Bad Poetry

when it's late at night
I think that I can smell you
sleeping sweetly in the bed beside me

when my mind is free
I think of the times you made me laugh
and stole my breath away

when I pulled myself together,
I thought I'd go unnoticed
until you kicked me in my funny bone

when the sun first came up,
it burnt the tips of my ears
I thought I heard you say my name
as if you longed to be forgiven,

when I dream, I dream of you
I know, even then, that it is just a mirage
smack in the middle of a really big puddle

A House Divided Serves No One

Due to a "no strike, no lockout" clause in my labor contract, I was forced to cross a picket line to get to work for the first time in my life.  I wish I had the personal, vacation, or sick days to use and just avoid the whole thing, but I don't.

So this week, there will be no sideline show, no arm chair quarter backing, no not getting involved.  In Ohio, in academia, it's time to face the music and take a stand.

For the last twenty years, I have had the privilege of working up on the hill, where I get to witness the magic of people changing their lives every day.  Transformation is our business up on the hill, and the city of Cincinnati is our muse.

Suddenly, all of this has changed.  Election time is coming in November, and the rest of Ohio has found our secret wonderland up on the hill. We are not used to outsiders, and their manipulation, and we're caught off guard, like deer in headlights.  Who are these strangers in our house?

The repeal of Senate Bill 5 is on the ballot this November.  Our family is lead by grown-ups who are appointed by the Governor, who at this time is Kasich.  This has never been a problem until Kasich, because he is vehemently anti-labor.  On the hill, we are a micro-Cosm of democracy, and therefore have governing bodies, including organized labor.

Now, before we get off on a debate regarding organized labor, let me just say this.  Organized labor is the only body out side of government large enough to take an opposing stand.  Democracy can not exist with out an opposing stand, good, bad, or indifferent.  Period.

I love the great lady on the hill.  She watches over a troubled city as if it were her baby.  God bless Cincinnati State, and keep her, because without her, Cincinnati is in a lot of trouble.  Every person in this city, by virtue of living in Cincinnati, is affected by her success.

This November, drive out the politico's that aim to use our city for their own gain.  Vote NO on ISSUE 2 to repeal SENATE BILL 5 in Ohio.  Vote no to Governor Kasich.

10-10-10: Binary Code and a Nice Day As Well

I was going through my drafts, which is collection of crap I write and never get around to publishing, and came upon this little ditty.  Mostly, I wrote it in honor of the date, which makes it ironic to forget to publish it for a year.
October 10, 2010

Today, 10-10-10, which equals 42 in binary code, was what I consider to be a really great day.

First, I finally gave away my wedding dress. My friend Karla is an amazing seamstress and she loves used wedding gowns. She's waited almost six years for me to break my stone-cold, emotional grip on it.

What made me finally give it up was that another friend had a yard sale today. She was reluctant to let go of a few items, and I said "Look at it this way, you have to clear it out to get more". It inspired me to take my own advice and pass the wedding dress on to someone who would give it a new life.

Later this afternoon, RWC and I went to the local antique mall. While we were there, an old woman came up to us and asked if we had found her shopping bag. Inside the shopping bag was her purse, which she thought she had left sitting on a bench. I looked at RWC and asked "Do you mind if we look? This is just the kind of thing that charges my engine." RWC, who is always game for a psychic adventure, pointed the way towards the end of the aisle.

By now, the entire store was searching for the missing shopping bag. RWC and I get to the end of our aisle, and RWC starts to go right, and I say we should go left because it's somewhere at the end of these aisles. We go about 4 feet and RWC points to a stall on the left and says "There it is!" It was just so wonderful to hand it back to the woman, who was probably in her late seventies.

Then, this evening I talked to my friend Kevin, who is the only person I know that owns the same 20 year old car as I do. I've been having trouble with my tires, including a bent rim that needed to be replaced, and was looking at a good chunk of change that I didn't have. When I had left work on Friday, my back tire, not even the one with the bent rim, was totally flat.

RWC fixed it for me, but suddenly, I knew I had to get the tires fixed. With my budget, this has been sta-resssssing the hell out of me.  Turns out, Kevin has two extra tires, with rims, that he'll give me for free. Hey, that totally fits my budget.

In the end, it all came out even.  And so goes the universe...so there you have it.