Memory

I want to forget

that day when supported by your tan, muscled arms, you hovered over me, as sky over earth, and our eyes locked.

Sky reached down into earth. Earth reached up for sky.

We made love more holy than any immaculate conception.
Bodies taut and sweaty.
Hearts pounding.

It was noon and birds sang outside your apartment window.
Our cries mingled with their song.

I want to forget

how wildly we made love and how softly we held each other after.

I want to forget

how steady and rhythmic were the beats of our hearts, beating in time.

I want to forget how you caressed the curve of my cheeks; how I traced the fine arch of your eyebrows.

I want to forget how we lingered, not wanting to take our eyes away from each other’s face

But every day, when I hear our daughter’s voice, when I see our daughter’ face,
I cannot forget that day we made love, knowing it was she we were making.

G.W. Bush and Mrs. Malaprop

I grant myself and my friends some leeway when it comes to the misuse of language in everyday conversations. And I turn a blind eye to that same misuse as well as to a host of grammar and spelling errors that we bloggers sometimes commit in our hasty posts and comments. But Bush is the leader of the free world (so-called), an educated Yale man (so-called) and in general, as president, should reflect the highest standards of intellect and knowledge. And it should go without say that the fellow should be more than capable to speak in rich, complex sentences that follow the rules of grammar. Alas … the poor fellow has more malaprops than Mrs. Malaprop herself.

For your amusement (and for some of you, to add to your despair), here’s a sampling of some of Dubya’s more notable malaprops (for more of Bush’s beastly barbaric bashing of the English language, check out: http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/bushisms/index.html):

"The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.”- George W. Bush

"If we don’t succeed, we run the risk of failure." - George W. Bush

"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'."- George W. Bush

"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future." - George W. Bush"

"The future will be better tomorrow." - George W. Bush

"We're going to have the best educated American people in the world." - George W. Bush

"I stand by all the misstatements that I've made." - George W. Bush

"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe." - George W. Bush

"Public speaking is very easy." - George W. Bush

"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls." - George W. Bush

"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur." - George W. Bush

"For NASA, space is still a high priority." - George W. Bush

"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children." - George W. Bush

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it. " - George W. Bush"It's time for the human race to enter the solar system."- George W. Bush

How long is it again until we can return this idiot to his village?

A Lost Garden

She used to plant over 500 gladiola bulbs in her back garden every spring. Glory Red. Trumpet Orange. Wedding White. Passion Pink. Summer Yellow. Some bulbs she planted in clusters of color and when the glads rose up on their slender yet sturdy, green stalks and unfurled their flowers, the garden was arrayed with swathes of red, orange, white, pink, yellow. But most of the bulbs she mixed up together in a bag, and as she planted, drew bulbs at random. She would plant 20 bulbs a day over a few weeks, and so the flowers bloomed steadily throughout the summer; the garden wealthy with color and joy.

But she does not plant gladiolus any more.

There was a time when she laid on her back with her children on the green grass in the yard, and looked up at the apple tree as it bloomed, watched as its delicate white flowers turned into green, hard fruit that later ripened and dropped down to their waiting hands.

But she no longer whiles away the time under the apple tree. And the fruit lies rotting upon the ground.

She always planted seeds on Good Friday, poking the rich brown earth with her fingers, whispering secret words over the seeds as she thought of renewal and homecoming.

But no seeds fall from her hands to the earth below now.

Not so long ago, she tended terra cotta pots of daffodils and blue ceramic pots of narcissus that lined the front walkway every February. Later, she would use the pots for silver sage and white lobelia.

But now the walkway is lined with shards of red as dark as old blood and a blue that is faded and weary, and no one walks up the path any more.

Rosemary

She planted rosemary in the deep, brick planter by the wide, front porch. The herb thrived, grew lusty and tall, and flowered purple every spring and fall.

Every day, as she went out the door and down the front porch steps, she paused, brushed her hand across the evergreen plant, gently bruising the rosemary nettles, releasing the strong scent into the air, a trace of it left on her hands. She carried the scent with her throughout the day, knew who she was, where she was going, and what she would return to. And every evening, when she came home, she again brushed the rosemary softly, a simple hello. And the smell brought her back to herself before stepping inside to her family, her home.

But Troubles beat a crooked path to her door, banged on it, demanding entry and paying no heed to the rosemary standing guard. Troubles kicked in the door, swaggered through the house, ravaged all that stood in its way and then left, never looking back as the door hung precariously from its hinges, as cries of alarm and despair floated heavily out the door and into the street.

She hid away, closing the shutters on the windows, creeping in the dark. She forgot the smell of rosemary. And the rosemary, neglected, untended, pulled into itself, stopped flowering, shrunk, shriveled. Died.

When she finally opened the shutters, finally stepped outside her door, she pulled the dried-out carcass from the earth and left the planter bare.

Time passed. She went in and out of the house, but she no longer remembered who she was, or even why the planter was empty and brown.

The Cost Of War

According to a recent CBS news poll (http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read.html?id=6371), Bush’s popularity is at an all-time low (as low as Nixon’s after Watergate and shortly before his resignation) .

The poll also shows that 63% of all Americans do not believe the war in Iraq is worth the cost.

Keep in mind, it’s not truly 63% of all Americans – it’s 63% of those polled – even though, of course, all pollsters believe they can extrapolate from the small grain of sand they are examining the true shape of the beach. (And actually, geologists and oceanographers CAN infer the shape of the beach by examining some of the grains of sand.)

Nonetheless, if the data is reflective of the whole, most of us do not believe the cost of this war is worth it.

What else could we be doing with this money?

The War In Iraq Costs: $247,599,088,431
Instead, we could have provided 12,003,058 students with four-year scholarships at public universities.

The War In Iraq Costs: $247,599,170,202
Instead, we could have hired 4,290,923 additional public school teachers for one year.

What is the cost of this war to YOUR community? To the public services and programs dear to your heart?

Check this out: http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182

CALLING ALL PATRIOTS!

When Bush first took control of the executive branch of our government, I watched the inaugural parade and speech on my television. I listened carefully to Bush’s speech and noted that he made a plea to the country – asking us to become involved with our country, to participate. I took his words to heart, hopped on public transit with a good friend, and journeyed up the Peninsula to San Francisco, to join thousands of like-minded citizens in protesting the ascendancy of Bush to the highest office of the land. It was the very least I could do.

But I've realized of late that I have been somewhat remiss – I haven’t done my fair share as a citizen, as a patriot of this great land. I've come to realize that in the remaining time Bush has in office, he really needs the help of the citizenry. Many of us have been fighting him too much, rather than supporting him in his difficult and complex job. As citizens, as patriots, we must help our President!

But what is the best way to help him? I’ve given this much thought; I’ve come to realize that what Bush really needs the most to help him now are brains. Yup, brains.

What can I do as a citizen to help my president develop some brain power?

What can YOU do to help our president develop some brain power?

It’s quite simple. Go to this link: http://www.imgag.com/product/full/ap/3067907/graphic1.swf
and participate!

You owe it yourself, to your country, to your president!

TRUE PATRIOTS WILL NOT IGNORE THIS CALL TO DUTY! YOUR COUNTRY, YOUR PRESIDENT NEEDS YOU!

Faith-BasedOrganizations Join Homeland Security to Protect Us From the Evil-Doers!

The Department of Homeland Security has been instructed by an executive order to establish a Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives within the Department. The Center's goal is to help faith-based organizations “better meet America’s social and community needs” – in short, find ways for these organizations to override certain regulations regarding the hiring and discrimination practices these organizations must adhere to in order to secure federal monies or government contracts.

I am at a loss to understand how a faith-based center furthers the Department of Homeland Security’s mission to protect our country from terrorism. Our tax dollars are allotted to this center, to this work. Tax dollars intended for defending our country against terrorists. I am totally baffled.

Or wait! Now I get it! The war against terror is religious-based, right? At least it often seems portrayed that way. Ah, now it makes perfect sense. We’ll fight those evil, Muslim fundamentalist religious fanatics with religious fanatics of our own!

Wow – Bush is just fucking brilliant.

Gay Penguins and the Portrayal of Their Wicked and Evil Lifestyle Banned from Children’s Library!

Once upon a time, in the late 1990s in the New York City Zoo, a wickedly -rutting female penguin had a bawdy one-night-stand. Not wanting anything to do with egg-bearing and the resulting penguin-raising that would follow a successful hatch, this female hunted high and low for a zoo pharmacy that would dispense the much-coveted Plan B birth control pill. Alas, no pharmacy in her neck of the woods would dispense such a pill, and she popped out an egg in due course. But this female penguin was terribly lacking in all the true, feminine, maternal qualities (c’mon – she was a slut and wannabe-baby-penguin killer), and she ran off willy-nilly, without any regard or fare-thee-well to the misbegotten egg.

Meanwhile, two male penguins, Roy and Silo, had for inexplicable reasons, suddenly taken it into their heads to shack up and then, worse still, began to pretend that a rock they found together was an egg. They built a nest and took turns sitting on their rock egg, clearly hoping for some sort of miracle.

And behold – the miracle occurred! A zookeeper (kind of heart no doubt, but with seriously misguided family values) took pity on the male penguins and their desire to raise a family and offered up to them the abandoned egg from that aforementioned rutty female penguin of exceptionally low moral character. Much to Roy’s and Silo’s delight, the egg hatched and they became the proud pappas of Tango, whom they raised to penguin maturity. Of course, after Tango was raised, Roy and Silo were unable to harmoniously negotiate the shift to an empty nest, and subsequently split up (further reinforcing the religious right’s premise that gays are not equipped for long-term relationships – unlike their heterosexual counterparts who of course are much better at such long-haul, committed relationships.)

A very clever author came along and seeing the potential for profit, wrote a children’s book about the life and love of Roy and Silo, and said book was published and placed into the children's section of a Savannah, Missouri public library.

Shocking indeed – for what would such a tale teach children? Why – it would no doubt encourage the practice of wicked and evil homosexuality (though it also could serve as a cautionary tale to young girls). The book's value as a cautionary tale notwithstanding, to protect the children of Savannah, the book was moved to the nonfiction section.

News Bits

On rare occasions these days, I actually read a "real" newspaper - you know the kind - it's printed on newsprint, has weird folds and crinkles across the pages, and makes that ruffling sound as you turn one long, awkward page after another.

Scanning the pages of the SF Chron today, here's some quick bites:

"SF supervisors ask lawmakers to impeach Bush"
Silly. Irrelevant. To everyone else in the country, the SF supes are either unknown, or viewed as leftie-lunatics. This is a waste of time.

"Americans know their Simpsons"
The McCormick Freedom Tribute Museum in Chicago took a poll and discovered more Americans can name at least two members of the Simpsons cartoon family than can list the freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment. Additionally, more Americans are apt to remember advertising slogans and jingles than those freedoms.

Pop Quiz bloggers - what are the five freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment? And what pithy, memorable ad slogan can you come up with to help folks remember them?

"Bill to pre-empt state food safety rules"
Once again in the misguided attempt to create national standards (because us little ol' consumers are just SO confused by varying food labels from state to state), the feds are actually trying to lower standards. Of most concern to the Feds are those labels that warn about cancer. Hmmm....

"Women hold 16% of lawmaker jobs" (Ok, this one just really infuriates me - I want to shout nasty, foul, bad, dirty-dirty words and kick and scream and throw dishes. But I won't, because I am after all, a mature, responsible woman, quite capable of rational thought and reasoning.)

The UN reports that although women are a little over half the world's population and a "record number" of women are now involved in governmental bodies around the world, a scant 16% are actually lawmakers - guess in which country this stat falls below the average? You guessed it - that beacon of democracy and fair representation - the good ol U S of A.

But all of the above is of no major importance - baseball season is upon us. And look who showed up at the Giants' spring training camp:

The ever-so-sweet-and-lovely Barry-as-Paul Abdul-Bonds.
Oh, Palaberrie - you cute thang you. Now go take a lap!