Murphy's Law (Haiku)

If it can it will
Unless you pay attention
You must stay awake

The Undone To Do (Haiku)

The undone To Do
Looms big, like a large bubble
And pops when it's done

Merry Christmas (Haiku)

At Christmas we see
The best and the worst of kids
And perhaps us too

Did Or Didn't Do (Haiku)

Is it accomplished?
What I am supposed to do?
How would I know it?

The meaning of faith
Is to do day after day
What seems to be right.

Seventy-seven
A long time to not find out
But does anyone?

Anonymity (Haiku)

Anonymity
Eschewing celebrity
Living in shadow

Free to roam at will
No mob of paparazzi
Walking wherever

In the restaurant
Enjoying those at table
Ignored by others

An inner circle
Of equals enjoying life
All mutual friends

No calls at midnight
From a drunken stranger fan
Peacefully sleeping

Why We Are Negative

We seem to have a natural tendency towards negativity, hostility, and defensiveness, which may be inbred from when we lived a more vulnerable life.  It was vulnerable to dangerous surroundings, beasts, and people.  The safety of the cave, perhaps feeling like the womb,  was the only time we could let down our guard.  Being sensitive to danger is what enabled us to survive and because the wary survived, we are wary.  And throughout  our history it hasn't changed that much.

 Part of The Work seems to be a struggle against all of this and to get back to Eden, where we can be at peace and live in harmony with the world.

The Times of Our Lives (Haiku)

The times of our lives
Are past, present, and future
We use all of them

Solace in the past
Because it never changes
We've been there, done that

Present, less certain
We think we can control it
Give it your best try

Future, up for grabs
No one knows what it will bring
Yet it must happen

There may be one more
But not during this lifetime
It would come later

My True Aim-- At Times (Haiku)

Suddenly I see
Not to do rather than do
Is now my desire

A list stares at me
And I decide not to do
Later regretting

Yet they seem banal
These daily activities
That give me no peace

It's a rebellion
In a way that's what it is
I just don't want to

Not very urgent
But still very important
Aim can be put off

Enthusiasm
For what I should be doing
Is what is lacking

Rekindling the fire
Merely takes a thought or two
Then back to my Aim

The repsite was short
The evasion incomplete
Now it's back to work

Not celebrating
But confidently happy
Progress being made

Distraction dispelled
Work on Aim going forward
Satisfied, for now

Working on Aim (Haiku)

I have come so far
I have yet so far to go
I can not look back

Day in and day out
The difference can't be seen
It is, five years on

Daily work on aim
Like fine particles of silt
Becomes fertile soil

Master is working
On his own development
Independently

He uses the soil
Accumulated from work
For his advancement

We work on our aim
By our work we shall be known
Enabling Master

Baseball (Haiku)

Baseball in playoffs
Greatest time to watch the game
Played the way it should

Playing since April
These teams won the most series
These teams are the best

Through the rain and heat
Playing at home and trav'ling
Night and day for months

Soon down to four teams
For the division titles
Then there will be two

And one more series
For the World Championship
The best of the best

Since nineteen-o-five
Yearly except for war
There've been ninety three

"A good friend of mine used to say, 
'This is a very simple game. 
You throw the ball, 
You catch the ball, 
You hit the ball. 
Sometimes you win, 
Sometimes you lose, 
Sometimes it rains.'
Think about that for a while."
-- Nuke Laloosh in the movie, Bull Durham

Talking Too Much (Haiku)

Saying far too much
Going on and on and on
A bad idea

You can vent anger
You can be over-enthused
The result's the same

I have heard enough
I am not hearing you now
Why don't you just stop

Controlling yourself
During the conversation
Will get good  results

The FB Post (Haiku)

Posting on Facebook
Is  a sword with two edges
Poster and reader

One uses the words
To express thoughts and feelings
In different ways

The other reads words
In the light of their thinking
In different ways

The words may be read
Interpreted differently
And offense taken

The two work it out
As reasonable people
Offline and in touch

It is a problem
That recurs day after day
Learning from errors

Acting like an ass
Doesn't mean you are an ass
Continuing does.

Feeling Old Louisville (Haiku)

Buying an old house
Moving to an old city
It's a metaphor

Many relics left
To be discovered in time
Appreciated

New people don't know
But find out if they're open
To what's before them

Written history
Only tells a part of it
The kernel of it

Old parks and courses
Old mansions set back in time
Have a patina

One feels the spirits
Of those passed but not yet gone
Pressing their presence

In the old city
Sharp corners rounded by time
Grass grows in the cracks

In the old mansion
Old photos are left behind,
Bygone images

Much to realize
Cannot see it or hear it
But one can feel it

Modernity (Haiku)

It takes forever
To do what took ten minutes
Traffic is turble

Our needs met closeby
Stores and services nearby
We walked to get there

Now we are spread out
The never ending freeways
Now getting less free

Forty-five minutes
Minimum time to do it
Whatever it is

And public transport
You can forget about it
Routes are meaningless

Thus we pay the price
Progress, I don't think it is
Regress to better

High rise apartments
In the centre of the ville
With shops near at hand

But then one gets mugged
By another wanting his
Retreat to the burbs

So here we remain
Encased in a metal  box
Somewhat more secure

Getting There! (Haiku)

Wobbling, unsteady
Taking little baby steps
Walking then running

As a full adult
Taking little baby steps
Will never reach Aim

But even these steps
In the proper direction
Will allow progress

Take the baby steps
With an eye on the big prize
Ready for running

Sooner or later
One must be in the running
Or never get there

Personal assets
Physical and financial
Adding connections

Only if you know
Deep inside your heart of hearts
What you want to have

This we call the dream
Always there, in the background
Guiding every step

To get what we want
We Dream, We Ask, and We Work
That's the big picture

Why Does He Do That (Haiku)

We're all fixated
Comparatively better
It defines our life

Wasted near the end
It's better to be better
Feel good about you

But that's what it is
Feeling better about me
That's for what I live

Needs impressed on me
During early years of life
Which years I don't know

Ignoring parents
Parents who withhold their love
Instill unmet needs

Once fixed in the mind
They are forever unfilled
One can't love too much

The Good and the Bad (Haiku)

I meet nice people
As I go about my life
But read about bad

Almost all I know
Do good things for each other
But hear about bad

So turn off the news
Be happy with those you know
And do good for them

Paris and People (Haiku)

People and Paris
Both can be pretty pictures
Not always close up

Kids have a smile face
When the phone-cam is pointed
A click, then no smile

A coutured woman
Her appearance then betrayed
By a scowling face.

Seplechures of stone
Full of foul smelling decay
White on the outside

Appealing to eyes
Don't risk opening the door
To see the real man

There are exceptions
That can make the risk worthwhile
We keep coming back

Back to our Paris
And images of beauty
Back to our people

Superior (Hailku)

I must be on top
Inferior as a child
Now superior.

The best of logos
Only brands of best repute;
Marketers delight.

Avoid circumstances
When I can't be on top
So I don't say much.

It is a feeling
I know it when I've got it
The peace that I seek.

Persons (Haiku)

I'm not black or white;
Red, yellow, or whatever.
I'm my own person.

Thinking Too Much? (Haiku)

One can over-think
Embellish to an extreme
And do way too much.

Thinking's not a waste
But effort can be wasted
Thinkers' and others.

Sometimes decision
Good bad or indifferent
Is necessary.

When it is made
Don't abide the question, "Why?"
That opens the door.

What is often lost
Is the spontaneity
Sauce added to life!

Arrival Departure (Haiku)

We arrive naked
Always do the best we can
Then depart naked

Memories will fade
History even forgets
Dead bodies decay

Deep inside of us
Soul exists, undetected
Seeking permanence

Glimpses of success
By body, undetected
Could give us a clue

Aware of the soul
One can begin to see them
Fulfilling this life

Trained horses respond
The rider and horse feel the joy
Of effort well spent

Soul is the rider
As he strives for permanence
Body not aware

Essentials, But Not All (Haiku)

We breathe, eat, excrete
All else we do is extra
But these, essential

They don't however
Define the person we are
Unless excessive

The extra we do
Is where the impact is made
Intervals between

The Stuff of Dreams (Haiku)

A dream is just that
Until we believe in it
"A wish your heart makes"

Science is knowing
Accomplishment when combined
With art, the feeling

Thousand words of prose
Expounded thoughts and notions
Distilled in six lines

Bonzie the Bonsai Tree (Haiku)

Water the bonsai.
He said, "You missed a spot here."
Can the bonsai talk?

He basks in sunshine;
Seems the hotter the better,
Now he's full of figs.

They are little ones
Just like him, miniature
But they all have seeds.

I am wondering
Planted would they grow to trees?
Not that curious.

Named by my mother.
My name for him more formal
But Bonzie's just fine.

Bonzie's an old tree;
Best guess is more than fifty
But in love with life.

Tirbute to a Friend (Haiku)

The curtain is closed
The final bow is taken
The audience applauds

Rest in peace play mate
You gave us what we wanted
All of what you had

For this we're grateful
To the world you brought some joy
Standing ovation

Who's Kidding Who (Haiku)

I am who I am
I want to be for others
I try to be that

However, I can't
Even though I think I am
Only I am fooled

I may as well be
He who I already am
Genuinely me

I am who I am
Why would I want to change that
Even if I could

That Guilty Feeling (Haiku)

Me thinking it's me.
Why aren't you speaking to me?
Was it something I said?

The other:
I am involved with others
Your not my only.

Thanks for getting back.
Not yet sighing in relief;
How are things going?

Then conversation
Eases the guilty feeling
And peace is restored.

When the problem's real
No contact's a remedy.
Time heals all the wounds.

Emotional wounds
When not deep can heal quickly
Except for scarring.

Ah! Sweet Mystery (Haiku)

We read every day
In the obituaries
Of a person's death.

All who've lived 'til now
Have finished their time on Earth
And now they are dead.

Mysteriously
There are some fundamentals.
Truth is.  Life goes on.

My Friends (Haiku)

Not how I see me
It's how I see you see me
I live up to that

Why You Didn't Hear (Haiku)

Many things happen
Very few are reported
But happen they do

Thank goodness for that
Because temptation happens
We seem to succumb

There is an angel
Keeping us out of the news
He carries a shroud

Reporters arrive
Shroud in place a gap opens
Never in the news

No angel, the news
Angels are from what we do
They give back to us

Why Haiku (Haiku)

My haiku distills
Much of my philosophy
It is so concise

The Inner Voice (Haiku)

Some use radio
To quiet the inner voice
Keeping it away

That's fine for the car
But not for moving events
Any performance

Pesky inner voice
Gets in the way of movement
When body knows best

Intellectual
Too slow for complex movement
Causes us to err

With that voice turned off
Anxiety slips away
When moving or not

My mantra for me
The radio can't be on
At opportune times

Spring in Kentucky (Haiku)

It;s that time of year
Flowers and trees are blooming
This is Kentucky

Finding the Truth (Haiku)

Truth is here for us
Finding it is the struggle
It is up to us

There are many steps
On the stairway to heaven
Some are stuck on one

Some go one by one
Others take two at a time
A lifetime too short

Once it is achieved
We can possibly move on
To higher levels

The Little Screen (Haiku)

Images now real

Preset packaged and rehearsed

We expect perfect

Reality's not

It's always less than perfect

We prefer perfect

So we watch our screens

While life is passing us by

Seeing perfection

Tolerate the real

Enjoy perfect images

Escape to the screen

Spontaneity

Sacrificed for perfection

It's artificial!

On Cooks (Haiku)

The only thing worse
Than a bad cook is one who
Thinks she's a good cook

Contact/ Or Not (Haiku)

Someone at the door
Ignore him, he'll go away
He does, leaves a card

The telephone rings
Too often, don't answer it
Leave me a message

I've got an Email
Too many, ignore them all
Fill up the inbox

Now there is Facebook
Posts and follows are rampant
Too many to see

Yet I sit alone
In a room full of people
And look at my screen

The one way to me
Is to get my attention
Going to my door

Round and round it goes
The getting of attention
Cycling forever

Intelligent Choice (Haiku)

I will or I won't
Intelligent choices made
Change the course of life

Whom will I marry
From this will come the children
Slightly different

What is my calling
From this my contribution
A different world

We call it choosing
It is called evolution
When hindsight is used

When viewed at present
The changes seem minuscule
From afar they're vast

Thus we break records
Ever onward and upwards
Soon beyond the moon

There is a question
What fuels imagination
From which it all comes

All My Passions--Script Note

We just finished a run of performances of All My Passions, a play by Vin Moreale, in which I played the leading character, Everett Montague.  This is a Script note on that play/performance.

It is about a Soap Opera, All My Passions, and the show is sinking.  The leading man, Everett Montague, has become a liability to the show; 14 leading ladies in total and three of them in short succession.  The director, producer, and new head writer know that he has become a liability. 

Everett tells the producer of a past romance and she makes the connection of Everett to Eleanor, the primary sponsor of the show.  They all know that Everett has to go so Eleanor agrees to do it.

In the last scene, she gently removes Everett from the show. Everett enters the last scene in his costume, a smoking jacket, ascot, and toupee.  He takes them off.  After reuniting with Eleanore he puts on his blazer, which has been hanging on the hall tree for the entire performance from before the first curtain, and exits with Eleanor.  The End

The blazer is symbolic of his presence on the Soap; there until it, like he, is removed at the end.

What Lately? (Haiku)

Our accomplishments
Are but an indication
Of what we can do

Solve the math problem
Move on to newer problems
Dwell not on this one

Deeds are history
The future is yet to come
Dwell not on the past

Capability
With your imagination
Brings satisfaction

Never satisfied
Solving the puzzle of life
One thing at a time

At the end of it
It's as if you weren't here
But you were and are

It's the grandchildren
Who continue our actions
From vague memories

A parallel life
From the past to the present
Liking it or not

Mysterious life
Brings from imagination
What we realize

Imagination
Mind linked to Bethesda's pool
Source of ideas

So go out and do
Whatever is on your mind
Doing it, do more

Walk Then Run to Get It (Haiku)

Wobbly, unsteady
Taking little baby steps
Walking then running

As a full adult
Taking little baby steps
Will never reach Aim

But even these steps
In the proper direction
Will allow progress

Take the baby steps
With an eye on the big prize
Ready for running

Sooner or later
One must be in the running
Or never get there

Personal assets
Physical and financial
Adding connections

Only if you know
Deep inside your heart of hearts
What you want to have

This we call the dream
Always there, in the background
Guiding every step

My Home Town (Haiku)

Look not at Paris
Not even New York City
Pictures won't do it.

Live in your city
Experience where you are
Life, not fantasy.

Finally (Haiku)

At the end of it
Memories are all we have
Woe when they are gone

The Ghost of Xmas Past (Haiku)

The company's gone

Echoes of good times ringing

In an empty house

Memories were made

Keeping us close together

Kentucky Christmas

My Birthday dinner

Lunch at the Magnolia

Picture with Sheri

Pandemonium

On Christmas in the morning

Boxes everywhere

Miraculously

Kids got along together

They're getting older

Next the tree comes down

Now the ghost of Xmas past

Shrouded in his sheet

To come up again

One more time at this year's end

Celebrating life

Bon repit!

The Familial Trap (Haiku)

The familiar
We wallow in the hollow
Always coming back