“Every one talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.” – Mark Twain? Every one talks about history and a lot folks like to do something about it. They spin fanciful theories saying with a certainty anyone who deals with real life day in and out can never feel, that if only […]
Reflections on Beatrice Arthurs Bosom
In the news lately was the tempest-in-a-teapot over a twenty year old painting of actress Bea Arthur topless, when she was in her sixties.
Of all the ills our era suffers from, we have been spared the horrors of a shortage of images of womens breasts . Civic minded ‘artists’, relentless photographers, and desperate editors, strive tirelessly to insure that no one can travel from stoop to curb without being smacked in the face with the newest proof that Ms._______ does indeed have a BOSOM, as do three and a half Billion of her sisters on this sad, old Earth. Having seen countless thousands of these proofs over my lifetime, I can state authoritively that they look remarkably similar to each other.
In the early sixties, there was a movie, the title escapes me, about a man married to the worlds foremost Bikini model. He never saw her fully clothed; she was either in a bikini for a photo shoot or lounging around the house nude or nearly so.
He was the envy of every man.
He spent his time daydreaming of her dressed in long flowing gowns, or bright sun dresses, once I think dressed as a Nun.
It is the ancient curse of Man that he yearns for what he does not have, and tires of what he does.
There is an odd passage in the Bible, Proverbs I think;
“Be content with the breasts of the wife of your youth.”
To the great relief of artists, photographers and desperate editors, people don’t read the Bible much anymore.
Three men at the Tomb
Three men at the Tomb
by W A Adams
Three men at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
My Father, My brother and me
At the post, day or night
For all eternity
Building the Tomb was my father
Who taught us to face the storm
And turn it aside if we could
If not, To keep others from harm
In the Tomb is my brother
Who went to take my place
I hear his heart beating still
Though I cannot see his face
In front of the Tomb is a pathway
I walk every day and each night
Behind, thousands who came before
Ahead, those not yet in my sight.
I do not stop for the rain
It is only my father’s tears
I do not stop for the snow
It is only the long empty years
That my brother might have lived and sang
Of the joy that was in his soul
But he is in his tomb, and I’m on this path
That the world may see and know
That he never will be forgotten
Through the rain, the snow, or the years
So long as brother loves brother
So long as fathers have tears.
Report From The Front
May 2
For the last several months I have been commenting at several different websites on various topics; mostly religious themes; Creation vs. Evolution, Abortion, Same Sex Marriage; that sort of thing. I comment from the perspective of a life-long Christian raised in the Baptist church, mainstream Protestant. Some of the people I engage in a lively […]
Three Marys
Three Marys
by W A Adams
Three Marys on the road going to a tomb
One old one younger one in bloom
Hurrying thru a world changing as they sped
The dark of the first new day
'The sun is coming' the oldest said
She carried frankincense to anoint the dead
The shadows grew lighter on the road they trod…
What is a Man?
What is a man?
I asked the rabbi
“The image of the living God”
What is a man?
I asked the scientist
“Brother to the worm in the sod.”
What is this creature, I asked the lawyer,
Who can love and hate and forgive?
She consulted page twelve-eighty-nine and said
“Depends on the meaning of ‘IS’.”
Where Did All the Blood Go?
A ditch, six feet wide, two feet deep and a mile long, ran alongside the runway at Soc Trang. At one end, across the ditch from the runway, our ten OH-6As were parked on PSP [pierced steel plating]
When it rained the ditch overflowed; the water racing past our area, under the concertina wire, through a screen of tall bamboo, past a ruined Buddhist Temple and into the jungle beyond.
When it wasn’t raining, the dew from the runway trickled into the ditch and filled it enough to keep the water moving slowly past our aircraft.
Once, the water took on a pink cast as it moved by us. If you followed the pink upstream you would find where it flowed, a little redder, into the ditch. The water got redder as you followed it to the skids of one of our ships, up the side and onto the cargo deck where it bloomed to a deep crimson. A jellied mass of blood, about the size of a pillow, lay a half-inch deep on the deck . In the heat, it turned to a jello like consistency that took a stiff brush and countless buckets of water from the ditch to wash out of the aircraft.
The blood came from a hole where a mans arm used to be. The hole came from an RPG fired by an NVA regular. The RPG came from the Soviet Union. The NVA regular came from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam-N. Viet Nam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam came from a vision in the mind of Ho Chi Minh. The vision followed a very crooked road from his birthplace in North Viet Nam to where the blood sluiced into the ditch at Soc Trang. Every inch of that long, long road was soaked in blood; French, American, Australian, Korean, New Zealand, Cambodian, Laotian, Thai, Russian, Chinese and Vietnamese blood. A lot of Vietnamese blood.
Was it worth it?
Depends on who you ask. You can’t ask Ho Chi Minh, he died a few months before the blood went into the ditch at Soc Trang. His heirs must have thought it was worth the spilling; after their victorious march into Saigon they decided that not enough Vietnamese blood had soaked into the ground, so they kept at it for a few more years.
It was all forty years ago. The ‘Great Red Beast’ has moved on to a score of other wars and drunk deeply of human life. Why think about it now?
I don’t think about it much, and when I do time seems to have worn the sharp edges off my memory and it doesn’t cut the way it used to. But, I dream about it, now and then; dipping the bucket in the water, one foot in the ditch, scrubbing at the bloody mess with that useless stiff bristle brush. And then the gorge rising in my throat so that I have to step away for a moment, breathe the fresh air, watch the water flow under the wire, through the bamboo, past the temple ruins and into the jungle where it disappears. You can’t see far in the jungle, so I don’t know where all the blood goes.
If I were a more clever man I would weave an analogy of the blood spilled then and the blood spilling now, and work it all into an insightful metaphor of the wire and bamboo, the temple, the jungle and the ditch.
But I’m not that clever, and I have no great insight. All I have is a fading memory and an occasional dream. And a deep, abiding distrust of the visions of men, no matter how glorious they may seem.
MASTER of ALL I SURVEY
Feb 22
MASTER of ALL I SURVEY W.A. Adams Don’t want to be hurt by Jihadist Don’t want to be scared anymore You say it will cost me my freedoms Well, I’ll leave them outside by the door Take all the ones you have to Leave me the ones I can keep But please, don’t take my cable […]
Why do the innocent suffer?
Jan 31
Why do the innocent suffer? Why does evil go unpunished? Far better men than me have chewed on these questions for eons. I have read and listened to a few of them and most have answers or solutions that don’t really satisfy, they don’t close the circle. The answers I have been taught and have […]
Falling Gracefully
Jan 20
Many there are that can fall, but few can arrive at the felicity of falling gracefully. Alexander Pope ‘He’s going to the dirt’ – – expression used by tower hands when someone falls from a 1,000 ft. radio tower When you first begin to fall, from a tree, a ladder, a cliff, for the first […]
Where Have all the Graveyards Gone?
Jan 7
“Where have all the graveyards gone? Long time passing Where have all the graveyards gone Long time ago?” I like graveyards. Tired, old graveyards best. They are quiet, serene, well sculpted and orderly. There usually aren’t any crowds in graveyards. You can wander, unhurried, amid the trees, stones and flowers and reflect without interruption on […]
Things to Do
Jan 6
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of writing, but it’s mostly comments to others articles on other blogs. This is my response to a list of “Things to learn to do.” on ‘The Huffington Post’, I go there mostly to rattle the cages which I suppose isn’t very admirable but its infinitely amusing. The ‘Posts’ list included […]
Where Have all the Soldiers Gone?
Jan 2
“Where have all the soldiers gone? Long time passing Where have all the soldiers gone Long time ago?” If you ask this question in Switzerland they will answer; “They went home.” In 1847 there was a month-long Civil War in Switzerland that produced about a hundred casualties. Since that time no Swiss soldier has fired a shot […]
The Slaughter of the Innocent; It’s Time to Try Another Way
Dec 15
As I write this, another horror has been visited upon us; a madman has walked through an elementary school in Connecticut, killing twenty children as young as five years old, and seven adults before turning a gun on himself. The survivors, teachers and staff present during the shooting, and the parents of the children killed have […]
Where Have all the Young Girls Gone?
Dec 10
This gallery contains 1 photo.
“Where have all the young girls gone Long time passing? Where have all the young girls gone Long time ago?” Girls used to dress for school. Of course they did. I mean – they used to dress for school as though it was someplace special. If you saw a group of girls from 1965 on […]
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
Dec 2
‘Where have all the flowers gone Long time passing? Where have all the flowers gone Long time ago?’ We went through a lot of flowers, my generation did, a lot of flowers. We planted them and watered them from Aquarius’ pitcher. We picked and scattered them across the land, around the world. Wove them into […]
Don’t You Worry at All
Nov 10
Business everywhere is slowing down to a crawl, like a big rig truck that has run out of gas and is coasting down the road on momentum alone. Eventually it will come to a dead stop. But you shouldn’t worry at all. Your Congressman won’t suffer the least little bit. His salary will be deposited […]
The Ghosts of Benghazi; Lost in Libya
Nov 3
This gallery contains 1 photo.
“The Things you do come back to you, as though they knew the way” – Lorenz Hart It’s funny how places that figure in our history pop up again as though they’re not quite finished with us; we were through with Benghazi long ago, but it isn’t through with us. There are eighty and ninety year […]
Judith Durham Never Had a Wardrobe Malfunction
Oct 21
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Judith Durham, Linda Ronstadt, Judith Durham Never Had a Wardrobe Malfunction That’s what the title to this little soiree was supposed to look like, but I still can’t get this *~%/{|=&%< word processor to see things my way. Judith Durham was my first choice to represent what I remember from my youth that was good , talented […]
The Faith of Our fathers
The Faith of Our fathers
by Walter A Adams
What is the faith of our fathers
If we are come up from the mud
Are we close kin to the dog and the rat
Does our stomach compel us to blood
Do we rip what we need from whoever is near
And count any feeding as good
What is the faith of our fathers…
I've been getting a lot of hits on my pieces about evolution.
This is my thoughts on the subject in ryme
Why Nador is Smiling
Oct 8
There is a picture taken by a U.S. Army Signal Corps photographer at the end of World War II, of a woman who has just come out of a German concentration camp. Her name is given as Nador Livia. Her self composure and her inexplicable smile have always held a fascination for me; most images of […]
Defusing Muslim Rage
Sep 21
It’s late summer in the Northern Hemisphere and signs of the season are everywhere. In wheat fields the stalks are bending under the load of ripened grain, ready to harvest; trees are dropping the last of their fruit; hives are full of honey; and the Muslims are rioting. In cities, towns, and villages all over […]
A Little More Room
Sep 17
This gallery contains 4 photos.
Audels Country House For you who liked my earlier piece of small cottages from the classic Builders Guide, http://thelastminstrel.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/a-little-cottage-of-your-own/ here is a larger example of early Twentieth Century residential architecture. The ten foot Piazza, or porch, circling both floors has me at first sight before even looking at the floor plan, but if you must […]
Genetic Mutation: The Way That Won't
Try this simple experiment; go out to your car and open the hood. Take a pair of wire cutters. Look around at all the wires under there. Pick one and cut it. Get in the car and start it up and drive around the block. Does the car function better or worse?
You have just performed the mechanical equivalent of a genetic mutation, what I would call a vertical mutation - i.e.
Lately, I seem to have kicked over a hornets nest with an earlier blog; "Evolution; the Work That Doesn't"
In keeping with my belief that if you accidentaly kick a hornets nest, you should back off a few feet and chunk a rock at it, here is another earlier post to fuel the fire.
Clever Chaps
Sep 10
Reuters; The European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve will take measures to support struggling economies. —– U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Germany’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, in a joint statement issued after their meeting on Monday, emphasized “the need for policymakers to adopt and implement all reform steps required to deal with the […]
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Sep 10
At the conventions for the Republican and Democratic parties, we were treated to a sight that, if I were a feminist, I would do every thing in my power to cover up and suppress any mention of in the press. A group of about a dozen women paraded up and down in front of the […]
A Little Cottage of Your Own
Jul 30
This gallery contains 7 photos.
Here are a few plans for modest little cottages from AUDELS GUIDE to CARPENTRY – circa 1906. Audels is a series of guide books for almost every ‘mechanical, engineering, and building trade’ These pictures are from my fathers four volume set ‘Carpenters and Builders Guide’ published in 1906. The books cover every aspect of the […]
Why James Holmes is Alive
Jul 24
James Holmes walked into a theatre in Aurora, Colorado with a shotgun, semi-automatic rifle, and a semi-automatic pistol. In a matter of minutes, he killed twelve movie goers, wounded more than fifty, and then walked back out the door and was later arrested in the parking lot by police without a so much as a […]
New Cabinet Post
Jul 20
I’d like to make a serious proposal that could bring a better perspective to those tasked with executing the laws of our fair land. A new Cabinet Officer , appointed by congress, to serve in the executive branch as a liaison between the Legislature and the Executive. Its title would be – ” The Department of History” – […]
Changing the World
Jul 18
If you were brought up in the Baptist Church, you were probably taught that one of the most important duties of a Christian was to Witness to your fellow-man; to share the ‘Hope that is in your heart’. There are basically two ways to accomplish this sacred duty. One way is highly effective, very difficult, […]
The Foolish End of the Board
Jul 14
When I was twelve or so, I started working summers on my fathers construction jobs. I think he paid me ten dollars a day, which, for a twelve-year-old kid in 1962, was a fortune. [ He subtracted the dollar or two a day he advanced me for lunch; there's no free lunch. ] Most of my […]
God is Dead – - – again
Jul 10
[special report from Jake's Post Super Collision Garage---Somewhere, Alabama;] Scientists today announced the successful conclusion of a decades long search to find the ellusive “Dodge Particle”; the original building block of The Automobile, which they proclaim explains the existence of cars without the need to believe in the supernatural creator Henry Ford. Working at the worlds […]
Time Turns Over
May 31
TIME TURNS OVER by; W A Adams 1st verse Oh the rich keep on diggin’ to find more money The poor keep on spending to keep themselves poor And the folks who are happy keep laughing and chuckling And the people who worry keep walking the floor Chorus: And the rivers run dry and the […]
Despair
May 16
Despair by Walter A Adams Sometimes I think I could lay me right down here and die And the traffic might stop long enough for my hearse to go by No one would notice the hole here where I used to be And I doubt anybody would wonder what happened to me. It seems like whats […]
What Women Want
May 16
When God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, they walked untill they got tired, then Adam stopped to catch his breath and get his bearings. Eve plopped herself down on a rock, invented “The Look”, and directed it full force at Adam. The first man felt the hair on the back […]
The Two Things Maggots Won’t Eat
May 10
From Houston to the Gulf of Mexico the land lays flat as a flood plain, a flood plain for the Sea. Halfway between Houston and Galveston Island, on I-45, you come to Dickenson Bayou; a creek that meanders lazily to the east about five miles to Dickenson Bay, which opens on the Houston Ship Channel. Next to the […]
