In the Twilight Zone

I haven’t posted recently- I’ve been really busy working and knocking around the house and garden. That actually has been pretty engaging-I won’t say fun exactly, but rewarding. I think I hold the record for the only person to draw blood while composting weeds from the front lawn. Maple shoots are tougher than they look! But working all day in the sun and dirt is actually kind of therapeutic- maybe that whole “getting back to nature” thing. I found a great many big spiders out there as well, not that I have any issues with that. They eat mosquitoes. I was considering building a bat house for the backyard- (think bird house, but for bats) but my wife is deathly afraid of bats, so I nixed that little project. Not that that’s a reflection on her- I’m afraid of heights. But bats, along with spiders, eat bugs that in turn eat us. Less bloodthirsty bugs is not a bad thing. I recall a brother in law once asked me what the Buddhist position was on exterminating bugs- since we’re supposed to harm no living thing. Well, there are stories in a few of the Tibetan schools about famous Buddhist teachers whose lives were threatened “enlightening” their assassins. An insect or animal is considered to be a reincarnation due to bad karma in a previous life, so perhaps killing bugs will allow them to be reborn as a “higher” being. As a disclaimer, I am officially undecided as to the veracity of reincarnation. I have heard compelling arguments for and against, so do not discount the possibility, but am not convinced of its existence.
Speaking of which- I considered submitting myself for psychological evaluation recently- I found myself agreeing with Bill O’Reilly, as well as Republican Senator Chris Dodd over Democrat Joe Lieberman- I’ve never been a big fan of Lieberman, though, and have had a grudging respect for Dodd in that he sticks to his guns. I could disagree with him 100%, (and often do) but at least he’s committed to a position. O’Reilly was speaking with Al Mohler, who opined that anything other than that old time religion and political philosophy, is inspired and motivated by the Devil. In that case, I hate to say it, but the big D has a much better track record. Check out the bizarre transcript featuring Bizarro liberal Bill O’Reilly here- http://mediamatters.org/items/200603200013
I guess if I go to Hell, I’ll have lots of company… sure it's hot, but you meet the most interesting people! Stay well, everyone!

Returning to the River

I ran- the
river, cold blocked out thought, breath
Cold, sharp as a blade
Cut out the dark,
Cut out what I remembered- the
Jump from the bridge, just another
passage, narrow way
between walls, my
Child’s elbows scrape plaster from the walls, falling
loose,
A secret passage, I slip unseen through the old house of my childhood-
No one sees me, I am secret unto myself and
find a burnt shred of curtain to tell the story of
those gone by