hard news on a birthday

51 times around the sun
five decades plus one
 it seems so small until I see the wrinkles and lines and feel the grinding of the bones

oh the day after too much of anything is so much more than what it was thirty years ago
and I suppose it ought to be that way

I go to church now because I want to
not because they told me to get my sinner ass out of bed
"White Trash get out of that bar!"
 all I was doing was playing dominoes
I was winning!














And yet there is this
over there on the other side of the pond
she is fading away
Fuck Cancer. This curse of the king
It is tragic beyond belief and yet there it is
there are grandchildren and children and a husband
and friends far away that will miss her
it is time that takes us away from each other
time and distance and things that should not be but are

dammit. yes, I will rage against the dying of the light
if only for a moment
for hers is a life to celebrate and remember fondly
fare well and rest well dear lady
we shall all miss you terribly
may your wand never fizzle again

we only get so many days
so many years and seconds
what we do with them is up to us
as I have said so many times
and as was said to me so many years ago
'seize the day' Carpe diem
for this may be your last
you do not know what tomorrow brings
laugh, love, and live in every moment you are afforded to have
for none of them are guaranteed
there is no warranty and no returns
what we do, and think, and feel is the big now we experienced
when we are weighed and found and spoken for
I would like to think that the scale hits the bottom and it is heavy for us

I'll probably keep muddling in the same general direction of what I hope is forward
and we all get to see each other again

new gig. time to shine

labor is the superior to capital
das kapital
but, it is the relationships of the worked and the leaders that determine success
I cannot abide a boss that will lie to me and steal from me
my hours are my own and I surrender them only because I have to in this world
my mind is my own

I left a company of liars to go where there was so much work to do
everything in near disarray
there are others that have returned and some that have remained
but it is a place that has been under siege
it as if we were riding hard to rescue them
mighty long row to hoe
It feels like a challenge

the leaving was not that hard
when I knew they would take the hours I earned
know this my friend in this land of the US of A
you are not guaranteed a damn thing on your day off
if they want to take it, they can
take all the hours you can, because they will surely take them from you

Lawyers! Bankers! Insurance and stock options
what do we ask of each other?
I ask of you to tell me the truth and to stand by what you said
in this day of alternative facts and manufactured reality, what is truth and what is lies
remains to be seen on a daily basis, but It is not so hard to discern
when the figures are right there on your paycheck and coming out of your wallet
i know where my bread is buttered. I know who to boycott
and that was a man's name. the evil bastard got his comeuppance
there is a reason it exists as a word beyond it being a name


it feels so early late.
two days riding with the old man to hear all the tales
or as many as he could tell in that time
i was never so ready to go kill things
and that I did. hunter that I am.
and in the morn comes another day and more meetings
on the heels of going on a foraging mission to find us hands
I think I did. i left a lot of seed anyhow
shamelessly I will steal from them, all their hands
labor is the superior to capital
you can't work with no labor and them you must pay
Oh can I mention James?