ODE TO MYSELF

I MAY CHAT OF WINE AND CHEER
WHEN I'M QUARTERED SAFE OUT HERE
AND I DIAL SOCIAL CALLS I MAY FORGET

BUT WHEN IT COMES TO "WAGES"
I NEED TO TALK TO SAGES
WHOSE WATER I WILL CARRY THOUGH THEY'RE "ALL WET"

NOW IN AMERICA'S SUNNY CLIME
WHERE I USED TO SPEND MY TIME
IN SERVICE TO A GOVERNMENTAL CROOK

I CLEANED TOILETS ON THE HOUR
OF AN ODOR PIQUANTLY SOUR
AND CLEANED UP LOCAL PARKS "BY THE BOOK"

NOW, WHEN I'M FEELING "SPITED"
AND WISH THE BALANCE RIGHTED-
STILL,THIS LACKEY WILL CARRY YOUR WATER FROM THE STREAM

JUST GIVE A CALL FOR 'CHUCK'
AND KNOW YOU'LL BE IN LUCK
YOUR DEFERENTIAL SERVANT WILL THEN FULFILL YOUR "DREAM"

I'LL BE FILLING BUCKETS NEAR A CREEK
CARRYING WATER FOR THOSE WHO SEEK-
OF THE WATER I'LL BE CARRYING: PLEASE TAKE YOUR FILL

I'LL BE SQUATTING NEAR THE SHOALS
GIVING DRINKS TO POOR DAMN SOULS
AND YOU CAN SURELY GET A SWIG FROM THIS "PILL"

AS YOU'VE "CHIDED ME AND SWAYED ME"
THERE'S NO NEED NOW TO PERSUADE ME
YOU'RE A KINDER MAN THAN I AM- AND KEENER, STILL

NO PERSPECTIVE

I have been surfing blogsites for a few hours, and now- with a mind that's numb and dazed from screengazing-I can only wonder why I believe that anything of consequence might emanate from a consciousness so glazed over with bits and snippets
of other folks' musings that I can hardly read the screen.

I am probably simply spewing back the residue of what I have been reading: no perspective right now.

Anyway, THANK YOU for dropping by. I'm offline for a few days...

Respectfully,
Chuck Despres

OH WELL...

I have spent so much time reading others' blogsites and perusing others' websites... that I have neglected to ruminate amidst my own Elysian Fields in Cyberspace. Now I'm taking some time to "chew on my cud" and ruminate like an old Brahma Bull- and maybe "sling a little bull", as my fingers do "ballet leaps from key to key" amidst these verdant and misty Fields of Elysia. The metaphor does not work, but I can still have fun- mixing metaphors and "goofing around" at the keyboard.

Local, national, and international news has put me in a blue funk lately; as a result, I have spent time diverting myself with reading social satire (FUNNY TIMES), Wild Grass (stories from contemporary China), and watching college basketball on TV (I prefer college basketball to NBA basketball).
And...I've been swimming and working out at CURVES*. Oh yes- our local CURVES*
accepts men- and NO, I do not get a discount for mentioning the name of the fitness center where I work out.

OH WELL...it is still a good deal.

A HEARTENING EXPERIENCE

Today, while Bush was being inaugurated, my wife Cathy and I, stood in protest with others
at the entrance to Crescent City.

Our signs said: BRING TROOPS HOME, WAGE PEACE, CRESCENT CITY FOR PEACE, END THE OCCUPATION, END BUSH'S WAR.

Many, many people drove by giving us the thumbs up; few gave us the thumbs down. All in all it was a heartening experience: HOPEFUL.

GONE TO LUNCH

Despairing of communication in this age of the dimming of Lady Liberty's light, in this age of American tyranny, in a time of "demockery" and false punditry, let me just say that the Bush Administration devalues human life and human rights- and rather than adopt the new
paradigm of false patriotism embodied in the "Patriot" Act (our new BILL OF RIGHTS?) and the vocabulary of "Homeland" ("My Homeland, 'tis of thee, sweet land of tyranny..."?), I am going to remove myself from keyboarding for awhile.

Adding to the cacaphony does not expedite, I believe, a healthy solution to America's failure to face its massive dilemma.

Hence, if anyone wishes to deem me "out to lunch", I will amend this assessment; rather, I have

G O N E T O L U N C H

A Survey To See If My Writings Are Read

If you are an occasional visitor to this website let me know @

papagrande45@yahoo.com


Many Thank You's!!!!!!

INDIFFERENCE, REPRESSION, OPPRESSION

Letting go of the past is the only way...
It isn't easy...the past creeps in like fog (on "cat feet", as C. Sandberg says); but the struggle to live in the present and stay in the present is worth it, as far as I am concerned.

I have a difficult time accepting the reality that I am approaching the last third of my life- I turn 60 this year. In any event I want this troisieme etage to be stupendous: I want to "get
jiggy" on my aging process, to reach heights of which I never dreamed.

I'm going to be expressing myself, for sure! What else is there to do in this societal moment of indifference, repression, and oppression?

ACTIVATING EMPOWERMENT

A New Year is here, oh yes
A year of promise, I hope
My word of advice is to avoid the dreary
And maintain the ability to cope

There is so much sadness and grieving, too
When one entertains a global view
It is better by far, in my estimation,
To maintain a more local orientation

Near home are tasks we can tackle
That affect the immediate locale
Effecting change in the local scene
Activates an empowering morale...