"A picture is worth a thousand words."

It wasn't too difficult to put together this "Crazy Quilt." My only question is: How "Presidential" does this man really look?


raintreepoet, contemplating.

Commander in Chief

In 2005 Commander in Chief, the television series starring Geena Davis as McKenzie Allen as first woman president of the United States may have been short lived because our citizenry wasn’t ready for a woman in the presidency. Eleven years later, it could well become a reality.

If you are curious about how a woman president could/would lead, you can catch the series on Hulu Plus. I remember it well and was disappointed when it was cancelled. I am re-watching it now in anticipation of Hillary Clinton being our first female president.

Dictator Trump has done a fine job of smearing her, but when people are willing to research both

contenders, the choice becomes clear. Hillary is not as “crooked” as he is. She is a woman playing a man’s game and the better she does it the more it galls certain  gender-biased men, especially the Donald.

Hillary has been in public service for her entire career. She truly cares. This is the woman who wrote

 It Takes a Village  advocating  for children. She is a mother and a grandmother besides being a former Secretary of State , Senator, First lady in the White house and in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Service Service service!

What has Donald Trump done to help others? It is in the news recently that he has used charities as his bank and withdrew funds to pay for anything his little heart desires.  Things like paying off fines for his businesses and portraits of himself.

I cannot fathom why people who are struggling financially believe that this 1-percenter would help them in any way, but they do. So, this is not directed at those poor souls. However I do warn you,if he gets into the office and royally screws you, he will defend himself by telling you, "It's just business."

This I am directing at anyone with the critical thinking skills to weigh both sides. I know Hillary could benefit from charm school, but it’s a little late for that. I believe she will do what’s best for the most people and that is what democracy is all about. Her heart is in the right place.

I realize that you are probably disgusted with business as usual in our nation’s capital. You may think: Those Libertarians sound pretty good. Well, I think they sound pretty good too, however,the fact of the matter is if you throw your vote away on a third party you may be electing a dictator to the office. Please think this through. Vote wisely. (If you recall Hitler made great promises to save the German people, they believed him and look how that turned out!)

This is a quick essay, I could go into more detail on both sides, however, I would like you to go research it on your own, so you can believe what you read or at least half of it. Newspapers, magazines and television have to vet their information. Remember the Internet is still the wild wild West, so if that is how you decide to vote, it's a fool's game.

That’s all for now. All responses are welcome.

Raintreepoet, ruminating.

A Ditty Dedicated to the Donald!

Trumpy Trumpy

You make me jumpy

We never know where

Your mouth will go

You say this and

You say that and

I say Holy Hat!

How far will you go?

Insulting folks you don’t

Even know

You say you can handle crisis

That you are ‘presidential’

And know how to

Defeat ISIS

You say you’ll make Mexico

Build a wall—how?

You have secret plans

You won’t tell us now

You won’t disclose how rich you are

And believe your mouth will

Carry you far—you even act like

You think you’re a star

Talk is cheap

Peep peep peep

One thing many of us

Already knew

Is you don’t even

Have a clue

Trumpy Trumpy

You make me jumpy

We never know where

Your mouth will go

Daddy Sold the Farm

I live in a condo village now. I feel encroached upon

and think constantly about the pastoral peace of my 

childhood. I was raised on a half section of bucolic

rolling hills surrounded by evergreen forest and a fruit

orchard behind the ranch house. In three years I will retire.

 You can bet your sweet buttermilk, I'll be looking for a 

way to get back to country living. 

I wrote this song when I was 19 and fresh off the farm.

I have adapted over the years, but the yearning has never

left me.

[G]Life ain’t been the same since [D] Daddy sold the[G] farm

He[C] sold a little piece of my[D] soul and broke my[G] heart

[D]Those people cut the farm[C] into a thousand[D] plots

With a[C] thousand tract [D]houses and an[C] apple tree

In every[D] yard

The[G] land will never[C] be the same

Since[D] Daddy sold the[G] farm

[D]The man who bought it, said it would always be the[G] same

[C] That he loved Daddy’s land,[D] too, but[G] could he change the[D] name

[G]Well, it’s now Pleasant Valley ([D]What a lovely[G] name)

But since Daddy let him[C] change the name

It’s [D]never been the[G] same

[D]Daddy’s doin’ fine now, a hundred thousand, after[G] taxes

[C]Except he’s now[D] into a higher income[G] bracket

The man who loved Daddy’s land, [D]must be smilin’

Without a [G]care

Cuz there ain’t too many[C] taxes that’ll[D] hurt

A multi-[G]millionaire

(Repeat chorus-first stanza)

[D]I’m the only one who ain’t smiling[G] now

[C]Since I have to live in[G] town

And [D]raise my kids on pavement

Instead of grassy[G] ground

And the[D] values that I learned

Won’t keep them from much[G] harm

Cuz we have to be city[C]-dwellers

Since[D] Daddy sold the [G]farm!

(Repeat chorus)

This will be in my "A Farmer's Daughter" chapbook.

raintreepoet, reporting.

Kayakcident

Come boating with us,
 tomorrow, she implored
 I, by my nature, am not a water baby, but
 decide I need to stretch my spontaneity
 Ever cautious and wanting to sleep on it
   by morning I call to say: sounds like a grand idea!

 I am instructed to bring a swim suit,
  attire I have not worn in years

  Digging through a drawer, I find
 an old black bikini botto
 and supplement it with
a black, French-cut brassiere
 I’ve found that nobody’s the wiser,
  if you omit informing them.

 As I drive in I see that
 my friends Bob and Angie have\
a well-built vintage 19 foot wood boat,
  and Angie’s little 9 foot blue kayak
 attached tightly to the boat trailer
  Glorious hot day in the nineties
  Refreshing cool breeze on the Lewis River

  which is for the most part calm,

 smooth as an empty dinner platter
  except for the occasional level 1-2 rapids

 Angie paddles along, exploring the bank                       
 at her own pace, as Bob throws out a fish line
 and casually trolls for a bite Bob and I chat
 about politics and the economy
 We slide easily through a length of rapids

                        thinking nothing of it

  Then Angie offers me the kayak
and the adventuress in me burbles: Yes!
   I should interject here and now:
 First time in a kayak!
 The first rapids go by okay as I get
   my sea legs, by the second I am
   almost cocky

   It’s the third set, which increase to level 4
 that are hell-bent on humbling me and indeed they do!
  The consensus is that the wood boat

 will take the lead, as the water bucks high
 about the time they struggle with a whirlpool
    and holler: Back paddle!    which I was trying to do
 The kayak slams into the larger boat,
 pulled down in the swirling cool water
  my eyes open, it is crystalline and refreshing, 
holding my breath instinctively,
 there is no gasping or fear 
I simply propel myself up and
  grab a big root ball

 The kayak, wedged into the root ball
 is clearly stuck

 Angie yells at me to swim away
 or the whirlpool will pull me down
 The kayak paddle on one wrist
 big straw hat in other hand 
I   kick, mightily
as the current sweeps me like a buoyant
leaf, downstream

 Kicking for all I am worth
 I cover a football field’s length diagonally,
 before my feet find the rocky bottom
 So exhausted and grateful
 for the loaned life vest
 understanding in a heartbeat
how people’s lives are swallowed by rivers

   Wading back to the island
    I rejoin my friends 
who are ready to abandon their kayak
 saying: It is too dangerous
 to retrieve
 I hear myself say: We can at least try!
 We try lassoing it, to no avail
 Then a hero happens along
 and wrestles it off the root ball

 Joining him on the opposite shore,

 Bob gives the man $50 bucks
We notice he could use it
 to replace his inflatable kayak that punctured
 during the rescue

  As we make our way back home
  both Angie and Bob say:
You should have back-paddled!
  I hold my piece, thinking:
  Good Lord, it was my first time in
  a kayak! I was barely getting the hang
  of paddling forward!
  I do feel responsible and
  fork over my $50 emergency fund
   to Bob to make amends
  Angie says: I hope this doesn’t ruin
  kayaking for you in the future.
  I assure her that it will not
 all the while thinking fondly of  my bicycle…

-summer 2011 

Review of: Steinbeck in Vietnam edited by Thomas E. Barden, 190 pages.

Steinbeck was a war correspondent from Pearl Harbor
to Vietnam. He risked his life to be where the action was.
This was an enlightening book, with a thought provoking
 format; a collection of Steinbeck's essays for Newsday,
 a Harry F. Guggenheim publication, a series of columns
 written in letter form. The title was,  "Letters to Alicia."
(Guggenheim's deceased wife)
The engaging format of personal letters make the stories
personal and real.
John Steinbeck's career was in its twilight years. He was 64.
He would leave this world two years later. This was a testimony
to how much he cared about his fellow human beings and how
much he believed a peaceful co-existence was possible
Because of his writing themes the US government would
not let him serve in the military. From their perspective,
he was considered "subversive." Truly, if you read the
body of his work, you will see that he supported human rights
 and freedom.
In this series of articles you may get the feeling that he
supports the military. In some respects, he did, but not
because he believed in war, but that he loved America.
Both of John Steinbeck's sons served in Vietnam; John Jr.
and Thom.
This book gave me a whole other view of the Vietnam war,
which I thought I knew a lot about having been married to
a Vietnam vet for a decade. For anyone who has been there
or had a loved one there, this book sheds some additional
light. I highly recommend it. It is, indeed, a valuable piece
of our history.

raintreepoet, reporting.

Review of: Steinbeck, A Life in Letters

edited by Elaine Steinbeck & Robert Wallsten

"In sixty years I've left a lot of tracks." This John Steinbeck
 said just six years before his death. His method of warming up
to write each day was letter writing and what a gift to the world!
This tome, and it is a tome, is 848 pages. It is a sampling of over
5.000 letters Steinbeck wrote during his life.
For me, it was better than an autobiography could have been because
it illustrated his relationships with the people in his life.
And I think it is more factual than a memoir could be,, because the
letters were written in Steinbeck's present time.
And I believe since letters are prima facie evidence,  no biographer
(without the use of them) could have captured the character of
John Steinbeck as a writer or as a man, better.
Elaine was Steinbeck's third and final wife. She was his companion
the longest-eighteen years. He said that he was happiest with her, so
she probably knew him best.
Robert Wallsten was a long time friend of both the Steinbecks.
The letters are John Steinbeck unplugged, unedited, being himself
on paper, writing about the writer he was becoming, became and his
thoughts on life, which are very much reflected in his 29 novels and
plays.
If you're a John Steinbeck enthusiast, as I am, you know he earned
both the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes for his writing. He was not only
one of our greatest American writers, he was internationally acclaimed
and never left our soil until after he was already famous.
I write this today before returning the book to the library. I plan to
own a copy when opportunity presents itself.
I highly recommend Steinbeck, a Life in Letters. It is not only a
valuable piece of treasured Americana, but a valuable piece of
world history.

raintreepoet, reporting

P.S. I am back! I have been re-writing a novel this summer; The Legend of Brady Madden.
by R.M. Knight. Look for it on ebook in the fall.