I Grew Up In Mayberry

March 8, 2022.Reading time 14 minutes.

I passed two men who were building a fence
With hands and tools and strength and uncommon sense…

Geographically Speaking

March 1, 2022.Reading time 9 minutes.

Sweet little bunnies browse and squirrels climb
And tiny mice and fairies give delight
To all the little ones of Newfoundland
Who visit Peter Pan in Bowring Park

A Question I Must Ask of Myself

February 22, 2022.Reading time 8 minutes.

The question is asked: What good shall I do today?
It is a fair question. I don’t know who asked it first
But this morning the only importance
Is that I ask this question of myself

TAB Cola

February 17, 2022.Reading time 4 minutes.

This week we read that TAB Cola will no longer be manufactured. This comes as a surprise to most of us, who didn’t know it still existed. TAB Cola, a product of the Coca-Cola company, dates back to ye olden days of the IBM Selectric Typewriter and Sears…

Worship at the Super Bowl

February 15, 2022.Reading time 7 minutes.

There are few crimes more likely to drive a man
A man, a sensitive man, a thinking man
To existential despair

On the Unlocking of Words

February 10, 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

The art of oratory is little studied now, and so speeches are seldom about stating the facts and coming to a conclusion, but rather a matter of posturing and yelling and chanting. The ultimate failure to persuade is in the use of a bullhorn.

But is it True? Modern Mayhem & More

February 8, 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

Let’s unpack the cliches and hyperbole
The nuclear option and we’ve got this
What we know now we have our options frontline
Off the table Armageddon option

Snow Clouds for Children on a January Dawn

February 1, 2022.Reading time 8 minutes.

There could be snow later, and that would be nice
Children can grow up here and never see snow
Today they might go out and play in it
While we old folks tut-tut, “You’ll catch your death…”

First Responders: Gifts of Service

January 28, 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

Many of our first responders are volunteers, and so in addition to their support-the-family jobs they also serve the community on their own time and often at their own expense. We need them.

Who Betrayed Anne Frank?

January 25, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

A spokesman for the F.B.I. /
Notes that Jewish hostages were taken…

Butch and Sundance: The Latest Remake

January 17, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Well, now, Butch and Sundance (I’ll tell you no lies) /
Stop the U.P. right in its trackages…

A Time Capsule for our Noblest Soldier

January 11, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

If there must be time capsules buried beneath /
Statues of bold men wearing uniforms /
As a remembrance of man’s noblest ideals /
Let us have one for dear ol’ Sergeant Schultz

We’ll Write a New Idyll This Year

January 4, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

Janus faces both ways, and so do we /
A last, lingering look at the year that was /
And then a turn to the year we must meet /
Marching to it through Janus Pater’s doors

Toy Trains, Grandmother’s Good China, and Children

December 30, 2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

Childhood Christmases are often the metaphorical benchmark for our present Christmases, and that won’t do. The magic of opening a package under the tree on Christmas morning is for little children; it won’t work for us and it’s not meant to.

While We Search The Heavens For That Star

December 28, 2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

That star that led us to a stable long ago /
And now bathes our souls with its silver glow

Another Christmas

December 21, 2021.Reading time 8 minutes.

We bring our gifts to Mary’s fair-born Child: /
A pen, a broom, a book, a welding rod, /
A wrench, a mop, some papers neatly filed – /
Our daily labors offered up to God /

Packages, Packages, Packages…

December 14, 2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

A collection of poems by Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall (Rated G) A Cargo Cult Conversations are about packagesPackages considered, packages orderedPackages delivered and packages stolenPackages as the cosmic medium of exchange Conversations are about packagesPackages that give meaning to our livesPackages pinched by plundering porch piratesPackages snatched by maskers in masks What is it […]

A Wristwatch Named Karen

December 11, 2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

This summer someone near and dear to me gave me one of those clever computerized watches to replace my classic (old) $8 Timex. Karen-the-Watch features a big screen onto which I can easily sweep dozens of different faces. I picked the one most like my minimalist (old) Timex…