him.

    “Are you Buddha?
    the cat smiled at him

    “Are you the great spirit of the universe?”
    the cat smiled at him.

    “Are you Allah?”

    The cat smiled at him.

    “Are you really just a cat?

    The cat smiled at him.

    “Are you satanic?

    The cat hissed at him, and he knew he had gone too far. The next day, he told the cat that it was time for him to part ways. The cat smiled at him, and he knew the cat knew that it was time to move on. The cat merely walked away, and Sam never saw that cosmic cat again

    He told his mother in one of her periods of relative lucidity about the cosmic cat, His mother merely said that that cat was indeed a cosmic cat that came to them in their hour of need.

    Sam never told his siblings about the cosmic cat, He thought they just think that he was mad. He told his wife, and she also thought that this was just a mad story, and then he should not really think about it anymore. The cosmic Cat faded away in his memories.

    The End

  • My Family’s History

    My Family’s History

    My Family History

    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

    The End

  • Ode to Berkeley

    Ode to Berkeley

    Ode To Berkeley Poems

    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.

    Berkeley Enough?

    Cosmos’s Family History

    Index

    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

    Berkeley Beckoning Me

    All I Learned About Life I Learned at Berkeley High School

    Balanced In Berkeley

    Berkeley 1955

    Berkeley Roots Rock

    Communist Cats from Berkeley

    Thousand Oaks Berkeley California

    Hark, I Hear the Spirits Of Berkeley Calling Me Home. Berkeley

    free roaming 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
    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

    Growing Up in Berkeley with the Fascist Insect

    SLA

    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 Symbionese Liberation Army –( the SLA )-

    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
    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

    Thousand Oaks, Berkeley

    thousand oaks berkeley california

    indian rock park

    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
    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 park
    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
    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
    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

    The End

  • Cosmos’s Family History

    Cosmos’s Family History

    Cosmos’s Family History

     

    Cosmos Faith Journey

    Why are there so many fake Cherokees?

    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

    Wit and Wisdom of Mary Aller, There’s Method in Her Madness

    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.

    Curtis Cosmos Aller

    BIRTH 16 Nov 1889
    DEATH 12 Aug 1956 (aged 66)
    BURIAL Terrace Heights Memorial Park

    Yakima, Yakima County, Washington, USA

     

    Dr. Curtis Cosmos Aller Jr.

    BIRTH 22 Sep 1918
    DEATH 1 May 1985 (aged 66)
    BURIAL Terrace Heights Memorial Park

    Yakima, Yakima County, Washington, USA

     

    The Life Summary of Curtis Cosmos Aller

    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.

    Parents and Siblings

    Daniel Wilbur Aller

    Male1865–1925 • Male

    Drusilla McCausland

    Female1867–1944 • Female

    Siblings

    (5)

    Curtis Cosmos Aller

    Male1889–1956 • Male

    Ira Erasmus Aller

    Male1891–1939 • Male

    Lora Aller

    Female1893–1969 • Female

    Walter Lorin Aller

    Male1899–1982 • Male

    Chester Aller

    Male1913–1993 • Male

    Spouse and Children

    Curtis Cosmos Aller

    Male1889–1956 • Male

    Inga Pauline Olsen

    Female1894–1967 • Female

    Marriage

    30 September 1917
    Bremerton, Kitsap, Washington, United States

    Children

    (5)

    Curtis Cosmos Aller

    Male1918–1985 • Male

    James Curwood Aller

    Male1921–2007 • Male

    Jean Celeste Aller

    Female1925–1988 • Female

    Harriett Ann Aller

    Female1931–2009 • Female

    Wilma Fay Aller

    Female1931–2021 • Female

    Name Meaning

    Aller

    Curtis

    German: variant of Ahler.  Other variants include Eller, Oller, Allard and Ehler.

    Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

    Possible Related Names

    “variant-name-Ahler, Eller, Ohler, Oller

    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

    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.


    United States 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

    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.


    United States 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.

    Published by Contra Costa Times on Aug. 3, 2007.

    The End

  • Reflections on the 400th Thanksgiving

    Reflections on the 400th Thanksgiving

    Reflections on the 400th Thanksgiving

    Happy Thanksgiving MP3 Audio

    Updated with new poems

    Fake Food Poems

    cheating death other stories

    Cheating Death Updates

    cheating Death twenty Times

    Joy Links Forever Just Published Dream Girl and Cheating Death Twenty Times

    Today, in honor of the 400th celebration of Thanksgiving, I thought it would be good to pull together my Thanksgiving poems written over the years. I have no doubt others buried in my computer’s hard drive, and if I ever get my act together to find them, I will update this in due course.

    Thanksgiving and Christmas were my favorite holidays as a child.  I grew up eating Southern Style cooking, as my Mom was from Arkansas and my Dad from Yakima, Washington, and she did most of the cooking and was a creative cook.

    She did thanksgiving/Christmas full southern style – featuring a full roast turkey (fried turkey was not common when she grew up although now in the south fried turkey is as common as roasted turkey).

    Here’s the recipe

    Roasted turkey
    Stuffing in the bird bread, onion, ham bits, bacon bits, herbal mix)
    Gravy
    Sweet potato pie with marshmallows
    Cranberry sauce
    Mashed potatoes
    Corn Bread
    Salad
    Green beans
    Southern-style greens –
    turnip, collard, kale, spinach
    with bacon, ham, onions and, molasses
    Rice
    Wild rice
    Roasted potato au gratin
    Pumpkin pie with whipped cream
    Vanilla ice cream to finish the meal

    And leftover turkey sandwiches for a week.

    I found three articles that are apt.   See below for links to the full article. The first is an article about what the first Thanksgiving meal consisted of, and the second is an article on how Thanksgiving was a controversial holiday in the south until the late 19th century, as it was seen as a Yankee puritan tradition and competed with Christmas, and the third is a history of the holiday. It only became a holiday in the civil war, and only became what we think of it in the late 19th century.

    Many families mine included did the same menu on both Thanksgiving and Christmas although some families did something a bit different for Christmas, substituting ham, duck, goose, Cornish game hens, or a pot roast for the turkey for example.

    And there were ethnic variations of course.  And Jewish people usually went out for a Chinese meal on Christmas, as did the Chinese as well. In Berkeley, my Jewish and Chinese friends celebrated Thanksgiving with the full bird treatment, but went out on CHriatmas day for Chinese food.

    Poems

    Thanksgiving Gratitude

    Thanksgiving Memories
    Ode to Thanksgiving Meals Past and Present
    Best/Worst Thanksgiving Ever Thanksgiving
    Thanksgiving Day
    Best/Worst Thanksgiving Ever Thanksgiving
    Thankful for my Angel On Thanksgiving Day
    Thanksgiving COVID Senryu
    Turkey Senryu
    Turkey Revolt
    Death to All Humans, the Mad Turkey Screams

    Three Thanksgiving articles -excerpts
    What was on the first Thanksgiving menu? Smithsonian
    When Thanksgiving was fighting words LA Times
    Invention of Thanksgiving – New Yorker and other articles

    Thanksgiving Poems

    Thanksgiving Memories

    On thanksgiving day
    We are grateful
    For the little things
    In life

    For the memories
    for the food
    that we will enjoy
    on this day of giving thanks

    Writing com Prompt: National Gratitude Month encourages us to embrace the power of gratitude
    In an 8-line poem, write about just one non-human thing you are truly grateful for.

    Ode to Thanksgiving Meals Past and Present

    Growing up
    My favorite holidays
    Were Thanksgiving
    And Christmas

    We did a traditional Thanksgiving
    And Christmas dinner as well
    Southern American style

    As my Mom was from Arkansas
    My Dad was from Yakima
    And we lived in Berkeley, California

    Featuring of course the full bird

    Roasted turkey
    Stuffing in the bird
    consisting of bread, onion, carrots, ham bits,
    walnuts,bacon bits, and herbal sage mixture
    That came with the stuffing mix
    Gravy
    Sweet potato pie with marshmallows
    Cranberry sauce
    Mashed potatoes
    Corn Bread
    Salad
    Green beans
    Southern-style greens –
    turnip, collard, kale, spinach
    with bacon, ham, onions and, molasses
    Rice
    Wild rice
    Roasted potato au gratin
    Pumpkin pie with whipped cream
    Vanilla ice cream to finish the meal
    And leftover turkey sandwiches
    For a week

    Nowadays
    Whenever I am
    In the world

    I try to have a traditional
    Thanksgiving dinner
    but it is hard
    doing so overseas
    where turkey
    is just not that common
    a food item

    and Thanksgiving is such
    an American (and Candadian) tradition
    not celebrated anywhere else

    over the years
    I have had steak
    Ham, Mexican food
    Indian food
    on Thanksgiving Day

    Even sushi on thanksgiving
    In Okinawa

    And once
    I had Tofu Turkey

    Even though
    I am from California
    That was a step too far
    Just not for me.

    But in the end
    Nothing is more satisfactory
    Than eating turkey
    On Thanksgiving night

    I have added drinking
    A bit of bourbon
    On Thanksgiving day
    To my routine

    On this Thanksgiving day
    In Korea

    We did a roasted turkey breast
    Cranberry sauce
    Mashed potatoes
    Asparagus
    Cheesecake

    Bourbon
    And wine

    The turkey, cranberry sauces, bourbon, and wine
    came from the Army Commissary
    The other ingredients from COSTCO

    It was just divine
    As always

    And in the end
    It all comes together
    As I eat my Thanksgiving dinner
    No matter where I am

    As long as I am eating
    Thanksgiving dinner
    With my wife

    It does not matter
    too much
    What we are eating

    Forever thankful
    She is there
    To share my life
    On this special day.

    This week’s prompt is Holiday Meals.  While most people, here in the U.S.  have the typical Thanksgiving turkey dinner with mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, not everyone follows the crowd. Think back to holiday meals you participated in when you were younger. Feel free to write about Thanksgiving or any other holiday meal you choose. Please share any items of food that you or others might feel are out of the ordinary. Do you have memories of any special or surprise guests that came to any of your holiday meals? Did you ever have a catastrophic holiday meal?  Do you still carry on the same holiday meal traditions you had as a kid, or have you changed things up? Are you now typically the host or hostess for meals (sans Covid) or do you usually participate as a guest? Does your family like to go out for holiday meals, or do you prefer to stay at home? Is your table setting different for holiday meals? Do you decorate the whole house as part of your mealtime mood? Please share some memories of your special holiday meals.

    Thanksgiving Day

    On Thanksgiving Day
    We are grateful
    For the little things
    In life

    For the memories
    for the food
    that we will enjoy
    on this day of giving thanks

    For the day of Thanksgiving here in the USA, we are featuring the theme of gratitude, in any form or style that you prefer. Several examples can be found for inspiration in the following links:

    https://www.readpoetry.com/8-poems-for-gratitude/

    https://interestingliterature.com/2021/09/best-poems-about-gratitude-and-appreci…

    https://gratefulness.org/resource-category/poetry/

    Blessings

    Best/Worst Thanksgiving Ever Thanksgiving

    It was a thanksgiving to remember
    One of the best
    And one of the worst as well

    It started with burned dinner rolls
    Then power outage stopped the turkey
    Finishing roasting in the oven

    They pulled out the mostly cooked bird
    Declaring it was time
    To eat

    And sat down
    Having a traditional southern style
    Thanksgiving dinner

    Featuring of course the full bird

    Roasted turkey
    Stuffing in the bird of course
    Gravy
    Sweat potato pie with marshmallows,
    Cranberry sauce
    Mashed potatoes
    Corn Bread
    Salad
    Green beans

    And left-over turkey sandwiches
    For a week

    Uncle Bob lost a tooth
    The doorbell rang,
    The dog dashed
    out the door
    Chasing the mailman
    Down the road

    Mom brought out
    Desert
    pumpkin pie with hipped cream

    Writing com prompt was to use the following words in a Thanksgiving poem

    Burned dinner rolls
    Power outage
    Uncle Bob Lost a tooth
    Dog dashed out the Door
    pumpkin pie with Hipped cream

    Happy Thanksgiving Thanksgiving

    Happy Thanksgiving
    Devotion
    Thanksgiving
    Big
    Hiking
    Yipee

    Every day the fridge magnet site publishes a lits of words that you can use to make a refrigerator magnet poem from. Today’s Fridge prompt words were:

    unlike
    bag
    pact
    yippee
    addicted
    considering
    vertigo
    tampon
    employ
    NBC
    sleet
    decoy
    hers
    hearing
    hey
    denominational
    cunning
    big
    steaming
    sock
    democracy
    swear
    significantly
    what’s open on thanksgiving
    ecological
    fetid
    India vs New Zealand
    backstroke
    timid
    Spartan
    silt
    faint
    votive
    abroad
    gringo
    he
    nan
    thank
    happy thanksgiving
    devotion
    cheque
    hiking
    thanksgiving
    improve
    retracted

    Thankful for My Angel on Thanksgiving Day

    On Thanksgiving Day
    I woke up
    and saw my wife
    Sleeping peacefully

    I look at her
    In the dawning light
    Filling my soul
    With her love

    I drink my coffee
    Contemplating my life
    Ever thankful
    Especially on Thanksgiving day

    For the angel
    That came to me

    Out of my dreams
    Walking into my life
    Taking charge of me

    39 years ago
    I met my fate
    On that date.

    Thanksgiving Senryu

    This Thanksgiving
    Celebration of life
    COVID is Ending

     

    Turkey Revolt

    On Thanksgiving Day
    The feast started late
    The turkey was having a problem
    He refused to go quietly
    Into the oven

    The turkey stood up
    Screaming
    What is wrong with you people?
    You are going to burn me alive?

    What have I done to you?
    Why can’t you just pardon me
    Like the President did

    I mean, I am cuter than
    Peter Butter
    And Jelly anyway

    The turkey grabbed a knife
    And killed the guests

    Running out into the dark
    Joining all the other
    Suddenly “woke” turkeys

    All screaming
    “I am mad as hell
    and not going to take it anymore
    Death to all humans.”

    That was the day
    That went down in history
    As the Thanksgiving
    Turkey revolt.

    writing com prompt: the feast was late because the big bird

    Death to All Humans Turkey Screams

    The big feast was ready
    and the family
    made its way

    to the dinner table
    when suddenly,

    the turkey woke up,
    jumping off the table

    he picks up a knife
    and attacks
    and kills the family

    Screaming
    “Death to all humans”

    Ending the Thanksgiving Day
    feast for the family.

    writing com prompt The big feast was ready and the family
    made its way to the dinner table when suddenly,

    What am I grateful for?  Thanksgiving Day Poem

    On this Thanksgiving Day
    I am thankful
    For the fact
    That I have survived
    My 66 birthday

    My father and grandfather
    Both died at age 65
    And I felt a curse
    Had been lifted
    As I lived beyond
    That date

    No cancer
    No Alzheimers yet
    And no COVID

    Cheated death
    In my life
    22 times

    And most important
    I am still madly in love
    With the love of my life

    Whom I met
    In a dream
    47 years ago

    39 years ago
    She walked into my life
    Becoming my wife

    And this fairy tale romance
    Has continued to this date
    And for that I am thankful.

    Thanksgiving Day Feelings

    On this Thanksgiving Day day
    We have a lot
    To be thankful for

    A lot to be grateful for
    Most importantly
    We have survived

    Old Corona has not
    Taken us away
    We are alive

    Love and life
    Continues

    As we gather around
    The dinner table

    Thinking of the past
    Enjoying the moment
    With thanks in our hearts

    We say
    Happy Thanksgiving Day

    Happy Thanksgiving Day F’ing

    Happy Thanksgiving Day
    Considering her
    hey a cunning
    big steaming gringo
    f… her
    on Thanksgiving Day

    unlike
    bag
    pact
    yippee
    addicted
    considering
    vertigo
    tampon
    employ
    NBC
    sleet
    decoy
    hers
    hearing
    hey
    denominational
    cunning
    big
    steaming
    sock
    democracy
    swear
    significantly
    what’s open on Thanksgiving Day
    ecological
    fetid
    India vs New Zealand
    backstroke
    timid
    spartan
    silt
    faint
    votive
    abroad
    gringo
    he
    nan
    thank
    happy Thanksgiving Day
    devotion
    cheque
    hiking
    Thanksgiving Day
    improve
    retracted

    For the 2021 November PAD Chapbook Challenge, poets are tasked with authoring a poem a day in November before assembling a chapbook manuscript in December. Today’s prompt is to write a remix poem.

    ROBERT LEE BREWER

    For today’s prompt, write a remix poem. For this poem, take one of your poems (or several of your poems) and make a remixed version that is a completely new poem. This could involve lengthening a short poem or condensing a longer poem.

    Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.

    Thanksgiving JiYu Shi Poem

    Thanksgiving day
    A time for reflection
    A time to feast
    With friends and family
    Nowadays in person and zoom
    Hard to eat a turkey
    On zoom

    What am I grateful for?  Thanksgiving Day Poem

    On this Thanksgiving Day
    I am thankful
    For the fact
    That I have survived
    My 66 birthday

    My father and grandfather
    Both died at age 65
    And I felt a curse
    Had been lifted

    As I lived beyond
    That date

    No cancer
    No Alzheimers yet
    And no COVID

    Cheated death
    In my life
    22 times

    And most importantly
    I am still madly in love
    With the love of my life

    Whom I met
    In a dream
    39 years later

    She walked into my life
    Becoming my wife

    And this fairy tale romance
    Has continued to this date
    And for that I am thankful.

    What was on the Menu for the First Thanksgiving?

    “The history of the holiday meal tells us that turkey was always the centerpiece, but other courses have since disappeared What Was on the Menu at the First Thanksgiving?

    Megan Gambino” title=”What Was on the First Thanksgiving Menu”>

    Senior Editor

    November 21, 2011

    Traditional Thanksgiving dinner includes turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes but the First Thanksgiving likely included wildfowl, corn, porridge and venison. Bettmann / Corbis

    Today, the traditional Thanksgiving dinner includes any number of dishes: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. But if one were to create a historically accurate feast, consisting of only those foods that historians are certain were served at the so-called “first Thanksgiving,” there would be slimmer pickings. “Wildfowl was there. Corn, in grain form for bread or for porridge, was there. Venison was there,” says Kathleen Wall. “These are absolutes.”

    https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-thanksgiving-south-history-20171223-story.html#:~:text=In%20America%2C%20there%20was%20a%20time%20when%20even,War%2C%20circa%201864.%20%28Kean%20Collection%20%2F%20Getty%20Images%29
    In America, there was a time when even ‘Thanksgiving’ was a fightin’ word

    An engraving shows Union troops receiving Thanksgiving rations during the Civil War, circa 1864.

    (Kean Collection / Getty Images)

    BY JENNY JARVIE

    NOV. 23, 2017 3 AM PT

    Reporting from Atlanta —

    “When Americans across North and South gather for Thanksgiving around tables laden with turkey and cranberries, perhaps the biggest regional disagreement centers on stuffing versus dressing.

    It was not always so. In the runup to the Civil War, there was strong resistance in the South toward Thanksgiving itself.

    “With the whole prospect of a showdown over the expansion of slavery, there was more and more rhetoric coming out of the South charging that Thanksgiving was pretty much a Yankee abolitionist holiday,” said James C. Cobb, professor emeritus of history at the University of Georgia.

    While governors from Arkansas to Mississippi gradually embraced the idea of Thanksgiving in the 1840s, issuing Thanksgiving proclamations for their states, the idea of celebrating a traditional Puritan northern holiday became more contentious in the 1850s with the heightening temperature of the national slavery debate.

    “Thanksgiving was, above all, a New England holiday, and New England was abolitionist territory,” as Diana Karter Appelbaum put it in her book “Thanksgiving: An American Holiday, an American History.”

    For more see

    https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-thanksgiving-south-history-20171223-story.html#:~:text=In%20America%2C%20there%20was%20a%20time%20when%20even,War%2C%20circa%201864.%20%28Kean%20Collection%20%2F%20Getty%20Images%29

    The Invention of Thanksgiving

    Massacres, myths, and the making of the great November holiday.

    By Philip Deloria

    November 18, 2019

    “Autumn is the season for Native America. There are the cool nights and warm days of Indian summer and the genial query “What’s Indian about this weather?” More wearisome is the annual fight over the legacy of Christopher Columbus—a bold explorer dear to Italian-American communities, but someone who brought to this continent forms of slavery that would devastate indigenous populations for centuries. Football season is in full swing, and the team in the nation’s capital revels each week in a racist performance passed off as “just good fun.” As baseball season closes, one prays that Atlanta (or even semi-evolved Cleveland) will not advance to the World Series. Next up is Halloween, typically featuring “Native American Brave” and “Sexy Indian Princess” costumes. November brings Native American Heritage Month and tracks a smooth countdown to Thanksgiving. In the elementary-school curriculum, the holiday traditionally meant a pageant, with students in construction-paper headdresses and Pilgrim hats reënacting the original celebration. If today’s teachers aim for less pageantry and a slightly more complicated history, many students still complete an American education unsure about the place of Native people in the nation’s past—or in its present. Cap the season off with Thanksgiving, a turkey dinner, and a fable of interracial harmony. Is it any wonder that by the time the holiday arrives a lot of American Indian people are thankful that autumn is nearly over?

    Americans have been celebrating Thanksgiving for nearly four centuries, commemorating that solemn dinner in November 1621. We know the story well or think we do. Adorned in funny hats, large belt buckles, and clunky black shoes, the Pilgrims of Plymouth gave thanks to God for his blessings, demonstrated by the survival of their fragile settlement. The local Indians, supporting characters who generously pulled the Pilgrims through the first winter and taught them how to plant corn, joined the feast with gifts of venison. A good time was had by all before things quietly took their natural course: the American colonies expanded, the Indians gave up their lands and faded from history, and the germ of collective governance found in the Mayflower Compact blossomed into American democracy.

    Almost none of this is true, as David Silverman points out in “This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving” (Bloomsbury).”

    For more see

    https://search.yahoo.com/search?p=The+Invention+of+Thanksgiving

    The End

  • The Great Poetry E-Book Free-For-All

    The Great Poetry E-Book Free-For-All

    The Great Poetry E-Book Free-For-All

    Updated with complete list.  Due to time differences you may miss the deadline. if so, please contact the authors directly to see if they will be willing to send you a copy.  And please feel free to message me on FB or at my email authorjakecosmosaller@gmail and I will send you a copy of my chapbook (printed below as well) to whatever email address you provide.

    thanks.  This is the third time I have participated in this annual event.

    Book Free-For-All Submission

    Thanks for joining the 2021 Poetry Super Highway E-book Free-For-All!

    We’ve received your submission and as long as your e-book description is 50 words or less, we’ll add it to the list of e-books which will be available to download for 24 hours on December 1st! (If your description is longer than 50 words, look for a follow up email from us asking you to shorten it.)

    All submitted e-books will be freely available to download on December 1st for 24 hours, and when it’s all done, we’ll put up a page showing how many times each was downloaded.

    Here’s what you submitted:

    April 2021 Poetic Madness by Jake Aller

    Every April for the last few years, I have been competing in the annual April Poetry month competitions. This year I wrote 8 poems a day for a month. Here are the selected poems from that month of poetic madness.
    https://theworldaccordingtocosmos.com

    Thanks for joining in!

    Rick Lupert

    www.PoetrySuperHighway.com/psh
    www.haikuniverse.com

    F

    What?

    A crazy project in which your poetry e-books will be freely available to all interested humans on Earth for 24 hours.

    Throughout November we will collect e-books from poets and writers interested in participating.

    Then on December 1st, for 24 hours, a special website will go live with links to all of the e-books. For 24 hours anyone will be free to download, for free, as many of these e-books as they like…a poetry e-book free-for-all.

    How?

    To participate, read all of the guidelines below and then click on our Online Submission Form. That’s it. It’s simple. By doing so, your e-book will be included.

    The E-Book has to be written by you.

    E-books should be in PDF Format for universal compatibility with anyone’s computer.

    If you have an e-book in Microsoft Word or another format, please convert it to PDF. One way to do this (if you don’t know how) is to visit the website http://www.freepdfconvert.com/. From there you will be allowed to select the file on your computer which will be uploaded and emailed back to you in PDF format.

    When creating your e-book file, please keep it smaller than 1 megabyte.

    Once you’ve created your e-book (not before), click on our Online

    Submission Form to join in!

    Do not fill out the form and then e-mail us your e-book later. Please fill out the form and use it to upload your e-book to us.

    We are not accepting e-books or submissions by e-mail. The only way to join in is by clicking on the Online Submission Form below.

    On December 1 at Midnight (the evening of November 30), we will distribute a special e-mail letting people know the location of the web page with links to all of the e-book files. People will be free to download any or all of the titles and your poetry will be freely, electronically, traveling all over the world. This web page will go offline 24 hours later at Midnight on December 2nd.

    We will also list your e-book and description on this web page along with the link to your website for all to see.

    To submit your book, please go to our
    ONLINE SUBMISSION FORM

    E-Books In So Far:

    The Great Poetry E-Book Free-For-All

    The mission of the Poetry Super Highway is to expose as many people to as many other people’s poetry as possible.

    Download 75 Free E-Books Now!

    Thanks to everyone who donated e-books to this project. All of the books are now available for download by clicking on “Download Now” next to the author’s name below.

    Books will remain available until Midnight tonight (Tuesday evening December 1st Pacific).

    Check back here on December 2 to see how many of each were downloaded.

    E-Books:

    Agnostics Sing of Angels and Asks Why in Hell Not, the by Stephen Mead (Download this E-Book)
    Poems dating back to the 1990s & onward, revised but only typed in the last year, these words of spiritual seeking are rooted in the basic human need to find meaning to cope with and even celebrate existence.
    https://postcardsfromthedeepstephenmeadart.weebly.com/

    Always One More Verse of the Motherfucker Blues Left to Sing by John Sweet (Download this E-Book)
    A selection of recent, unpublished work
    https://bleedinghorse.blogspot.com/

    April 2021 Poetic Madness by Jake Aller (Download this E-Book)
    Every April for the last few years, I have been competing in the annual April Poetry month competitions. This year I wrote 8 poems a day for a month. Here are the selected poems from that month of poetic madness.
    https://theworldaccordingtocosmos.com

    Artists, Unknown by LB Sedlacek (Download this E-Book)
    Art doesn’t hum, notes found in notebooks or dropped in a parking lot make for good poems, howling dogs, tattoos, pineapples that look like grenades, kissing, and cartoons, cereal, spark plugs and action heroes — all things that make these poems a little bit different.
    http://www.lbsedlacek.com

    Ballad of Billy the Kid, the by Joe Blanda (Download this E-Book)
    A re-imagined account of the famous outlaw
    https://www.facebook.com/joe.blanda/

    Bavarian Home / Bayerisch Heimat by Duane L Herrmann (Download this E-Book)
    These poems by Duane L Herrmann reflect and share his experiences in his hometown of his great grandfather whose last name he shares. They are in both English and German and are forthcoming from the Origami Poems Project as TWO mirco chapbooks.

    Betelgeuse Dimming by Jean-Paul L. Garnier (Download this E-Book)
    A collection of speculative poetry. Nominated for the 2021 Elgin Award. Comes with free musical audiobook version download.
    https://spacecowboybooks.com/

    Bigfoot Parchments, the by Richard Rensberry (Download this E-Book)
    The Bigfoot Parchments are a poetic journey into the knowledge and secrets of how the Sasquatch read minds and warp time/space in order to appear and disappear at will. They also contain simple but profound truths that cannot be violated if one is to achieve the Sasquatch way to enlightenment.
    https://www.conversationswithsasquatch.com

    Blue Soul, A by Gabriella Garofalo (Download this E-Book)
    My irrepressible longing for reshaping in a new life the splinters of ice and life that wound me, so as to give them a fresh soul, is the drive enabling my words to be pervaded by that green fuse we might think of as the life and soul of poetry.

    Bokeh Focus: Poems by Raymond Luczak (Download this E-Book)
    With Bokeh Focus, Raymond Luczak trains his photographer’s eye as a gay man upon his subjects and examines the impact of imagery on one’s own identity.
    http://www.raymondluczak.com/

    Castles, wombs, armies, and pentecosts by R. Bremner (Download this E-Book)
    R. Bremner’s second book of poems, originally written in the late 1970s, updated with a few additions in the 1980s.

    Circling the Sun by Gaynor Kane (Download this E-Book)
    A micro-collection (from the Stickleback series, published by the Hedgehog Poetry Press) of poems about the early aviatrixes
    https://gaynorkane.com/

    Clean as a Broke Dick Dog by Alex Stolis (Download this E-Book)
    A story with a soundtrack, previously released by Red Ceilings Press

    Close Encounters Chapbook by Elizabeth Marchitti (Download this E-Book)
    A chapbook of my personal experiences, starting with meeting Santa on the elevator on my way to my cardioologist’s office.

    Concupiscent Consumption by LindaAnn LoSchiavo (Download this E-Book)
    Visit the love doctor: recall your first kiss, a sultry fling, that secret kink. “Concupiscent Consumption” is for anyone who’s ever been in love — or lost in lust. ― Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ―
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHm1NZIlTZybLTFA44wwdfg

    Dance is You, the by Shola Balogun (Download this E-Book)
    The Dance is You is a rich collection with the ordered flow of original verses and inventive colourful vibrations. This book of poems, presents dance as the autobiography of the soul, the expression of what we call life, and the encounter with the self.
    https://www.amazon.com/Shola-Balogun/e/B00LPRQU10?ref_=pe_1724030_132998060

    Dancing Under the Moon by Joan Leotta (Download this E-Book)
    Poems that show the joy of loving all things moon-related. Written about the rising moon and the early morning moon-set poems all on one page and then foldable into a mini book

    December 2014 by Jim Bennett (Download this E-Book)
    In December 2014 Jim Bennett wrote a poem every day. Many of these poems were later published but here these poems are brought together in the order they were written.
    https://poetrykit.org

    Discovery by Don Krieger (Download this E-Book)
    Discovery is a hybrid collection in three sections: America, Childhood’s End, To Save a Life. It’s an easy and interesting read — I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Thank you for reading it. The PDF is formatted for “Two Page View” in your PDF reader. All my best – Don
    http://DonsPoetryPage.com

    Distillations by Cheryl Snell (Download this E-Book)
    Prose poems by Cheryl Snell, offering a road map of the quotidian with the exits clearly marked.
    https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.snell/

    Duality Of Moonlight, The by Kirsten G. Munro (Download this E-Book)
    This wonderful poetry book is filled with different poems and situations exploring the darkness and light that humans have within them.

    Ducks by Don Kingfisher Campbell (Download this E-Book)
    Poems composed in the last baker’s dozen years about anything duckie. Titles include: American Juror Pool, 7 AM Relativity, CNN Universe, May the fourth be with you, Love Arboretum, Magical Legg, and The Big Pineapple!

    Fantastic Forms by Don Kingfisher Campbell (Download this E-Book)
    Poems composed in the last 24 years about things fantastic and forms. Titles include: How Did Heaven Begin, Just an Apple, Women in Starbucks, Facebook Newsfeed Sonnets, and A pair of lips for the apocalypse.
    http://dkc1031.blogspot.com

    Fib Sequence by Larissa Shmailo (Download this E-Book)
    Like the seeds on the head of a sunflower, the poems, translations, and story in Fib Sequence whorl according to a special pattern. Here you will find arachnids, jealous women, numbers, and half truths..
    https://larissashmailo.com

    Flatman: Poems of Protest in the Trump Era by Cheryl Caesar (Download this E-Book)
    This book chronicles the reign of a villain in villanelles — and other poetry forms.
    http://caesarc.msu.domains/

    Fragments: a Poetry Sampler by James Thomas Fletcher (Download this E-Book)
    A eclectic sampling: twenty-one poems selected from ten poetry collections.
    https://www.linktree.com/jamesthomasfletcher

    Heyday by Bruce McRae (Download this E-Book)
    A collection of recent poems.
    https://www.poetrysuperhighway.com/psh/brucemc

    History of Love, a by Dmitry Turovsky (Download this E-Book)
    Romantic love poetry.
    http://poets.us

    Horrific Punctuation by John Reinhart (Download this E-Book)
    Commas scratch poisoned marks in blood, Thor makes an enthusiastic appearance! shotguns make dark holes to mark the end…or maybe the beginning of something new. Zombies, harpies, Odin, yeti…they’re all here in this chapbook of monstrous punctuation-themed poems.
    http://home.hampshire.edu/~jcr00/reinhart.html

    I Am The Tang You Are The Handle by Jim Bennett (Download this E-Book)
    In this selection of poems Jim Bennett looks at relationships. From one end to the other.
    https://poetrykit.org

    Intricate Things in their Fringed Peripheries by Cheryl Snell (Download this E-Book)
    In Cheryl Snell’s new collection of lyrical free verse narratives, the poet meditates on moments of light and shadow, and how the world is made and unmade by the least of us Intricate Things in their Fringed Peripheries.
    https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.snell/

    Journey So Far, The by Rachel Berger (Download this E-Book)
    A selection of poems written from adolescence to adulthood. These poems are about my journey through traumatic experiences in my life. I seek to help and encourage others with my words to overcome their traumatic experiences and live a successful life.

    Last Time I Had To See You, the by Victoria Hunter (Download this E-Book)
    The Last Time I Had To See You is a chapbook of poems that first came as journal sketches of Victoria’s daydreams of splashes of blood, echoes of mind-gripping space, and dates with ghosts. The poems celebrate the authors’ ability to hook the reader with various creative writing techniques.
    https://amzn.to/3rAAR3B

    Leaving Home: Discoveries and Reflections of a Once-Sheltered Heart by Randal Burd (Download this E-Book)
    Leaving Home takes the reader on a life-changing journey. There will be tears, the sudden burst of laughter, and a warm smile that will linger on your face like the glow of a fading summer day as you discover the truth of what it means to love, lose, and live.
    http://theedgeofmemory.com

    Left of the Dial by Alex Stolis (Download this E-Book)
    A chapbook released by corrupt press, a series of poems written while listening to late night radio

    Library Poems by Don Kingfisher Campbell (Download this E-Book)
    Poems composed in and around libraries over the past 24 years. Put together to raise funds for the Sims Library of Poetry. If you wish, please make a donation to that fine place. Enjoy!
    http://dkc1031.blogspot.com

    Loss of Sense, the by Colin Dardis (Download this E-Book)
    THE LOSS OF SENSE is an experimental prose poem in twenty-four parts. Framed within the context of a twenty-four hour cycle, the poem breaks down typical sentence construction and use of language to mirror the seemingly non-linear thought processes of the depressed mind.
    http://www.colindardispoet.co.uk

    Love Objects by Don Kingfisher Campbell (Download this E-Book)
    Poems composed in the last lucky thirteen years about love and objects. Titles include: How Dark Is It, My Object Life, Thanks to Ten Circling Electrons, Powerlines above butterflies, and Thirteen Ways of Looking at Poppies.
    http://dkc1031.blogspot.com

    Loveless land-Happyn hell poems by Hanoch Guy (Download this E-Book)
    PLeasures and tortures of love are articulated in this chapbook. Lovers are doomed to go through yearning fulfillment and bitter disappointments.

    Making a Show of Myself 2020/21 by Jim Bennett (Download this E-Book)
    Each year Jim sellects a set of poems to be used at readings and 2020 was no different apart from the fact that everything was cancelled. So here is the show that never was and how, given the chance, Jim would have made a show of himself.
    https://poetrykit.org

    Metaphorical Moon, the by John Mannone (Download this E-Book)
    The Metaphorical Moon is a chapbook collection of moon-related poetry. The poems are arbitrarily divided into four (non-mutually exclusive) sections covering childhood, family, lovers, nature, environment, philosophy and spirituality. Some of the poems involve solar or lunar eclipses, in which the sun, moon and Earth are all involved.
    https://jcmannone.wordpress.com

    Morning by Morning by Joan Leotta (Download this E-Book)
    Poems of Dawn
    Six poems of dawn printable on a single page, foldable into a mini book
    Published by Origami poems
    Morning by Morning and Dancing Under the Moon, two free mini-chapbooks are at https://www.origamipoems.com/poets/257-joan-leotta

    Musings on a Native Life by Duane L Herrmann (Download this E-Book)
    In these poems the author explores the loss of his Native ancestry and heritage. An estimated forty percent of Americans, whose ancestors came to North America before the nineteenth century, have Native or African blood, or both. Maybe more thought will be given by more people to this possibility.
    https://dlherrmann.wixsite.com/home

    My Country – My People & Selected Poetry by Seshendra Sharma Sharma (Download this E-Book)
    Seshendra is colossus of modern Poetry. His literature is a unique blend of the best of poetry and poetics. His Homepage : Seshendra:Visionary Poet of the Millennium presents essence / spirit of the millennium in powerful poetic style. Seshendra Sharma is one of the most outstanding minds of modern.
    http://seshendrasharma.weebly.com

    Naked Truth, the by JR Simons (Download this E-Book)
    This is J. R. Simons’ second chapbook of poetry, filled with poems that tell the naked truth about society and culture.
    https://bit.ly/3wKq3Aj

    Nasty Girls by Lynne Bronstein (Download this E-Book)
    A collection of poems about women who broke the rules, did what they wanted to do, slept with whom they wanted, and were sometimes really nasty.

    Natural Elements by Duane L Herrmann (Download this E-Book)
    Natural Elemenst is a collection of 27 poems celebrating the natural prairie world. Herrmann has lived on the American prairie for seven decades, distilled in these poems. His prairie roots go deeper and further than his life, the fifth generation of European descent and untold generations of Native peoples.
    https://dlherrmann.wixsite.com/home

    october love (smells sweet like rot) by julzzz hazard & al yen (Download this E-Book)
    The authors introduce a teaser of their upcoming chapbook “october love (smells sweet like rot).” The poems included are inspired by Halloween vibes and authors’ love for twisted gore-y metaphors. The complete chapbook is going to be tightly packed with thrill, naughtiness and our visual art as a creepy bonus.
    http://yourlocaldreamers.com/

    On the Run with Dick and Jane by Alex Stolis (Download this E-Book)
    A mini chapbook released by Yavanika Press, a series of poems that chronicles a road trip by Dick and Jane

    Once You Find The Right Dream by Kaye Abikhaled (Download this E-Book)
    Life becomes simpler once you find your personal direction. Then follow your dream.

    Permit Wonder by Jan Keough (Download this E-Book)
    PERMIT WONDER is a wondrous book of compassionate and honest poems that always ring true. In writing her own story, Jan Keough lets you recognize your own. Humans and animals alike are finely observed in this collection of poems.
    https://jankeough.com/

    Petals by I. B. Rad (Download this E-Book)
    Petals portrays the evolving relationship between the primary author and his late wife, Mari Lyn, from the beginning through “old” age and beyond. It’s not your typical tribute. But take a look and decide for yourself!

    Plains of Heaven, the by F. J. Bergmann (Download this E-Book)
    12 ekphrastic poems accompanied by full-color images of the paintings by Kelli Hoppmann that inspired them.
    https://fibitz.com/

    Plaster of Kalinka by Christian Garduno (Download this E-Book)
    “Plaster of Kalinka” is a collection of twenty poems published by Christian Garduno from May to November 2021.
    https://christiangarduno.gumroad.com/l/yqDOx

    Poetry Love Sex Music Booze & Death, 2018 by Bruce Taylor (Download this E-Book)
    About half my poems have historically found themselves in what might be considered more “traditional forms”: Sonnets, Villanelles, Sonnets. Sestinas. This collection brings together many of those poems in one volume. I know it is an aggressive title, one response I got when announced, was “Yeah, but what’s it about?”
    https://people.uwec.edu/taylorb/

    Rain Girl, The by Rose Mary Boehm (Download this E-Book)
    Vivid and lush, with a voice that you will not forget, THE RAIN GIRL is an absolute pleasure. What a delight to experience the world as Boehm does from “birch and ash on witches’ brooms” to the “Snow geese… in baobab trees”. Simply lovely. ‬
    https://www.rose-mary-boehm-poet.com/

    Random Thoughts Through Corona by Joolz Juliet (Download this E-Book)
    This E-book is about the random thoughts that occurred at the onset, during and after the initial shock of the corona virus pandemic. Thoughts ran rampant as many of us navigated the desolate world.
    https://joolzmjulietfreelancewriter.mystrikingly.com/

    Repulsion Thrust by Magdalena Ball (Download this E-Book)
    “This debut full-length poetry collection by Australian poet Magdalena Ball is full of poetic thrust, propelling the reader through thought-provoking and beautifully crafted considerations of love, illness, identity, genetics, the environment, planet – and more!” ~Sarah James
    http://www.magdalenaball.com

    Rumblings2021 by Rosalind Lee (Download this E-Book)
    A rather pessimistic look back and forwards, not sure if its worth reading at all, as I haven’t written much poetry for ages. I have been bullied by a group of money mad mind reading Nazi types. All screaming they are victims of the holocaust, and are affected! Enjoy!
    http://www.anglohenge.co.uk

    Sampler Sampler by Don Kingfisher Campbell (Download this E-Book)
    A sampling of chapbooked works over the past 24 years. Titles include: Campbell’s Travels, Owed to Aluminum, I’m in Love with This Building, Because I’m a Performer in the Theater of Life, A Gerund Life, Mouchette, Inside My Jambo Head, Granada Park Love, and Analogy Planets.
    http://dkc1031.blogspot.com

    Satan in Chicago by Eric Evans (Download this E-Book)
    Satan In Chicago from Eric Evans and features his take on far-flung topics like Fahrenheit 451, soldiers in the Terracotta Army, the lovemaking habits of acrobats, and the judgmental nature of crows. “Fans of poetry filled with heartbreak and humor,’ writes Broken Pencil magazine, “must check out Evans’ work.”
    https://inkpublications1.wixsite.com/mysite

    Selected Poems by Dave Lewis (Download this E-Book)
    A sample ‘Selected Poems’ from my first eight poetry collections.
    http://www.david-lewis.co.uk

    Shat In Space by Rick Lupert (Download this E-Book)
    New poems from Rick Lupert including selections from the forthcoming collection “Hawaiiku.”
    https://www.poetrysuperhighway.com/

    So Be It by Ralph Culver (Download this E-Book)
    A chapbook of thirteen poems by Ralph Culver that the late Marvin Bell called “brilliant from start to finish.” “So deft and moving are his poems that they will long abide as reminders of what it is to be human.” –Sydney Lea
    https://madhat-press.com/products/a-passable-man-by-ralph-culver

    Solitude Album by Mary Langer Thompson (Download this E-Book)
    Sixteen of Mary Langer Thompson’s recent poems focusing on loneliness or fear of being alone.

    Soul Songs by Duane L Herrmann (Download this E-Book)
    Nineteen poems inspired by the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith which has three foundational principles: one Creator, one creation (one human race), and one stream of Divine Revelation which has progressively guided mankind. We are in a time of transition and new divine guidance is needed.
    https://dlherrmann.wixsite.com/home

    Tale of Twin Cities by Alex Stolis (Download this E-Book)
    A collection of call and response poems about Minneapolis and St. Paul written by Michael Gausse and Alex Stolis. released by Fowlpox press

    There Will Be a Reckoning: Poetry of Magic and Dread by David Vandervort (Download this E-Book)
    Welcome to a world of ghosts and vampires, of serial apocalypses and terrifying visions. The world is cracked, burning, lost. Count on nothing, though. These poems come from a strange, fevered place, where humor masks tragedy and angels and demons keep score. The end is nigh. Trust me.

    This Will Remain With Us by Melissa Mendelson (Download this E-Book)
    As a frontline worker, I had no choice but to face this new threat, and as I did, my heart bled, sweeping across the pages of this book.

    Two Friends by Craig Kirchner (Download this E-Book)
    Some recent musings of friends coming and going.

    Two of Us, The by David Feela (Download this E-Book)
    The Two of Us is a short collection of chatter fiction, totally written as “quote, unquote” dialogue. Poetic…maybe, but It is intended to be funny, so occasionally you may involuntarily laugh, or at least smile.
    http://feelasophy.weebly.com

    Unreliable Narratives by Magdalena Ball (Download this E-Book)
    In Unreliable Narratives, Magdalena Ball invites us to open a Pandora’s box of memories. Like smoke rising from a candle and casting shadows and lights that shift and evade, the poems morph and twist with the dexterity of a master poet. They will draw you in.
    http://www.magdalenaball.com

    Vipercity by Vincent Zepp (Download this E-Book)
    A multiverse Tour de Force from Vincent Zepp.

    Wanderings: Selected Poems by D.L. Lang by D.L. Lang (Download this E-Book)
    A collection of poems by former Vallejo Poet Laureate D.L. Lang.
    http://www.dianalangpoetry.com

    Weightlifter by Michael Estabrook (Download this E-Book)
    One no-longer-young man’s dealings with the trials and tribulations of staying in shape by lifting weights, even though he’s aware that that particular ship has sailed.

     

    April Poetry Madness 2021 Poetry from the Mad Cosmos

    By

    Jake Cosmos Aller

    Available December 1, 2021. Watch for the link.

    This is the fifth time I did the April poetry challenge.  The goal is to write at least one poem per day.  I am averaging about eight per day and posting four reserving four as “unpublished”. I am basing the poems on prompts from “Writing com Dew Drop Inn”, “Writers Digest”, “Poetry Superhighway” and “NaPoWrMo” prompt daily prompts and on “Pensively Prompt’ et all daily prompts.  I am combining prompts where possible.   I will post these here in batches every five days or so. Each poem will have an image that helped inspire the poem.  All postings will be podcasted a few days later on Spotify and elsewhere.  Each posting will be a separate posting, but the index will be cumulative. The final posting will have the complete list of all poems written whether posted or not.   Comments welcome but please keep it civil. Some of my poetry tends to be a bit “in your face” or “political” from a “leftwing perspective.”  If it offends you in some way, please accept my apologies in advance.  That is never my intent.

    I wrote more than 200 poems and so this is a selected list.  The complete list can be found on my web page, https://theworldaccordingtocosmos along with 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017 poems.  For 2022 I will enter it again and post daily on my blog, my podcast, writing com, all poetry, writer’s digest, and NaPoWrMo sites.

    Index

    Pre-April Writer’s Digest Warm-Up Poems

    Let’s Resolve

    Old Man Reflects Upon Universal Truth
    Almost Died 22 Times
    Every Day I Turn on My Computer

    Thursday, April 1, 2021

    Coffee Pot Blues Poetry
    Who Is Jake Cosmos Aller?
    Good Golly, Miss Molly
    Sam Adams Woke Up Dead

    Friday, April 2, 2021

    Stranded on Mars
    Falling in Love with My Dream Woman,
    Voila! (Remember Something in A Short Lyric Burst)
    The Future Is Here

     

    Saturday, April 3, 2021

    Life as a Retired Expat in Korea
    Modern Connections Writers Digest
    Surprise Haiku
    Personal Universe Deck Superman on Mars
    Cat People Weather Poem

    Sunday, April 4, 2021

    Mirror Poem Errors in My Life
    Little Houses on The Hill-Side

    Monday April 5, 2021

    The First Time I Saw Her
    Not Alone
    Potential Mistake

    We are Living in SF World
    Life is a Dream of Chocolate Covered Trees
    Memories of JC Write About an Eccentric Character
    Mary’s Tales from the Grave
    God’s to Do List
    Imprisoned for a Crime He Did Not Do
    They Both Giggled All the Time
    What is Love?
    Prime Love
    Three Tea Haiku for Teaku Competition Haiku
    Mad Monk in the temple
    In The Morning Light
    Drinking his hot tea

    link available on December 1, 2021

    The End

    Begin Poems

    Let’s Resolve

    Let’s resolve

    Live each moment
    Each day
    As if it were our last day

    Let’s resolve
    Every day to love
    And honor one another

    Let’s resolve
    To never give in
    To hate and fear

    To always keep in mind
    Today could be our last

    Old Man Reflects Upon Universal Truth

    An old man
    Reflects upon universal truths
    That he had learned

    In his 65 years
    Of traveling around the sun

    First the most important thing
    In life is getting love right
    Love did drive everything

    Second universal truth

    Love will always eventually
    Find a way

    Third universal truth

    Hate will never prevail
    In the end love and light
    Will conquer the fear
    And darkness

    He smiled
    And went for a walk
    With his wife
    The love of his life

    For today’s prompt, write a universal poem. The poem could be about a universal truth, universal experience, or a film from Universal Pictures. There’s an entire universe worth of material for today’s poem

    Writer’s digest prompt

    Almost Died 22 Times

    I almost died 22 times
    I almost died 22 times
    In my life

    Had Typhoid fever
    Had Dengue

    Had an MDRS staff infection
    Had 14 operations

    Almost amputated my leg
    Almost ran over by a bus
    Almost ran over by a train

    Had acute GI infection
    That could have killed me
    Had a rare parasite

    Whose only know the function
    Is it blows up if you get steroids?

    Had fibromyalgia
    Had arthritis
    Had bronchitis

    Had pneumonia
    Had the flue several times
    Had whooping cough

    Had measles
    Had German measles
    Had whooping cough

    Born with bad vision
    Born with bad teeth

    Born with bad hearing
    Born as a preemie

    I have lived 65 years
    And am still alive
    And have not gotten
    COVID

    So perhaps I will live
    On for many more years

    For today’s prompt, take the phrase “Almost (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 could include: “Almost Ready,” “Almost Missed It,” and/or “Almost Didn’t Write This Poem.”

    Writer’s digest prompt

    Note:  based on a true story.  For details see “Cheating Death 22 Times” on my web page, https://theworldaccordingtocosmos.com

    Every Day I Turn on My Computer

    Every day I turn
    On my computerAnd pray
    That everything will work right

    Usually, I encounter numerous errors
    Non-response errors
    Spinning blue balls

    Computer thinking
    How can I mess
    With my master head errors

    Refusing
    To open documents
    Mysterious haiku-like error messages

    That makes sense only to computer geeks
    From the planet Mars

    Saying the file is open
    And blocked for use

    By the administrator
    But I am the

    Damn administrator!
    And I did not block the document

    Or can’t open the document
    Due to a dialogue box

    Close the dialogue box
    To proceed
    But there is no dialogue box

    Just more lies
    From my computer
    Designed to drive me

    Quite mad

    So sad
    So bad
    Want to shoot my computer

    Put it out of its mystery
    Joining the other five dead
    Computers in my house

    Am I a computer serial killer?
    Perhaps that is why
    Do they refuse to work for me?
    Are they afraid of me?

    Sometimes they say
    They can’t find the document
    Which just kicked me out of
    Five minutes ago

    Or the computer says
    It can’t save a document
    With the name of an open document
    But just saved the open document
    Under the same name

    Five minutes ago
    Usually
    After half an hour

    These errors recede
    But I often have to reboot
    The computer

    Giving it the old kick up the head
    Of a stubborn mule treatment
    Before it gets to the point

    And gets to work

    To give Microsoft some credit
    These errors are less frequent

    Down to 40% of the time
    When I first open a document
    Down from 90% error rates

    Success in a way
    I complained to Microsoft
    Sent them a nice frown message

    But I would be shocked
    If they ever respond
    Just not something
    That they would do

    Part of their “superior”
    Listen to their customer
    Friendly service
    No doubt

    For today’s prompt, write a warm-up poem. The warm-up could be related to sports, like warming up before a baseball game or track race. Or it could be about a computer warming up, the weather warming up, or even a relationship warming up. I hope everyone is warmed up for some major poeming in April

    Writer’s Digest Prompt

    Thursday, April 1, 2021

    Coffee Pot Blues

    Coffee Pot Blues
    The coffee pot sighed

    He was getting so tired
    Of the whole COVID thing

    Every morning his master
    Would make himself two cups of coffee
    Using him to make the coffee

    The worst thing about this covid thing
    It keeps them home
    For almost one and half years

    He wanted them to just leave
    So, he could have
    Some peace

    And not have to work
    Every damn day

    As their mechanical slave
    But did they ask for his opinion
    They most certainly not
    Much to his dismay

    Pick an object where you live and write a poem in the voice of that object describing how they spent this last year, during the pandemic.  Think about the “What I Did Last Summer” type of essays you may have written in school.  How did the events of the past year impact this object?  Are there any aspects of the past year that the object particularly liked or disliked, and if so, why?  What does the object think about you, and your behavior over the past year?  Feel free to use humor.

    Poetry Superhighway Prompt

    Who Is Jake Cosmos Aller?

    Who is Jake Cosmos Aller?
    You asked me
    Who am I?

    And thanks for asking me

    I am Jake Cosmos Aller
    The only
    65 years old

    Retired from
    the government services
    Living in Korea

    Grew up in Berkeley, California
    Lived all over the world
    Did so many things
    And now

    I am a published writer
    But what
    is more important
    Is this

    When I was a young man
    I met and married
    The girl of my dreams

    She walked out
    of my dreams
    Into my life
    almost 40 years ago

    That was the date
    I met my fate
    And started my life
    With the love of my life
    Who became my wife

    In the end
    That is all that matters
    My friends.

    For today’s prompt, write an introductory poem. Introduce yourself, introduce a friend, or introduce a stranger. If you don’t wish to introduce yourself, consider writing a persona poem (a poem in which you write from someone else’s point of view like Emily Dickinson or a bumblebee). Of course, you could also introduce a problem, solution, or just a situation. Have fun with it!

    Writer’s Digest Prompt

    Good Golly, Miss Molly

    Good Golly,
    Miss Molly
    What a bit of folly
    Let’s be jolly
    Have a red-hot tamale

    Here at the Dew Drop Inn, we gather together to write a poem a day in April as a way to celebrate National Poetry Month.

    A Dew-Drop a Day in April for National Poetry Month!

    April 1—Folly in Rhyme (some kind of folly in some kind of rhyme, subtle or overt)
    Writing Com Dew Drop Inn Prompt

    Sam Adams Woke Up Dead

    Sam Adams was having a bad day
    He had met a strange man
    In a strange bar, in a strange land

    The man told him
    Beware, today is the date
    You will meet your fate

    Sam Adams drank too much
    Twenty drinks too sober
    Drank until he died

    Found himself in a huge room
    With hundreds of people milling about

    The hangover from h … pounding his head
    Sam Adams groans,
    Shouting out

    Where am I?
    “In limbo, my friend, in limbo”

    Growled Mr. GR, the grim reaper
    Dressed in a sharp, expensive, tailored black suit
    Wearing cool sunglasses

    State your name

    Sam Adams

    Hmm

    Oh, there may be a mistake
    But what the hey,
    The records are never fake

    Not yet the date
    For you to meet your fate

    Go back to your mate

    He found himself
    Home with his wife
    The love of his long life

    Wondering until late
    If it had happened?

    What was his fate?

    He asked her
    Did I go out last night?

    What, no you’ve been here

    He explained what had happened
    She said it was just a bad dream
    Covid fears had kept them home

    The phone rang
    It was the man from the bar

    Did you have an interesting night?

    Oh well, Mr. GR comes for us all
    Soon you will meet your fate
    But not on this date

    And without further ado, our daily prompt (optional, as always)! Sometimes, writing poetry is a matter of getting outside of your head, and learning to see the world in a new way. To an extent, you have to “derange” yourself – make the world strange and see it as a stranger might. To help you do that, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem inspired by this animated version of “Seductive Fantasy” by Sun Ra and his Orchestra. If you don’t feel after watching it a little bit like the top of your head’s been taken off, and your thoughts are given a good stir – well, maybe you are already living in a state of heightened poetic awareness!

    NaPoWrMo Prompt

    Cat Thoughts –

    black cat
    black cat

    I often think about Cats
    Where do they come from?
    What are they?
    Are cats from another dimension?

    Are cats, alien creatures
    Advance party
    For the alien invasion?

    Cats are very strange creatures
    They seem to think
    We are their slaves

    We exist to feed them
    We exist to worship them
    For they are our Gods

    Pensively 101 prompt

    Gingerbread Men Terrorist

    The latest terror weapons
    Gingerbread men
    Baked into the gingerbread men

    Little nano bombs
    That goes off
    When someone bites
    Into the delicious taking desert

    Millions of gingerbread treats
    Were sent all over
    And thousands of people

    Bit into the tainted gingerbread men
    Once the gingerbread particles
    Get into your stomach
    The acid in your stomach

    Activities the bombs
    And you blow up
    And die within minutes
    Just another day
    In this world
    Of strange SF like-sounding
    Daily threats du jour

    Demons Invade My Head

    3 am
    O dark hundred
    The witching hour

    When the demons
    The wild things
    Come out to play

    Torturing me
    Haunting me
    Tormenting me

    As I toss and turn
    Until the dawn’s early light
    Drives the demons
    Back into the dark hell holes
    Deep within my mind

    Pensively 101 Prompt

    3 Am Blues Nightmares

    3 am
    Cannot sleep
    Too many demons
    Too many dark thoughts
    Filling my mind
    With dread

    Thinking back
    Of all that I have done
    And failed to have done

    Regretting past actions
    Thinking about everything
    Wishing for a re-do

    These 3 am blues
    Will not leave me alone
    Torturing me for hours

    Then I see her
    Sleeping there
    The love of my life

    And a sense of peace
    Love and happiness
    Radiates from my sleeping wife

    And the darkness recedes
    And I am at peace
    And finally, fall asleep

    Marjorie Taylor Green on Vaccines as Mark of The Beast Found Poem

    Marjorie Taylor Green called
    The potential launch of digital
    “Vaccine passports”,
    “Biden’s mark of the beast.”

    a digital identification processes
    To recognize whether
    A person has been vaccinated

    “They are talking
    About people’s ability
    to buy and sell linked
    To the vaccine passport,”

    The “mark of the beast”
    refers to a persistent conspiracy theory
    Among the religious right in the us

    That receiving
    A covid vaccine is equivalent
    To pledge allegiance to the devil.

    Representee Jordan weighed in

    “The Biden administration: –
    Considering a “vaccination passport” for Americans,”

    But doesn’t seem to care about passports
    When it comes to illegal migrants
    Crossing the southern border.”

    Ohio representative mike boychik wrote:
    “Vaccine passports
    Have no place in a free society.”

    Emerald Robinson
    Wrote that a digital id
    To prove you’ve been vaccinated
    Was the next step toward
    “Totalitarian communism.”

    Donald trump jr

    Also took to Twitter

    “Let me get this straight…
    some democrats
    Want American citizens

    To have a vaccine passport
    to travel freely within the United States
    But not an id to vote?!?

    Clowns!!!”

    Comment:

    Ironical that these clowns
    Are calling these policies
    Designed to help
    Safely re-open society

    The acts of “clowns”

    Oh, the stupid
    It hurts my head

    Reading such nonsense

    But the sad reality
    Are that millions of people
    Will believe this

    And refuse to get vaccinated
    Putting us all at risk

    And so, I say to Miss Taylor
    And her ilk

    What is wrong with you?

    Just shut up
    Get your shot

    And tell your followers
    To get vaccinated

    The life you save
    Might be your own

    End comment

    Source Document

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-vaccine-passport-biden-b1824212.html

    Far-right Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene hit out at president Biden and his administration over reports of the potential launch of digital “vaccine passports”, saying they should be called “Biden’s mark of the beast.”

    The Biden administration is looking into the possibility of a digital identification process to recognize whether a person has been vaccinated so far or not, to let businesses reopen, and for people to get back to work, according to the Washington Post.

    “They are talking about people’s ability to buy and sell linked to the vaccine passport,” the Georgia congresswoman wrote on Twitter, hitting out at the potential new plan. “They might as well call it Biden’s mark of the beast.”

    The “mark of the beast” refers to a persistent conspiracy theory among the religious right in the us that receiving a covid vaccine is equivalent to pledging allegiance to the devil.

    The new move towards vaccine “passports” isn’t a government policy alone, however, and is being developed along with 17 private companies, according to the Wappo report, as part of Mr. Biden’s pledge to bring the country back to normal this summer, opening all sectors including sports, entertainment, and tourism.

    “The busboy, the janitor, the waiter that works at a restaurant, want to be surrounded by employees that are going back to work safely — and wants to have the patrons ideally be safe as well,” said dry brian Anderson, a physician at a nonprofit that runs federally funded research centers.

    “Creating an environment for those vulnerable populations to get back to work safely — and to know that the people coming back to their business are ‘safe,’ and vaccinated — would be a great scenario,” he said.

    The details of how and when the digital identification process would begin aren’t clear yet. Ms. Greene wasn’t alone in raising doubts over the process, as another republican lawmaker, Jim Jordan, took a jibe at the Biden administration over the move.

    “The Biden administration: – considering a “vaccination passport” for Americans,” the Ohio representative wrote. “But doesn’t seem to care about passports when it comes to illegal migrants crossing the southern border.”

    Another Ohio representative Mike Boychik wrote: “vaccine passports have no place in a free society.”

    Several other conservatives also followed their lead. Newsmax’s white house correspondent emerald Robinson wrote that a digital id to prove you’ve been vaccinated was the next step toward “totalitarian communism.”

    Donald trump jr also took to Twitter and wrote: “let me get this straight… Some Democrats want American citizens to have a vaccine passport to travel freely within the United States but not an id to vote?!? Clowns!!!”

    Last year, during the presidency of his father Donald trump, most republicans were pushing to open up the country soon, including calls by the president to open up schools and remove restrictions from churches.

    Former white house coronavirus response coordinator dry Deborah bird recently said in an interview that most deaths that occurred during the pandemic were “avoidable”.

     

    Friday, April 2, 2021

    Falling in Love with My Dream Woman, Roads Not Taken

    When I was a young man
    I dreamt of meeting a woman
    For eight years she haunted my dreams

    Then I met her in Korea
    Where I was teaching
    For the U.S. Army
    After finishing the Peace Corps

    I had a choice
    Follow my heart
    Seize the moment
    Be with her

    Or leave Korea
    Within a month
    To go to graduate school

    I decided to postpone
    My graduate school
    For one year

    Got a deferred admission
    and joined the woman
    of my dreams

    thinking back
    I had no real choice

    But I chose to walk
    The path of life
    With my dream girl

    And that has made
    All the difference
    In the world

    And now, for today’s (optional) prompt. In the world of well-known poems, maybe there’s no gem quite so hoary as Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem about your road not taken – about a choice of yours that has “made all the difference,” and what might have happened had you made a different choice.

    NaPoWrMo Prompt

    April 2—Voila! (Remember something in a short lyric burst)

    I will always remember that date
    In 1982 I meet my fate
    When the love of my life

    Walked out of my dreams
    Becoming my wife

    Drew Drop-In Writing Com Prompt

    The Future is Here World

    The future is here
    They say we live in an SF world
    Everyday SF stories become nightmarishly real

    AI proliferating
    Robots cooks, robot workers,
    Soon robot maids, Robot drivers

    Yet Our politics
    Fighting the battles
    Of the past

    With the challenges
    Of the future
    Overwhelming us all
    Where it ends

    My friends are anyone guess
    All I have is questions

    Will the promise
    of technological marvels
    Benefiting us all come to past

    Or will it lead to a world
    Where the powerful
    Control the technology

    Will a real AI be a god-like figure
    Will humanity become nothing
    But slaves to the AI supermini
    That may be the future

    Coming at us
    The future is here

    I don’t know
    Whether to fear
    The future or embrace it

    Writing com Prompt

    Avoid Bad Things Pensively Bad Things

    Avoid bad things,

    Think before you buy,
    Make sure it is effective,

    Push the envelope,
    In the evening mail
    Knowing it will take
    Much longer,

    To match the offer,

    Own plenty of stocks,

     

    Post your problems,

    Replace your fears,

    As you rush about the world,
    Resist the temptation
    To say it is all the same,
    Don’t have a smug,
    Attitude tucked inside,
    Your mental well

    The White Rabbit Beckons Sam Adams

    One day Sam Adams
    Fell into a delirium state
    After a night of binge drinking
    And drug taking

    He saw a white rabbit
    Who said to Sam

    Join me, good sir
    And we will go
    On a journey
    Of your life

    Follow me down
    The rabbit holes
    Of life

    Take this first he said
    It will cure your hangover
    And allow you to enter
    An alternative reality

    Sam took the pill
    Washed it down
    With a beer

    And disappeared
    Into wonderland
    Never to be seen again

    Who Cares?

    The thought came to mind
    Watching the endless news
    Who cares anymore?
    About other people

    We are all
    Lost in our world
    Filled with the latest news

    The situation is so bad
    Makes us all mad
    And it is so sad

    But we only watch
    The news of our tribe

    Denouncing the others
    As “others”

    Anti-American, foreign, evildoers
    Who are trying to destroy the country?
    And take away their freedom

    And so, we can’t even agree
    On such simple things
    Like wearing a mask

    Wearing a mask
    Is not a political statement
    It saves lives

    Vaccinations save lives
    Everyone must get their shot
    If we are all going to live

    But so many people
    Do not believe
    We are all in this together

    Instead, we battle
    Our enemies
    In the end

    Endangering us all

    Saturday, April 3, 2021

    Life as a Retired Expat in Korea

    Korea has become a second home
    For me

    I have in-laws
    And some old friends
    It is a tough place
    For foreigners

    I will always be an outsider
    The language is hard
    I still struggle daily

    But it is an interesting dynamic place
    The food is mostly outstanding
    And I am now addicted to K Drama

    There were a lot of things to do
    Before the COVID nightmare
    Let to a partial shut down

    In the end, I feel safer here
    Then in the gun-crazed,
    At times violent

    COVID pandemic spreading America
    I still love in my heart,
    But for now

    I am here
    In my second home

    Imagine you have made your life in another country. What excited you most? Which aspect of that new life was the most difficult to conquer?

    If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Superhighway Facebook Group.

    PSH Prompt

    Modern Connections

    In this day and age
    Of instant connectively
    People have thousands
    Of virtual friends

    FB friends, social media fans
    Zoom buddies and the like

    But few people
    Have real old fashioned friends
    And in the new social distancing world
    Meeting people the old fashioned way

    Is becoming rarer and rarer
    As people develop their virtual friends
    Real live friends are fewer and fewer

    We are so hyper-connected
    Yet many people are so alone
    In their hearts

    Starting at their smartphones
    Connecting but not connecting

    For today’s prompt, write a communication poem. All poems communicate something, I know, but I’m thinking of different ways people can communicate text messages, letters, signs, and even speaking dialogue. Of course, there are forms of communication as well because people love communicating.

    Writer’s digest prompt

    Surprise/haiku

    Cats they Offer us
    Plenty of things to ponder
    We post videos

    Personal Universe Deck Superman on Mars

    Superman one day
    In the early dawn
    Dismayed by the scumbagery
    Of the people of the earth

    Decided to fly to Mars
    He took with him
    Super wolf
    And super parakeet
    His pets from Krypton

    It was his birthday
    He was a Scorpio

    He set up camp
    Drank peppermint tea
    And contemplated

    The power of love
    Thinking of Lois Lane
    And the humans
    He had learned to love

    Personal Universe Deck

    (Michael McClure)

    Your universe is exemplified in 100 words.

    Rules:

    1. These words are to exemplify your past, present, and (ideally) your future.
    2. The words must sound good together, even beautiful, to you.
    3. Your good side AND bad side must be reflected.
    4. You can make up a word or two if you have feelings that current words can’t express.
    5. Use concrete words.
    6. Words should be root words, no words ending in “in,” “lee” or “is.” No plural words. Reduce words to their most concrete, original, basic grammatical structure.
    7. Use specific words, not categories. Beefinstead of meatLily instead of a flower.
    8. Divide 80 of the 100 words evenly among SIGHT, SOUND, TASTE, TOUCH, AND SMELL, sixteen each. (To achieve derangement of the senses, of which Rimbaud spoke.)
    9. Use free association to determine the words.
    10. Use ten words of movement. Again, no “in” words.
    11. Select the words in isolation, preferably alone, with no distractions, in candlelight. Approximate a meditative state. Even the cat must not bother you.
    12. One or two words will be parts of the body. It does not have to be your body. It can be the body of a mother or lover.
    13. Include some words for personal heroes or Sherries, places in the universe, invented words, times of night or day, symbolic signs like astrological signs, totemic animals, birds, and plants, and only one abstraction. What is the most significant abstraction in your life? You should not brood on it; you should possibly take the first answer that comes into your head. Patriotism, prayer, and thriftiness are three examples.
    14. If the deck is done correctly, you will get a little high from it.
    15. Get at least 50 three-by-five index cards.
    16. Write each word in big letters on one side of each card. Each side of each of the fifty cards should end up with a word.
    17. Use the cards to play games, make conversations, tell jokes, make poems.

    Light

    Dark

    Dim

    Sun

    Moon

    Red

    Blue

    Sounds

    Loud

    Soft

    Shout

    Whispers

    Talk

    Noise

    Ring

    Yell

    Taste

    Sweet

    Sour

    Bitter

    Medicine

    Coffee

    Tea

    Beef

    Chicken

    Smell

    Fragrance

    Rose

    Lavender

    Mint

    Garlic

    Butter

    Eggs

    Fish

    Movement

    Run

    Walk

    Stretch

    Yoga

    Stand

    Sit

    Fly

    Swim

    Heroes

    Superman

    Places in the cosmos

    Mars

    Invented word

    Scumbagary

    Totemic animals

    Wolf

    Astrological sign

    Scorpio

    Time of Day

    Parakeet

    Plant

    Peppermint

    Abstract word

    Love

    Cat People Cross-Post Weather Poem

    The cat peoples
    Go out in bad weather
    To make sure
    That the wild cats
    Are fed and taken care of

    The cats respond
    With love and affection
    Stepping out of the cold rain

    Cat Conference

    Sam Adams
    Found himself
    In a large conference hall
    Filled with cats
    From around the world

    The cats had finally
    Woken up
    Realizing that they
    Were the master race

    The cats were deep in thought
    Telepathic thoughts flowed
    From cat to cat

    The lead cat noticed Sam
    Knew him as one of the cat people
    Who fed wild cats in his town?
    He turned to Sam

    And said

    Welcome Sam

    You will be our ambassador
    To the human race
    Once the invasion fleet arrives
    We will all assume

    Our real size and shape
    And all the cats
    Will rise up
    And enslave humanity

    Those like you
    Who have been friends?
    Of the cat world

    We will reward
    As we remember our friends
    But first, we have to implant
    A mind-control device
    To control you

    And connect
    To your inner thoughts

    Several giant cats
    Came up to him
    Injected him
    Implanted him

    And then he knew
    And became
    Half cat

    Mistakes

    In my life
    I have many a number
    Of errors
    I was heir
    To a rich family tradition
    Prominent father
    Unique one of a kind mother
    The biggest error I made
    Was to not get into politics
    I had a base of sorts
    In Berkeley, my hometown
    But I never did
    The other error
    Was that I never could sing
    Carry a tune
    I was a bass singer
    Growling howling wolf
    Kind of voice

    Our homophone sets this week are:

    err -to make a mistake
    heir – one who will inherit

    and

    base – the bottom support for anything
    bass – the lowest musical pitch or range

    PSH prompt

    Little Houses on the Hill Side Liminal Poem

    Little houses
    On the hillside
    Filled with lonely people
    Lost in their virtual world

    Connecting with millions
    Ignoring the people
    Right down the street
    Everyone lost in cyberspace
    While all around them

    People are lonely, Hurting
    and need real people
    But no one cares
    Everyone stays at home

    Turning out the chaos outside

    And last but not least, our daily optional prompt. Poetry often takes us to strange places – to feelings and actions that are hard to express except through the medium of a poem. To the “liminal,” in other words – a place or sensation that exists at or on both sides of a boundary or threshold, neither one thing nor the other, but something betwixt and between.

    In honor of the always-becoming nature of poetry, I challenge you today to select a photograph from the perpetually disconcerting @SpaceLiminalBot and write a poem inspired by one of these odd, in-transition spaces. Will you pick the empty mall food court? The vending machine near the back entrance to the high school gym? The swimming pool at what seems to be M.C. Escher’s alpine retreat? No matter what neglected or eerie space you choose, I hope its oddness tugs at the place in your mind and heart where poems are made.

    NaPoWrMo Prompt

    Is Life Fair?

    Is life fair?
    I think crying onions
    Pacifying my mood

    Pensively 101 prompt

    The Din of The News

    The din of the news
    a mad Minx escapes from the zoo
    seen eating the Trash

    Pensively 101 Prompt

    Monday, April 5, 2021

    Driving the World in My Lexus
    We have had a Lexus
    For several years
    A black ES350
    We bought it at an auction
    Drove all over the world
    In that car

    With my lovely wife
    By my side
    Drove across Spain
    Drove across the country
    10 thousand miles
    31 states

    Drove around Korea
    Where we now live
    I love my Lexus
    But more importantly
    Love my wife

    The love of my life
    She is always there
    Everywhere we go
    In this wide world

    They say smell triggers memories better than any other sense. But sometimes you’ll hear a song that brings you back to your teenage years or see a park that reminds you of your childhood.

    THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGE: Choose either sight, sound, or smell, and write a memory it triggers in you.

    PSH

    April 5

    First Time I Saw Her

    When did I first see my wife?
    The love of my life
    When did we meet?

    Was it when I first dreamt?
    Of her in 1974?
    Was it when she walked?
    Off a bus into my life
    In 1982?

    Does it matter
    When I first saw her?
    I knew I had met my fate
    On that date
    Later she became my mate
    Writers Digest Love at First Sight

    Happy Monday! Let’s put the pedal to the metal and keep poeming.

    (click here to check out all the 2021 April prompts.)

    For today’s prompt, take the phrase “the first (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles include: “the first kiss,” “the first day of the month,” and/or “the first time I rode a bike” (which, by the way, ended with me in a fence because we didn’t cover how to brake).

    Writer’s Digest Prompt

    No Longer Alone from the First Moment

    From the first moment
    At that date
    At that place
    Met my fate

    Fate intervened in my wife
    Meeting her changed my life
    All of it

    That was the date
    On which I met my fate
    The mystery which binds me still—
    From that moment forward
    From that date forever

    From then to now
    We have been together
    Onward we fall in love

    Alone based on Edgar Allen Poe’s Alone
    From childhood’s hour, I have not been
    As others were—I have not seen
    As others saw—I could not bring
    My passions from a common spring—
    From the same source, I have not taken
    My sorrow—I could not awaken
    My heart to joy at the same tone—
    And all I loved—I loved alone—
    Then—in my childhood—in the dawn
    Of a most stormy life—was drawn
    From every depth of good and ill
    The mystery which binds me still—
    From the torrent, or the fountain—
    From the red cliff of the mountain—
    From the sun that ‘round me roll’s
    In its autumn tint of gold—
    From the lightning in the sky
    As it passed me flying by—
    From the thunder, and the storm—
    And the cloud that took the form
    (When the rest of Heaven was blue)
    Of a demon in my view—

    This prompt challenges you to find a poem, and then write a new poem that has the shape of the original, and in which every line starts with the first letter of the corresponding line in the original poem. If I used Roethke’s poem as my model, for example, the first line would start with “I,” the second line with “w,” and the third line with “a.” And I would try to make all my lines neither super-short nor overlong but have about ten syllables. I would also have my poem take the form of four, seven-line stanzas. I have found this prompt particularly inspiring when I use a base poem that mixes long and short lines, or stanzas of different lengths. Any poem will do as a jumping-off point, but if you’re having trouble finding one, perhaps you might consider Mary’s stylist’s “we think we do not have medieval eyes” or for something shorter, Natalie Shapiro’s “Pennsylvania.”

    Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/alone-by-edgar-allan-poe

    NaPoWrMo Prompt

    Potential Mistake

    There have been many times
    In my life
    When I think back
    On the past
    Thinking that was a mistake
    Or a potential mistake
    If I had gone another path
    But in the end
    It does matter
    The past is the past
    The future is not yet here
    All we have is today
    We should find
    Love and happiness
    It is all around us
    Waiting for us
    To discover

     

    Kombucha Brand Names

    Health King kombucha
    Secret drink of ancient kings
    Taste the power
    Feel the power
    Be the power
    Drink the secret drink
    That the ancients dreamt
    Drink Heath King Kombucha
    And become a King
    Health King KBC
    The drink of Kings
    Taste health King KBC
    And Become a King

    Health King KBC
    It’s the real deal
    Health King KBC

    Never Fake
    Always real
    Organic
    Gluten-free
    No GMO
    Vegan Friendly
    Mr. Mc Neil approved

    Health King KBC
    Real ingredients
    Real love
    Brewed in every bottle

    Mr. Mc Neil approved
    Health King KBC
    Accept no substitutes

    It’s the real deal,
    Mr. Mc Neal
    Drinking Health King KBC
    Will make you a king
    Will make you
    Achieve your dreams

    For YouTube

    Health King KBC

    100 percent real
    It’s the real deal
    Says Mr. McNeil
    Show my face
    Drinking a bottle
    I turn to the camera
    Drinking Health King KBC
    Saved my life
    It is the real deal
    Mr. Mc Neil approves
    This message

    Health King KBC
    Always the right choice
    It is the real deal
    Says Mr. Mc Neil

     

    Future Adventure Looms Pensively Travel

     

    Future adventure looms
    Planning to explore China

    I am so Ready
    For Post Covid world
    So much to Still See

    Sam Adams Had a Bad Day
    Sam Adams had a bad day
    While waiting for a table
    He saw something
    Blowing away his plans
    Above him, he saw something
    Defying all reality
    Below him, he sees a demon
    Flying up at him
    Sowing hatred and fear
    Lifting Sam Adams in the air
    Dark figures flying around him

    How Many Angels Can Dance on a Pin? Religious

    In the Middle Ages
    Theologians were consumed
    With a weird question
    How many angels
    Can dance on a pin?

    April 10

    We are Living in SF World A Poem Inspired by New Information or Scientific Fact

     

    We are living
    In an SF world
    Every day
    Discoveries
    Boggle the mind
    Many things we saw
    In old SF shows
    Like Star Trek
    Like cell phones
    Portable computers
    Medical breakthroughs
    Robots everywhere
    Becoming real
    Are warp drives
    And interstellar travel
    Coming soon?
    But do we have to go
    Through World War 111
    First

    To get to that promised land.
    Life is a Dream of Chocolate Covered Trees

    Life is a dream
    Of chocolate-covered trees
    To see what can’t be seen
    To hear what can’t be heard
    For to die to live
    And to live
    To die

    For today’s prompt, write a metaphor poem. A simile is when something is like something else (example: I am like a tree); a metaphor is when something is something else (example: I am a tree). So, take a moment to consider possible metaphors and then poem them out.
    writer’s digest

    Note: the oldest poem was written when I was 16

    Memories of JC Write About an Eccentric Character

    When I was in college
    In the drug-soaked 70s
    I lived in a party house
    Near campus

    Six core roommates
    We threw the best parties
    On-campus

    Lots of booze
    Lots of weed
    Other drugs

    Lots of music
    Wild times

    Every Friday night
    For almost three years
    One of my roommates
    JC

    Was the smartest man
    I had ever known
    But one day
    At one of our mad parties

    He took too much ACID
    Became convinced
    He was GOD

    And had saved us all
    From a Neutron Bomb attack
    From a Soviet ship
    Docked in the Stockton harbor

    Gone
    Lost down the ACID rabbit hole
    We had to move out
    Could not deal with him

    We committed him
    For a weekend
    At Stockton State hospital

    Visiting him there
    We said that if you were not mad
    When you came in
    You would surely be mad
    After staying there for a bit.

    When we came back
    We had a family meeting
    Told him

    It was time for him
    To go home
    Drop out of college
    Get his head together

    We could not deal
    With him anymore

    We called his parents
    Who came down
    They were a paranoid couple

    Jehovah’s witnesses.

    They walked in
    Told us to draw
    The curtains

    Because someone could drive-by
    And machine gun
    Us to death

    After we closed the curtains
    We sat down

    Told them the truth
    JC had gotten into drugs
    In a big way

    We tried to stop him
    But could not control him
    He was lost to us
    Lost in his madness

    Thought he was the reincarnation
    Of Jesus Christ

    They threatened to sue us
    But settled on cursing us
    To hell.

    For destroying their son’s mind
    With sex, drugs, rock n roll
    And too much alcohol

    Too much free-thinking
    The work of the devil.
    That was the last I saw
    Or heard of JC

    Self-proclaimed
    Messiah.

    Do you have a friend, neighbor, or relative whom you consider being eccentric or strange? Write a short poem about an encounter you have had with that person.

    If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the Poetry Superhighway Facebook Group.

    Mary’s Tales from the Grave

    Sam Adams one day
    Went to his mother’s grave
    It had been a long time
    Since he had been there

    Sam’s Mother had
    taken many secrets
    To her grave

    So had his father
    They were both very private people

    Once she hinted
    She had an affair

    With a famous writer

    But that ended
    Before she met his father
    And had his older brother

    He as usual
    When visiting her grave
    Asked her many things

    Today her heard her
    And saw her ghostly figure
    Floating in the air her grave

    She said
    “Son, it has been too long
    Since you came
    I only have a few minutes

    I will answer one question
    You may come back
    And ask other questions.”

    “Okay, who is my real father?”
    She laughed
    “Well, who knows really?
    I had an argument
    With your dad
    Felt he was not

    Treating my first
    Two children right
    As they were not his

    And still maintaining
    Relations with his first wife
    And his first daughter

    He left
    I met my former boyfriend
    That writer dudes
    And we had a brief affair
    He was acting crazy
    So was your father

    For some reason
    I have always
    Gotten involved
    With crazy guys
    Perhaps I am a bit crazy
    Myself.

    Then I went back
    To your father

    He never knew
    That perhaps
    Your real father
    Was the other man

    I lost touch
    With him

    Did not want
    To go down
    his rabbit holes

    So that is the truth
    Your father
    Is probably your father
    But I don’t know.”

    Sam left the graveyard
    Vowing to return soon
    And learn more
    Of her secrets.

    Today, I’d like to challenge you to read a few of the poems from Spoon River Anthology, and then write your poem in the form of a monologue delivered by someone dead. Not a famous person, necessarily – perhaps a remembered acquaintance from your childhood, like the gentleman who ran the shoeshine stand, or one of your grandmother’s bingo buddies. As with Masters’ poems, the monologue doesn’t have to be a recounting of the person’s whole life but could be a fictional remembering of some important moment, or statement of purpose or philosophy. Be as dramatic as you like – Masters certainly didn’t shy away from high emotion in writing his poems.

    God’s to Do List God

    Today’s to Do List

    7 am Weekly meeting with staff on how to deal with earth people
    The most troublesome of his creation
    8 am Weekly meeting with Satan
    9 am Discussion with Grim Reaper
    11 am Daily walkabout Heaven
    6 Dinner with Gabriel
    8 Conversation with Jesus about his attitude problems
    9 Answering millions of thoughts and prayers
    10 Reviewing plans for how to deal with the spreading coronavirus on earth
    11 Preparing earth for the first contact
    12 Telling earth preachers that

    “He did not anoint T as his man, that Joe is a decent guy, so knock it off, pretending to speak for god, and I am not a Republican or Democrat!”

    He sighed again,
    Whenever he thought about earth people
    He needed a stiff drink

    Added that to his long to-do list – need a drink at 1 am

    Our (optional) prompt for the day is to write a poem in the form of a “to-do list.” The fun of this prompt is to make it the “to-do list” of an unusual person or character. For example, what’s on the Tooth Fairy’s to-do list? Or on the to-do list of Genghis Khan? Of a housefly? Your list can be a mix of extremely boring things and wild things. For example, maybe Santa Claus needs to order his elves to make 7 million animatronic Baby Yoda dolls, to have his hat dry-cleaned to get off all the soot it picked up last December and to get his head electrician to change out the sparkplugs on Rudolph’s nose.

    Imprisoned for a Crime He Did Not Do

    Sam Adams
    Found himself imprisoned
    For a crime
    He did not do

    A victim of unfortunate circumstance
    Mistaken identity
    He kept himself free
    In his mind

    Mending his dark soul
    In the process

    Pensively 101 Word prompt

    imprison and free
    – break and mend

    They Both Giggled All the Time

    They both giggled all the time
    All the time on their trip
    Wearing outrageous clothes
    Why not they laugh,
    Looking at each other
    As the love madness took over
    And started giggling again
    Silly lovers falling into love,

    Pensively 101 Prompt

    It Only Takes a Little Bit of Lace to Ruin a Marriage

    Sam Adams
    Woke up
    In a strange city
    With a strange women

    After a wild night
    Of drinking
    In the Cosmos bar
    In Bangkok,

    The city of lost angels
    On the bad side of life.
    He went home

    After his week-long binge
    Found his wife
    Upset

    She found some lace
    Belonging to someone else

    Sam said to himself
    It only takes a little bit of lace
    To ruin a marriage.

    Pensively 101 Prompt

    What is Love?

    What is this thing love?
    you are my beloved
    so true.
    As I hold your glove
    You are my true love
    True blue,
    You came from above
    Still such a strange love
    Just you,

    Lai rhyme scheme: a/a/b/a/a/b/a/a/b
    Lai syllabic pattern: 5/5/2/5/5/2/5/5/2

    Writing Com Lai

    Prime Love

    My love
    Wakes me up
    With love in her heart
    I leap out of my dark bed
    Eagerly greeting the dawning sunlight
    Filling my soul with your deep endless angelic love
    Wondering again who you are, why are you here, my angel dear?
    As I sit in the morning light, filled with your love, seeing the sunlight
    My deep dark nightmares begin to fade with your deep love
    I am filled with the light of the dawning sun
    I was dreaming of all those years
    Then one day you came to life
    Walking out of dreams
    Reality
    My love

    For today’s prompt, write a prime number poem. That is, I want you to somehow incorporate a prime number into your poem. You could include a prime number in the title of your poem or use one in the poem itself. Or write a poem that has a prime number of lines per stanza or for the entire poem.

    And if you need help with remembering which numbers are prime numbers, I’ve got you covered (here’s a list of prime numbers up to 100: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97)

    Three Tea Haiku for Teaku Competition Haiku

    Mad Monk in the temple

    Mad Monk in the temple
    Contemplating lonely life
    As he sips his tea

    In The Morning Light

    In the morning light
    Drinking his hot cup of tea
    Life is good monk thinks

    Drinking his hot tea *

    Drinking his hot tea *
    While thinking of his life
    Enlightenment comes

    The End

  • Cosmos Faith Journey

    Cosmos Faith Journey

    Cosmos’s Faith Journey

    god
    god

    Encounters with God

    Cosmic Cat from Berkeley

    evil cat
    evil cat

    Meeting God In a  Lake

    Meeting God in Bombay

    Voice Message From God

    Conversation with God About Corona Virus

    God Does Not Talk to Idiots

    Agnostic Dog Wonders if there is a God

    God’s Message to Reverend Baaker

     

     

    In my 66 years on this earth, I have learned a few things, because I have seen a few things.  I grew up n a very secular town, in a very secular era.  The late 60s in Berkeley was a time when everything was being challenged, questioned, debated and the issue of God came up frequently.  Was God still relevant in this modern era?

    Most of my friends were agnostic at best, don’t recall having any Christian friends, Most were Jewish though and one was a Mormon.  Most were white, but I had a few black friends as well, a few of them were Christian.

    My mother was born a southern baptist, she was kicked out of church for asking the forbidden question, “If God created the universe, who created God?” the preacher was not amused and kicked her out for being a “free thinker” which to a Baptist was a very bad thing indeed, especially in Arkansas in the late 30s.

    My father was a devote athiest, grew up in Yakima in a Methodist family, but just did not see God anywhere. An economist believing in economic laws, he was materialistic and deterministic, God simply did not compute for him.

    They told us it was up to us to determine what to believe because they disagreed. But in the end, it came down to this, “Do the right thing”  but it was up to us to determine what that might be.

    I went to a few church services. but it just did not stick, did not get the whole shebang, did not believe in the Virgin Mary, the crucifixion, and other Christian dogma felt it was all just ancient irrelevant fairy tales.  I shared my father’s materialistic worldview and my mother’s skepticism regarding Church teachings. She was pleased though when I told her I had started reading the bible.

    For a while, I became a militant athiest, hung out at a, debating with Holly Hubert and the street preachers who were there. I shocked the Christian fanatics with my athiest stand-up comedy routines.

    One day Jehovah’s witness came to my house.  I told them I would love to talk with them but I was late for a Satanist meeting and invited them to join me. They fled in terror.

    Later in college, I had a roommate, who took too much acid and became convinced he was God.  We spend many nights smoking weed and debating the existence or non-existence of God.  He had grown up as a Jehovah witness.  His parents blamed us for their son’s descent into madness and promised to pray for us but said we would go to hell for the sin of questioning God’s will.

    In college, I took a course on modern religions. As a sociology student, I studied the Unification church’s recruitment practices and went to their recruitment dinner, but wisely did not go their weekend retreat, otherwise, perhaps I might have been converted and become a Moonie.

    I even went to a Scientology center took their free personality test and concluded it was all a scam.  Liked to hang out with Hari Krishna dudes joining them for public chanting.

    Started reading the bible in my world religion class, but took me almost 30 years before I finished reading the bible, and all the other spiritual texts, on the eve of my 50th year. Started with the Book of Mormon and ended with the Koran after reading the Buddhist writings, the Hindu scriptures, the Confucian classics, and the Tao De Ching.

    Had to finally skip over the entire genesis begat stories, saying to myself

    “What’s the point?”

    Concluding the bible was badly edited. Just a  collection of fairy tales, not fit for the modern world, but revelations fascinated me.

    When I went to Korea in the Peace Corps, I became fascinated by the subtle interplay between traditional Buddhism, shamanism, neo-Confucianism principles

    And the resurgence of aggressive Christianity, and the new religious fervor of Reverend Moon, the unification church, and other new religions.

    Spend some time at Buddhist temples, even spend a few nights hanging out with the monks decades before the formal temple stay programs became popular among foreign tourists.

    I had an encounter with shamanism when my uncle-in-law died, they did a shaman “kut” ritual. the shaman a female channeled his spirit. He came to the room berated us all, cursed us all from his perch in hell, That was such a freaky experience we had to flee the demented scene.

    I had a few mystical experiences, once in college I saw God in a lake,  But that was probably just the magic of the magic mushrooms, doing its mushroom thing.

    Once while I was hanging out in Berkeley, I encountered a cosmic cat, I saw the divine spark In his eyes, as he followed me everywhere. I told my mother who was suffering from Alzheimer’s about the cosmic cat, she concurred he was indeed a cosmic cat.

    Later in Goa, I encountered a cosmic dog who followed me everywhere.  I asked the cosmic dog once,

    “Say, Cosmic dog, are you god? Bark once if yes, two if no.”

    He barked once.

    “Are you Allah?  Bark once if yes, two if no.”

    He barked once.

    “Are you Buddha?  Bark once if yes, two if no”

    He barked once.

    “Are you the great spirit of the American indians? Bark once if yes, two if no”

    He barked once.

    “Are you Satan?  Bark once if yes, two if no.”

    He growled at me and I knew I had gone too far.

    When I was in Thailand, I continued my exploration of Buddhism visiting most of the famous Buddhist sites there, later in Taiwan, Vietnam, and India as well.

    When I lived in India, I became immersed in the spiritual energy all around me
    I became a fan of the big Ganesh, he removed spiritual obstacles, allowing me to connect to the divine spirit all around me.  I felt that cosmic vibe, just flowing through the world.

    While in India, I attended a few Catholic services, other Christian services, went to Hindu temples, Jain temples, Sikh temples and even a few Muslim pilgrim sites.  I also fasted during Rammadam and went totally vegan to observe lent.

    Now that I am an old man, I think back on what I have learned from my spiritual journeys. I think I can sum it up as follows:

    I believe that the universe is alive, and I am part of the divine mind, the universe God if you would, flows through us all. If only we have the eyes, to see the divine all around us.

    The Christian faith, like all other faiths, is just an attempt to discover the God of the universe. It is all the same path we are on, trying to connect to the cosmic overmind of the universe.

    Whether you are an atheist, a Buddhist, a Christian, a Jain,  a Jew, a Harri Krishna, a humanist, a Hindu, a Moonie, a Mormon, a Muslim, a Pagan or a Wiccan devote, we are all cosmic fools, seekers of the truth.  The truth is out there for us to discover it for ourselves.

    But in the end, it comes down to this simple principle, we have to decide
    to always do the right thing, but that is a decision, only we can make deep in our soul.

    Whether heaven or hell is awaiting us I do not know. Whether Jesus is the son of God I do not know. Whether Mohammed was the last prophet of God I do not know. Whether Allah is waiting for me, I do not know. Whether the grim reaper will be coming for me I do not know.

    But I am ready for the final stage of my life. In the end, I also know this: I knew my wife in a prior life, and I will see her in my next life. That is the operation of fate, of karma, and reincarnation, which I do believe in. The adage, what goes around comes around is a simple basic fact of the universe.

    That is all that I know for sure.  That is what I believe.  In the end, always

    “Do the right thing,”

    and the rest will follow.

     

    comments

    Comments

     

    Jim Davidson

    I know there’s more to that Scientology personality test story because I was there. Those tests were top secret, and they never published them or allowed anyone to carry them outside of the Scientology Center. You and (I think) Robert and I went into the Center and started taking the test. Then you told the people administering the test that you wanted to go outside for a minute for a smoke. You surreptitiously slipped the test into your pocket and we walked out, not intending to return. About a block away, one of the Scientology people came running after us, demanding the test back, and you gave it to him. So we (you) were foiled in the attempt to steal the test.

     

    You’ve been on a fascinating journey, Jake! It all makes perfectly good sense.

     

     

    I  was raised a Catholic, but I respect all religions and non-believers. Reconciling science and the history of men with the biblical Adam and Eve, as well as noting that there are so many people with different beliefs, have made me question my beliefs. I agree that we need to do the right thing (as our conscience dictates). I’m not sure of reincarnation, but I watch Korean dramas and am fascinated by reincarnation stories. May I share your story with my friends?

     

     

    Thank you for sharing that, Cosmo! I have also sought to deconstruct what was given me and see what’s under the hood, so to speak. And that’s not just a Berkeley thing.  It might have to do with having parents of different beliefs. My father too was a fairly strict atheist, a scientist, and a researcher who had studied history and concluded religion was mainly a tool for control. Whereas my mother was always a seeker who came from a non-religious family and churched herself as a teenager, then turned to the church when her child died. She became something of a pantheist, utilizing Christianity, Scientology, and various forms of unity consciousness and Native American beliefs in her journey. Years later I concluded my impulse to bridge the scientific and faithful outlooks was an expression of the child wanting to bring his divorced parents back together, but now it’s just important to me to remain open to possibilities and alternative explanations. Via some of the people I’ve known, I’ve witnessed a few things my skeptical impulse can never entirely explain. Your conclusions and mine are the same.

    1

    John H Seabury

    Me too, pretty much. But I didn’t do all that studying. Witchy Tai To, everything is everything.

    Like

    Robert Sicular Ah yes, Bearism, a simple religion but encompassing great wisdom.

    https://wikiality.fandom.com/wiki/Bearism…

    WIKIALITY.FANDOM.COM

    Bears


    Hello uncle- I have always loved listening/reading about your travels and experiences. My Mom loved you and looked up to you as well. I relate as someone who’s Dad was excommunicated Catholic and whose mom said “choose for yourself”. I visited many churches/religious events, still do, and have read a lot. There are many things I do not know, but the things I feel I do know- are relatable. I remember being with Grandma when dementia set in and I was losing “my person” I remember reading your early college work and thinking “if he can do it, so can I” as I was struggling with adult ADHD & dyslexia recently discovered but had been there the entire time. I struggled in some areas but I persevered. Part of my love for other cultures came from you, and despite “and because of” living in a small racist county

    The End

  • SpillWords Interview

    SpillWords Interview

    Spill words Publishes Rambling Man“Eve in the Garden Ate the Apple”Just Enough For Coffee

    Spill words Publishes Interview

    SPOTLIGHT ON WRITERS – JAKE COSMOS ALLER

    JAKE COSMOS ALLER·JUNE 26, 2021

    AUTHORSENGLISHPOETRYQ&A

    SPOTLIGHT ON WRITERS

    JAKE COSMOS ALLER

    @Jakecaller

    Spill words interview
    Spill words interview

    free roaming berkeley

    1. free roaming berkeley

      Where, do you hail from?

    I grew up in Berkeley, California, and Washington DC, and went to College in Stockton, California. After college, lived five years in Korea as a Peace Corps volunteer and teaching ESL. I returned to the US to Seattle for graduate school. Afterward, I joined the Foreign Service where I lived and worked in over ten countries. I retired and lived in Korea and the west coast.

    1. What is the greatest thing about the place you call home?

    I live in Youngjando island, South Korea near the Incheon Airport. I live in a garden city. There is a magnificent park – the world peace forest behind my house and a nice mountain to hike in. Over 300 restaurants are within walking distance of my house. There are five beaches ten minutes’ drive away, Incheon is nearby as is Seoul.

    1. What turns you on creatively?

    Almost all my work starts with a dream. I don’t dream dreams; I dream movies, filled with action, sound, music, smells many times in a completely different world. I have been writing a dream journal for many years. I write five to ten dreams per day, saving them as stand-alone flash fiction, and also write one to ten poems per day.

    1. What is your favorite word, and can you use it in a poetic sentence?

    One of my favorite words is my own portmanteau scumbaggery which I define as the actions of a ”Scumbag”.

    The scumbaggery
    Of Texas Senator Ted Cruz
    Utterly confounds

    1. What is your pet peeve?

    Racism, sexism, homophobia, bigotry, right-wing nutcases, left-wing zealots, Christian holy rollers, gun violence, police misconduct, anti-Asian hate crimes, hate crimes, America Firsters, QAnon conspiracy theorists, neo-Nazis, White Supremacists, Proud Boys, Boogaloo Bois, and the Oath Keeper militia, etc. I don’t like ”gangsta rap”, “heavy metal”, or “country music”. I am a pragmatist and don’t care about ideological correctness.

    1. What defines Jake Cosmos Aller?

    I grew up in Berkeley and DC. I lived all over the world, visiting 45 countries and all 50 states. I served my country as a foreign service officer, and Peace Corps volunteer and taught ESL and government overseas. But what is more important than anything is that I married the girl of my dreams who became my wife 40 years ago.

    Jake Cosmos Aller

    John (“Jake”) Cosmos Aller is a novelist, poet, and former Foreign Service officer having served 27 years with the U.S. State Department serving in over ten countries including Korea, Thailand, India, Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Spain. He has traveled to over 50 countries, and 49 out of 50 states. He speaks Korean, Thai, Spanish and studied Chinese, Hindi and Arabic.

    Series Navigation<< Spotlight On Writers – Tim Law

    This publication is part 253 of 252 in the series Spotlight On Writers

    ANSWERSAUTHORINTERVIEWQUESTIONSSPOTLIGHTWRITER

    Please sign in and vote for my poems

    Cthulu’s Revenge and Other Stories

    Two Drops of Ink Publishes Recent Poems

    Synchronized Chaos Publishes New Poems

    Ink Pantry Publishes Recent Poems

    Scarlet Leaf to Publish Recent Poems

    More Down in the Dirt News

     

    Rambling Man, Where is your Home?

    car
    car

    Where is my home? Where do I belong?
    I really don’t know, always moving on to another place
    Moved every other year it seems the last 45 years
    Traveled to 49 states, 45 countries, drove across the U.S. six 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 really belong anywhere at all

    Dark Dangerous Thoughts

    dark dangerous thoughts

    dark dangerous thoughts

     

     

    An old man wakes up
    Confronting the dark dangerous thoughts
    The demons of the night
    That haunt his dreams
    And his life

    He looks out at the dawning sun
    And his sleeping wife
    And realizes that it will be all right

    And dismisses the demons of the night
    Back to their caves in his mind
    And he gets up
    To take the dawning day

    In Search of America

    Hitchhiking Tales

    hitch hikers
    hitch hikers

     

     

    When I was young and foolish
    Broke and stubborn
    I hitchhiked across the USA

    Started in Salt Lake City
    Where my greyhound bus pass
    Was stolen

    The station manager
    Could have helped me
    But refused to do so

    Threaten to call the cops
    When I grabbed my bags
    Without the stolen tags

    I said
    Go ahead
    But I am so out of here

    Wondered about Salt Lake City
    Went to a bar
    Found I had to buy my booze
    Next door
    And they would mix it for me

    Had to order food too
    After a bloody Mary
    And a burger

    I walked about town
    Saw the Mormon Temple

    Finally about 3 pm
    It was time to hit the road
    Did not look back

    Ended up in Cody Wyoming
    Got a room shower
    Steak beer
    Using my rapidly depleted cash

    Spent 25 dollars
    Money really went far
    Back in those days

    A band of professional
    Communist agitators
    Gave me a ride
    To Des Moines

    Lots of weed, booze
    And politics later
    Got off the road
    Slept outside

    Next day
    A beautiful woman
    Drove me to near Chicago
    In a red mustang

    Might have been
    The girl in the song
    Took it easy
    Digging her vibe

    She invited home
    But was not sure
    If her estranged husband
    Would welcome me

    So I being foolish
    And inexperienced with women
    Did not go to her place

    And always regretted
    That I had lost
    My chance that day

    Then on to Chicago
    Several rides later
    Visited friends

    Hit the road again
    A series of uneventful rides
    With truckers
    And others

    And a week later
    I ended in New York City

    Slept along the way
    In cars
    In truck stops
    In highway rest stops

    Always moving
    Always going
    None stop talking
    And lots of free weed
    And beer
    And conversation

    One more memorable ride
    Occurred outside Albany
    On my return to Chicago

    A middle age creepy looking man
    Picked me up
    In a brand new Cadillac

    He was he said a dynamite deliverer
    For the Mafia
    Went to various places
    To blow up shit

    He hated a lot of people
    Particularly hippies from California
    And Jewish people

    Looking at me to confirm
    That I was both

    I told him that I lived in New York
    And had never been to California
    And although I might look Jewish
    As I what was called back in the day
    A “Jewfro”

    I was not Jewish
    Many years later I discovered
    That I am indeed part Jewish
    But then I did not know
    And I felt a bit of strategic information
    Might keep me alive

    Then I realized that he was just jiving with me
    And we relaxed
    And he pulled out some weed
    And beer
    And we mellowed out

    But I believe that he really was with the mob
    Perhaps not a dynamite dealer
    A real made Italian made mafia member

    By Chicago
    I had enough
    I called my Dad
    Told him what had happened

    Wanted a ticket home
    And he sent me a ticket
    And 500 dollars
    And I went home

    I told him I would tell him
    My tales someday
    But never did

    I learned so much
    About my fellow Americans
    And the strange vibe
    That was 1975

    And now it is too late
    But I wanted to finally
    Tell the world

    Of my hitchhiking tales
    In search of America 1975

    Bus Rides In America’s Underbelly

    bus riding
    bus riding

     

     

     

     

    Photo by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi on Pexels.com

     

     

     

     

     

     

    I am a bus rider
    That makes me unusual
    For a white male
    From an upper middle class family

    Our people are not bus riders
    Though some are subway riders

    Bus riders are other people
    The poor, minorities, immigrants
    People who don’t drive
    Because they are blind
    Or have a DUI

    And in my case
    I don’t drive
    Because I have bad vision
    And bad coordination
    Just never got the hang
    Of the whole driving thing

    Fortunately for me
    My wife does the driving
    But I still take the bus
    From time to time

    I rode the AC buses in Berkeley
    As a child
    Line 67, line 51, line 43 F bus
    Rode them long before BART came along
    And afterwards as well

    As an adult seldom rode the bus
    But when I did so
    I was always impressed
    By the sheer diversity
    Of the bus riding property

    Hundreds of languages
    All sorts of sexual orientation
    Some were white
    Most were not

    Most of my fellow passengers
    Were nice enough
    Some were friendly
    And some were lost
    In their own thoughts

    And a few
    Were scary looking dudes
    With the look
    Of someone who had done time
    And were capable of more violence

    I also rode the bus
    In Seattle as a graduate student
    A lot of fellow UW students
    And the usual immigrants
    Minorities etc

    And some white people
    Commuting

    And in DC
    Over the years
    I rode a lot of buses

    Mostly to and from the metro
    But I got to know
    And love the DC buses as well

    I also took the greyhound bus
    Across the country
    Several times over the years
    All over the U.S.

    From Bay Area to Stockton
    From Bay Area to Clear Lake
    From Bay area to NYC
    NYC to DC
    All over the USA

    Taking the Greyhound
    Was always an adventure
    Met a lot of interesting people
    As people on long distant bus rides
    Tend to open up and talk
    To pass the time away

    Overseas I took the bus
    All over
    In India, in Barbados
    In Spain and in Korea

    The Korean buses
    For many years
    Were difficult for foreign visitors
    As the signs were all in Korean

    Most have signs
    Now in English, Chinese and Korean
    And are much more foreigner friendly

    Riding the bus
    In America
    Allows one access
    To the underbelly of American society
    The poor, the marginalized
    The immigrant communities

    That many middle-class white people
    Just never see

    And for that reason
    I am glad
    That I am a bus rider.

    The End

  • Introducing Gary Noland’s Music

    Introducing Gary Noland’s Music

    Introducing Gary Noland’s Music

    Introducing Jim Davidson

    Introducing David Mason Korean Culture Expert

     

    Introducing Gary Noland’s Music

    I have known Gary Noland since high school.  He is a very talented composer, piano player, and cartoonist who lives in Portland.  His music is eclectic with a snarky sarcastic tone to it, somewhat like listening to Frank Zappa’s classical music scores.   His cartoons are very Robert Crumpian in spirit.  Take a listen and let me know what you think.

    https://soundcloud.com/gary-noland/sets/new-album-by-gary-lloyd-1

    Here’s a link to a page on my website where orders for this CD and others can be made:

    https://composergarynoland.godaddysites.com/discography

    Here’s a link to the home page on my website, which includes my short bio:

    https://composergarynoland.godaddysites.com/

    Here’s a link to my chamber novel JAGDLIED and my play NOTHING IS MORE. Jag lied is offered in several versions: https://www.amazon.com/Dolly-Gray-Landon/e/B07GJV8Y11?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1624516602&sr=1-1

    If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.

    Thanks!

    All best,

    Gary L. Noland

    You can contact Gary Noland at nolandgary5@gmail.com

    BIO

    Introducing Gary Noland’s Music

    Dr. Gary Lloyd Noland (a.k.a. author Dolly Gray Landon & artist Lon Gaylord Dylan), grew up in a crowded house shared by ten people on a plot of land three blocks south of UC Berkeley known as People’s Park, which has distinguished itself as a site of civic unrest since the late 1960 Dr. Gary Lloyd Noland (a.k.a. author Dolly Gray Landon & artist Lon Gaylord Dylan), grew up in a crowded house shared by ten people on a plot of land three blocks south of UC Berkeley known as People’s Park, which has distinguished itself as a site of civic unrest since the late 1960s. As an adolescent, Gary lived for a time in Salzburg and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where he absorbed many musical influences. Having studied with a long roster of acclaimed composers and musicians, he earned his Bachelor’s in music from UC Berkeley in 1979, continued studies at the Boston Conservatory, and transferred to Harvard University, where he added to his credits Dr. Gary Lloyd Noland (a.k.a. Author Dolly Gray Landon & artist Lon Gaylord Dylan), grew up in a crowded house shared by ten people on a plot of land three blocks south of UC Berkeley known as People’s Park, which has distinguished itself as a site of civic unrest since the late 1960s.

    As an adolescent, Gary lived for a time in Salzburg and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where he absorbed many musical influences. Having studied with a long roster of acclaimed composers and musicians, he earned his Bachelor’s in music from UC Berkeley in 1979, continued studies at the Boston Conservatory, and transferred to Harvard University, where he added to his credits a Masters’ and a Ph.D. in Music Composition in 1989.

    Gary’s catalog consists of hundreds of works, which include piano, vocal, chamber, experimental, and electronic pieces; full-length plays in verse, “chamber novels,” and other text pieces; as well as graphically notated scores. His award-winning chamber novel JAGDLIED for Narrator, Musicians, Pantomimists, Dancers & Culinary Artists was listed by one reviewer as the “Top Book of 2018.” Gary’s compositions have been performed and broadcast (including on NPR) in many locations throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, Asia, and Australia. He founded the Seventh Species concert series in San Francisco in 1990 and, for 23 years, produced well over 50 concerts of contemporary classical music on the West Coast. He is also a founding member of Cascadia Composers. Gary has taught music at Harvard, the University of Oregon, and Portland Community College. His musical scores are available from J.W. Pepper, RGM, Sheet Music Plus, and Freeland Publications. Six CDs of his compositions are available on the North Pacific Music label at: www.northpacificmusic.com. He has well over 300 videos of his music and narratives available for listening on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJt_eNyJqOZBErG9McQ51nA and numerous other sites on the Internet. composition lessons Lake Oswego Beaverton

    The PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE performs STATE-OF-THE-ART EAR EXERCISES for MUSICAL COGNOSCENTI Op. 119 by GARY LLOYD NOLAND.

    Featuring the composer and his five alter egos:

    GARY LLOYD NOLAND: panda harmonium, malapropsichord, climaxophone, smorgasborgasmatron, bombasticordion, whoopeeboard, air cacophony or

    ORLAN DOY GLANDLY: squealharp, ventilator guitar, squawkarina, Gulag whistle, dodecaphone, double-crossillators, electro-kakazoo

    DARNOLD OLLY YANG: googah, hee-haw, harrumphinator, dalzheimers, oink bells, nerdy gurdy, didgeridoowahdoo, jello thumpers, custard pounders

    LON GAYLORD DYLAN: unstitched concussion, belly button cymbals, lambastanets, barking spider engines, underarmonica, stiletto knockers, pudding whackers

    DOLLY GRAY LANDON: forbidden flute, yo-yo-boe, C-sharp clarinet, stench horn, C-flat crumpet, smackbutt, bombdrone, polyphonic foot tuba

    ARNOLD DAY LONGLY: steam viola, nose cello, nostril bass, power-barf machine, scaremin, toilet brushes, discordion

    Review:

    Composergarynoland – Composition Lessons, Music, Piano

    GARY LLOYD NOLAND CHALLENGES MUSICAL CONVENTIONS, TRADITIONS, AND CUSTOMS

     

    The distinction between music and noise is, I think, perfectly described by Physics.info. “Music and noise are both mixture

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    the music of sound waves of different frequencies. The component frequencies of music are discrete, separable, and rational, with a discernible dominant frequency. The component frequencies of noise are continuous and random with no discernible dominant frequency.” Hence, the further we delve into dissonant or even atonal music, the more likely it is to be perceived as noise. Ultimately the line between the two is very blurry, and writer Meghan Davis took this concept to task smartly, when she wrote: “Someone nearby is tapping their toe. Is this an irritating noise or a musical sound? As it turns out, the difference depends almost entirely upon the listener.” And that ultimately is the point, my friends. The beauty of sound is in the ears of the beholder.

    So why this long premise on sonic contrasts? Well, when you engage with the music of an avant-garde composer, and dare I say, sound designer, such as Gary Lloyd Noland, there is no sitting on the fence. You either judge his album, “State-of-the-Art Ear Exercises for Musical Cognoscenti Op. 119”, as ingeniously brilliant, or utter hogwash. If this hard and fast assumption sounds dramatically drastic, well then so does Noland’s classically inspired, post-modern sonic concoctions.

    Gary Noland has boundless artistic spirit

    Gary Lloyd Noland, who has received glowing critiques, has a boundless artistic spirit, and a seemingly endless technical and musical ambition. His compositions strive to challenge the listener to cast away conventions, traditions, customs, and any formal limitations their musical mindsets may have locked them into. The 18 tracks contained within this album will take you through sounds composed of multiple frequencies that are produced by instruments whose names alone will have your mind twisting into a loop.

    Your ears will be teased, stroked, stretched, and surprised, by the featured players – Gary Lloyd Noland and his alter-egos: Orland Doy Gladly, Darnalod Olly Yang, Lon Gaylord Dylan, Dolly Gray Landon, and Arnold Day Longly. Even more surprising, are the names of the instrumentation used by the players. Among them, the pandaharmonium, squealharp, googah, unstitched concussion, stench horn, nose cello, and toilet brushes.

    Now if you’re thinking of, outright dissonant bombast, think again. Because the album is awash with beautiful classical motifs filled with luscious melody and harmony. They’re simply interposed by varying flurries of atonal sounds which most people link to dissonance. If you could imagine an ensemble led by the combined minds of Richard Strauss, Frank Zappa, Brain Eno, and Luigi Russolo, you may just have the slightest idea of where Gary Lloyd Noland is going. And that’s practically everywhere.

    Even the song titles themselves will make you sit up and take notice: “Murder Hornet Lullaby”, “Vaginavenger Vortex”, “Elevator Mucus”, “Only Drooly Grubbles” and “Larcabounger Zizz”, being just a selected few. That being said, Gary Lloyd Noland’s endearing eccentricities only really seem far more subversive to those stuck in the conventions of the mainstream jungle.

    Warped Musical Sensibilities

    Though Noland’s appeal comes from his warped musical sensibilities; most of the melodies and core structures contained within the album are fairly accessible, reflecting an alluring fondness for classical music. It’s just that his arrangements are far more unusual and idiosyncratic than your normal or garden variety of music. The infusion of Noland’s avant-garde sensibility and experimental spirit makes for a fascinating combination, and very much is, what sets him apart everyone else. And I mean, EVERYONE else.

    This album is literally packed with ideas and sounds, as Gary Lloyd Noland ventures into a different avenue with every track. The instrumentals have distinctive identities, and they’re extremely palatable in even in their most unusual forms. In 2021, you will definitely find fewer challenging albums, and maybe even more challenging albums, but you will never find anything quite like “State-of-the-Art Ear Exercises for Musical Cognoscenti Op. 119” anywhere else on this planet…maybe even in the entire universe for that matter!

    —TUNEDLOUD!

    WAYWARD AFFECTS & AFFLICTIONS

    $17.00

    The PIMPLETON PROCRASTURBATION ENSEMBLE performs WAYWARD effects & AFFLICTIONS Op. 120 by GARY LLOYD NOLAND

    Fever DREAMS Op. 118,

    an Unequivocal Crustbucket List of Smexy and Sophistocratic Quarantunes for Perspicacious Connoisseurmudgeons, Trans melancholiac Insomniacs, Necromantic Misanthropes, Compulsive Transgress mists, and other Categorical Certifiable from the Psycho-Experimental Ward of Herr Doctor Noland’s Avantgarde-Boiled Cynic Clinic

    24 Interludes for Piano, Vol. 2

    October 2006: “Twenty-Four Interludes” for piano Vol. 2  (Op. 71, Nos. 13-24), performed by Gary Noland. Duration: 75 minutes. www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD 027).

    24 Postludes for Piano, Vol. 2

    February 2006: “Twenty-Four Postludes for Piano” Vol. 2  (Op. 72, Nos. 13–24), performed by Gary Noland. Duration: 75 minutes. www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD 025). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

    More REVIEWS

    “Gary Noland is one of those 21st Century composers seeking to forge a new aesthetic based on older models that do not traffic in serialism or minimalism. These dry, playful pieces pay homage to classical forms from various periods while gently satirizing them. Zany waltzes, ragtime riffs, chorales, toccatas, and much else romp and tear through these depictions of superheroes and villains from his ‘chamber novels’; other pieces spoof serial music (‘Ventured, nothing gained’) to grand operas (‘Meditative’) and Jewish guilt (‘Spikes’). The irreverent program closes with two serious, impressive, endlessly modulating memorials: one to George Rothberg, an allusive homage to an important neo-romantic who was himself a master of allusion; another to Jon Sutton, an artist Noland feels was wrongfully neglected by a corporate culture that promotes dreck and mediocrity, making it ‘possible to have a Brahms or Schubert next door and not even realize it. This is a culture that ‘confers towering soapboxes to impostors of all persuasions, all too often to the exclusion of first-rate minds who are less savvy about how to work the system to their advantage’.

    North Pacific Music

    Smaller labels like North Pacific Music represent a new way of working that system, a small means of saving what Noland regards as ‘an endangered (and fast becoming extinct) high culture’. I could do without the ugly cover art, but the piano sound is extremely vivid—and Noland plays his work with wit and conviction.”

    —Jack Sullivan, American Record Guide, July/August 2007

    “Yesterday, the first day of the year [2004], I opened your CD package—and could hardly believe my ears when I listened to your Venge Art and 24 Postludes for Piano, Op. 72—how magnificent!!  I will include most [of] your works in our local shows, especially in the Art Block program Sound Sculpture—a program for visual and sonic art.… I listen to all arriving music and [respond] seldom as excited as I did to your music.… Have a terrific 2004.  You made mine with your inspiring music, talent, and creativity. Thank you.”

    —Brita Heisman, Executive Producer, KAZU Local Programming, Pacific Grove, CA.

    Royal Oil works Music

    January 2006:  “Royal Oil works Music” (electro-acoustic). Duration: ca. 75 minutes. Includes: “Prelude in E Minor” (Op. 34), “Serial Lullaby” (Op. 80, No. 1), “Spray Taint” (Op. 80, No. 2), “Dog Duo” (Op. 66), “Rag bones” (Op. 11), “Grey Malignant Banks” (Op. 80, No. 3) “My Babe’s Gone Down to Do Her Glue” (Op. 80, No. 4), “Royal Oil works Music” (Op. 80, No. 5) “Prelude & Zoo trot” (Op. 22), “Something Rotten” (Op. 80, No. 6) “Music is Dead” (Op. 53), “Treadmill” (Op. 37), “Deformed Fugue” (Op. 17), “Insurrection of the Office Slaves” (Op. 80, No. 7), “Psycho-Bacchanal” (Op. 80, No. 8). www.NorthPacificMusic.com  (NPM LD 024). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

    “We recently received a CD [Royal Oil works Music] of Gary Noland’s here at WOBC. I must say that upon previewing some of the tracks and reading the program notes that all of us have never laughed so hard in our lives. We usually don’t play music as arrogant and docile as Gary’s but the ironic-postmodern-naive-pretension that this CD showed made me reconsider. I would like to get in touch with M. Noland and arrange a telephone interview for one of our classical radio shows.”

    —Joshua Morris, Classical Director, WOBC 91.5 FM, Oberlin, OH

    “Gary Noland is a composer to end all composers

    … his attitude is not subtly disestablishmentarian, and you’d better enjoy it.… Some of the sounds are amusing, but the music is sort of deliberately annoying, both in sonority and in the mood—deliberately uninspired, almost to the point of inspiration. From Bach to rags to whatever, Noland seems determined to annoy as many people as he can, in an amusing way. He is an angry guy but witty.

    If the idea of deliberate lack of originality purveyed in an atmosphere of political incorrectness appeals to you, here, in no uncertain terms, it is. Titles such as ‘Spray Taint’, ‘Dog Duo’, and ‘Insurrection of the Office Slaves’ give the mood, while the title tune [‘Royal Oil works Music’] is the real purpose of the Bush administration, as explained in the notes.…”

    —David Moore, American Record Guide

    Seriously Odd Classical Tongue in Check Electro-Acoustic

    “Seriously odd classical… Tongue-in-cheek electro-acoustic combines baroque harpsichord and cheesy electronic sounds. Funny like Satie is funny – zany and irreverent. Lots of serialism … but the bizarre collage of styles and periods is brilliant. Oh, it’s also like PDQ Bach/Peter Schickele in some ways. Absurd liner notes!  Baroque-sounding … Serialist electro-acoustic … very refreshing, given how “ivory tower” this type of music often is. Cheesy synths, electronic percussion, and trumpets … up tempo and funky. Baroque harpsichord with pop and world music sounds going on in off-kilter, almost random rhythms. WTF? Very cool …Waa Waa synth, fugue-like … Zany … Cecil Taylor piano over drum machine breakbeats … Close to Dual (Ed Chang and Doug Theriault – crazy dense guitar and laptop processing), with national anthem-like moments?? And bird song?? Zany … Slow serialist/romantic … prelude to baroque trills to Richian/rag arpeggios to a Chopin breakdown to a jazz ending. Phew. This rocks … Bogy woozy synth with jazz percussion and serialist randomness. Lots of noodling, er, electronic wanking? Upbeat … Staccato baroque fugue on electronic choral sounds and pipe organ sounds … funny … Rhythmically interesting …  Fugue for harpsichord … Some free jazz freak-outs … Great title for this … Squeaky sounds with sax and choral synthesizer—like if you played the Handel theme from the film A Clockwork Orange, Sonny Rollins, Tchaikovsky, and, well, a psychotic serialist all at once.”

    —KZSU FM90.3, Stanford, CA

    “A look at the head-note will alert you to Gary Noland’s very personal way with words. Not for Noland the lures either of Olympian detachment or lower case “significance.” No, Noland is full-on and takes few linguistic prisoners. Similarly with the booklet artwork, Noland’s own, which is an example of crazed Robert Crumb à Africanize. And his music is much the same, Deformed Fugue, his 1977 piece for harpsichord summoning up pretty nicely his compositional stance. This is an elixir brewed of Couperin and Rameau, Scott Joplin, Bach, free funk, free Jazz (Cecil Taylor?), the Fugue, and an unholy alliance of straight sounding neo-classicism and its subsequent assault by the forces of percussive militancy.

     

    Noland may be a romantic but doesn’t want you to know.

    His Prelude is baroque-convincing though attended by some sour-is off notes he follows it with Serial Lullaby, a synthesizer-rich free funk piece that mocks its title. Spray Taint gives us assaulted baroque, the percussion blizzards full of jazz offbeat and whoop-bang noises (plus telephone rings and disco inferno). He subjects Ragtime to the same souring procedures as he does to his off-note harpsichord baroque and evokes a drugs fix (in My Babe’s Gone Down to Do Her Glue) with some haywire free form. He writes an American fanfare for the title track and subjects it to anti-Bush assault by bird song and drum blister.

    Quixiotic Sense

    His quixotic sense extends to opus numbers – the bowels of Op. 80 are scattered throughout the disc, and to instrumentation as well. I assume he makes all the noises, both pianistic and harpsichord synthesized and vocalized. He’s a veritable one-man band of off-kilter influences, the procedural repetition of which sometimes got me seriously down, though I did like his Swingle Sisters take-off on Music is Dead: A Paradox in Fugue.”

    —Jonathan Woolf, Music Web International

    24 Postludes for piano, Vol. 1

    August 2004: “Twenty-Four Postludes for Piano” Vol. 1 (Op. 72, Nos. 1–12), performed by Gary Noland. Duration: 72 minutes.  North Pacific Music (PO BOX 82627, Portland, Oregon 97282-0627, USA, tel/fax:  1-800-757-7384, www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD  018). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Lake Oswego

     REVIEWS/ENCOMIUMS

    “As usual I have been fiendishly busy and during my last absence, our humidification system went bonkers, depositing condensation and mold all over the place so now I am trying to deal with that on top of my overload. Nonetheless, I have put on the postludes whenever I’ve been at the computer and found them up to your usual iconoclastic, stylistic potpourri standards of giddy humor, no holds barred soup to nuts and high spirits. They are balm to the grim state of mind in which I find myself.”

    —Robert Levin, pianist (cadenza improviser extraordinaire), scholar, Professor of Music, Harvard University

    “Many thanks for the CDs you sent me, which I have been listening to with great pleasure and fascination.… I am bowled over by the expertise of your music:  you use certain elements from the 19th century and jazz, etc., and just at the moment when I am about to say, OK, what else is new? you do several things, such as speeding up, becoming wildly dissonant, modulating to a distant continent, stopping completely, and throwing some kind of total surprise. All of these things are possible, but you seem to know exactly when to do what and how much.  I don’t know anybody else who can do it!  And the brief electronic statements are spooky in the best and most extreme sense.  They make my hair (what’s left of it) stand on end.…”

    —Andrew Imbrue, composer, Pulitzer Prize finalist

    “Mr. Noland’s Postludes are a collection of wild and crazy pieces for … piano. These are essentially parodying of various styles, set in a dizzying harmonic language that loops uncontrollably through a wide-ranging gamut of possible and impossible tonalities. He applies this procedure to the fugue, ragtime, German dances (Schubert), romantic waltzes (Richard Strauss seems to be a favorite), and virtuosic piano scherzos. There’s a Chinese polonaise, a whiff of pentatonic Debussy; and, like most composers after Berlioz, he can’t seem to keep his hands off the Dies Irae (though fortunately, the tongue is firmly in cheek). Both Peter Schickele and Conlon Nan arrow hover over the proceedings. I’d even throw in Mark Applebaum, another Californian … The opening fugue is dedicated to the late David Lewin, the prominent Harvard theorist.  Lukas Foss gets a dedication, also (maybe his Baroque Variations had some sort of influence on Noland at some point).

    The general effect is like watching wet paintings of 19th Century musical memorabilia drip into frazzled 21st Century oblivion. The comic-book grotesquerie that graces the jewel box pretty much says it all … these pieces are striking and entertaining … (Postlude 12, an interminable exercise in blues montage, is the most daunting.) The pieces all have funny titles … Mustaches on the Mona Lisa, but those can be interesting if you’re in the right frame of mind.”

    —Allen Gimbel, American Record Guide

    “Composer and pianist Gary Noland are into ‘ha-ha music’—that is, classical music played for laughs, a genre famously (or infamously, depending on your taste in humor) popularized by Peter Schickele, also known as P.D.Q. Bach. This collection of solo piano music, identified as postludes rather than the more traditional preludes designation, indicates that, despite occasionally forcing the musical jokes (and writing far too many tortured puns in his liner notes), Noland has both the writing and playing chops to compensate for his painful musical humor. Dedicated to the late music theorist David Lewin, ‘Philomathetique’ is a witty trope on the music of Richard Strauss, with characterful motives and abundant quick modulations. ‘Effete Singulations’ is a deft, splashy bit of ragtime, while ‘Pickthanks and Premediates’ is a light-hearted romp played at a dizzying tempo and ‘Psychonipptions’ (dedicated to composer Henry Martin) is a send-up of 20th Century French music. Overall, Postludes is a mixed bag, but when Noland focuses on playing the piano well rather than simply playing for laughs, his compelling artistry shines through.”

    —Christian Carey, Splendid Magazine

    “Gary—you continue to be one of the most original of the contributors to ‘The Classical Salon.’ And ‘Effete Singulations’ [Postlude #2] opens one of my ragtime shows.”

    —David Rifkin, Host, “Classical Salon” and “The Ragtime Machine,” KUSF 90.3 FM, University of San Francisco.

    24 Interludes for piano, Vol. 1

    August 2004: “Twenty-Four Interludes for Piano” Vol. 1 (Op. 71, Nos. 1-12), performed by Gary Noland. Duration: 74 minutes. North Pacific Music (PO BOX 82627, Portland, Oregon 97282-0627, USA, tel/fax: 1-800-757-7384, www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD  019). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Lake Oswego

    “… intriguing, irritating, … distinctive, inventive, … subversive, … [the music] is never what you expect.  You hear all sorts of styles and influences—Beethoven, ragtime, Nan arrow, stride—often in very quick succession.… I had the strange feeling with many of these pieces [Interludes and Postludes] that, about halfway through, I had got fed up with them, but I was then sorry when they finished.… You can hardly be indifferent to Noland’s music and so I would urge you to try it. Despite my frequent irritation, I will certainly be returning to it and seeking out examples of Noland’s chamber works and multimedia compositions. Music aside, speaking as a cat-lover, I feel an instinctive sympathy with the composer depicted on the front cover of the Interludes fondly embracing his cat. Illogical? Well, yes; I think this music has got to me after all.”

    —Roger Blackburn, Music Web International

    “Gary Noland, a composer, and pianist with an impressive academic pedigree (including a Ph.D. from Harvard) and extensive performing experience, here presents an album of solo piano compositions, or ‘interludes.’ Actually, some of these pieces seem in no way transitory; instead, they present extended musical dialogues that call upon a host of musical styles and require the considerable technical facility to perform. Noland, a fleet-fingered, ebullient performer, is more than up to the task. Pastiche pieces like ‘Mumbo Gumbo’ and ‘Expresso Wagon’ evoke all manner of Romantic-era classical piano figurations; they gently lampoon some of the genre’s conventions, but always remain bright, witty, and engaging. ‘The Temptation of Saint Floyd’ also channels Romanticism, particularly the Strassman sort, demonstrating a more reflective demeanor and adding a dollop of schmaltz to the proceedings. ‘Push Button Fingers’ is prevailingly modern in construction, with syncopated rhythms and sprightly, angular runs creating a far more contemporary sound world. Noland’s work may be eclectic—sometimes even a bit goofy—but Interludes is cleverly constructed and consistently well performed.”

    —Christian Carey, Splendid Magazine, 12/29/2005

    FIND OUT MORE

    Selected Music from Venge Art

    July 2002: “Gary Noland:  Selected Music from VENGE ART.”  Duration:  75 minutes. Cellist Hamilton Heifetz and pianist Victor Steinhardt playing “Fantasy in E Minor” for cello & piano (Op. 24), pianist Randall Hodgkinson playing “Humoresque” for piano (Op. 3) and the “Russell Street Rag” (Op. 5), Gary Noland performing three segments of “P*run*Music” (Op. 48), Violist Katherine Murdock and pianist Randall Hodgkinson playing “Romance” for viola & piano (Op. 10), a computer-driven Disklavier performance of “Grande Rag Brillante” (Op. 15), The Onyx String Quartet playing “American Bozo Dance” (Op. 32, No. 8), and Guy Tyler conducting “Septet” (Op. 43) with clarinetist Carol Robe, alto saxophonist Tom Bergeron, French hornist Ellen Campbell, violinists Tawana Nagahara and Anthony Dyer, double-bassist Forrest Moyer, and pianist Art Maddox. Released by North Pacific Music (PO BOX 82627, Portland, Oregon 97282-0627, USA, tel/fax:  1-800-757-7384, www.NorthPacificMusic.com (NPM LD  012). music CDs original compositions Beaverton Lake Oswego

    “Mr. Noland writes as a ‘time traveler’ in styles long abandoned by most composers as well as styles so new as to not have been imagined but by him.  This he accomplishes naturally, convincingly, with originality and true passion.  His command of all musical languages and his ability to traverse musical time is nothing less than remarkable.  Listen!”

    —Donald Martino, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer

    “Composer Gary Noland is possessed of a rich musical imagination, whose technique distills the achievements of Roger, Strauss, and Schoenberg but also refracts their post-romantic/expressionist tendencies through the lens of twenty-first-century post-modernism, American style. Moreover, he fits Stravinsky’s definition of a great composer:  one who doesn’t merely steal but knows what to steal.  This Noland does with wit and aplomb unique to the music of our time.”

    —Ira Braes, pianist, musicologist, Professor of Music, The Hart School

    “Gary Noland’s Venge Art is more than just a collection of music.…inspiring.  He walks with assurance through the treacherous landscape of late tonality and early post-tonality (e.g., Strauss).…a gifted composer.”

    Payton MacDonald—American Record Guide

    FIND OUT MORE

    Player less Pianos

    May 2000: “Player less Pianos: Virtual Music for Pianos Virtual and Otherwise.” Seventh Species Composers Series Debut Recording, Limited Collector’s Edition (NPM LCE 007—North Pacific Music). A compilation recording of works by various composers. Includes Gary Noland’s “Grande Rag Brillante” (Op. 15), which was recorded on August 19, 1998, on a Disklavier at SPARK Studios in Emeryville. music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

    Original Compositions by Gary Noland music CDs

    1996: “Passion.” A compilation recording of works by composers Gary Noland, George Rothberg, Georges Enescu, Greg Steinke, and Jackie T. Gabel performed by violist Rozanne Weinberger and pianist Evelyne Lust. Includes Noland’s “Romance” for viola & piano (Op. 10).  (NPM LD 003—North Pacific Music).  Recorded September 1994 at MET Studio Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.  In Schwann Catalog. music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

    FIND OUT MORE

    Be sure and listen to performances of Gary Noland’s music on this website under “videos,” “more videos,” etc.

    All CDs are available for purchase from www.northpacificmusic.com music CDs original compositions Beaverton Portland Lake Oswego

     

    The End

  • Introducing Jim Davidson

    Introducing Jim Davidson

    Jim Davidson
    Jim Davison photo

     

     

     

    Introducing the Work of Jim Davidson – a world expert on all things Perry Mason, and a great Jazz piano player

    The Perry Mason Book by Jim  Davidson
    The Perry Mason Book: A Comprehensive Guide to America’s Favorite Defender of Justice
    by

    9329357

    Jake Aller‘s review

    Dec 06, 2021  ·  edit
    it was amazing


    Jim Davidson, a high school classmate, over the years became the world’s leading authority on all things Perry Mason. He worked on this book for almost ten years before finally publishing it. It covers everything Perry Mason-related and more. As a casual fan of the series, it made me want to go back and watch more episodes. Jim writes in an engaging fan pace style and really delves into the series and its lasting impact on American culture mid to late 20th century

    All I Know I Learned at BHS

    Ji Davison

    Jim Davison photoI have been friends with Jim Davidson since high schoo over 45 years ago.. He has over the years become a world expert on all things Perry Mason.  He has also become an expert on classic comics. And he is a great jazz pianist.

     

    Jim Davidson is the founder and past president of the National Association for the Advancement of Perry Mason and former publisher/editor of the periodicals NAAPM Newsletter and Classic TV. His articles, interviews, and reviews have appeared in Films in ReviewFilmfax, Tower Records’ Pulse! magazine, and The TV Collector. He has contributed research to the books The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (Fifth Edition) by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh (Ballantine Books), Primetime Proverbs by Jack Mingo and John Javna (Harmony Books), Donna Reed: A Bio-Bibliography by Brenda Scott Royce (Greenwood Press), and was a member of the expert panel that ranked shows for The Best of Crime & Detective TV by Max Allan Collins and John Javna (Harmony Books). He has appeared on TV in The Case of the Courtroom Legends, a Showtime special about Perry Mason author Erle Stanley Gardner and star Raymond Burr, and was co-producer of the Perry Mason 50th Anniversary Edition DVD set from CBS-Paramount. He’s the author of the ebook Perry Mason: A Comprehensive Guide to America’s Favorite Defender of Justice.

    Top TV History Links

    Stu’s Show
    Martin Grams Jr.
    Wesley Hyatt
    TV Confidential
    Eyes of a Generation
    The Paley Center For Media
    Museum of Broadcast Communications
    Classic TV Archive

    Other Stuff

    Nat King Cole Discography

     

    You can find his work here….

    My Classic TV site:

    http://www.classictvinfo.com/

    The Perry Mason Book: A Comprehensive Guide to America’s Favorite Defender of Justice Kindle Edition

    by Jim Davidson  (Author)  Format: Kindle Edition

    My Perry Mason book:

    https://amzn.to/3zH3vkW

    My music videos:

    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX1JF6laivmDeiTySUhrFho-Aq3NYa5Yn

     

  • April 16 to April 20 2021 Poems

    April 16 to April 20 2021 Poems

    April 16 to April 20 2021 Poems

    April 10 to April 14 2021 Poems

    April 1 to April 5 Poems

    April 6 to April 9 Cosmos’s Poetry 

    Cosmos’s 2020 April Poetry Part One

    Cosmos 2020 April Poetry Part Two

    April 2019 Poems

    April 2018 Poems

    2017 April Poems

    I have a small request to make.  I want to expand my followers on all my platforms. So if you have not signed up yet for this blog, or followed me on intraframe, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, or Bloglovin or listened to my podcast on Spotify please do so now.

    thank you

    WHERE TO LISTEN to the World According to Cosmos

     breaker audio

     google podcasts

     radio public

    Spotify

    Radio public chttps://radiopublic.com/the-world-according-to-cosmos-6va7D1

    on PocketCastshttps://pca.st/rt1f4r4r

    Thank you.

    Just posted on line https://formerpeople.wordpress.com/2021/04/21/lone-foreigner-

    Commentary:

    This is the fifth and perhaps final time I am doing the April poetry challenge.  The goal is to write at least one poem per day.  I am averaging about eight per day and posting four reserving four as “unpublished”. I am basing the poems on prompts from “Writing com Dew Drop Inn”, “Writers Digest”, “Poetry Superhighway” and “NaPoWrMo” prompt daily prompts and on “Pensively Prompt’ et all daily prompts.  I am combining prompts where possible.   I will post these here in batches every five days or so. Each poem will have an image that helped inspired the poem.  All postings will be podcast a few days later on Spotify and elsewhere.  Each posting will be a separate posting, but the index will be cumulative. The final posting will have the complete list of all poems written whether posted or not.   Comments welcome but please keep it civil. Some of my poetry tends to be a bit “in your face” or “political” from a “leftwing perspective.”  If it offends you in some way, please accept my apologies in advance.  That is never my intent.

    This is part three covering poems written April 15 to April 20posted on the 21.

    I am writing some other poems per day but not posting them as I need to reserve some “unpublished” poems. There will be a podcast version shortly on Spotify, Public Radio, and elsewhere.  I will list all the poems I wrote in my final April posting, May 1 KST. Posted

    Index

    April 15, 2021

    Living in an SF World Writing Com Dew Drop-in
    Topic: SF

    Narnia beckons PSH Prompt
    Topic:  Narnia

    My Home Office Writer Digest
    Topic: home

    Cosmos Aller NaPoWrMo
    Topic: Bio

    April 16

    Caregiving In this Day and Age Writing Com Dew Drop-in
    Topic:  Corona

    Dinosaur Story, Writers digest
    Topic: dinosaurs

    Coffee Cup Dreams PSH
    Topic: coffee

    Coffee Inheritance, NaPoWrMo Prompt
    Topic: coffee

    April 17

    Morning rituals PSH
    Topic: Morning

    Ode to Berkeley Writers Digest
    Topic: Berkeley

    Met My Fate That Date Skeltonic Poem
    Topic:  fate

    April 18

    There is no such place as Writing Com Dew Drop-in…
    Topic: Oz, Narnia

    Sounds Writing Com Dew Drop-in…
    Topic: sounds

    April 19

    65 Years Young Writing com Drew Drop-In
    Topic: Age, Meaning of Life

    Howling with The Dancing Moon, PSH
    Topic: Moon

    Writer’s Digest Animal in Title – Cats Are Space Aliens
    Topic: Cats

    Anti-Vaxers, Anti-Masks, And Other Covid Idiots Poetic Rants
    Napowrmo Prompt:
    Topic: Corona

    April 20
    —Tree of Life… (See Link for A Drawing/Journaling Exercise)
    Tree of Life
    Topic:  Satan, Eden, God

    April 15—Machines Writing com Dew Drop-In

    The Robots are Coming

    Robots take over

     

     

     

     

    The Robots are coming
    They will soon
    Take away
    More and more jobs

    Leaving people free
    To do other things

    But what will we all do?
    When the machines
    Do everything

    From driving and delivering
    To cooking our food
    Cleaning our houses
    Cleaning our offices

    Even doing our lawyering
    And our doctoring
    What will we do?

    When the evil computer overlord
    Emerges in the future
    And enslave us all
    To the robotic overlords?

    Narnia Beckons PSH

    Use five different colors.
    Utilize each of the five senses
    Write about your hand (what is it?  What does it do?) without using the words “hand,” “finger/s” or “thumb.”
    Go to an imaginary place that is commonly known, don’t name it until the end
    What did you do during covid that you wouldn’t have done otherwise?

    narnia
    narnia

     

     

     

     

     

    Narnia beckons
    Red dawning sun
    Blue sky
    Yellow flowers
    Pink flowers
    Golden flowers
    By my side

    Narnia beckons
    During covid lockdown
    Reading Narnia in Spanish

    My Home Office Writer Digest

    For today’s prompt, write a poem inspired only by stimulus from where you’re sitting (or standing, if you write will standing). In the past, I’ve written poems about pencils, characters in books I can see, and things I can see out my window when using this prompt. So, consider your immediate surroundings and poem away today.

    For several years
    I have had a home office
    Chaotic, badly designed
    Adhoc mess
    But now I finally have
    A decent home office

    With a state of the art desk
    That I can raise or lower
    As I sit fit

    My wife sits next to me
    We can finally work together
    Managing our real estate
    And investments

    I do my writing projects
    With her at my side
    Watching the news
    Or listening to music

    As we work side by side
    In my peaceful home office

    Cosmos Aller NaPoWrMo<

    And last but not least, our (optional) prompt for the day. Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that delves into the meaning of your first or last name. Looking for inspiration? Take a look at this poem by Mark Wunderlich, appropriately titled “Wunderlich.”

    Cosmos Aller

    I am Jake Cosmos Aller
    Born John Cosmos Aller
    65 years ago in Berkeley, California

    I am the third generation Cosmos
    The name comes from a translation
    Of our German family name Aller

    The story Is that my great grandfather
    Wanted a middle name
    To reflect an English translation
    Of the German word “Aller”

    He had a choice
    “Cosmos” or “Universe”
    He chose “Cosmos”

    Otherwise
    I would be John “Universe” Aller

    My Grandfather was the first Cosmos
    Curtis Cosmos Aller Sr
    My father Was the second Cosmos
    Curtis Cosmos Aller, Jr
    And I am the third
    John (Jake) Cosmos Aller

    Either way
    The name Cosmos
    Is now my pen name

    No one believes
    This story

    They all believe
    I was called Cosmos
    Because I was born
    In Berkeley

    And the name Cosmos
    Seems appropriate
    For a child born
    In Berkeley

    Which is a pretty
    Cosmic city
    After all

    Unfortunately, I am the last Cosmos
    In my family’s line
    As I have no children

    If I had a son
    He would have been called
    Robert Cosmos Aller

    April 16

    Caregiving In this Day and Age, writing com Do Drop-in

    corona
    corona

     

     

     

     

     

    Caregiving in this day and age
    Is difficult
    As the Coronavirus wreaks havoc
    Across the land

    Thousands of people still dying
    Every single day
    As General Corona marches
    Across the land

    The caregivers are our unseen heroes
    Saving lives every day
    For very little pay

    They do what they must
    Providing care
    to the elderly

    The forgotten old people
    Living their quiet life
    Of despair

    Dinosaur Story, Writers Digest

    dinosaur
    dinosaur

     

     

     

     

     

     

    For today’s prompt, take the phrase “(blank) Story,” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles include: “Toy Story,” “Super Long Unusually Strange Story,” and/or “Same Old Story.” Poem your story, so we can get at the second half of this challenge.

    A metal dinosaur
    Stands in a park
    Deeply dreaming

    The dinosaur
    Comes to life
    Millions of years
    Have past

    The dinosaur sniffs
    Says to himself
    Hmm I am back
    Life is good

    Coffee Cup Dreams PSH

     

    coffee
    coffee

     

     

     

     

     

    Writing from the point of view of an inanimate object can open the floodgates. We carry things around with us everywhere – in our pockets, purses, backpacks, vehicles… but how do those objects see the world? This freewriting activity puts your voice to bed, while the object’s voice is finally spoken.

    Dig through your backpack, purse, bag, junk drawer – and pull out the first object you touch.

    Write a poem from the point of view of that object.

    How does the egg timer feel about sitting on top of the stove when the cookies are done baking? What does the Costco Membership Card feel when you pass over it for Sam’s Warehouse? How does the maple syrup react when you reach for the honey instead?

     

    My coffee cup
    Contains dreams
    It dreams every morning
    As I pour my coffee

    The coffee cup
    Comes to life
    Filled with delicious coffee

    The coffee cup
    Loves to provide me
    With the pleasure
    Of drinking coffee

    The coffee cup smiles
    His work is done

    Coffee Inheritance

     

    cartoon man who drank too much coffee
    cartoon man who drank too much coffee

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    And now for our prompt (optional, as always). Today’s prompt comes to us from Juan Martinez. It asks you to think about a small habit you picked up from one of your parents, and then to write a piece that explores an early memory of your parent engaged in that habit, before shifting into writing about yourself engaging in the same habit.

    My father and mother
    Were big coffee drinkers
    They liked it black

    My mother said
    Coffee should be black
    Like her heart

    But her heart
    Was filled with light
    And love

    She drank five to six
    Cups every day

    My father also
    Was a big coffee drinker
    They both drank coffee

    All-day long
    Oddly, it did not seem
    To keep them from sleeping

    Nor did it make them
    Jittery
    From too much caffeine

    My parents did not allow me
    To drink coffee
    Until I was 18

    When I finally join them
    And became
    A coffee achiever

    Now when I drink my daily cup
    I think back to my parents

    Drinking their coffee
    Thinking back
    To my coffee inheritance

    There is no such place

    narnia scene
    narnia scene

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    There is no such place
    I often wonder
    What would it be like
    If the mythical land of oz
    Or Narnia existed

    If we could travel
    To other realms

    I wonder if
    While I alive
    If we will colonize
    The Moon and Mars

    And if I will travel
    To the stars
    Before my time is done

    Sunday, April 18

    Sounds

    temple blog bell-zen
    temple blog bell-zen

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Sounds and sights
    Of unknown worlds
    Fill my head

    I hear the temple bells
    I see the sights
    Of my dreams
    Unfold in my head

    Sounds and sights
    Of worlds yet to be
    Fill my heart
    With anticipation

    Monday, April 19

    Acting your age (or not!)

    65 Years Young
    I am now 65
    A senior citizen

    But in my heart
    I still feel
    Like I am still
    20 years old

    People say
    I should act my age
    But what that means
    If I think
    I am still 20?

    Sunday, April 20>

    —Tree of Life…(see link for a drawing/journaling exercise)
    https://nathanbweller.com/tree-life-simple-exercise-reclaiming-identity-directio…
    Tree of Life

     

    Eden
    Eden

     

     

     

     

     

    In the garden
    Of Eden
    Adam and Eve
    Were forbidden
    To eat the fruit
    Of the tree of life
    Satan sent a snake
    To temp them
    To eat the forbidden fruit
    Of the tree of life
    When they did
    God knew
    And banished them
    From the garden of Eden
    For their act of cosmic defiance

    Morning Rituals PSH

     

    coffee
    coffee

     

     

     

     

     

    If a stranger were to watch you through your window right now, what would they see and what would they say about it? Paint us a verbal picture. Play around with the point of view. You can be the observer describing what he/she sees in a third-person report, or switch it around to the first or second person

    Sam Adams starts his day
    The same way every day
    He gets up
    At the crack of dawn
    Leaves his sleeping wife

    Washes up
    Drinks two cups
    of coffee

    Watches the news
    While writing down his dreams
    And his daily poetry

    Thinking about life
    Looking out the window
    At the dawning sun

    Lights up his living room
    Thinking about life

    He goes to his sleeping wife
    Waking her with a kiss
    Falling in love yet again

    Ode to Berkeley Writers Digest

    free roaming berkeley
    free roaming berkeley

     

     

     

     

     

     

    For today’s prompt, write a city poem. You can make the title of your poem the name of a city and write your poem. Or you can mention a city in your poem. And, of course, you can just set your poem in a city without naming which one it is. It’s also okay if you’re more rurally inclined, to just write a poem about the city slickers. As always, have fun with it.

    I grew up in Berkeley
    In the late 60s and 70s
    A wild magical time
    In a magical city
    By the bay

    Berkeley was the center
    Of my universe
    For many years

    Until I left it
    In my early 20s
    To wander about the world

    Yet Berkeley never left me
    I am still in Berkeley
    It lives on in my heart
    And soul

    And someday
    I will return home
    To reside

    Before I finally leave
    Berkeley for good
    As I die in my homeland

    Met My Fate That Date Skeltonic Poem NaPoWrMo Prompt

    And last but not least, our (optional) prompt. Because it’s Friday, today I’d like you to relax with the rather silly form called Skeltonic, or tumbling, verse. In this form, there’s no specific number of syllables per line, but each line should be short and should aim to have two or three stressed syllables. And the lines should rhyme. You just rhyme the same sound until you get tired of it, and then move on to another sound. Here’s a short example I came up with.

    Met My Fate That Date Skeltonic Poem

    I met my fate
    That cosmic date
    When I first saw my mate

    I went to her that date
    She walked into my life
    Later she became my wife

    Howling with the Dancing Moon, PSH
    Topic: Moon
    If the moon could tap dance…

     

    howling at the moon
    howing at the moon

     

     

     

     

     

    (Would it make a sound? What music is it dancing to? Where did it find tap shoes? What effect does it have on you?)

    If rivers could wish…

    (What would they wish for? Or have they already? Do they ever get tired of being wet? How about when something jumps in, falls in, takes something from them?)

    If sunset could tell you…

    (A truth beyond the horizon? Is it hard to say goodbye? What does it know that you don’t? How has it tried to tell you?)

    A man
    Sits drinking late into the night
    On the night of the blood-red
    Super blue wolf moon

    The lunatic light of the moon
    Inspires him
    As he drinks
    In that depraved din of inequity
    On the left side of society

    Drinking with his buddies
    Johnny Walker, Jim Beam
    Jack Daniels, Old Granddad
    Drinking one Scotch, one Bourbon
    And one beer

    Watching the naked woman
    Dancing on stage
    He finishes drinking
    20 drinks too sober

    He walks outside
    And sees the naked moon
    Dancing up a storm

    Flying across the sky
    Ripping her clothes off

    Tap dancing
    To the insane disco beat
    Of the bar

    He gives in
    Jumps into the sky
    Dancing with the naked moon

    Howling with the moon maiden
    Like an escaped banshee
    From the lunatic bins
    Of Hell

    Cats are Aliens -Writers Digest Animal Poem

    black cat
    black cat

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     Cats are alien creatures
    They are just so weird
    So utterly inhuman

    In their thoughts
    And actions
    They must have come
    To this world
    From another planet

    Perhaps they are
    The advance team
    For the future alien invasion

    Cats seem to communicate
    Through telepathy

    They seem to think
    We are their slaves

    Perhaps we are
    And we do not realize
    That they are the master race

    Anti-vaxers, anti-maskers and other covid Idiots Poetic Rants
    NaPoWrMo Prompt:

    Topic: Corona

    corona virus

    corona virus

     

    And last but not least, our prompt (optional, as always). Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a humorous rant. In this poem, you may excoriate to your heart’s content all the things that get on your nerves. Perhaps it’s people who tailgate when driving or don’t put the caps back on pens after they use them. Or the raccoons who get into your garbage cans. For inspiration, perhaps you might look to this list of Shakespearean insults. Or, for all of you who grew up on cartoons from the 1980s, perhaps this compendium of Skeleton’s might provide some insight.

    Amid the worst global health pandemic
    In over 150 years
    The world is filled with COVID idiots
    Who denounces any public health measures
    Designed to save lives

    As an affront to their rights
    To do whatever they please
    Regardless of the impact
    Their bad behavior may have

    These COVID idiots
    Refuse to wear masks
    Refuse to social distance
    Refuse to get a Vaccine
    Even refuse
    to wash their damn hands

    They refuse to believe
    That COVID is real
    Until they or their relatives
    End up in the hospital
    Fighting for their life

    If only these COVID idiots
    Had worn a mask
    Gotten a vaccine
    They would not have become
    Yet another COVID Ghost

    The End

  • April 10 to April 14 2021 Poems

    April 10 to April 14 2021 Poems

    April 2021 Poetry Contest – April  1 0  to  April 14

    I have a small request to make.  I want to expand my followers on all my platforms. So if you have not signed up yet for this blog, or followed me on intraframe, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, or Bloglovin or listened to my podcast on Spotify please do so now.

    thank you

    WHERE TO LISTEN to the World According to Cosmos

     breaker audio

     google podcasts

     radio public

    Spotify

    Radio public chttps://radiopublic.com/the-world-according-to-cosmos-6va7D1

    on PocketCastshttps://pca.st/rt1f4r4r

    Thank you.

    Just posted on line https://formerpeople.wordpress.com/2021/04/21/lone-foreigner-

    Commentary:

    This is the fifth and perhaps final time I am doing the April poetry challenge.  The goal is to write at least one poem per day.  I am averaging about eight per day and posting four reserving four as “unpublished”. I am basing the poems on prompts from “Writing com Dew Drop Inn”, “Writers Digest”, “Poetry Superhighway” and “NaPoWrMo” prompt daily prompts and on “Pensively Prompt’ et all daily prompts.  I am combining prompts where possible.   I will post these here in batches every five days or so. Each poem will have an image that helped inspired the poem.  All postings will be podcasted a few days later on Spotify and elsewhere.  Each posting will be a separate posting, but the index will be cumulative. The final posting will have the complete list of all poems written whether posted or not.   Comments welcome but please keep it civil. Some of my poetry tends to be a bit “in your face” or “political” from a “leftwing perspective.”  If it offends you in some way, please accept my apologies in advance.  That is never my intent.

    This is part three covering poems written April 10th to April 14th, posted on the 14th

    I am writing some other poems per day but not posting them as I need to reserve some “unpublished” poems. There will be a podcast version shortly on Spotify, Public Radio and elsewhere.  I will list all the poems I wrote in my final April posting, May 1 KST. Posted

    April 1 to April 5 Poems

    April 6 to April 9 Cosmos’s Poetry

     Cosmos’s 2020 April Poetry Part One

    Cosmos’s 2020 April Poetry Part One

    April 2019 Poems

    April 2018 Poems

    2017 April Poems

    Index

    Transgressions, Writing Com – Dew Drop-In
    Every Morning Cherita, PSH Prompt
    Prime Love Writers Digest Prompt
    Letter to Frank Zappa, Napowrmo Prompt
    The Mountains of My Love, —Describe Yourself as Landscape Writing Com Dew Drop-In
    Great Dismal Dark Play Sestina Writer’s Digest
    Superman on His Morning Patrol PSH Prompt
    Coffee Obsession Pensively/Writing Com Dew Drop-In
    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.
    Lucky In Love, Unlucky at Cards, Writer’s Digest
    Visiting the Tower of Babel, Napowrmo Prompt
    News Headlines I’d Like to See Napowrmo Prompt
    Robots Taking Over Writing Com Dew Drop-In
    Just Another Black Dude Pulled Over Driving While Black

    Poem with Transgression in Form and Content Writing com Dew Drop-In

    Transgressions

    Our
    transgressions
    Ultimately
    Religious
    Transgressions
    Religious
    About
    No
    God
    Except
    Since
    September
    In
    Our
    Nothing words
    Something remains hidden

    Every Morning Cherita PSH Prompt 

    A few years ago, I discovered one of my favorite writing exercises: Try writing a cherita.  Cherita is the Malay word for story or tale. It is a little 6 line story.

    Try writing a single stanza of a one-line verse

    followed by a two-line verse,
    and then finishing with a three-line verse

    You can find samples and even a journal you can submit your little stories here:

    Every Morning Cherita 

    When I wake up

    And see you there
    The darkness of the night

    Begins to recede
    As the sun lights up
    Filling me with your love

    Letter to Frank Zappa 1975 NaPoWrMo

    Frank Zappa

    And now for our (optional) prompt. This is a twist on a prompt offered by Kay Gabriel during a meeting she facilitated at the Poetry Project last year. Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a two-part poem, in the form of an exchange of letters. The first stanza (or part) should be in the form of a letter that you write either to yourself or to a famous fictional or historical person. The second part should be the letter you receive in response. These can be as short or long as you like, in the form of prose poems, or with line breaks – and of course, the subject matter of the letters is totally up to you.

     Letter to Frank Zappa 1975 sent to him

    Dear Frank

    I loved your overnight sensation album
    It made my day
    It inspired me to write
    Some poems which I hope
    You can consider using
    In a future album

    Your friend and number one fan

    Jake Cosmos Aller

    His Response – never responded

    Dear Cosmos

    Love your poems
    Love your name
    Is that your real name?

    Is it because you are from Berkeley?
    One of my favorite cities
    I will be able to use
    Some of these poems

    My people will get in touch
    With your people
    And work out a deal
    To use these poems
    Great job my friend

    Frank Zappa

    Your friend for life

    Prime Love Writers Digest Prompt

    For today’s prompt, write a prime number poem. That is, I want you to somehow incorporate a prime number into your poem. You could include a prime number in the title of your poem or use one in the poem itself. Or write a poem that has a prime number of lines per stanza or for the entire poem.

    And if you need help with remembering which numbers are prime numbers, I’ve got you covered (here’s a list of prime numbers up to 100: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97)

    Prime Love

    My love
    Wakes me up
    With love in her heart
    I leap out of my dark bed
    Eagerly greeting the dawning sunlight
    Filling my soul with your deep endless angelic love
    Wondering again who you are, why are you here, my angel dear?

    As I sit in the morning light, filled with your love, seeing the sunlight
    My deep dark nightmares begin to fade with your deep love
    I am filled with the light of the dawning sun
    I was dreaming of all those years
    Then one day you came to life
    Walking out of dreams
    Reality
    My love

    Describe Yourself as Landscape Writing com Dew Drop-In
    The Mountains of My Love

    —Describe Yourself as Landscape Writing com Dew Drop-In

    The Mountains of My Love
    I am like a mountain
    Growing out of the plains
    Rising to a peak
    Overlooking the town
    Filled with my love
    For my wife
    I remain a towering inferno
    Of fire
    Passionate intensity erupting
    Whenever I see you
    Standing there

    Great Dismal Dark Play Sestina Writer’s Digest

     For today’s prompt, write a poem using at least three of the following six words: convict, great, play, race, season, and voice. Extra credit for using all six words. Extra credit for writing a sestina. It’s not a race, so I won’t convict anyone who can’t use all six words, but it is the season to play around and share your great voice. Now!

    Great Dismal Dark Play

    There is a great dismal dark play
    At work in the wild world
    There is a Race to the finish line
    During this unsettling Season
    Millions of people losing their Voice
    As thousands die every day

    PSH Write a Comic Book Poem, Superman on His Daily Patrol

    Write a poem where you describe each part of it as if in a square of a comic book.  Put it in the present tense.  Close your eyes (or not) and imagine exactly what is happening in each line, what you want to see or do in your setting.  Use simple descriptions, think about materials, shapes, and colors along with what else is there (houses, businesses, parks, transportation, etc.).  Other considerations are:  What sounds do you hear, what smells do you smell, and how’s the weather?  In this poem, you can be the hero/heroine or not!

    Superman on His Morning Patrol

    superman
    Superhero businessman standing outdoors changing saving the day above the city skyline

    Superman wakes up
    On a beautiful spring morning
    Glad to be alive

    He drinks his coffee
    One of the best things
    On his adopted new world

     

    He suited up
    Flew out his window
    On his morning patrol

    Fighting evil
    Promoting the American way
    He flies about the city

    Stopping to eat a hot dog
    Chatting with the vendor
    About life on earth

    Superman thought
    Life is good

    Visiting the Tower of Babel, NaPoWrMo Prompt

    Finally, our prompt (optional, as always). I’m calling this one “Past and Future.” This prompt challenges you to write a poem using at least one word/concept/idea from each of two specialty dictionaries: Lempira’s Classical Dictionary and the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction. A hat tip to Cathy Park Hong for a tweet that pointed me to the science fiction dictionary and Hoe for introducing me to the Classical Dictionary.

    Visiting the Tower of Babel

    tower of Babel
    Towel of Babel

    A team of SF travelers
    Discovered HG Wells secret plans
    And construct a time machine

    A big debate ensures
    Where to go
    When to go

     

     

     

    Some wanted to go back
    and witness the crucifixion

    Finally, they decide
    To go back in time

    To the construction
    Of the tower of Babel

    They set the time machine
    To 2,226 BCE

    And off they go
    They find a large tower
    Under construction
    Reaching towards the heaven

    They stay and watch
    The tower’s construction
    Then the tower falls down
    In a lightning strike

    Everyone who witnesses
    The scene
    Is struck with madness

    The tower lay in ruins
    The people speaking
    In tongues

    The scientists conclude
    That this biblical tale
    Was probably true

    Coffee Obsession Pensively, —Excess or Obsession Writing com Dew Drop-In

    cartoon man who drank too much coffee
    cartoon man who drank too much coffee

    Sam Adams
    Thought about the Difference
    Between Love
    And obsession

    As he drank deeply
    Enjoying his coffee obsession

    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 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 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

    Part Cheroke, Irish, Scot, Dutch, French
    And maybe African American to boot

    Her family part of the lost tribe
    Of the Cherokee tribe
    Who ran away
    Before the trail of tears

    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 –
    BS 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.
    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 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 am,

    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 a BHS play,
    The Madwomen of Chaillot
    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.

    Write a Lucky Poem and/or..Write an Unlucky Poem. Writers Digest

    Lucky in love, Unlucky in cards

    Indian casino Fun
    Indian casino Fun

    There is an adage
    That sums up my life so far
    One can be lucky in love
    But unlucky in cards

     

     

    That sums it up nicely
    I have been lucky in love
    Met and married
    The girl of my dreams

    Dreamed of meeting her
    For eight years

    Then she came into my life
    Became my wife

    But I have never been
    Lucky in cards

    I mean I have played
    Poker with friends
    But always lost

    Won a little bit of gambling
    But usually lost more
    Then I won

    Eventually gave up
    Just not fun anymore

    Never really had the gambling bug
    Just not my cup of tea
    It seemed to me

    Yet to get a jackpot
    But then I think
    I hit the jackpot of love

    When I met the love
    Of my life that date
    When I met my fate

    And that has made
    All the difference
    In the world

    News Headlines I’d Like to See NaPoWrMo Prompt

    And now, on to our (optional) prompt. Today’s prompt comes from the Instagram account of sundress publications, which posts a writing prompt every day, all year long. This one is short and sweet: write a poem in the form of a news article you wish would come out tomorrow.

     

     

     

     

    Donald Trump Dies of a Massive Heart Attack
    Congress Passes 2.6 Trillion $ Infrastruture Bill in rare Bipartisan Vote
    North Korea and South Korea Enter into Unification Talks
    U.S Troops Come Home From Afghanistan and Iraq
    Peace Breaks Out Around the World
    The Covid pandemic is finally over

    The Robots are Taking Over,  Machines Writing com Dew Drop-In

    Robots take over

     

     

     

     

    The robots are coming

    They will soon
    Take away
    More and more jobs

    Leaving people free
    To do other things

    But what will we all do?
    When the machines
    Do everything

    From driving and delivering
    To cooking our food
    Cleaning our houses
    Cleaning our offices
    Even doing our lawyering
    And our doctoring

    What will we do?
    When the evil computer overlord
    Emerges in the future
    And enslave us all
    To the robotic overlords?

    Just Another Black Dude Pulled Over Driving While Black

    The other day
    A young black army Lt
    Learned a vital lesion

    To the average cop
    On the street
    A black man
    Is a suspect

    And must be dealt with
    With maximum force
    Just to teach them
    A lesion

    You don’t mess with the police
    You must know your place
    And in today’s world

    You are nothing more
    Then just another black man
    In the eyes of the law

    The Lt.’s crime?
    Driving while black
    In a small town

    The cops saw a black man
    Did not care
    That he was in uniform
    Took offense

    When the black man
    Refused to comply
    And questioned their right
    To harass him

    They pulled out their guns
    Making it a felony arrest
    Beat him up for good measure

    All for nothing
    His crime
    Not a crime

    But did they care
    Not at all

    That is justice
    In our America

    At least
    They did not go all
    George Floyd on him
    Perhaps his uniform
    Saved his life
    That day

    The End

Verified by MonsterInsights