Audacity of Hope

I awoke at 5:45 am to the cover of darkness.  A silent mist caressed the sky and cooled the air.  An ominous calm fell silent across the day.  Years of waiting, hoping and dreaming has come down to this morning.  At 6:30 am I joined several hundred fellow patriots who have chosen this day to care; who have chosen this day to speak out with the power that is granted to us who believe.

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
Senator Barack Obama

At 6:55 am I cast my vote for Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States of America.

 

Wanna Go Back

I was listening to the radio
I heard a song reminded me of long ago
Back then I thought that things were never gonna change
It used to be that I never had to feel the pain
I know that things will never be the same now
I wanna go back
And do it all over again
But I can’t go back I know
I wanna go back
Cause I’m feeling so much older
But I can’t go back I know
I recall hanging out on Friday night
The first slow dance
Hoping that I’ll get it right
Back then I thought I’d never ever stand alone
It used to be that a lonely heart was never shown
I know that things will never be the same
I wanna go back
And do it all over again
But I can’t go back I know
I wanna go back
Cause I’m feeling so much older
But I can’t go back I know

Eddie Money, from the album “Can’t Hold Back”, 1984

 

To sleep, perchance to dream

Cliff Bailey 1969-2008

I have no words.  Yet, I must write.  Compelled.  Driven to express the emotions, the feelings that have driven my heart, my mind tonight.

It is an October night.  This October night.  Crisp, cool air rests upon a gentle breeze.  A distant train clicks and clacks in the distance, mournful, chanting a woeful rhythm understood by the melancholy few.  The piercing silence of the night, exaggerated by the news of the day rests heavily upon the hearts of the living.  Only you can create the depth of longing that swallows the soul this day.  You are a rude son of a bitch.  You force yourself upon the unexpecting, maligning and raping the untouched, taking at will, depriving, decimating, leaving chaos in your wake.  And silence.  Oh the silence that you leave behind.  The unrest.  The helplessness.  The chasm of utter despair, and realization that you shall have your way with us all.

You left us today.  Taken against your will, I’m sure.  In sleep you lie; in sleep you remain.  You touched the lives of everyone you passed.  No one escaped your genteel way.  Your wit and smile graced us all with joy and enthusiasm.  Those you knew, you loved.  Those who knew you, loved you.  

May you rest in eternal peace.  May the memories of you heal the mourning souls of all who are left behind.  The gifts you received were shared with us all; your charm, your wit, your enthusiasm for life, your quirky outlook on all that you touched.  Each of these you poured as a healing ointment upon the troubled souls of everyone you knew.  Your smile lifted us all.  You were a gift.

Someday we will join you in your eternal rest.  Someday.  In the bondage of the commonality of life you have gone before us, certainly to pave our way with laughter and peace.  Rest now, and be free.

 

Slacking Off

Not into sharing much lately.  Have lots to think about and say, just keeping it all in.  It’s an introvert kind of thing.  So deal.

Just to keep this blog thing going and feel like I haven’t totally abandoned the effort I’ll take the slacker way out.  Here’s a meme I lifted from Kapgar.

 

 

The Rule: Answer the questions using only one word.

1. Where is your cell phone? Pocket
2. Your significant other? Soulmate
3. Your hair? Greying
4. Your mother? Loving
5. Your father? Uptight
6. Your favorite thing? Music
7. Your dream last night? Unknown
8. Your favorite drink? Guinness
9. Your dream/goal? Self-employed (so it’s two words, doesn’t the hyphen count for anything?)
10. The room you’re in? Cubeville
11. Your hobby? Billiards
12. Your fear? Pain
13. Where do you want to be in six years? Mountains
14. What you’re not? Unopinionated
15. Muffins? Not-so-much
16. One of your wish list items? Dobro
17. Where you grew up? Carolina
18. The last thing you did? Meme
19. What are you wearing? Lucky’s
20. Favorite gadget? Magellan
21. Your pets? Yappy
22. Your computer? Mac
23. Your mood? Happy
24. Missing someone? Yes
25. Your car? Donkin
26. Something you’re not wearing? bullring
27. Favorite store? Guitar Center (Geez give me a break)
28. Like someone? Uh-huh
29. Your favorite color? Black
30. When is the last time you laughed? morning
31. Last time you cried? How can you answer that question in one word?  I don’t know, not today.  Gah!!  This is why I hate Memes with their stupid self imposed rules.  What a pile of crap!!  Go Away.

 

Micro-Fiction, Stories in 100 Words – Episode 1: Despair

Like a suckling child he felt the warmth and saw his mother’s smile. The swirl of unconsciousness oozed in his mind. As his surroundings blurred into the groping darkness of the alley the syringe fell to the ground; a missile striking its death blow. In a fog of ill-gotten recognition his courage grew; courage to reach for an unknown peace. Rambling thoughts swirled in a gothic symphony; no more pain; no more disappointment; no more failure. The curtain closed in a tremulous fade to black as the warmth of his blood fell to the ground as he opened his veins.

 

Me love you long time…

I began blogging in 2005 as a means of capturing a little piece of my creativity.  I have written song lyrics and poetry most of my life, and have lost most of what I’ve written as a result of relocation, misplacement, and general disorganization.  When blogging started popping up across the Internet it struck me as a means of collecting my work in a central location where I could get back to it if for some reason I felt the need.  My blogs took on many forms through several iterations until finally I landed on a form and style that I was happy with.  A Rhyme in Time was born.  For the most part I kept it on the down-low.  I only shared it with a very select few people and usually only then when I had written something that I thought was particularly clever or entertaining.  No one really knew it was there, and no one read it, and I didn’t care.

Although I love poetry, both reading and writing, I find it to be very hard work.  I suffer over every word and hate to publish anything that doesn’t have some deep meaning to me.  But, I absolutely love to write.  I love to tell stories, and I love to give my own opinions on all things social and human.  I needed another outlet.  With these thoughts in mind I came across this post, which eventually led me to this post, and on and on it went.  I fell in love with the whole idea of a free-flowing mind-sharing blog to deposit my little contribution to the literary world.  Far from literature I’m sure, a place to be creative came to be.  And for some reason, either through chance, or my participation in making comments on the blogs that I had fallen in love with, people began to visit my little place.

And so today I received what I consider to be a high honor.  Penelope recognized me with a little award by tagging me with the “I Love Your Blog” badge.  As trivial as it may seem to some, it totally made my day.  It truly is the little things in life that mean the most.  So thank you Penelope for sharing your love with me, and in return I want to share with you all a portion of the blogs that I read everyday that I absolutely love.  The tag asked me to pass this along to 7 bloggers, but I could only narrow it down to 9.  Here they are in no particular order:

• Silent Verses
• Stanley’SMilestones
• Ocellus
• Evyl
• Avitable
• Boobs, Injuries and Dr. Pepper
• Miss-Ann-Thrope
• Bagwine Ruminations
• Miss-Britt

I hope that you will pay each of these a visit and check them out for yourself if you are not already doing so.  I know that you as well will “love them long time!!”

 

But they’re so nice

Poison Ivy

Oh the friends we make in life.  Some are so natural and so self revealing that you can’t help but bond and cling and long for their company.  Some appear so docile and beneficial that you just don’t imagine that any danger could lurk beneath the surface.

But then there are others; those who present themselves in colorful arrays, displaying the wares of kindness only to leave behind a virulent residue that will continue to burn and irritate long after their actual presence has been tossed on the fire and burned from your life.  I know you have all experienced this kind of relationship.  What first appears to be a welcome addition to your life soon reveals it’s true self becoming a threatening poison-laden encounter that you must violently extract lest it overtake you and consume your every wakening moment.

Poison Sumac

Why the metaphors you ask?  OK, I’ll tell you.  Not the metaphorical, but the literal poison-ivy is consuming my every thought.  A couple hours of routine yard work a week and a half ago has turned into a constant and ever present reminder of why I (outdoor lover that I am) must always be on my guard when I am out in the woods.  I am so highly allergic to poison ivy in all it’s forms that I go to great lengths to avoid the little bitch plant at all costs.  I have studied live samples and pictures and am constantly on the look out to avoid this predatory plant lying in wait in it’s self-protective mode ready to pounce on my unsuspecting flesh.

Poison Oak

Maybe it’s just me, please tell me if you have this same experience.  I find these three dangerous plants to be very much like many people that I cross in my life.  Unlike my favorite loather of humanity I tend to love all people, give them the benefit of the doubt, and generally find good in everyone.  But I have to qualify that statement by saying that for some, and I do believe they are in the minority, like the beautiful poisonous plants pictured above, their beauty and goodness can only be taken so far.  I’m sure you have heard the Arabian proverb “keep your friends close — hold your enemies closer.”  Like the caustic vines of poison ivy you cannot afford to turn your back or your attention away for some who try to get close to you.  You must know a man to know his intentions.  You must get close to a man to hear his beating heart.  Some times it is only within an enemies embrace that you will discover the unsheathed dagger.

So in the meantime while I am trying to figure out who my true friends and enemies are, I am slathering on the calamine lotion and trying my best not to claw the flesh from my bones while the remnants of this cursed poison ivy rash runs it’s course.  Both arms, both sides of my body, one leg.  You know if you’ve had it.  Constant misery.  Another reminder of a lesson yet to be fully learned.

 

Remember still

Someone called today.  A distant ring pierced the silence.  A memory across time recalled by one clinging to a shallow hope for a familiar “hello.”  A noble voice, a human tone, silenced by hate will never answer that hopeless call.  Cast in an early grave you caressed the ashes of your new eternal home, buried in the devouring earth, the unforgiving, unrelenting power of death.  Solace spread like a blanket of truth warming only the memories of you.  Today we call in hopeful recollection that your silenced voice will once again be heard.  Your children miss you still.  Though moving on, today they linger in the hope for you of eternal life.

Today, we remember still.

 

You can sleep when you’re dead

Jet-lag.  Oh yeah, gotta love the jet-lag.  Not to mention four straight days and nights of full on merriment.  Then add to that the red eye from the west coast to the east coast with two layovers along the way.  Yeah, work has been a bit of a drag today.  Not so much that I can’t stay awake, just that I really want to not be at work at all.  But you know what they say, all good things must come to an end.  Well, one thing I am learning as I get older is it’s probably best the all these good things should probably happen in shorter increments.  I love to play right along with the best of them, but as I mature…. ahem…. I realize that smaller doses may be the way to go.

Hello!! Willie, are you listening?  Hey!!  Wake up!!

I think there is a side of me that just never wants to stop.  I have never been one to back down from anything that I consider worthwhile, even long after everyone else has given in and given up for the day.  I’m like the perpetual energizer bunny.  I just keep going and going and going and …..

But then I. Fall. Down.

Boom.

Will I ever learn?  Probably not.  But it is just too much fun.  I love to do all the things that I love to do.  My beautiful wife tells other people “you can sleep when you’re dead.”  I love that attitude.  But she doesn’t tell me that.  She tells me “you better go to bed you big dummy!”  But do I listen?  No.  Should I listen?  Yes.  Will I start to listen?  Probably not.

Alas, another aspect of my own personal mid-life crisis.  My body and mind tells me one thing.  My habits, lifestyle and desire lead me to do another.  It just continues to get a little harder.

Are you stubborn like me?  Have you succumb to the beast that draws you to slumber your time away?  Or do you run like hell to stay out in front?  Or have you discovered the secret of the balanced life?

Care to share?

 

Seattle-bound

Seattle, WA USA

So I’m off on a new adventure, traveling to one of my favorite cities in the country, Seattle, Washington; cosmopolitan, eclectic, strange, unique, culture filled, diverse, liberal, left-wing, open-minded and downright fun.  It is such a great place for musical originality that it makes me tingle to just think about the auditory delights that are in store.

My baby brother in law is turning…. OMG, 40 this week.  That, my friends, makes me feel old.  He was a mere tot when my wife and I met back in the ’70’s.  And now he is all grown up; a successful restaurateur (check him out here) and a wonderfully acclaimed and successful professional musician (and check him out here). 

It’s going to be a wonderfully busy weekend as we celebrate and carouse the nights away, and take in all that makes Seattle unique by day.  Supposed to be vacation, but I’m sure it will be exhausting.  I hope to post while I am away and share some of my wife’s great photography.  I’m confident she will be snapping hundreds, if not thousands, of photos.

Here is to hoping that you all have a great upcoming weekend and experience all the fun and pleasure that you can!!  See you on the left coast.