To thine own self be true

“Cheer up–it can only get worse.”–Pearl Bailey

“That is happiness, to be dissolved in something completely great.”–Willa Cather

A bit breezy and gravelly out there, but sunny enough to compensate. Washed the bike and pumped the tires with a pump my daughter gave me which plugs into the car’s cigarette lighter! Tires were nice and full which always produces a faster, more ‘buoyant’ ride. This is the earliest I’ve been able to ride in a calendar year in memory. I also always consider myself lucky to be riding into November. Once I was even riding at Christmas before a very late first snowfall. Riding the bike always shortens winter and lengthens spring and fall. My favorite exercise after walking.

This original song from about 1968 fell easily into the folk vein a la Simon & Garfunkle. My harmony-friend Chris Harman wrote the original poem which inspired and morphed into a song when he was 17 in grade 12, about 1967. He and I sang as a duo in a school drama presentation at Manitoba Theatre Centre in our grade 12 year. We did “The Dangling Conversation” and “I Am a Rock”. Later we were two of the three singers in our folk group called Clover which played from 1969 to 1970 in Winnipeg. See the picture of us performing in the July 12, 2013 entry. (In another life, Chris became a prominent, respected woman’s doctor in Poe’s city of Baltimore.)
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The clouds roll in and it starts to rain once more
I close my window and then I shut the door
All alone in the shadows of my room

Spring rains make the streets so slick
Raindrops make my visions thick
I am listening to silver silence in my mind

Cars splash by, yes I hear them come and go
My thoughts like rivers, they soon begin to flow
Onto paper, down they tumble, line by line

Familiar faces briefly flicker on the wall
Distant voices, I still hear them call
Calling for me from the patterns on my wall

Time’s our master and he leaves so confused
We do our best just to keep up with the news
Childhood memories lost forever from our lives

I climb up to the highest treetop
From soot and rain and wind that won’t stop
Looking downward on a child that was me

The clouds roll in and it starts to rain once more
I close my window and then I shut the door….

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“Genuine poetry is conceived and composed in the soul.”–Matthew Arnold

Imagine a St. Patrick’s Day sans Irish music. Pretty lame, eh? It does not get better than the highly-recommended 2-CD-set called Irish Celebration, pictured below. All the famous Irish tunes and classics are included. A must for the Celtic music fan.

I am looking forward to the crème de menthe pie or crème de menthe over ice cream as well as the shepherd’s pie meal at home tomorrow–the annual party with my daughter and her companion. Always a hoot with the green Strongbow beer and some Irish viewing. For suggestions on the latter, see my March 16, 2014 entries.

The problem: the many recreational and toy drones(sold for $1-5 thou) that have been made commercially available and been sold willy-nilly to individuals across North America. It is only a matter of time until these are used by kooks, bored young males, stupid ignoramuses, evil individuals, and home-grown terrorists to unload explosives on government buildings, airplanes, famous landmarks, and the usual unsuspecting crowds. (Already one landed at the White House lawn and Paris has had many sightings at historical, traditional sites.) In no way should these devices ever have been made available to the general public and private citizens.

Madness! A horrible lack of imagination. Devoid of any moral social responsibility. A guarantee of unpredictable chaos, mayhem, and nasty violence. The nastiness of laser lights went totally unheeded. Now we are at the mercy of armed drones! Who are these idiots who makes these dangerous decisions to make a buck? The problem with technology all the way down the line is its misuse and abuse by incredibly stupid people. Does anyone (doh) in governments and business ever think any more about the lunatic fringe and the obvious potential terrors of uncontrolled destructive technology?

“Touch is the landscape/of what is possible.”–Kate Green

“To see the World in a grain of sand,
And a Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an Hour.”
–William Blake

“Follow your own bliss.” “Live from your own centre.”–Joseph Campbell

“The quality of your happiness depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”–Marcus Aurelius