the Sabbath

Some keep the Sabbath going to church, I keep it staying at home, with a bobolink for a chorister, and an orchard for a dome. -Emily Dickinson, poet (1830-1886)

life

I scrub the long floorboards in the kitchen, repeating the motions of other women who have lived in this house. And when I find a long gray hair floating in the pail, I feel my life added to theirs. -Jane Kenyon, poet (1947-1995)

Poetry

The blood jet is poetry and there is no stopping it. –Sylvia Plath, poet, writer (1932-1963)

Book Banning in Newman, California

The celebrated book "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rodolfo Anaya, has been removed from the sophmore selected reading list at Orestimba High School in Newman, Stanislaus County, California. The book, on Laura Bush's "must-read list" and a literature selection for this years high school Academic Decathlon, has been removed from the required reading list after a parent complained that the book was sexually explicit and anti-Catholic. Rick Fauss, Supt. of Schools, said the book contained "excessive vulgarity or profanity" and the school board voted 4 to 1 to remove the coming-of-age novel from the reading list.

The only thing that should be removed is Rick Fauss himself for the total abrogation of his duty and responsibility. What a role model he turns out to be.

A parent complained. Well, let us reduce the community to the lowest common denominator by insuring we abuse the rights of all to cater to an ignorant few.

Anti-Catholic? Has anyone taken a close look lately. The church seems to be more like a cult of uncles who cannot be left alone with children; why shouldn't some stones be thrown at them. Let alone the whole anti-Semetic side of the church that has recently been revealed in the holocaust denial controversy.

I also wonder if the dark secret of this controversy lies in the fact that this is a Latino coming-of-age story, and would be treated differently if it was about a freckled red-headed Opie finding his way to adulthood.

Keeping important books out of the schools is a terrible thing. We should remember the words and thought of one of America's greatest writers.

"The dirtiest book of all is the expurgated book." -Walt Whitman, poet (1819-1892)

Shame on you, Newman.

I am Large

Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes. -Walt Whitman, poet (1819-1892)

Favorite Repast

For some reason my thoughts drift towards the enjoyment of a meal down at the shore.

My favorite repast is:

A Bombay Sapphire Martini, dry, up, twist
A club soda back
A cup of clam chowder, New England style, with oyster crackers
Two dozen small raw oysters, opened correctly so they sit in their briny liquid
A glass of Sauvignon Blanc
A French Baguette and butter

It doesn't get any better than that, especially if enjoyed with my wife at a cafe by the side of the ocean.

Republican Stimulus Package - Part 2

John McCain told us that the Republicans are going to come up with their own stimulus package. Soon.

Oh, really. Gee, don't you think they should?

Perhaps Mike Huckabee or Pat Robertson could help America in some basic way, but I don't think that a crusade against gay marriage is what the country needs right now.

They could always make a name for themselves by carping continuously about the money that the Democrats want to spend.

But if they do, people might want to know about the massive amounts of cash that the Republican Administration spent on illegal wars, on torture, or in propping up foreign governments. Better yet, how about the money that they pumped into the VP's old corporation.

What a bunch of self-serving and empty shells these people are: old, angry, white Christian men.