the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out . . .

i found the following lovely poem here– it’s amazing the stuff that sticks in your head from childhood– i remembered the worms crawl in part but had forgotten the rest– the kick-the-can part of childhood is definitely much to short–

Don’t ever laugh as the hearse goes by,

For you may be the next to die,

They put you in a big black box,

Then cover you up with dirt and rocks,

All goes well for about a week,

Then your coffin begins to leak,

The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,

The worms play Pinochle on your snout,

They eat your eyes, they eat your nose,

They eat the jelly between your toes,

Your eyes fall out, and your teeth decay,

A rotten end to a lovely day.

arrow moccasins

in this day of wal-mart and target stores it is nice to find that some things are still made with quality and made with the same craftsmanship and integrity that they were made with thirty plus years ago– and made right here in america!!!

33 years ago i purchased a pair of trail boot moccasins yet i was unaware of the maker and over the years i have assumed that i would never know– although i still have this pair, my feet have gotten bigger and my trail boots are more of a souvenir of days gone by– several years ago i met a man in idaho by the name of ira pray who had a collection of moccasins by the same maker including a pair of the trail boots– we talked about the beauty of the shoes, the fact that they were made by the same maker, and yet we both doubted that they were still being made–

the wonder of the internet . . . it occurred to me a year or so back that perhaps there were moccasins that were being made that were similar to the ones that i had as a teenager, so i began a search with the hope that i would find something “almost” as good– within no time at all i discovered the arrow moccasin company and their close proximity to the area in which i was raised was proof that this indeed was the company that made the shoes that i have lugged around all this time–

an e-mail to the company and a phone conversation, and i was then waiting just a short time for the shoes that arrived today–

quality and integrity??? they are made exactly like the older pair that i have, the only difference being in the style of the shoe– the stitching on the shoes is excellent and i am sure that these will take me just about to the end of the road– if i need a re-sole, i know exactly where to go– i cannot praise this company enough and hopefully i will be able to stop by their showroom in the future to see some of their other styles–

the red who???

i have never been a big fan of baseball, football (why don’t we just say sports?)– the last thing i remember about baseball is collecting carl yaz and rico petrocelli baseball cards– as an adult, i have never shared the enjoyment of sitting with a bunch of other men, popping a brewski and watching a bunch of other men having close physical sweaty contact with one another– this always seemed somewhat strange to me– don’t get me wrong, if there is a football game on or a baseball game and i have nothing else to do, i can watch it and enjoy the competition– it’s just not my all time favorite leisure activity (i missed the entire series this year)– damn!!! where does the time go??? maybe next year–

of course, not all family members feel as i do– some will actually invest large quantities of money in an effort to fully enjoy events such as the world series– i guess i should be thankful as i get an excellent picture and an item for the blog–

well . . . more power to you– hope you enjoyed the game– by the by, who won???

nobel peace prize for pete seeger–

isn’t it amazing that he doesn’t have one yet???
signatures needed– A Nobel Peace Prize for Pete Seeger

kathleen’s birthday . . .

“i” had the day off from work today– several months ago while talking with my boss at work, kathleen mentioned that i should take the day off and that would give us a three day weekend to enjoy together– i said that this sounded good and my boss scheduled the day off for me– however, kathleen forgot to request the day off for herself and it was earlier in the week that she realized the mistake she had made–

i have been watching the weather for the past week and knew that today would probably be one of the last days that i could attempt to get a second coat of paint on the barn– so i wished my wife a happy birthday at 9:00 this morning and went outside to start– we had a cup of coffee together at 12:00 and then kathleen left for work around 2:00– i spent the rest of the day painting and the rain did not start until around 6:00– another excellent day for painting and the second coat was finished on time–

of course, . . . maybe kathleen planned for me to be off alone today . . . you never know . . . after all, she knew how obsessed i have become with finishing the paint job on the barn– but that’s the way kathleen always is with me– she knows how passionate i am about things and tolerates my oddities and obsessions in a way that no one else ever has been able to–

whether it’s staying up late downloading and installing the latest linux version, recording my latest melody over and over and over . . . , or my endless ranting about social and political issues– sometimes i am sure my foolishness gets a little overwhelming . . .

you know, maybe kathleen did plan for me to be off alone today– hmmm . . . well . . . happy birthday kathleen– i love you–

dr condoleezza rice– code pink–

you know, i have never liked dr rice– no really good reason– i admire the fact that she is a powerful woman and of african american descent, yet these surface qualities do little to still the physical revulsion that i feel when i see her face and immediately connect her to the present nazi regime which sits in the white house today–

code pink . . . i have admired for several years now and have generally gotten a kick out of their confrontational tactics–

i have also admired folks such as david mcswane who printed his sentiments for our dear king and also the individual who greeted our vice king during his tour of katrina’s damage–

yet, when i went to michael moore’s site yesterday and then also saw the post and comments at crooks and liars, i was amazed at the stone-throwing and witch-burning that appeared to be taking place– all seriousness aside, we would all love to throw a couple of stones at the clowns in this administration, but would not because we are or at least pretend to be civilized–

in particular, it bothered me most that the protester entered what is normally assumed to be personal space and then went further by physically surrounding dr rice by placing both of her hands on opposite sides of dr rice’s head– if she would have stood back five feet i would have felt that she was within her rights all though we all know she still would be dragged out the door–

in the big red "imagine" barn . . .

first coat, and a couple of sore arms but a beautiful day for painting– we had talked about leaving the back section that used to be for horses black but decided it should all remain one color– lately i have been thinking about getting a donkey to keep back there– it would really go with the peace sign too!!

and then there are hopeful signs . . .

a sign seen in a local neighborhood– i wonder if children like the child in the previous post are even aware that some of us want to stop their nightmare– they are the freedom fighters of tomorrow–

in my little town . . .

U.S. Guards Kill 2 Iraqi Women in New Shooting

in my little town
i grew up believing
god keeps his eye on us all

“my little town” paul simon

as the nra mobilizes for the backlash . . .

another school shooting– more lives permanently ruined– and of course hunting season is upon us–

and so once again
my dear johnny my dear friend
and so once again you are fightin’ us all . . .

“the fiddle and the drum” joni mitchell