Confession Tuesday - Poetry Contest - Goals - and Trump in Orange Jumpsuit Edition

Dear Reader:

I've entered one poetry contest, sent out 4 poems, all new (meaning they have never been submitted anywhere else before), concluded Module 6 in the Spring Writer 2 Writer program, and there has been a whole lot of shit happening in Washington since my last confession.

Follow me to the confessional....

Reader, I'm tired. moving does that to you. I'm in cramped quarters and started over putting together a writing studio again. I miss my old one. I miss everything about our home. Contractor is doing stuff there now but it's empty and I confess it looks like it is lonely too. Do you think houses have emotions?

I missed last weeks confession Tuesday because life was happening. A lot of life has been happening lately and it seems to get in the way. Still, I've tried hard to get some focused writing time in over the weekend. Worked on one new poem in particular for many hours over Saturday night and Sunday. I confess that it felt good when I included it in the contest material that I sent out.

I don't enter a lot of contests but this one particular one I've done maybe 3 or 4 times. I think this makes 4. It is sponsored by a Journal that I especially like and it is often featuring  other writers I especially  enjoy reading.

In an email exchange this past week with my mentor Ken Waldman, we talked about  goals, both short term and long term. We have agreed to touch base around the first of January to see how the short term goals are going. I confess that I am really grateful for the opportunity that has been afforded me by AWP in the form of the Writer 2 Writer mentoring program. And as for Ken, I cannot thank him enough.

I hate to take a downward turn now but I confess that I am appalled at the behavior of President Trump.  I confess that  I always had concerns about him being fit for the office but I have to say that his behaviors are embarrassing and he is clueless. His ethics are non existent. He is the most childish person of adult age I have ever seen. He lacks to capacity to be truthful. He has the attention span of flea and has put our nation and democracy at risk in so many ways. He has now obstructed justice and in spite of any finding that collusion with Russia goes as high as him, he is now a candidate for impeachment for trying to derail the investigation by the various law enforcement and national security agencies that are investigating the Russia and Trump campaign connection. I confess that I believe we all will be better off when this man leaves the White House and his many business annexes and enters prison in an orange jumpsuit.

That's it for now... I beg your absolution for going political.

Art & Public Opinion

The artist is chosen by God to fulfill his commands and must never be overwhelmed by public opinion. ~ Albrecht Durer

Confession Tuesday - Elephant in the Room

Dear Reader - It's been a string of rainy days that came and went, I poetry month complete with 30 poetry drafts that ended and the arrival of one new poetry book since my last confession.

To the confessional....

Reader, my life is about to be turned upside down and inside out. We are going to sell our home and move. If there is one thing that I hate more than moving ( and there isn't much) it would be selling the home that  I absolutely love in a hundred different ways.  At one point in my life I was a Realtor. I recall reading an article from Psychology Today that was reprinted in a trade magazine which listed moving  as one of the three most traumatic things a person goes through the other two were death of a close family member and  dissolution of a marriage.  I truly understand that and believe it to be true.

I confess that I have been internally dealing with this for some time but the actual move is imminent. It was the thing I did not talk about on here. The elephant in the corner.Basically I keep telling him to sit in the corner and shut up. This is all that I am going to say about this for now but I suspect over the next few weeks it will likely come up again in one way or the other.

I confess that my creativity has been dog paddling to try and stay afloat. The emotional stuff  has been like rocky waters that I bounce about trying to stay afloat and not  get bashed into.

I do wonder if there is some kind of silver lining in all of this. Perhaps my experience will  me to craft a wonderfully magnificent manuscript as an Expatriate Poet.


Best to all - Stay safe my friends...

30 Days Has April

And I successfully have 30 new poem drafts! 

Confession Tuesday - Crying over my Beer

Dear Reader:

It's been one book ordered, zero new books arrived, one nail in the Pickup tire, seven more days of the poetry-a day challenge, one Sunday breakfast out with the family and one week since my last confession.

I'm sitting here working on this with about a half a can of Hamm's beer. You decide if it's half empty or half full.  I'm extra tired tonight and somewhat cranky. I will confess that I am completely caught up on my poem drafts (1 per day) for the month. Just sharing that with you makes me feel slightly more up beat but I'm not going to let it go to my head.

Being cranky is probably to several things of which one is I am pretty wiped out.  This and I still need to send out a bio and a photo tonight for an upcoming event, and the fact that I am just flat out sick and tired of the President who ignores every bit of government ethics and is so cavalier about it and is generally on idiot. Today for example, he raised tariffs on soft lumber imported from Canada. He's already succeeded the Asian rim trade to China by cancelling the TPP. So, now let's start a trade war. I could go on with the Trump stuff that has me upset, but I confess I already dwelling too much on the buffoon.

Had a letter from Ken (my mentor) this week - couple more pieces of work that he has critiqued. I have a nagging question that I need to go to him with today or tomorrow. I confess it will probably wait till tomorrow because I want to make sure that I give it the attention it needs before I e-mail him and I would only  rush it tonight. (We are being honest  here, right)

Tupelo Press is having this fantastic sale on books. Like $16 books for five bucks! I ordered one during the past week that I am anxious to read but it has not arrived. I confess Amazon Prime makes you impatient when ordering elsewhere.

I am officially concerned about my San Francisco Giants....  though they did manage a 2-1 win over the Dodgers last night.  Injuries have taken a toll on this team in addition to some players that  they have lost this season to other teams.

I'm starting to feel like a Debbie Downer so I will close for now and finish crying over  my beer.

Stay Safe & live poetically!

Confession Tuesday- The Giants are Coming Edition

Dear Reader:

It's been one Federal and one State Tax Return filed, one phone call from Ken Waldman my  mentor, and another week of National Poetry Month since my last confession.

Let me get right to the failure at the outset here. I confess that I have fallen behind on my poem a day challenge. This weekend was full of things and you all know how things can get in the day.  Things stack up, things will barricade passage and things will keep you from writing. Damn things!  We picked up my mom and drove her to my uncle's house and had a family  get together with super nice weather. Grilled stakes, got full, sat around and talked about this and that and generally had a good time. Since my uncle Dave doesn't get out much he and my  mom seemed to enjoy the reconnect. But back to my writing....

I confess that I will make up the poems so that I am back on track. I will finish with 30 poems because 30 days has April...  I do not consider this a failure, simply a rerouting on the journey!

Ken and I talked by phone, I guess it was Thursday. talked about some material that he looked at and had emailed me ahead of time. Helpful conversation. I confess that it is hard to believe how fast this spring session is going.

I am excited today. My San Francisco Giants are in town to play the Kansas City Royals tonight and tomorrow night. If you  know me this makes perfect sense. If you are newer to this blog you might wonder why I'm in Kansas City and a Giants fan. I confess that  I have been a Giants fan for some 30 years. I prefer National League baseball. I dislike the DH (though we will be playing  with it these two games because when in Rome do as the Romans do.  Too bad because I would love to see Madison Bumgarner hit. They could pinch hit him tonight... they have don that before.  And yes, my Long Haired Dachshund Madison is named after the pitcher, Thank you!

 Telling you, I still get goosebumps when I see the Giants uniforms in person...

Until next time - be safe and celebrate poetry!

Confession Tuesday - Baseball Edition

Dear Reader:

It's been one winning Giant's home opener, 7 more days of Trumpation (Trump centered frustration) that I just want to go away, the start of module 4 on revision, the long awaited Good Bones episode of  Madam Secretary and and another week since my last confession.

Shall we start?

I'm hyped, no, pumped, ecstatic because tonight is an event at the Plaza Library where UMKC's Hadara Bar-Nadav and University of Central Missouri's Kathryn Nuemberger will speak WHAT MAKES A POEM WORK. needless to say I am planning to go. I confess that  I am familiar with Hadara Bar-Nadav's poetry and she rocks. I'm hoping for an insightful and inspiring evening. This is a week that I need some creative help!

For some time now I have been jealous of those who have workshop writing groups. I've participated in one several years ago that spanned genres and really was not quite at the level that I was hopping for. There is a promising possibility that some from our Writer 2 Writer Spring 2017 mentee group may undertake such a workshop group. Details are in early stage but there is significant interest from the other mentees. I confess that keeping some of the other mentees involved aside from our spring session is an added benefit to creating such a workshop group.

Poem-A-Day Challenge is draining my brain of subject matter. I confess that  I feel like I need something to shock my brain into high gear.

I am excited about the start of baseball season. I have long believed that poetry and baseball were one in the same. The game has all the beauty and grace of the game. I confess that I am a little concerned about  some aspects of my San Francisco Giants. Their bullpen is struggling. It needs to get it's shit together.

Lots of writing and writing related stuff I need to get done between now and the end of the weekend.

That's a wrap for now. Till next time, stay safe, have fun!

Confession Tuesday- 30 Poems-30 Days Edition

Dear Reader:

Hear I am once again at the confessional. It's been almost 2 regular season Giant's games, 2 Baumgarner homers,  4 day of April and 4 poems, one W2W mentee skpye conference chat, The start of module 4, 7 more days of an embarrassing  president, and a week since my last confession.

Reader, I'm 4 days into April and I'm doing it! Four poems, 4 days! Tonight, I worked late to finish but alas I am ready for tomorrow. I confess today I wrote without a prompt. Some days I want a prompt and some days I am just resistant to any prompt I find.  I don't  know why, just is.

I confess that I am elated that  Kansas City approved a bond issue for a new animal shelter tonight. It is so overloaded. While it's sad that only about 10% voted, I'm proud of those who did for supporting it since it required a super-majority to pass.

I am this week dealing with some real real personal crisis and I confess that  one minute it's had to do things and others not so much. Still I confess that I know on any given moment the emotions will be back and darkness crashes down on me.

I have started module 4 of the Writers 2 Writers program this week and the focus is on rewriting. I ended up feeling better at the end of Module 3 and I am anxious and hopeful about  this module.

I confess that I am still in awe of Marie Howe's Magdalene. What a collection of poems. What a book!

Don't ask me why, but I have been craving a Hamm's beer the last couple of days. I don't drink much beer these days. I'm more of a wine drinker and I don't do that much of it either. I can tell you the last time I had a Hamm's Beer was in Minneapolis at the AWP Conference in 2015.

That's it for this week...  Be Safe - Write or at least Read Poetry.

Confession Tuesday - Baseball is coming you cannot deny.

Dear Reader:

It's been one House Intelligence Committee Hearing, two winning games of Canasta with my mom, one episode of Madam Secretary, one trash pickup day,  a Saturday night poetry reading and an hour and a half phone call with my mentor since my last confession.

One of my highlights of any week is watching Madam Secretary.  The plot is always intriguing and grounded with a touch of reality. I give the writers and the actors a lot of credit. Often it will touch on something that we are simultaneously dealing with in the real world. I confess that is doesn't hurt that Tea Leon is Hot!

The proximity of April closing in leaves me with a decision to make. Do I undertake 30 poems in April. One a day? Sometimes I will make a pledge to do this. Sometimes I make it and sometimes I don't. Then starts the guilt. I confess this decision is a lot like the agony over  New Years Resolutions. Sometimes I just  try to take the pressure off by saying I don't need to make a resolution  to try and have a better new year. Just go with it. I've done the same with the Poem -A-Day.  Try, but don't  hold yourself to it... the world does not hinge on 30 poems.  But hey, I've got a couple more days to decide.

I ordered a copy of Marie Howe's new book, Magdalene. Howe is among my favorite poets and I confess that I am most anxious to read this book. It's release date was yesterday and I should have my copy by tomorrow. I Hope!

An hour and a half on the phone this week in a single call with my mentor and the talk revolved around craft, a particular poem draft I had written and poets read & reading. I confess that I have mixed feelings about the conversation.

Baseball season is closing in fast on us. You know those pictures of a space ship docking with another, or even the space station?  That's what it seems like. Going so fast two two will collide, and then in the end, it all looks like it is so soft and precise a fit together. You just  watch and say wow!  I confess I am in a wow mode!

That's it for this week -  Hope you all stay safe and happy...

Confession Tuesday - Corrosive Thought

Dear Reader:

It's been a couple more Trump campaign  links to Russia, a whole bunch of March Hoops, Two contacts with my mentor, a shitload of writing and maybe two promising drafts  and one week since my last confession.

For some reason the word cohesiveness came to me this week. I confess it was like it came out of nowhere and slapped me in the back of the head. So obviously I had it's full attention at this point.
I thought about what  it's like to be corrosive. I pictured a metal platform being eaten away by corrosive elements much the same way an old car will develop rust spots often called car cancer. Then I thought why a platform and I realized I was standing on it. Something clicked in my head and I decided this is what was holding me up... the platform. And to my dismay it was crumbling under me.

Sometimes I question my personal compass. Am I pointed the right direction? Now my fear was, am I standing where I shouldn't be? Am I not on a good platform or foundation for where I hope to be going?

I've written a lot this past week. I've not liked most of what I've written, and that is okay because that is going to happen. But I do get tired of it when this stretches on for some weeks  (which periodically happens) and it has a way of  making me second guess things. I confess that as the Writer 2 Writer module moves to # 3 where we focus on craft, I think maybe I am supposed to be having these self doubts and asking myself questions. Well, I confess it will give me a reason to talk craft with Ken.

On an uplifting note, one day this week I got a book and went out onto the deck and took in the springlike weather with a nice breeze. I read a while and then just listened to the birds and watched the trees in the breeze with their buds coming out.   On another, in early evening looking out westward I observed the sky as a mirage of the painted desert.  I confess life can amaze me even when I'm on the cusp of falling through my platform.

My best to each till next time...
 

The Trump Sonnets by Ken Waldman

Ken Waldman like most of us was taken by surprise when Donald Trump won the electoral votes necessary to secure his election as president.

We all know that the president-elect wasted no time tweeting to the U.S. and beyond. The results could be described any number of ways but suffice to say they are not positive.

Ken began writing sonnets based on what Trump was saying.  He has published Trump Sonnets Volume 1, a collection of 41 in the voice of Donald Trump and 28 others that are directed to him.

Ken is no novice at this, He previously wrote  As The World Burns: The Sonnets of George W. Bush.  In this book the poet climbs into the head of the President and from that vantage point writes sonnets.

Both of these book were published by Ridgeway Press and the books can be purchased from SMALL PRESS DISTRIBUTION  or of course at Amazon.com

Note:  I have not read As The World Burns but I have read Trump Sonnets Volume 1. I understand he is working on a follow up Volume 2. If you have the heart for political discourse in these remarkably unorthodox times, you will enjoy Trump Sonnets.  


* Ken is currently my mentor in the AWP Writer 2 Writer program.

Confession Tuesday - Find Your Tribe Edition

Dear Reader:

It's been one snow, one melt, one writer group meeting, One Writer's Chronicle with so many great articles, numerous poetry drafts and two finished poems, and one week since my last confession.

As a point of reference, the AWP Writer 2 Writer program that I am working in has started its second module. This is significant because it will have some bearing on my  confessions.  The focus of the second module is Community and Connections.

As long as we are being honest, I will confess that I have been looking for a writing tribe for many years. I'm not proud of this fact and I will attribute to the fact that I'm not  totally sure what I want. That's just a bit  embarrassing to me. How do you go for years and want something but  are not quite sure what it is and how to find it.

When I first recall hearing talk of your writing tribe it was from someone I greatly respect as a writer. I way have heard it elsewhere but  this was when it first sunk in. I think that is because again it was someone I respected and also because they made a point of making it seem really important. Find your tribe....  that's what I recall hearing.

This person who was imparting such wisdom has a significant social media presence. What I have gleaned over the years is that at minimum, their time works something like this...

• They share each other's ups and downs - or I guess you could say they provide comfort and support.
• They will at times discuss craft.
• Keep others informed of events, publications, and opportunities. 
• From time to time they  may share writing prompts and on occasion two or more will get together for a day or an afternoon and write together. 
• I think  but am not certain that they may from time to time share drafts for comment/work-shopping 

Now what writer doesn't want to be a part of something like that?

Presently I get together with other local writers once a month  locally and have done this for numerous years. These are good friends and I enjoy the meetings, but I confess that it is not a group that works well for work-shopping material.  Few of them submit work to journals. They are always way to kind - so the objectiveness that comes with working to improve a draft - getting that good ear that can tell you if something is working on some level or not. 

In the 2nd module of Writer 2 Writer (W2W) some of us have been talking a little about  community and connecting with others. My own mentor is not a social media person. That said he has over the years made many (to the power of several many) contacts basically the old fashioned way. Personal contact, phone, email, snail mail. He is on the road constantly. He makes a living  full time as both a poet and a musician. It's impressive, but I am a creature of social media. 

I confess that I really want a tribe that  does many of the things I have described above. But I could modify that. for example if there were people geographically beyond my area, short of getting together from time to time to write - the rest of this could be achieved. 

I would agree that I believe every writer should have a tribe. The reason is simple. Writing is by it's very nature a solitary experience. We work hard in our own space, me it quiet or with a music play list or background noise at a coffee shop, but  we really are withdrawn unto our selves. When we are done, we then put our vary private selves out into the public. First to find publication which may lead to rejection but even beyond that we are putting ourselves out in a very vulnerable way. I confess that to me personally, that leads even the introverted me to want to move beyond my solitude and be with others briefly until it is time to withdraw, recharge, and create again. 

So here I am... That's were I'm at. I've solved nothing  except perhaps flushed out kind of what I feel as a writer I need or at least want. But I confess I think it really is more of a need. 

Until next week~

peace, love & be safe

Confession Tuesday - Late Edition

Dear Reader:

It's been numerous poetry drafts, 4 close to finished, two contacts with my mentor, another book read, 8 more days of that idiot as president, another missile launch by North Korea, and a week and one day since my last confession.

I confess that life is crazy. It's sad, it's frustrating, it's painful, and it's beautiful. The latter is what keeps me going.

I confess that I'm a day late with my confession but that's better than missing it for several weeks. Therefore I'll call it an improvement. I'll also just pretend that today is still Tuesday.

Are you writing more now but enjoying it less? I've written a lot  lately and maybe not enjoying it is not exactly the correct assessment but  truly I've not been ecstatic about the results. I'm getting some keepers but a lot of static as well. I confess that I'm wanting more keepers and much better keepers.

I've had two contacts with my mentor in the past eight days including one yesterday where I had some feedback on writing. We are moving into a new module this week and the focus is changing to Community and Connections. I'm anxious to interact with Ken on this topic because I feel like it is an important one and I confess it is one I feel somewhat inadequate about. I know Ken is not much into social media but he is a hands on person to person contact sort of guy. Exploring this will Ken I suspect will have some challenges because of his absence from social media. We'll see how it goes.

Another 8 days and we still have the idiot in the White House, or he may be playing golf. He does that a lot. Go figure he used to give Obama hell whenever Obama played. If he's not playing golf then he's tweeting. He's definitely our Commander-in-Tweet. He tweets some of the stupidest things.  He also uses it as an extension to his lying and makes him look like a fool.  North Korea lobbed some more missiles into the sea in Japanese water and he is so clueless.  His administration is so stalled up in it's own ineptness and unending string of ties to Russia that are resulting in numerous investigations. I confess I see no end of this in sight.

I seek and am finding things of beauty in this world. Sometimes you have to look hard but they are there. People helping people. Animals around us. Art people are making. My wife is working on an extraordinary beaded neckless with Tigers Eye.  I confess I will continue to seek good, beauty and art in the week ahead.

Until next time, enjoy each day!

Confession Tuesday - Writer 2 Writer Edition

Dear Reader: It's been one a round trip to Washington DC,  more days and nights of anguish over the state of America than I care to count or admit, one AWP Conference, one Rhino Reading and 6 weeks since my last confession.

Please follow me to the confessional....

Reader a lot has happened since my last confession. I confess some good and some not so good.

As I write this tonight I have concluded watching Trump's speech before a joint session of Congress. Yes, I confess I watched it. I also confess that he delivered the speech in pretty respectable form. That is to say that he was more presidential that  we are accustomed to seeing. I believe he came in to this with a pretty low bar and in fact preformed above that bar. That said, he did not woo me with substance. It is clear that his replacement for the ACA, if up to him would not have an individual mandate. This means it is unlikely to provide affordable insurance for those most in need of help. This returns us to a nation where health care is not a right but a privileged.  This is unacceptable,

I won't hammer away at every disagreeable position but I will say that  I believe his budget numbers will be tremendously flawed. I remain concerned about a trade war and he simply is not going to bring back hoards of manufacturing jobs. The misconception is these have all gone overseas. Some yes, but the bulk of job losses in manufacturing are due to automation.That is a reality that is not going to change.  I could go on, but I confess that is not what my focus is tonight.

I confess I remain concerned about the Russia - Trump connection and believe it needs to be fully investigated.

I confess that the AWP17 conference was exciting and draining and that is nothing new. My one previous conference was 2015 in Minneapolis and it too had those components.

Some highlights if the conference were meeting Shaindel Beers one of my favorite poets and one of my 2016 Poet Crush List members, and meeting Martha Silano another extraordinary poet.

There was another part of the conference that  is worth mentioning. Over a period of time I have applied on six occasions for the AWP Writer 2 Writer mentoring program. (I'm nothing if I am not resistant) and I learned a couple days before the conference that I was one of 25 writers chosen out of 400 applications for this session.  I confess that I have wanted this for so long and it has in fact been hard to believe that  it finally happened.

I have been matched with another poet, Ken Waldman and Ken and I were both at the conference and we therefor made certain that we met face to face.

The Writer 2 Writer program is a open to members of AWP.  There is an application process and I believe it is just one of many positive benefits available to writer who are members.  I am just now in the second week of the program and I plan update readers on the experience as I make my way through it. But for tonight, let's just say there has been something good to come out of 2017 already.

Best to all of you & talk to you again soon.

Confession Tuesday - The Puppeteer Edition.

Dear Reader:

It has been seven long weeks since my last confession, to wit I must confess a whole lot of shit has happened.

We have watched the end of the Obama years in the white house. While there are I am sure dissenting opinions, I confess I am sorry to see them go.

Only 4 days in to the Trump presidency I am exhausted by the abundance of idiocy, mispronouncements, and lies. Every time he talks he says the same things over ad-nauseam. In four days time he has demonstrated that he will be a more authoritarian than I even dreamed. Cutting off or censoring communication between federal agencies and the American people. He's a control freak. Watching the body language during the inauguration between he and the First Lady I got the distinct impression that  he is a the same in their relationship.

The Women's March one the 21st was a bright spot because it demonstrates the the masses are not going to be complacent about his promises to end ACA, stop domestic abuse programs, cut women's health services, pimp for the NRA.

I confess that the future of the nation looks like it is female. I'm not at all bothered by that. We have more women in the house and Senate than  ever before. I see a couple of women who I believe are promising leaders on a national level.

Other that that, my life feels like it is in turmoil more days than not. I'm a couple weeks away from AWP17 and anxious about that and writing in general. I feel very much like an Expatriate, not belonging anywhere.

On an upbeat note, I'm going to be a grandfather for a 2nd time soon. Speaking of which, my granddaughter #1 Harper is here so I'm cutting this short to go see her.


Till next time - be safe.

David Arnold Hughes - January 28 Book Release

David has a new book by Spartan Press titled Born A Stranger which he will read from one January 28th at at Prospero's Books 1800 W. 39th St. K.C., MO.   The event will start at 7:00 PM.

$10.00 gets you in the door and a copy of the book. I believe they are having an open mic as well afterwords.

David has been a prolific writer. He's a local poet. A retired firefighter. Frequently reads at Uptown Arts Bar, Writers place, Neon Gallery and other area venues.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

• Felices fiestas
• اجازات سعيدة
• Bonnes vacances
• Счастливых Праздников
• 节日快乐
• Wesołych Świąt!
• Свята й вихідні
• 幸せな休日
• Sretni Praznici
• Frohe Feiertage
• Vacanze felici
• חג שמח
• Hyvää joulua
• تعطيلات خوش

Peace to All!!!

Confession Tuesday - Pants on Fire Edition

Dear Reader:

It's been a long assed time since my last confession. All the way back to September 20th. Thanksgiving has come and gone since then. Election day has come and gone but the hangover remains. I've toiled away at writing. Some good and some not so good. But here I am today for the pants on fire edition of  confession Tuesday. Shall we begin?

I've tried to true to my writing and this past week I was able to pull together  two new poems and several other near poems. That is, they are close to being able to stand on their own words. I confess that I had been in a writing funk but  I am declaring it past!

Being busy with writing is good. Being busy with most anything is good. The repercussions of the Presidential election reverberate in my head and my stomach if I am not busy. Even then, I confess that I am not  able to completely shake the thought from my achy bones.

One of the sad things about this election (and there are so many) is that truth or fact was a casualty of the election. I've been involved in enough political campaigns over the years to know that sometimes truth gets stretched and bent a bit by some of the candidates. I confess in all the years of campaigns that I have been alive to observe and /or participate in, none have failed so miserably in the pursuit of truth.

This is no small thing that has occurred.  Concerted efforts to manufacture fake news was rampant. Lies were made by the Trump campaign and denied within fractions of an hour in spite of the existence of audio and or video feed that substantiated it. People were believing things that were so phony and outlandish and yet they ate this stuff up and looked for more.

One of the dictionaries that  each year crowns a new word as significant to the passing year selected "post-truth" as the word for this year. Who could argue against this selection?

I could go on and on about all the concerns I have about a Trump Presidency (and there are many) but the only thing I'm saying here is that anything closely resembling fact was brutally assaulted.  If truth is not dead after this election it has fallen and can't get up. Perhaps it can be placed on life support, but I must confess that I do not believe the prognosis for it's future are looking good at all.

There are two parties to this problem. One of course was the liar. But lies can be challenged. They can be scrutinized by fact checks. I don't know if a large portion of the electorate is lazy or if they are plain ignorant. Some, but not all of this crap was being slung around by white supremacist groups. What I don't know is how after such a blatant and high profile campaign of lies and fake news, how do you restore the rule of factuality to our political process? The cow is out of the barn, how do you return her to her former place?

I confess that as I leave you this evening, I sign off disturbed, concerned, and dismayed.  I have no answers.

All best to everyone!

What Has Happened to America...

This week something happened that has shaken the very foundation around me and evidently that of countless others.

I have voted in 12 presidential elections in my life time. I've had my share of winning and losing candidates I've experienced disappointment and since there are always winners and losers it stands to reason there always has to be some people who are on a losing side and wake up disappointed; assuming the mad it to bed at all.
 
It was during my morning drive that it occurred to me that that something major had occurred. Something that left me feeling  like an expatriate; removed from the country I love. The feeling was surreal. Clearly I had only left my home and was driving I-70 to my office. I had gone nowhere beyond my normal daily routine, yet I was in some altered universe. I had not left my country but rather, my country had left me.

You see my country spans across a continent with two great oceans on either side. On the east - stands a monument overlooking  New York City that was a gift of France. It  immortalizes the promise of America to the world.  "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" - words of Emma Lazarus, a New York poet best known for her poem The New Colossus from which these lines were taken. On the west, the great city of San Francisco whose Golden Gate Bridge is spans across the San Francisco Bay and is another great landmark for those arriving from the Pacific side. But the promise on  Lady Liberty in the New York harbor extends to those arriving from all directions.

And my country not only welcomes persons from other countries, other nationalities, other races, and any religions, it affords these persons who come to this country for a new life, for safety, the protection and freedoms and dignity afforded all of us. By extension, unless we are Native American, we have all made this journey in the past.

But back to my drive...  I know that  as I make this trip, today  and in the weeks ahead a new administration will take shape that has made as the counterpoint of it's campaign promises that threaten to shake the very foundations of what has made this the greatest nation. The role model for the rest of the free world and hope for those oppressed everywhere.

The future in this country is bleak for persons of other nationalities, for Blacks, Latinos, Muslims, Asians. For gays, lesbians, and trans-gendered people. Even women, who are not in the minority are open game for discrimination, sexual assault, and misogyny. The new leadership is not committed to protecting these people and in fact they have real reasons for fear. Already Black churches have been torched. Muslims have been assaulted, or shot and killed walking down the street. Promises of mass deportation and families broken up.  And the hard fought promise to make medical care for millions a reality as opposed to a matter for the privileged teeters on the brink of extinction.

This is not the America I know. This is an America that is broken. The idea the these things will make America great again, flies in the face of Lady Liberty. Perhaps she should be returned to her original benefactor



 

Confession Tuesday - Time in a Bottle

Won't you come with me to the confessional?

Dear Reader:

It's been a week since my last confession and I am frankly amazed that I have been better about the regularity of this Tuesday ritual. Woo-hoo!

Sometimes when I am thinking about time I think of the Jim Croce and his song, Time In A Bottle from 1973. Perhaps for different reasons their are lines from this song that I relate to but I think the one that most often is looping over and over in my head is... "But there never seems to be enough time/To do the things you want to do, once you find them." I confess this truth is of the great cruelties of life.

Like so many people I sometimes would like a re-do button. I think of the past how I would have approached certain aspects of my life differently but if I could go back, would I really change anything. Lewis Carroll in Alice In Wonderland  reminds us that, "I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person them," and true that is.

There were things I did in my youth that I definitely would not change. Those things that relate to my family, I would not want to erase any of that. No do-overs on who I married, our children, but I wonder, would the me back then even entertain things that the me right here in 2016 thinks he would want to do differently?

How much have I changed? How have those changes occurred over the years?  Of course I have to confess that I don't  have answers to those questions. Not really. I could wing it, give you some answer that might encompass some half truths but we are dealing with human nature and the scientific aspect in that field is, well non-existent or at least above my pay grade, as in God speak.

Perhaps too, I can confess that thinking about  life do-overs are another reason I have come to love writing. We can create people and breath some of ourselves into them. We can control their fate, what makes them tick. Change them on a whim in so many ways. It is perhaps the only control that I can exert over  things in any reality other than writing.

Until next time, may all your minutes be rich...

Confession Tuesday - I Have My Two Buddies Edition

Dear Reader:

Won't you come with me to the confessional.....

Reader, it's been one Chiropractic visit with Trigger Points, one visit to mom's, one documentary movie, one dinner out with my sweetie, one meeting of K.C. Metro Verse, two Power Ball tickets, two new poetry drafts, one vacation day and one trash day since my last confession.

• I've been using a Bullet Journal for something like 8 months now. The thing about it is that  it remains in flux. I'm still making  modifications in exactly how I use it. I confess there is a bit of redundancy in it because I still sink my  digital calendar and use a Franklin Planner at my regular job. Still, I do believe this has been helpful in several ways, not the least of it is giving me a quick visualization of where to go next in my tasks during the day. I am thinking of gravitating away from the BuJo for my regular work stuff and focusing more on the intersections of my writing and personal life. But hey, I may change my mind on that - like I say it's a process, everything is in flux.
• I am not generally one of these people who blames all kinds of shit on the media. I am a firm believer in a Free Press and I believe it's a hallmark of any democracy. I have become somewhat cynical of so called news these past few weeks and while I blame some of the mainstream press, it has occurred to me that one of the prices we are paying for the internet is the blurred lines from what is news and what is pure made up shit with absence of sources. Places like Breitbart News, and there are a host of others that routinely carry some of the most bat shit crazy stuff that has no reputable citation to back it us. Additionally, there is often not a shred of common sense involved in the stories. What irritates me is that people tweet and Facebook many of these stories and the get reported over and over until half of the non-thinking population sincerely believes the shit and are basing their November vote on it. I confess that there is truly no safeguard in democracy for the participation by persons that don't know their brain from their ass hole.
• I confess I've had some heightened interest in Memoirs of late. I want to read the book The Art of Memoir - Mary Karr 
• I feel blessed tonight, both Silas and Madison are in my studio as I write this,  Just chilling out with me. I confess that Cathy is probably enjoying quiet time watching TV without the trying to climb all over her. 

After a brief shower, I believe there has been a break in the rain and I probably should run these two dogs out to do their business for the night. 

Until next time, live in the now, and be safe!