Robert Frost Birches

Robert Frost Birches: "Poem lyrics of Birches by Robert Frost.

When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy's been swinging them.
But swinging doesn't bend them down to stay.
Ice-storms do that. Often you must have seen them
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain. They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun's warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away
You'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.
They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves:
You may see their trunks arching in the woods
Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun.
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But I was going to say when Truth broke in
With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm
(Now am I free to be poetical?)
I should prefer to have some boy bend them
As he went out and in to fetch the cows
Some boy too far from town to learn baseball,
Whose only play was what he found himself,
Summer or winter, and could play alone.
One by one he subdued his father's trees
By riding them down over and over again
Until he took the stiffness out of them,
And not one but hung limp, not one was left
For him to conquer. He learned all there was
To learn about not launching out too soon
And so not carrying the tree away
Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise
To the "

The Way to Your Target's Heart

I'm not a fan. In fact, I really don't like Brad much but I have to admit a certain sense of empathy, in fact, I actually identify with the Brat (whoops) I mean Brad. It's the way he tries to get really close to his girlfriends, to get inside their skin. To be them and he does it very well.
OK, so he's an actor and actors imitate other people but you have to admit that Brad's talent is really special. I'll confess to doing the same thing in my younger, evil youth. It is the most effective seduction tool known to man (or woman). Just "mirror" the person you want and 9 out of 10, you're home! "Gotcha"!
Is it just flattery? Imitation being the most sincere form of flattery?
No, it's something much more. It's a way of showing someone that you really approve of them and the way they look, dress or act. It always produces a very warm, fuzzy feeling of security that just naturally opens the door to intimacy. (sexual and otherwise)
So the next time you're having trouble with your partner, get a pair of sunglasses just like her's and change your hairstyle.

I'm a Dog- What's Your Sign?

People born in the Year of the Dog possess the best traits of human nature. They have a deep sense of loyalty, are honest, and inspire other people¡¦s confidence because they know how to keep secrets. But Dog People are somewhat selfish, terribly stubborn, and eccentric. They care little for wealth, yet somehow always seem to have money. They can be cold emotionally and sometimes distant at parties. They can find fault with many things and are noted for their sharp tongues. Dog people make good leaders.

Smith Family Reunion Maui

The latest addition is Cameron Smith born in November 2005. Her "big" brothers are staying close to Dad 

"What Is This Thing Called Love"

It's a pop tune written by Cole Porter in 1929. The truth is that
"Love" in the abstract has no meaning. It is only when we put the word
in some context that it has any meaning, and then it has so many
different meanings (depending on context) that it's still meaningless.

Last night, my wife and I celebrated our thirty-first wedding
anniversary with a quiet and very pleasant dinner at home, just the two
of us. I had prepared a special dinner for her, just the things I knew
she liked, prepared the way she liked them. I made her a card and gave
her a gift. Something she would have never think of buying for herself
but that I know she enjoyed. After dinner, my wife went straight to bed
and I finished cleaning up the kitchen, watched TV for about an hour and
then went to bed myself. It was a pleasant evening that we both enjoyed.
I went to sleep at around midnight and then woke up about 5:00 A.M.. I
had a strange dream. As I lay in bed after waking I thought about my
dream and what it was telling me. In my dream, my wife told me that she
was divorcing me, almost in the same manner as she might have said "I'm
stopping at the gym tonight so I won't be home 'til eight" There was no
emotion or anger just simple, straightforward "matter of fact" in my
dream, I did not react emotionally either.
In another part of the dream, or perhaps in another dream, (I'm not
sure which) a very close friend tortured me until I gave him information I had
that he needed to give to the "enemy" (unknown, unidentified in the
dream) that he was secretly working for.
The details of my dream aren't particularly important but what I
realized after I woke up was (at least I think so).

My dream was talking to me about attachment and perhaps how I no longer
felt very much attachment to anyone and that not feeling attachment is a
positive thing. I recently came across something in my dharma studies
(and I can't recall either where, who it, or the exact words) but
something that cautions us to avoid being "attached" to any particular
person or persons but instead to try to feel love for all sentient
beings. I remember my reaction to this at first when I read it.
I thought "But what about my wife, my children?' and now I do understand
the real meaning of the teaching. I am certainly no holy man or saint by
any stretch of the imagination but through the process of aging,
experience and most of all circumstances, I have become almost
completely "unattached". I do feel love for many sentient beings (not
all, not yet) but I am no longer "attached" to anyone.

It occurred to me as I was thinking about my dream that perhaps
attachment is a natural instinct as when a mother cat, bird wolf or lion
etc. will fight to her death to protect her young and the way a human
mother will sacrifice almost anything for the good of her children. This
is a form of "attachment" that is natural and necessary but when the
children become adults and are ready to fend for themselves,
attachment becomes inappropriate and unnatural. There are many other
cases where attachment is "normal" as when the child is attached to his
parents- he "loves" and depends on them for survival because he or she
is unable to survive without them until the time when his wings are
strong enough for him to fly from the nest.
Another example of "normal" attachment would be adolescents and young
adults who attach themselves emotionally and physically to another
person in what they would describe as "love". They "can't live without"
him or her; they're in a state of depression when they're not with the
object of their affection and in absolute euphoria when they are. In
this case it's probably two parts lust + one part physical dependency
and one part narcissism that constitute the prime "active ingredients"
of this kind of "love". Eventually, the early stages of adolescent
emotional dependency and attachment wear off and the relationship grows
into a real friendship, complete with respect, compassion and sharing or
it dies or turns into something ugly.
It is possible that "attachments" become addictions in the sense that
when we are free from the feeling of attachment we feel "empty" but
that's the way we should be shouldn't we?

So, is this thing called "love", and here I'm referring to the real
thing, a feeling of tenderness, caring and compassion for other persons,
places or things that is devoid of grasping covetousness, lust, control
and attachment?

What do you think?

This is My Life?

This Is My Life, Rated

Life:

No comments: Why Do We Blog 10 Reasons Why People Blog: 10. "Everybody's doing it" 9. I need an outlet for my creativity 8. Because it's there (Credits to Edmond Hillary) 7. Express my thoughts and feelings 6. It's an on-line diary. A record of what I've done 5. For the pleasure of writing (self-expression and creative exercise) 4. Connect with others 3. See how others react to my ideas 2. Practice writing (To prepare for the creation of my masterpiece) 1.JE BLOG DONC JE SUIS Places I have Seen Saturday, November 26, 2005 Christmas '05? "Fagetabouit" A man sits at a table writing. A second man walks into the room 2nd Man: So what are you writing Bro? Last will & testament? 1st Man: No, it's my Christmas list 2nd Man: What's that for? 1st Man: It's a list of the stuff I'm gonna give to people this Christmas. You know what Christmas lists are. 2nd Man: Yeah I know what they are I was wondering what you were doing that for? 1st Man: I gotta figure out what to give who. Otherwise I won't know what to buy, like for my grandsons. 2nd Man: OK, since you're not getting my drift, I'll spell it out. Why do you have to give people stuff at Christmas? 1st Man: Because everybody does that. People expect it. If I didn't, everybody would think I was Scrooge- a miser. 2nd Man: "Everybody does it" So that makes it right? How did "Everybody" start buying presents for Christmas? 1st Man: I don't know, maybe they just felt like it. 2nd Man: Spontaneously, just like that, "Everybody" just went out and spent all the rent money on neckties and Barbie dolls? 1st Man: Aw come on, you know, it's all about Santa Claus and baby Jesus! 2nd Man: "Santa" was dreamed up by a reporter back in the eighteen hundreds - it's just a fairy tale. You know "coal in their stockings if they're not good" and baby Jesus? Do you think that when he grew up he told people that they should buy each other lots of gifts to celebrate his birthday every year? The whole Christmas thing is just one big marketing bonanza. A way to sell a lot of stuff that nobody really needs or in many cases even wants to make bigger profits for the manufacturers and retailers- and the credit card companies too. Thursday, November 24, 2005 Nov. 24, 1963 - Ruby Shot Oswald JFK was assassinated a few days before. It was only a few weeks after my twenty-ninth birthday and it was the beginning of the biggest crisis in my life. I suddenly realized that the world was under control of "the forces of evil" that could eliminate a president who interfered with their agenda and that no one was safe from their reach not even in the middle of the Dallas police station. Lee Harvey Oswald was only a pawn, just like Jack Ruby. We never saw any of the real killers. The effect of all of this was to bring about my own personal "Mortality Crisis" . I suddenly knew that I too would die someday just like JFK. Even he was not immortal, nor was I. The details of my crisis are too sordid and tawdry to describe here but the crisis lasted about six years and after it I was almost an adult. I suppose some readers might wonder how I could have lived for 29 years without understanding that I wouldn't live forever or why the death of JFK hit me so hard but those of you who lived through the Kennedy Era (so short but so beautiful) will perhaps understand. The young people of this country are normally completely apathetic about politics. The principals are seen as hypocritical liars and thieves whose only interest is to increase their own power and line their pockets. It's always been that way and I don't see any likelihood that this will ever change. Like the French say: "La plus ca change, la plus c'est la meme choses" ("The more things change the more they remain the same") But for "One brief shining Moment" , young people became involved - the baby boomers or "Flower Children" as they were then called, demonstrated. Against Vietnam, against segregation and materialism. They exposed the Emperor's New Clothes and laughed at his nakedness. They turned on and dropped out and notwithstanding the end result of their exaggerations and oversimplifications, they filled the land with a huge breath of fresh air. Now, forty three years later, the "Flower Children" are getting to retire, they're evaluating their 401K's and Iraq's looking at property in Costa Rica or Arizona and sending checks to the Republican National committee. They "tolerate" George W. Bush because he gave them tax cuts after Slick Willie (Clinton) gave them prosperity. The young people of today don't have a JFK. Certainly Howard Dean is no substitute and I doubt that Hillary could inspire any of us except a few very bitter women (who are probably Republicans). Every once in a while I look around to see if there's anyone around who could spark ideas and action but as yet, I ain't seen a soul. Their is a perennial controversy about whether it's the man or the moment. Do the times produce the hero or do a few, rare individuals act as catalysts for major upheaval? Think Hitler & FDR, maybe JFK (if he had lived long enough) Or do the times produce the heroes? Friday, November 18, 2005 My Biopic The Movie Of Your Life Is A Black Comedy In your life, things are so twisted that you just have to laugh. You may end up insane, but you'll have fun on the way to the asylum. Your best movie matches: Being John Malkovich, The Royal Tenenbaums, American Psycho If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be? Wednesday, November 09, 2005 Paris Daze (Redux) "The times they are a changin'" (Bob Dylan said that) Here's another side of "gay paree" Monday, November 07, 2005 Slaves' Revolt ? The "riots" in Paris continue to escalate. At the last count, there were more than 300 communities affected and now there are a few deaths as well as many injured. It is ironic that it's the French who are under seige by their disenfranchised minorities. "Liberte, Egalite & Fraternite" is only for native born, white Frenchmen. The young people in the 'burbs are fed-up. They know that they have no future in France. Even an education will not guarantee either a job or acceptance in white France. When I lived in Paris, many years ago, when people discovered "un Americain", they would confront me with the "segregation" and "racial prejudice" practiced by my fellow countrymen. Now, the Nike is on the other foot. People of African or Arab origin, even if their families have been residents of the country for two generations or more, are still not considered to be full citizens. The difference is frequently not always visually obvious but most of the time, just a few words spoken by someone will identify his ethnic origins. The French have always been hypercritical about foreigners' attempts to speak the French language. The ability to speak correct, unaccented French is an absolute requisite to social acceptance as well as meaningful employment. So the young residents of the dismal suburbs that surround the principal cities, have taken to the streets to express their frustration, anger and desperation. We've had a glimpse of our own "malaise" in New Orleans just a short time ago. It was the French Philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who wrote "Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.". Economic slavery is no less slavery than any other form and millions of people all over the world, are in chains today. Western civilization must resolve this issue before a "slaves revolt" brings down the civilization that we cherish. We've had a glimpse of our own "malaise" in New Orleans just a short time ago. Saturday, November 05, 2005 "I read the news today oh, boy" It's "a day in the life"... Last night one of our local channels screened an interview with an eight year old girl who was shopping for hunting gear with her dad. This little blonde cutie shot her first deer three years ago, when she was five years old! Now if that's not the beginning of a dark tale, what is? What happens to someone who kills at five? Could we try to imagine what she might do or be at eighteen? Perhaps she'll have an awakening at puberty (adolescence is a crucible) and realize the error of her childish ways. Or perhaps, her taste for the kill will develop. When tigers kill people they are hunted down and killed because it is believed that the taste for human blood is addictive. Of course she might become a soldier, we need good killers in the Army or ??? Thursday, November 03, 2005 Once in a Deep Dark Forest The woman was awakened by the sun as it rose above the trees surrounding the clearing where she was sleeping. She opened her eyes and looked around her. She saw the tall evergreens and the grassy meadow. She tried to remember how she had come to this place, where she had come from and where she was supposed to go. She couldn't remember anything about where she'd come from, she didn't know where she was and she had no idea where she was going. She wept and hoped that somebody would come and rescue her. The woman was awakened by the sun as it rose above the trees surrounding the clearing where she was sleeping. She opened her eyes and looked around her. She saw the tall evergreens and the grassy meadow. She tried to remember how she had come to this place, where she had come from and where she was supposed to go. She couldn't remember how she had gotten to the forest but she knew she was where she was supposed to be and she knew she had continue west, with the sun on her back until she reached the river where there would be a boat to take her to her final destination. She rose,rolled up her sleeping bag and put it in her back pack, then she took the path heading west through the forest. The woman was awakened by the sun as it rose above the trees surrounding the clearing where she was sleeping. She opened her eyes and looked around her. She saw the tall evergreens and the grassy meadow. She tried to remember how she had come to this place, where she had come from and where she was supposed to go. She remembered her home near the ocean, and her family that she had left there. She remembered her bedroom where she had slept all her life. She remembered her father and all the good times they had together. She knew she had come from the east, she could see the path that had brought her to this place and she saw the path the path that headed west, towards the river where there would be a boat to take her to her final destination. She rose,rolled up her sleeping bag and put it in her back pack, then she took the path heading west through the forest. She knew where she was going and why she was going there, her memories of the past helped her to understand where she was and where she was going Her vision of her destination, gave her the courage to head towards it with joy and determination Tuesday, November 01, 2005 Guilty As Charged Today, November 1, 2005, only two months since my return from Nepal, the situation in the Middle East continues to deteriorate. Nepal's part in the Iraq war is that of an-innocent bystander with no political or religious ties to either the Iraqis or the U.S. Yet, because of their position as the best source of literate, low-cost labor the people of Nepal are now reluctant participants. Many young Nepalese has been tricked into jobs as "civilian support personnel" for the U.S. Armed Forces. Local village headmen have earned huge (by Nepalese standards) bounties or recruitment bonuses by convincing young men in their villages to sign employment contracts with companies thought to be offering employment in Saudi , Jordan or the United Arab Empire. After flying to Saudi (at their own expense) they discovered that their jobs were in Iraq cleaning toilets, cooking or other menial jobs that the soldiers no longer perform. (What ever happened to KP?) If they refuse these jobs they are required to pay their own way back to Nepal and reimburse their employers for all expenses incurred on their behalf, including the headman's fees. The only way this would be possible would be for their families to sell their small farms and everything else they own of any value in order to pay back their sons' debts. A group of Nepalese workers who worked on one of the U.S. military bases in Iraq was captured by insurgents and after a short attempt at ransom negotiations it became obvious that no one was going to pay anything for their freedom. After some videotaped statements by the prisoners, all of the Nepalese were brutally murdered on camera. Their only crime was poverty Tuesday, October 25, 2005 My Achin' Back I can't think of anything more boring than backaches unless it's somebody talking about it but I gotta tell you because I think I learned something that others might find useful. So if you've never had a backache and are sure you're never gonna have one- read no more. Last August, I spent three weeks in retreat in a monastery in Nepal. The daily routine included 10-12 hours a day seated crossed legged on the floor. Anticipating some objection from my back to this kind of treatment, I started my own daily routine with a half-hour of yoga in the morning before breakfast. I have been doing yoga for more than 30 years after breaking five vertebrates in a climbing accident in '68. The yoga excercise I do are specifically aimed at strengthening and stretching my back muscles and other related tendons, ligaments etc. Normally I do my yoga practice 2-3 times a week but I upped it to seven in view of the special circumstances. After a week of sitting and yoga , I was experencing a lot of pain - so much that I had to sit with my back against the wall. Getting up was a real chore. When I returned from Nepal, the pain lessend somewhat. I was still doing my yoga but I wasn't sitting for ten hours a day. Then I consulted a Yoga teacher to try to find out if I was doing something wrong in my yoga practice. He corrected a few of my postures and suggested some supplements to my routine. In my sessions with the teacher, I experienced occasional moments of excruciating pain which passed quickly Two weeks ago I went to Washington, D.C. and from there to North Carolina. I was gone for about a week and during the trip there was no opportunity to practice yoga. By the end of the trip, I noticed that my chronic back pain had virtually subsided. It didn't take me long to realize that element missing from the equation was yoga. So I did not return to my yoga routine and I've been practically pain free now for almost a month. I practiced yoga for over thirty years without any painful side effects but somehow, I did something in Nepal that injured something in my back and the yoga aggrivated the condition. I do swim, cycle and play tennis on a regular basis now as before and these activities seem to make a positive contribution to my overall health and well-being. Surfing the 'net for back pain etc. I came accross a report on a recent study where seniors (like me) who suffered from back pain were divided into two groups. Half did specific excercise to strentghen their backs and relieve the pain the other half did no specific excercises but walked a mile or so every day. At the end of the study the "walkers"" back conditions were considerably better that the group who had been speciific back excercises. I am quite sure that yoga served me well for more than 30 years and that it was how I recovered so well after a very serious accident that left me with 80% disability but I don't think I should do it anymore. Friday, October 21, 2005 The NRA Got Lucky From today's NY Times: "WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 - The Republican-controlled Congress delivered a long-sought victory to the gun industry on Thursday when the House voted to shield firearms manufacturers and dealers from liability lawsuits. ....Opponents called the bill shameful - "bought and paid for by the N.R.A.," in the words of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts. Representative Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, whose constituents include victims of the 2002 sniper shootings in Washington and its suburbs, called the measure "a cruel hoax" on victims of gun violence." I wonder how much the NRA laid out for this bill? Is it a "frivolous lawsuit" when you sue the manufacturer of automatic wepons whose gun was used to kill Middle School students? Or the gun dealer that sells a "Saturday Night Special" to a 16 year old wannabe gang banger? Wednesday, October 05, 2005 Ms. Meirs Born (Again) To Be Justice In a fairly low-key article about Bush's newest nominee for the High Court published in the New York Times today: "Religion appears to have influenced her views on certain subjects. In a discussion with her campaign manager in 1989, Ms. Miers said she had been in favor in her younger years of a woman's right to have an abortion, but her views evolved against abortion, influenced largely by her born-again religious beliefs, said Lorlee Bartos, a Democratic campaign consultant in Dallas who managed Ms. Miers's City Council campaign. "She was someone whose view had shifted, and she explained that to me," Ms. Bartos said." Looks like the Bush man's going to pack the court with born-again folks just like him and we're gonna have one hell of a "Roe" to hoe A New Friend ClickFor News You WON'T See On CNN Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) A few Years on the Road Blog Archive ▼  2007 (4) ▼  July (2) Haiku :Answers Letter to My Daughter ►  March (1) ►  February (1) ►  2006 (56) ►  November (5) ►  October (8) ►  September (2) ►  August (12) ►  July (2) ►  June (3) ►  May (9) ►  April (4) ►  March (3) ►  February (5) ►  January (3) ►  2005 (48) ►  December (4) ►  November (8) ►  October (4) ►  September (8) ►  August (2) ►  July (1) ►  June (2) ►  May (3) ►  April (4) ►  February (9) ►  January (3) ►  2004 (4) ►  October (1) ►  September (1) ►  January (2) ►  2003 (1) ►  February (1) ►  2001 (1) ►  October (1) ►  1995 (1) ►  February (1) ►  1990 (1) ►  August (1) About Me 1000myths Heartland, United States Senior Seeker, marched to the sound of a different drum for over fifty years, slowing down a little but I'm not finished yet. 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