I look up at the greatest Ash in town
It holds the entire continent in its branches
Leaves the colors of rocks and fire in the desert West
Through those leaves I can hear waves crashing in the Gulf
Somehow, even though it's just Halloween,
it smells like the snow falling back East
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Stupid Leaves, Stupid Breeze!
I can rake rake rake
and mow mow mow
but that darned October wind still blows
so every leaf from every tree
from every neighbor, hither and yawn
ends up back in my yard
and back on my lawn!
and mow mow mow
but that darned October wind still blows
so every leaf from every tree
from every neighbor, hither and yawn
ends up back in my yard
and back on my lawn!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
The prairie is a comfy bed
The rolling hills and prairie is a comfy bed that I don't want to climb out of
The sky is a crisp, clean, light blue linen
with puffy white cloud pillows
Fields of beans are pulled up snug like a green and yellow quilt
and the corn that's almost ready to harvest reminds me of a crocheted throw on top of that
each are accented with tassels of red, white, and silver barns and bins
and occasional deep green embroidery of trees
The September sun fills the room with tranquil joy
while the gentle breeze billows the curtains and and quietly rattles the window screens
bringing in the familiar scents of that brief moment between Summer and Fall
I think I might go pick you some sunflowers from the edge of the road,
but this place is so perfect
so inviting
so comforting
I think I might just stay here and soak it in a little longer.
The sky is a crisp, clean, light blue linen
with puffy white cloud pillows
Fields of beans are pulled up snug like a green and yellow quilt
and the corn that's almost ready to harvest reminds me of a crocheted throw on top of that
each are accented with tassels of red, white, and silver barns and bins
and occasional deep green embroidery of trees
The September sun fills the room with tranquil joy
while the gentle breeze billows the curtains and and quietly rattles the window screens
bringing in the familiar scents of that brief moment between Summer and Fall
I think I might go pick you some sunflowers from the edge of the road,
but this place is so perfect
so inviting
so comforting
I think I might just stay here and soak it in a little longer.
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Let America Be America Again
by Langston Hughes
Let America be America again.Let it be the dream it used to be.Let it be the pioneer on the plainSeeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean--
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home--
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay--
Except the dream that's almost dead today.
O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again!
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean--
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home--
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay--
Except the dream that's almost dead today.
O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again!
We only complain about the ones we love
"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."
~James A. Baldwin
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Random bits of week
Wed. there were calves in the road, only in Iowa!
Today, one of my 4 cheerleaders quit- before our first game. Ah, but tonight we had home grown tomatoes.
Saturday we're going to the greatest state fair on Earth!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Here comes the new season, not sure I'm ready
I have been coaching cheerleading since 1994. Sometimes it's a hassle, sometimes it's the most incredible opportunity in the world. Once upon a time I thought I should blog about it, maybe write a book someday- they're aren't a lot of male cheer coaches that I'm aware of. But I haven't been keeping up either that blog, or this one. I decided that maybe one problem was that I was writing for an imagined audience that wasn't there, while simultaneously being worried that anyone would read it.
So I've done two things. I adjusted my dlvr.it feed, so that this blog will no longer automatically post on my facebook account and I merged the two blogs. This one may as well include all my writing, not just poetry and politics. When I actually bother to write something I want to share on facebook, I'll just do that manually. I'll still try not to get too out of hand in the event that someone have a cow over something I post here, but my hope it that it will give me a little more freedom to open up and be real, like a journal.
I guess I'm not ready to fold my religious blog, http://malloryprayer.blogspot.com into this one yet, just because it really has taken on a life of it's own. It's not that I want to compartmentalize my faith life, separate from everything else, it's just that it actually has some readers and kind of a following, which neither this blog or the old "Papa Bear" blog seem to. Anyway, here is what may be the last post on that blog, and perhaps the first of many dealing with coaching cheer that will start showing up here.
Originally posted on http://papabear-sidelines.blogspot.com
I'm really tempted to just fold this blog into my main blog, http://tedscolumn.blogspot.com.
I feel like when I really use it, it's more to just vent than to document- let alone build anything book worthy. When I use it to vent, I'm being too reactionary. It seems like rather than relieve my stress, I feel like it only makes me more wound up. It misrepresents how negative coaching cheer can be when actually it's always been an overall very meaningful and rewarding experience for me. And of course, there's always the risk that students or parents that I write about might be offended.
Like at the beginning of the summer when the mother of a Freshman candidate was so livid with me for not putting her on the squad. It was unfair that her grandfather's funeral was the day that tryouts had been scheduled, but she hadn't turned in a permission form or teacher-recommendation forms which had been due a week before and had been available for almost two months before.
The real issue was that she was academically ineligible. I double-checked the policy and touched base with both our guidance counselor and our principal to make sure I was as clear as I could be with the parent. To be honest, the child can be a divisive, volatile, and disrespectful tiger. She's let her anger get away from her and used obscenity in uniform before while on junior high cheer- but even if she was perfect, her grades would've kept her off.
But that's the kind of conflict that both makes me wonder how many more years I want to continue coaching cheer and makes me question the wisdom of trying to blog about it (even when I try to protect the identities of the kids I work with.
Facebook and Twitter are shorter, easier and more immediate, making blogging something that I'm not as disciplined at as I used to be. Life gets pretty busy too. All summer I thought I'd write but instead was caught up in church and family activities. And school is about to start, which will make things incredibly busy again.
It seems like we've never had the first football game for a week or so after school had gotten started. This year our first home game is next Friday, school starts Wednesday! Three of my four cheerleaders are scared to have to perform at the first pep rally. I can't blame them.
The pep band won't be playing at the game that night. Our principal actually left it up to me whether or not to even have a pep rally. I really think we should, but I don't know if I should push the girls too hard if they're not ready.
One, a Junior, was even ready to quit earlier this week.
"i really didnt wanna do it in the first place but (Senior) was pressuring me so i thought i would give it a try but now im having second thougts because im really not the cheerleading type i like cheering from the stands...and i hate being in front of crowds like at pep rallys i cant do that...im sorry," she told me.
So I've done two things. I adjusted my dlvr.it feed, so that this blog will no longer automatically post on my facebook account and I merged the two blogs. This one may as well include all my writing, not just poetry and politics. When I actually bother to write something I want to share on facebook, I'll just do that manually. I'll still try not to get too out of hand in the event that someone have a cow over something I post here, but my hope it that it will give me a little more freedom to open up and be real, like a journal.
I guess I'm not ready to fold my religious blog, http://malloryprayer.blogspot.com into this one yet, just because it really has taken on a life of it's own. It's not that I want to compartmentalize my faith life, separate from everything else, it's just that it actually has some readers and kind of a following, which neither this blog or the old "Papa Bear" blog seem to. Anyway, here is what may be the last post on that blog, and perhaps the first of many dealing with coaching cheer that will start showing up here.
Originally posted on http://papabear-sidelines.blogspot.com
I'm really tempted to just fold this blog into my main blog, http://tedscolumn.blogspot.com.
I feel like when I really use it, it's more to just vent than to document- let alone build anything book worthy. When I use it to vent, I'm being too reactionary. It seems like rather than relieve my stress, I feel like it only makes me more wound up. It misrepresents how negative coaching cheer can be when actually it's always been an overall very meaningful and rewarding experience for me. And of course, there's always the risk that students or parents that I write about might be offended.
Like at the beginning of the summer when the mother of a Freshman candidate was so livid with me for not putting her on the squad. It was unfair that her grandfather's funeral was the day that tryouts had been scheduled, but she hadn't turned in a permission form or teacher-recommendation forms which had been due a week before and had been available for almost two months before.
The real issue was that she was academically ineligible. I double-checked the policy and touched base with both our guidance counselor and our principal to make sure I was as clear as I could be with the parent. To be honest, the child can be a divisive, volatile, and disrespectful tiger. She's let her anger get away from her and used obscenity in uniform before while on junior high cheer- but even if she was perfect, her grades would've kept her off.
But that's the kind of conflict that both makes me wonder how many more years I want to continue coaching cheer and makes me question the wisdom of trying to blog about it (even when I try to protect the identities of the kids I work with.
Facebook and Twitter are shorter, easier and more immediate, making blogging something that I'm not as disciplined at as I used to be. Life gets pretty busy too. All summer I thought I'd write but instead was caught up in church and family activities. And school is about to start, which will make things incredibly busy again.
It seems like we've never had the first football game for a week or so after school had gotten started. This year our first home game is next Friday, school starts Wednesday! Three of my four cheerleaders are scared to have to perform at the first pep rally. I can't blame them.
The pep band won't be playing at the game that night. Our principal actually left it up to me whether or not to even have a pep rally. I really think we should, but I don't know if I should push the girls too hard if they're not ready.
One, a Junior, was even ready to quit earlier this week.
"i really didnt wanna do it in the first place but (Senior) was pressuring me so i thought i would give it a try but now im having second thougts because im really not the cheerleading type i like cheering from the stands...and i hate being in front of crowds like at pep rallys i cant do that...im sorry," she told me.
I was having a heart attack.
I did my best to convince the Junior, "You're telling me that (Freshman Z), (Senior B), and (Sophomore R) ARE "cheerleader types" and you're not? (each example was a former cheerleader who was shy, awkward, or socially isolated). They're willing to get in front of people, but you're afraid to? Kiddo, you're smart, you're responsible, and you're gorgeous. Pep Rallies are nothing to be afraid of- let (Senior) carry them and just go along with the ride, they're fast and most kids who've cheered (like B, Z, and R) wind up actually thinking they're fun.
You're a natural leader and really fun. If you can handle Drill, Cheer will be a piece of cake.
I still think you should at least try a game or two. But, I understand how it can feel to be pressured so just like I said before, ultimately it's up to you- but I can tell you, if you can conquer this challenge (and I totally believe you can) you will come away with confidence and poise like you wouldn't believe. Doing this can put you over the top- it can be the difference between being kind of a leader and a majorly powerful woman who'll take on the world. If you bite down hard and try this this one short season, it'll be all gain for you.
Think on it, pray on it. Talk to someone you trust, adult or friend about it and let me know next week. I'll totally back off and not tease you or try to make you feel guilty (like how I tried to pressure Katie last year). But I really think you'll be great at this and this could be great for you."
I still think you should at least try a game or two. But, I understand how it can feel to be pressured so just like I said before, ultimately it's up to you- but I can tell you, if you can conquer this challenge (and I totally believe you can) you will come away with confidence and poise like you wouldn't believe. Doing this can put you over the top- it can be the difference between being kind of a leader and a majorly powerful woman who'll take on the world. If you bite down hard and try this this one short season, it'll be all gain for you.
Think on it, pray on it. Talk to someone you trust, adult or friend about it and let me know next week. I'll totally back off and not tease you or try to make you feel guilty (like how I tried to pressure Katie last year). But I really think you'll be great at this and this could be great for you."
Poise and Confidence are a couple of blocks on John Wooden's Pyramid of Success. I truly believe that these are powerful gifts that cheerleading can bestow on kids and I meant every word I said to her. But let's face it, I didn't want to go from 4 to only 3 (especially since one of the 3 is still pretty iffy). And I'll be honest, I'm not keen on the prospect of having Senior B or the "tiger" Freshman on squad this season either, if only because neither works well with the Senior we do have.
Fortunately, she tentatively agreed to give it a try. One of our Freshmen is really just giving it a try too ("iffy"), her true love is volleyball and her mother is nervous about her being too involved in too many things.
If you're actually a regular reader, or one of my friends or former cheerleaders that I shared this blog with, I'd sure appreciate your prayers and positive thoughts. Like every year. (:
This is the most I've written here in months and I really SHOULD be preparing lessons for next week. So anyway, if you come looking for this blog and don't find it, head on over to http://tedscolumn.blogspot.com and just run a search for "cheer," or "coaching," or "Pappa Bear" and you should still be able to find this kind of entry once in a while.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
New 4-H Club Blog
Good luck Achievers at CC Fair! Hope the Style Show went well this morning.
Members, parents, and former members- check out the club's new blog. Be sure to leave comments and share your memories, and please remember to either join, become a follower or best yet- subscribe by email to receive updates and announcements.
Members, parents, and former members- check out the club's new blog. Be sure to leave comments and share your memories, and please remember to either join, become a follower or best yet- subscribe by email to receive updates and announcements.
Sunday, July 03, 2011
What's the 4th for?
We're seeing lots of patriotic and political messages this weekend on twitter and Facebook, but it's important to consider what our independence really meant and who/what we are and want to be as a nation.
God bless our troops & their families- but the have Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Armed Forces Day.
I love our flag but it already has Flag Day. I've pled allegiance to it, but after all, it's just fabric, a symbol for what were really about. And don't get me wrong, I don't oppose the pledge, but it was really kind of a political tool back in the "red scare" 50's.
What is the Fourth really about? What is America supposed to be about?
How about our motto? E Pluribus Unum- "from many, one."
How about our Declaration? Voted on July 4, 1776. "ALL men are created EQUAL and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that AMONG these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
How about our Constitution, written 10 years later? "in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice and ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessing of liberty for ourselves and our posterity."
Families and fun are fine, so are parades and fireworks. I love picnics and baseball and apple pie as much as the next guy. But I think that it's not just important to think about the red white and blue, but also for the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, with liberty & justice for ALL.
How much time do we spend considering what things like justice, domestic tranquility and the general welfare really are?
We owe it to ourselves, each other, our founders, and all those citizen soldiers who've fought for us over the last 235 years to think about our principles once in a while. And we owe it to our "posterity" to talk about our principles once in a while- to share them, discuss and debate, even argue about them, to teach them to our children and pass them on.
This 4th of July, make Iowa's state motto your own: "our liberties we prize, our rights we will maintain."
God bless our troops & their families- but the have Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Armed Forces Day.
I love our flag but it already has Flag Day. I've pled allegiance to it, but after all, it's just fabric, a symbol for what were really about. And don't get me wrong, I don't oppose the pledge, but it was really kind of a political tool back in the "red scare" 50's.
What is the Fourth really about? What is America supposed to be about?
How about our motto? E Pluribus Unum- "from many, one."
How about our Declaration? Voted on July 4, 1776. "ALL men are created EQUAL and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that AMONG these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
How about our Constitution, written 10 years later? "in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice and ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessing of liberty for ourselves and our posterity."
Families and fun are fine, so are parades and fireworks. I love picnics and baseball and apple pie as much as the next guy. But I think that it's not just important to think about the red white and blue, but also for the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, with liberty & justice for ALL.
How much time do we spend considering what things like justice, domestic tranquility and the general welfare really are?
We owe it to ourselves, each other, our founders, and all those citizen soldiers who've fought for us over the last 235 years to think about our principles once in a while. And we owe it to our "posterity" to talk about our principles once in a while- to share them, discuss and debate, even argue about them, to teach them to our children and pass them on.
This 4th of July, make Iowa's state motto your own: "our liberties we prize, our rights we will maintain."
Thursday, June 30, 2011
'It's the demand side, stupid' | Marketplace From American Public Media
'It's the demand side, stupid' | Marketplace From American Public Media
This is one of the best commentaries on economics I've heard. I've been trying to explain this to people forever!
What to do about raging unemployment? Many Republicans and a few Democrats are peddling supply-side solutions. Cut corporate taxes. Reduce the cost of capital. Cut the employer share of payroll taxes.
This is nonsense. The problem is not on the supply side.
Companies don't need financial incentives to hire. They're sitting on $1.9 trillion of cash. They don't even know what to do with it all. If they wanted to use this cash to hire additional workers, they could. Instead, they're buying back their own stock and buying other companies.
Nor is the cost of capital an issue. Capital is cheap. Companies can get bargain-basement interest rates on new loans.
Nor does it make any sense to lower the employer share of payroll taxes. This won't create jobs. Payroll taxes are not deterring companies from adding employees.
Let's get real: The problem is on the demand side. It doesn't make economic sense for businesses to hire more workers unless businesses have more customers. And they don't.
These days consumers are reluctant to buy. That's because their real wages are falling, their home values are plummeting, they're still under a huge debt load, and they're worried about keeping their jobs.
Supply-side solutions have nothing to do with any of this. They're like pushing wet noodles. The economy needs a boost on the demand side.
For 30 years now we've been hearing from "supply-side" economists say that if we reduce tax rates on the rich and on corporations -- and keep the cost of capital low -- we'll get more jobs and growth. And the benefits will trickle down to everyone else.
Well, we've tried the theory out, and little or nothing has trickled down. Tax revenues are now 15 percent of the national economy. That's the lowest in 60 years. And capital is cheaper than ever. But the economy is going nowhere.
Can I be blunt? It's the demand side, stupid.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Van Jones on Meta-Branding and Crowd-Sourcing.
Watch the speech that Van Jones gave at Netroots Nation 2011 announcing the American Dream Movement and issuing a challenge to debate Glenn Beck.
Progressives put all our eggs in the Obama basket. He's not as bad as the right makes him out to be, but if we have any hope of sharing our values, it has to be about principles and networking, not just hoping that just one personality. Dems in Western Iowa, we need to connect online.
Monday, May 23, 2011
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