Profundity (Haiku)

Why are we here, now?

Apparent after the fact

"The bridegroom cometh."

The Looks of Things (Haiku)

The trees are cut down

What's happened to aesthetics

Stark urban landscapes

Even old and worn

Are denuded of the trees

Looking like a dump

Newer neighborhoods

Where people enjoy beauty

Are a pleasant site

Bring back the beauty

Replant the trees and bushes

The old are reborn

 

Immutable Laws (Haiku)

 

Thinking about it

Some laws cannot be broken

The laws of  physics

They involve basics

Mass, energy, and movement

And must be observed

They hold to be true

Particle to Universe

Fully scalable

Attend not to these 

Often something is broken

Or simply won't work

Protest against them

Exercise stupidity

To your heart's content

Work within their bounds

Cross the river, reach the moon

Use the telephone

Like a game of chess

Pieces move in a pattern

Result is success

The Loop (Haiku)

I'm caught in a loop

What should I be doing?

Why did I do that?

An endless spiral

Avoid it, participate

Actively engaged

When it is finished

Move on to the next and next

Rarely reminisce

Tenses (Haiku)

Living in the past

One will remain in the past

Excludes the present

Stay in the present

Right here is where you are now

Live to the fullest

Dwell on the future

Always anticipating

Never realized

The perfect tenses

Much as we'd like them to be

Are never that way

The Grim Reaper (Haiku)

 

Looking ahead, back

Fewer ahead than behind

The years go quickly

At age eighty-one

How many more will there be?

Think not about it

Be prepared to go

Put all my ducks in a row

A seamless passing

Now what fun is that?

No trouble for those still here

Having second thoughts

To be remembered

The event must go awry

Otherwise, ho hum

The simple question

How much of a splash to make

Impress not upset

My Cousin Freddie (1941-2020)

  

I received word from his sister that my cousin died Tuesday night, October 20th.  He had dementia and was in a care facility.  He was 79 years old.  We were close in age with me being a little older.

He was good at everything he did.  He was a Saint Louis County police officer, a career to which he aspired because his father and two of his uncles were policemen for the City.  That was going fine until he arrested a politico's kid and refused to drop the charges.  That politico made sure his career as a police officer in Saint Louis County was ended.  He then was a private investigator for a while but that didn't lead to anything much so he went into car sales and, again, excelled.  He did that until he stopped working.

He was married twice.  The first time to young woman and they were very much in love; they had a son.  She couldn't bear the dangerous job he had with the police, afraid he would be injured or even killed while on duty.  She became a nervous wreck about it and they divorced.  Later she remarried but ironically her husband was killed during a holdup.

His son said that his father didn't want anything to do with him.  There was no reason given to the son as to why.  Then later his sister said that he didn't have much to do with any of the family; that she was the only one with whom he kept any contact.  My cards and letters were returned, undeliverable.

His dad, my uncle, left town abruptly on a Christmas eve in about 1960.  Later it was said that he was afraid for his life for gambling debts he couldn't pay but nobody knows for sure.  He was found, years later, in Florida when he applied for a driver's license.  His brother, on the St. Louis police force, had a dragnet out for him to locate him.  This brother and his sister went to Florida to clear some property matters.  My cousin went also to see his dad.  I don't know how that went.

Uncle Fred was taking care of an older man.  Uncle Fred had a woman friend who was his companion until he died in 1988.  The older man left his money to him, which his companion took upon his death.  There's no way of knowing how much was involved.

The family struggled without their father but they all pulled together and made it through to have families of their own.  There are/were six children and they all successfully established families.  His brother died young as result of lung cancer; cigarettes killed him as well several of my mother's brothers.

I am Facebook friends with his son and one of the daughters; she told me about his death and a hint or two about him before.  I don't hear anything from the others.

One Christmas at my parents house when I was maybe six or seven, the whole family was assembled; both my mother's and my father's.  The action had died and silence sat upon the assembly so I marched into the center of the room and announced that Fred and I were going to wrestle. He had no forewarning of this, it was a spontaneous announcement.

We squared off and, voila, he put me down and pinned me!  Needless to say everyone there laughed heartily about it.  My ego was bruised but survived.  Fred was, I think, as surprised as I was about how fast it went.  Fred was good at everything he did.  He may not have believed it but he was.  May he go in peace

To Plan or Not to Plan, That Is The Question (Haiku)

 

Live like there is not

Plan like there's a tomorrow

Covered either way

The Game of Life (Haiku)

 

In the game of life

Spectating is not enough

Participation

Just watching others

Will not advance your game plan

Your team will not score

Getting in the game

At any level of skill

Brings satisfaction

Staying in the game

For years if necessary

In the end pays off

The game is over

The score is irrelevant

The feelings run deep

And so on to sleep

Having done the best you could

To sleep and to dream

Memories (Haiku)

Remember good times

Memories are bitter sweet

Recall the bad times

Tears can beset you

Remembering the ago
Good times or bad times

Enthusiasm (Haiku)

Enthusiasm
Once lost, hard to recover
No ink in the pen

How is one to write
If the pen is out of ink
It must be refilled

Recognize the loss
Get rest and recuperate
Recall why you're here

Where Does It Go (Haiku)

There are three buckets
Into which I pour my time
Practice, Chores, and Aim

Then there's the sink hole
The time that cannot be used
The time spent idling

Practice makes perfect
Chores which cannot be ignored
Then follow the dream

Striking a balance
Between over doing it
Is resting to renew

Uncounted is sleep
Complete rejuvenation
The gentle weaver

Experience (Haiku)

I looked at my life
I have yet another name
It's Bendair Dondat

The Saint Louis Mandola

Her grandfather left behind a mandola, which was sent to her in the hopes that it would be preserved in the family.  This was enclosed with it; it was made by him and this is the story that goes with it.

"One day, in about 1933, your grandfather and his friend Leonard were looking for work.  The country was in the middle of a depression and there wasn’t much work available for two young fellows in their early twenties.  

They found themselves over near Grand and Natural Bridge in St. Louis Missouri, and were out on the sidewalk in front of a set of stairs leading up to a second floor workshop.  They heard something going on up there, it wasn’t suspicious but their curiosity was aroused so they went on up the stairs.

It was an instrument shop and the guy working there was nude!  It gets very hot in St. Louis in the summer and this guy usually worked alone, without interruption and without anyone coming in.  Well, they put that aside and one thing led to another and they got a little training about instrument making.

It seems that there is a way to make the curved backs of violins, guitars, and mandolins where a grid is put on a piece of wood thick enough to carry the depth of the curved portion of the instrument.  The grid is drawn on the top and bottom of the board and each square numbered, sort of like a spread sheet, and each “cell” has a value which is the depth of the amount of wood to be removed.  When the chiseling is complete, the rough surface is sanded smooth and, voila, there is the curved body.

This mandola, which is a larger mandolin, and a guitar were made by these two in that shop.  Then they moved on to the rest of their lives, leaving the instrument making trade to others.  Attempts to tune and play it have not been all that successful; the tuning screws may not of the best quality."

So, there you have it.  The story of the Saint Louis Mandola.

The Quest (Haiku)

It's not quite the same
Avoiding disapproval
Being approved of

History (Haiku)

It's the way it is
Then it is the way it was
Do you remember?

From Triune to Trinity (Haiku)

There are three in us
To do all the things we do
Father, Son, Spirit

The Father dreams it
Conceives and quantifies it
Puts it into words

The Son takes the words
And sees them to completion
Works physically

The Spirit moves us
Provides the motivation
That gets us started

On a higher plane
Like the Holy Trinity
We are His likeness


Ps: Or maybe he is like we.

The Illusive (Haiku)

Unanimity
No matter how hard we try
Never realized

Life Mysteries (Haiku)

Puzzles put aside
Seem to solve all by themselves
When again they're tried

Articles long lost
Found in obvious places
When they are replaced

St Anthony helps
To aid us in the finding
As Roman lares

Yet it continues
Found when we lose our patience
Answers and objects

Coronovirus (Haiku)

Coronovirus
Here and not going away
Isolate yourself

Today's pandemic
Of dubious origin
Demon gone viral

From where did it come
How long will it be with us
Demon from the lamp?

No cure no serum
No vaccine available
If you have it, hope

If you don't have it
Keep away from everyone
It spreads like a fog

Anything Can Happen (Haiku)

Like other pursuits
Life is a game of inches
Defined by close calls

Grandpa's Advice (Haiku)

Mind your P's and Q's

Advice from long long ago

Noticed when not done.

Too bad there are more
Of the next generation
Than those who're mindful

Note: This is advice from long ago.  Regardless of the Wikipedia remarks, I think it could just as easily come from Pleases (P's) and Thank yous (Q's); at least that is the interpretation used for this little Haiku.  The inspiration for it comes from people (notably grandchildren)  to whom gifts are given without even a thank you.

The Sands Of Time (Haiku)

Obliterated
Foot prints in the sands of time
By the ebb and flow

Villains (Haiku)

Greedy marketers
With their quest to get it all
Killed many of us

Pall Mall got Andy
Lucky Strike got Uncle Jim
Camels got Johnny

They almost got me
Cigarettes, pipes and cigars
Almost but not quite

Try it you'll like it
Doctors and stars condoned it
It will help not hurt

Looking back on it
It was wrong and they knew it
But did it they did

Now flavored vapors
The new harbinger of death
Same song differ'nt words

Into the Wilderness 2020

For the period of Lent, I will, again, go into the wilderness and experience something different.  Moses did it and came out to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, Jesus did it and came out with the basis of a new religion, and Muhammad did it with the same result.  Starting a new religion, however, is not my aim.  Thoreau did it for a year in a cabin at Walden Pond.

There must be something about isolating oneself for a period of time that brings about a significant change.  My idea is to get as close to isolation as possible; in other words to eliminate external influences on my thinking.  I continue to be interested in what might occur during a prolonged period of unstructured thinking as free of external influences as possible..  

The rules are:

1. Socialization only in response mode; i.e. initiating no contact but responding directly to contact when it's made.  This also precludes prolonging the contact beyond that for which it was initiated.

2.   No electronics, including radio, television, and phonograph.

3.   Telephone only to answer it and then according to Rule 1.

4.   Email and Facebook checked once daily; no social replies, comments, or posts.

6.   Reading nothing; daily study of voice and acting books is allowed.

7.  Going out only to get groceries, necessities, or to exercise, play pool, or golf, and adhering to Rule 1 when out.

8.   No change indicated for eating habits.

9.  Physical exercise is be allowed to any extent, even going to the fitness center and golf courses; remembering Rule 1 when there.

10. Answering Voice jobs, auditioning, and rehearsing as desired.

11. Writing thoughts and impressions as much, and as often, as desired.

Sorting out and purging belongings, such as books and files, tools and materials, clothes and accouterments, is allowed in order to be aware of what one has and perhaps getting rid of that which is no longer of use.  Construction, repair, and maintenance of whatever is allowed; always in accordance with Rule 1.

I will continue the journal, used in the past, to capture the daily thoughts and the progression of this experiment.   I may write the morning pages, as well as letters to the kids, parents and grand-kids.  I’m thinking about it.

TV is allowed after 9 PM for news and movies with Carola since this is the only together time that we have.  There may be difficulty filling other time with some sort of productive activity. 

According to my rules, above, anything that is not electronic or social is fine.  So, I can cook, bake, go out for necessities, exercise, answer Voice jobs, audition, rehearse, shoot pool, play golf, or walk but always according to Rule 1.  I can clean, fix, construct, purge, sort, and donate to my heart's content.  I can think, and write to get thoughts on paper, but I realize that the important thoughts, the life changing thoughts, will be with me, written or not.

This is not quite the same as being isolated, as were the principals mentioned above, but it brings about an introspection not otherwise be possible.  This will again be a challenge.  Doing without electronics will be especially difficult; the second most difficult will be Rule 1.

One Fine Day

One fine day, he awakened, as he had every day of his young life so far.

He realized he had failed at something big in his life.

He thought about what he was doing.

He knew he had to

Get control of

His life.

Thus began a story that has been unfolding for more than sixty years.

Like drawing a picture, actions describe life.

The picture always different

Due to circumstances

But getting better

Each time.

The Final Report (Haiku)

In cemeteries
Two dates upon a tombstone
The final report

A life is defined
Without the accomplishments
By two simple dates

Growing Pains (Haiku)

Watching them grow up
On the refrigerator
As the years went by

Now (Haiku)

What's happening now
It's the most important thing
Later it won't be

Success (Haiku)

Success breeds success
From the little come the big
Accomplish something

There's a difference
Between a pile of loose bricks
And a finished wall

Insignificant
Not if according to plan
One brick in the wall

You need not be told
That difference is a plan
Started as a dream