So You Thought You Wanted to be a Poet

A long time ago, I had aspirations of writing poetry or perhaps a song or two. I was working sixteen hour days in a rather sterile and solitary environment. To keep from going stark raving mad, I began writing in a journal. Most of the entries were random scribblings, but there was an occasional poem and even the framework of a humorous novel.

The journal traveled around the world for nearly thirty five years without suffering more than a dog eared page or two, as well as the expected wear and tear on the outer jacket. The writings grew less and less frequent as the years passed, but the contents still held great meaning and memories for me.

In early June of 2010, I traveled to Charleston, SC for a weekend getaway with my wife. The dogs stayed at home with their favorite dog sitter Kelly. Things were going great until my phone rang while I was on a tour of Charleston harbor. It was my dad with the somber news that my step-mom had cancer. Between the roar of the boat engines, the tour guide giving descriptions and a rather stiff breeze, it was very difficult to hear what dad was trying to tell me. I promised to call him when we landed to get the full story.

Once we were safely back to the hotel, I called dad and was filled in on all the grim details. They were sure it was cancer, but more tests would be needed to confirm things. I asked dad if he needed me to come to NY, but he assured me that there was nothing I could do there that I couldn't do equally as well from where I was. At that point, good thoughts and prayers were about all anyone could do.

The rest of the short vacation was tempered by the news, but we still managed to have an enjoyable time and got to see some great scenery. We headed home on a balmy Sunday morning. The trip was uneventful and we had a great time just talking and spending time with each other. When we arrived home, the dogs were their usual ecstatic selves...thrilled to see us and bouncing off the walls. Jan took the dogs outside while I unloaded the car. It was on my second trip in that I saw the note from Kelly atop a large plastic grocery bag.

I assumed that it was just a simple note telling us that things had gone well and the bag contained the mail. How wrong I was. Seems the dogs had just gone totally insane while we were gone. Chewing on things they never chewed on....blankets, bedspreads and the quilt Jan had made me for Christmas a few years ago. The worst part was contained in the plastic bag. It seems that Zelda really decided that she was mad at me. She had gone into my office and taken the journal off the lower shelf of my desk. All I can say is that there wasn't a whole lot left of my years of work. I was able to salvage a grand total of thirteen pages out of over three hundred. Ouch. And yes...Zelda is still alive. I wasn't happy with her, but it was my own stupidity that caused it to get eaten, I normally kept it in a drawer of the desk.

Spring forward to this week. One of the local newspapers is having a poetry contest. I was pretty sure that there was a short selection in the remaining pages of the journal that might qualify. I spent the last few days trying to recreate the damaged parts and turn the work into something worthy of submission. I have no idea if I succeeded in my quest or not, but I do recall one of my professors telling me that the mark of a decent poem is that it evokes an emotion from the audience. I read the finished product to Jan and she assured me that it caused an emotional reaction. To be fair, she never did tell me what emotion, but I went ahead and submitted the thing anyway.

Without further ado, I give you "Seafaring Blues".

Early morning seas, rising to the wind
The haunting cry of a gull
Beware, the storm begins.
Tossing and turning, losing all my sleep
Still the waves keep rolling
And yet, I long for you.

The sea, it gets so restless
But then, so does my mind.
The rising tide,
Swept you from my side
And still, I hear your call.

Sometimes within you, but mostly without
Clearly, I miss you
And love you even more.
The world is not ours to hold, much less to own
When the call comes to go,
Do we seek a new home?

Searching and yearning, reaching for nothing
Broken hearts weep in sorrow.
Time seems I can’t go on.
I feel my soul sinking, slowly pulled under
Stealing my breath
Like the ebb of the tide.

The sea, it gets so restless
But then, so does my mind
The rising tide,
Swept you from my side
And still, I hear your call.

Sometimes within you, but mostly without
Clearly, I miss you
And love you even more
Time heals the hurt, once the storm has passed
The waves roll on and on
But love remains steadfast.

School Makes Boy Take American Flag Off Bike

This very disturbing story comes to us courtesy of KTXL-TV in Sacramento, CA. The following is from their website....

Elissa Harrington FOX40 News

November 12, 2010
DENAIR -

13-year-old Cody Alicea rides with an American flag on the back of his bike. He says he does this to be patriotic and to honor veterans, like his own grandfather, Robert. He's had the flag on his bike for two months but Monday, was told to take it down.

A school official at Denair Middle School told Cody some students had been complaining about the flag and it was no longer allowed on school property.

"In this country we're supposed to be free," said Cody. "And I should be able to wave my flag wherever I want to. And they're telling me I can't." Cody had to take the flag off his bike and put it in his backpack, where he kept it all week.

Cody's grandfather says the school was concerned about racial tensions or uprisings because of the flag. He feels if there was really a problem it should have been brought up two months ago, not during Veterans week. And if it was an issue of safety, parents should have been contacted.

"No action should be taken. We don't want any repercussion," said Roger Alicea. "We just want Cody to be proud of what he's doing." Roger says the family is not planning to take any legal action, but they do want to meet with school staff.

Cody says he wants to serve in the military some day, and is raising money for a trip to Washington, D.C. in the Spring.

OK....let's hit a few key points. The school says students were complaining about the flag. Excuse me, but this is America and if you choose to live in this country, you can expect to see the American flag! You should be seeing it in your classrooms every single day, you should be reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to it every day and most importantly, you should be respectful of it every day. Do you honestly believe that if you were in some other country, their flag would be removed because some nutcase didn't like looking at it?

Next, the school was afraid the flag might cause racial tensions or uprisings? Are you kidding me? What does race have to do with the American flag? We welcome people from all races, creeds and religions in America. Read our Constitution....it says that all men are created equal. The American flag does not stand for any one race, creed or color, it stands for the United States of America, our country, our home. The flag represents each and every one of us that lives in this country. The American flag is not judgmental, it doesn't turn its back on any American. I could understand the school's concern if the young man was flying a gang flag or a Nazi flag or some other symbol of hatred and intolerance, but for crying out loud, he was flying the American flag in America!

Why didn't the school contact the boy's parents if this was such a major issue? Why did they choose the week we honor Veterans to make this ridiculous decision? Most importantly, why is the person that made this decision still employed by the school? I said it before and I'll say it again, this is the United States of America. Being respectful of our flag is never illegal or contemptible. It is high time that Americans start acting the part. If you want to enjoy this nation and our freedoms, the start living up to your end of the bargain.

Veteran's Day

Please take a minute to thank all the brave men and women that proudly served our nation! Also make sure to observe a moment of silence at 11:11 in remembrance of those who gave their all.

I'd like to thank all my friends that proudly served....If I inadvertently left you off the list, give me a shout, my memory isn't as good as it used to be.

Pete Ferris
Bob Brown
Woody Withers
Roger Miller
Jim Hollenbeck
Bob Barden
Herb Price
Terry Collins
Bob Houck
Jim Roberts
Al Hinchcliffe
Bob Riggs
Bill Edwards
John Tompkins
Gary Sanders
Beth Wygant
Cheryl Coveney Parente-Roggow
Clara Phillips
Dan Campbell
Doug Way
Ed Malone
Howard Kennedy
Doug Stine
Dale Pierce
Bob Berube
Ray Noe
Larry Buss
John Bednar
Jim Kreyling
James Tompkins
Jamie Holladay
Jim Blow
Joe Cruz
John Woodburn
John Wright
Peg Gilbert Velletta Sellers
Richard Ward
Steve Velletta
Todd Bradley
Tom Wilkin
Pete Hodgkins
Ron Rhinehart
Dave King
Tom King
Roger Townsend
Rich VanEtten
Les Swartz

Government Reform

            Congressional Reform Act of 2010

The Congress of the United States has seen fit to impose term limits on the office of President, yet they feel that they are more important and should be entitled to remain in office for life. Congress also feels that they do not have to abide by the same laws as the people that they impose them on. Isn't it time that the American citizens take back their country and re-establish a government of the people, for the people, as was originally laid out in the Constitution?

Here are some simple suggestions that would go a long way towards making that happen.

 

1. Term Limits - Maximum of 12 years in Federal Office

•    A. Two Six-year Senate terms
•    B. Six Two-year House terms
•    C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms

2.  No Tenure / No Pension 

• Elected Federal officials shall only be paid for their time in office, they can not retire from that position.
• There shall be no "grandfather" clause for those officials currently serving. If they have reached the limits of their terms, their seat shall be vacated and placed on the ballot of the next general election.

3.  Congress (past, present & future) participates in the same Social Security program as the American public..

• All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately.  
• All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.
• Congressional withholding is calculated exactly the same as the general public.

4. Congress may purchase or invest their own private retirement plans, exactly as the American public is allowed to.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Any annual Congressional pay raise will be based solely on the lower of CPI or 3%.

6. Congress shall immediately disband their current health care system and participate in the same health care system as the American people.

7. Congress may not impose any laws on the American people from which they deem themselves exempt.

8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/11. 

• The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen.
• Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. 

9. Election and campaign finance reform.

• All elections and campaigns shall be funded by the government. Private donations shall go into the election fund.
• All candidates for office must declare their intent to run by a date specified by the Board of Elections.
• Once there is an established pool of candidates for each office, the Board of Elections shall distribute equal funding to those qualified candidates. This is the only funding allowed to be used for campaign and election expenses. When the funds are exhausted, there shall be no further donations or contributions allowed. In the event one or more candidates withdraw from the election, their unused campaign funds must be returned to the election fund for future elections. (The unspent funds will not be given to the remaining candidates.)

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career.  The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, that would serve their term(s), return home when their elected term was complete and resume their normal life's work.

Joy and Sadness

Tonight, God blessed our family by sending us a little angel named Emma Renee Orendorff. She checked in at 4 pounds 11 ounces and 19 inches long. Both Emma and her mom are doing well, but the story doesn't end there.

It is possible that Emma has Down Syndrome. There was no advance diagnosis, so this news sort of struck us like a bolt out of the blue. She will have to have some tests to confirm if she actually has Down or not, but the medical staff seems to think it is a strong possibility at this point.

I hope everyone understands that this is not a request for pity or sympathy. Our family has dealt with this before and we don't view this as something horrible or sad. It happens, plain and simple. There is no cure, but there is also no earthly reason why a person with Down can not live a perfectly normal, happy life.

As many of you know, my oldest and best friend Doug has Down. Yesterday, he celebrated his 56th birthday and his 51st since we have been friends. Doug and I went to Kindergarten together and have remained pals ever since. Some of you may recall reading of our exploits with the Space Shuttle a couple of years ago.

Moments ago, I learned that my dear sweet friend Polly lost her battle with cancer. Words fail me. My heart goes out to John and Beck, James, Sarah, Aunt Sue and the rest of Polly's loving family. There are big holes in many hearts tonight.