Sunday, December 21, 2014

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Changes to Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

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Dear Google user, We're getting rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google and replacing them with one that's a lot shorter and easier to read. Our new policy covers multiple products and features, reflecting our desire to create one beautifully simple and intuitive experience across Google. We believe this stuff matters, so please take a few minutes to read our updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service at http://www.google.com/policies. These changes will take effect on March 1, 2012.
One policy, one Google experience

Easy to work across Google Our new policy reflects a single product experience that does what you need, when you want it to. Whether you're reading an email that reminds you to schedule a family get-together or finding a favorite video that you want to share, we want to ensure you can move across Gmail, Calendar, Search, YouTube, or whatever your life calls for with ease.	Tailored for you If you're signed into Google, we can do things like suggest search queries – or tailor your search results – based on the interests you've expressed in Google+, Gmail, and YouTube. We'll better understand which version of Pink or Jaguar you're searching for and get you those results faster.	Easy to share and collaborate When you post or create a document online, you often want others to see and contribute. By remembering the contact information of the people you want to share with, we make it easy for you to share in any Google product or service with minimal clicks and errors.

Protecting your privacy hasn't changed Our goal is to provide you with as much transparency and choice as possible, through products like Google Dashboard and Ads Preferences Manager, alongside other tools. Our privacy principles remain unchanged. And we'll never sell your personal information or share it without your permission (other than rare circumstances like valid legal requests).	Got questions? We've got answers. Visit our FAQ at http://www.google.com/policies/faq to read more about the changes. (We figured our users might have a question or twenty-two.)

Notice of Change March 1, 2012 is when the new Privacy Policy and Terms will come into effect. If you choose to keep using Google once the change occurs, you will be doing so under the new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Please do not reply to this email. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. Also, never enter your Google Account password after following a link in an email or chat to an untrusted site. Instead, go directly to the site, such as mail.google.com or www.google.com/accounts. Google will never email you to ask for your password or other sensitive information.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Changes to Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

		Is this email not displaying properly? View it in your browser.
Dear Google user, We're getting rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google and replacing them with one that's a lot shorter and easier to read. Our new policy covers multiple products and features, reflecting our desire to create one beautifully simple and intuitive experience across Google. We believe this stuff matters, so please take a few minutes to read our updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service at http://www.google.com/policies. These changes will take effect on March 1, 2012.
One policy, one Google experience

Easy to work across Google Our new policy reflects a single product experience that does what you need, when you want it to. Whether reading an email that reminds you to schedule a family get-together or finding a favorite video that you want to share, we want to ensure you can move across Gmail, Calendar, Search, YouTube, or whatever your life calls for with ease.	Tailored for you If you're signed into Google, we can do things like suggest search queries – or tailor your search results – based on the interests you've expressed in Google+, Gmail, and YouTube. We'll better understand which version of Pink or Jaguar you're searching for and get you those results faster.	Easy to share and collaborate When you post or create a document online, you often want others to see and contribute. By remembering the contact information of the people you want to share with, we make it easy for you to share in any Google product or service with minimal clicks and errors.

Protecting your privacy hasn't changed Our goal is to provide you with as much transparency and choice as possible, through products like Google Dashboard and Ads Preferences Manager, alongside other tools. Our privacy principles remain unchanged. And we'll never sell your personal information or share it without your permission (other than rare circumstances like valid legal requests).	Understand how Google uses your data If you want to learn more about your data on Google and across the web, including tips and advice for staying safe online, check out http://www.google.com/goodtoknow	Got questions? We got answers. Visit our FAQ at http://www.google.com/policies/faq to read more about the changes. (We figured our users might have a question or twenty-two.)

Notice of Change March 1, 2012 is when the new Privacy Policy and Terms will come into effect. If you choose to keep using Google once the change occurs, you will be doing so under the new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Please do not reply to this email. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. Also, never enter your Google Account password after following a link in an email or chat to an untrusted site. Instead, go directly to the site, such as mail.google.com or www.google.com/accounts. Google will never email you to ask for your password or other sensitive information.

Sunday, March 06, 2011

With Eyes that Looked Like Ice on Fire....

Saturday, March 05, 2011

A Better Place to Be

Me and Julio....

Hearts and Bones

The Madison County Waltz

Friday, December 21, 2007

Merry Christmas from Baghdad!

Sail on the horizons gotta landfall rendezvous
Captain steers a well-known course, he steers straight & true
As he trims the sheets, he sings a song
He learned on boats and bars
Sailor spends his Christmas in a harbour 'neath the stars

He's traveled through the doldrums, typhoons and hurricanes
He's logged a million soggy miles with water on his brain
But Christmas is the season better suited for dry land
He'll tell some lies, meet some spies
And dance barefoot in the sand

The sailor spends his Christmas in a harbour on the hook
Caye con les, no work today, let's shell the ol' log book
The waterfront is reveling, the season has begun
The sailor spends his Christmas in a harbour having fun.

There's a party down at Le Selecte, music, rum and cheers
Faces in the shadows, God, I haven't seen for years
A mast & shroud fill with lights
'Neath the waning of the moon
They're an airy celebration in the realm of King Neptune.

Jesus was a fisherman who walked upon the sea
The North Pole is ocean's remote frozen balcony
The continents keep drifting but the children sing and play
'Cause nothing really matters, after all it's Christmas day

The sailor spends his Christmas in a harbour on the hook.
Vaye con les, no work today, he read it in a book
The waterfront is reveling, the season has begun

A sailor spends his Christmas in a harbour having fun...

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Sometime in the Morning

Sometime in the morning
A simple thought may occur to you
And you'll hold her
And tell her all the things you never told her

Your love has shown me things
I never thought I could see
I didn't know it could be done so easily
Now I know you're where it is for me

Sometime in the evening
You're sitting there by the fireside
And she'll touch you
And you realize how much you never knew before
How much you couldn't see
You didn't know it could be done so easily
Now you know she's all a girl could be

Now, in her childlike eyes
You see the beauty there
You know it was always there
And you need no longer wear a disguise

Sometime in the morning
You'll just reach out, and she will be there
Close as the summer air
Sometime in the morning, she will be there
Sometime in the morning, she will be there
Sometime in the morning, she will be there...

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

"Same Old Lang Syne"

Met my old lover in the grocery store
The snow was falling Christmas Eve
I stole behind her in the frozen foods
And I touched her on the sleeve

She didn't recognize the face at first
But then her eyes flew open wide
She went to hug me and she spilled her purse
And we laughed until we cried

We took her groceries to the checkout stand
The food was totalled up and bagged
We stood there lost in our embarrassment
As the conversation dragged

We went to have ourselves a drink or two
But couldn't find an open bar
We bought a six-pack at the liquor store
And we drank it in her car

We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness
But neither one knew how

She said she'd married her an architect
Who kept her warm and safe and dry
She would have liked to say she loved the man
But she didn't like to lie

I said the years had been a friend to her
And that her eyes were still as blue
But in those eyes I wasn't sure if I saw
Doubt or gratitude

She said she saw me in the record stores
And that I must be doing well
I said the audience was heavenly
But the traveling was hell

We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness
But neither one knew how

We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to time
Reliving in our eloquence
Another 'auld lang syne'

The beer was empty and our tongues were tired
And running out of things to say
She gave a kiss to me as I got out
And I watched her drive away

Just for a moment I was back at school
And felt that old familiar pain
And as I turned to make my way back home
The snow turned into rain

The Paper Chase

You can't erase the Paper Chase
She'll make you play it
In the bright merry morning
She'll run and hide
And leave you the paper promises
Behind her as she runs across the square

You can't win the race, She'll set the pace
You will hear her laughing
Just behind the foolish fences
Throw back the gate and find the
Piece of paper lying on the curbstone,
But the lady won't be there.

Later in the day,
You'll be searching for a way
To let her know you're ready
For her little game to end
Cause it's getting dark, and then-

You'll see her face, a glimpse of lace
And you'll go running
Through the last sweet dying daydream
Calling her name, but she's been home an hour,
Laughing at the mirror
As she combs her paper hair.

Marionette

Marionette, your dress is all wet
Did someone leave you outside in the rain,
Or is it the pain
that makes all the puppet tears
roll down your cheek
Or does the roof leak?

Marionette, how could you forget?
I told you your bright shining varnish
would peel
And how does it feel
with the bright rouge all faded and
the smile almost cracked
Now that you've come back?
Back to the toy shop by Brandenburg Gate
I hope not too late
'Cause my hands are much stiffer
Than they were when first I
painted your eyes.

Marionette, no you're not finished yet;
I'll mend you and make you like new,
Paint your eyes blue,
and make you as young as I was myself,
And there on the shelf...
You'll sit till the Puppet Man
Comes round again.

Desert Moon

'Is this the train to Desert Moon?'
Was all she said
But I knew I'd heard
That stranger's voice before
I turned to look into her eyes
But she moved away
She was standing in the rain
Trying hard to speak my name
They say first love never runs dry

The waiter poured our memories in a tiny cup
We stumbled over words we longed to hear
We talked about the dreams we'd lost, or given up
When the whistle caught the night
And shook silence from our lives
As the last train rolled toward the moon

Those summer nights
When we were young
We bragged of things
We'd never done
We were dreamers
Only dreamers
And in our haste
To grow up too soon
We left our innocence
On Desert Moon
We were dreamers
Only dreamers
On Desert Moon

I still can hear the whisper of the summer night
It echoes in the corners of my heart
The night we stood and waited for the desert train
All the words we meant to say
All the chances swept away
Still remain on the road to the dune

Those summer nights
When we were young
We bragged of things
We'd never done
We were dreamers
Only dreamers
Moments pass
And time moves on
But dreams remain
For just as long
As there's dreamers
All the dreamers

On Desert Moon

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Long Way Home

The other night I took the long way home
Out past the old schoolyard
It's funny how you keep it all inside
Dreams they do die hard

I closed my eyes and I could see your face
Somewhere back in time 
One summer night a million miles ago
Back when you were mine

Say yes, say no, say that I'm grabbing at shadows
But don't carve the words in stone
I know it's late
But can't you see I was only 
Taking the long way home

Sometimes its easy to get all wrapped up
In trying to be free
And all those dreams I sailed away to find
Were right in front of me

Say yes, say no, say that I'm grabbing at shadows 
But don't carve the words in stone
One of these days
You're gonna see I was only
Taking the long way home

Although the letters stopped many years ago
I'll show you even time could not keep this heart 
from letting go

The other night I took the long way home
Out past the old schoolyard
It's funny how you keep it all inside
Dreams they do die hard

Say yes, say no, say that I'm grabbing at shadows 
But don't leave me here all alone
One of these days
You're gonna see I was only
Taking the long way home

Say yes, say no
But don't leave me here all alone
One of these days
You're gonna see I was only 
Taking the long way home

Friday, October 05, 2007

Come to the Moon

Full earth tonight
And Mars is big and bright
All our friends are flying in
It's such a lovely sight
Gravity never could hold me
That is what you always told me
You know me

So come to the moon
I hope to see you soon
Half a million miles isn't far to go
You know I need you so
I hope you still need me
So come to the Moon
The starship's leaving soon
Until then I'm wishing on every star
That you will be here soon
Come to the Moon

Those crazy martian days
When we went separate ways
Through time and space we'd find a place
To bring our lives in phase
We're lost amid the galaxies revolving
And we're all just a part of what's evolving

So come to the Moon
I hope to see you soon
Half a million miles isn't far to go
You know I need you so
I hope you still need me
So come to the Moon
The starship's leaving soon
Until then I'm wishing on every star
Wondering where you are

Come to the Moon...

I am the Dutchman

The Dutchman's not the kind of man
Who keeps his thumb jammed in the dam
That holds his dreams in,
But that's a secret that only Margaret knows.

When Amsterdam is golden in the summer,
Margaret brings him breakfast,
She believes him.
He thinks the tulips bloom beneath the snow.

He's mad as he can be, but Margaret only sees that sometimes,
Sometimes she sees her unborn children in his eyes.

Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Long ago, I used to be a young man
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.

The Dutchman still wears wooden shoes,
His cap and coat are patched with the love
That Margaret sewed there.
Sometimes he thinks he's still in Rotterdam.

And he watches the tug-boats down canals
An' calls out to them when he thinks he knows the Captain.
Till Margaret comes
To take him home again

Through unforgiving streets that trip him, though she holds his arm,
Sometimes he thinks he's alone and he calls her name.

Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Long ago, I used to be a young man
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.

The winters whirl the windmills 'round
She winds his muffler tighter
And they sit in the kitchen.
Some tea with whiskey keeps away the dew.

And he sees her for a moment, calls her name,
She makes the bed up singing some old love song,
A song Margaret learned
When it was very new.

He hums a line or two, they sing together in the dark.
The Dutchman falls asleep and Margaret blows the candle out.

Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Long ago, I used to be a young man
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

College Daze- After the Breakup

Since the day you left me,
Nothing has really been the same.
Oh, how I need that loving now,
How I wish you'd call my name.

And in turn I cry away the night,
I lay dreamless everyday.
If only I had understood
The reason why you went away...

And I see what this has done to me,
I can feel the pain and misery.
If only you had made it clear to me,
Then your dreams would have meant
much more to me...

And as I think of all the days,
When feeling great meant
one embrace...
I long to have you here.
I need your love.

No, I don't need your fame and fortune,
I don't need that now.
I need your love, I need your love...
No, I don't need your glory,
I don't need your famous bow.
I need your love...

She's Goin' Out of My Mind

I talk to her pictures
And stare at the walls
And my friends come and offer their help
To my back they're afraid that I'm losing it all
To my face they say I'm not myself
And they name all the doctors they think I should see
But they don't understand it's not me

She's goin' out of my mind
And I'm showin' all of the signs
I thought that our love was one of a kind
Now she's goin' out of my mind

The place that I kept her
Has suited her well
Though it's not where she wanted to be
And from up on that pedestal I couldn't tell
That she'd rather be down here with me
Now she just tells me how we can't relate
But she leaves out the part I can't take

She's goin' out of my mind
And I'm showin' all of the signs
I thought that our love was one of a kind
Now she's goin' out of my mind

There's a tear in her eyes as they drive me away
And I turn to the doctors and say

She's goin' out of my mind
And I'm showin' all of the signs
I thought that our love was one of a kind
Now she's goin' out of my mind

Yeah she's goin' out of my mind

40 Years Ago- 1967

In Nineteen Sixty Seven the draft caught up with me,
me and my pal Joe went off to war.
We might find hero's heaven, but we'd keep the country free.
We would surely win just like before.
Roy Rogers he was on his horse, and Buck Jones drew his gun.
We would surely win of course when the battle was all done.

Nineteen Sixty Seven I came back alone,
they brought Joe back in plastic on the plane.
Nineteen Sixty Seven seems so long ago,
but I can't forget my friend or ease my pain.
His family may forget him, his children may regret him,
his wife may find another and go on.
His picture may grow faded and the world he knew gone jaded
but as long as I shall live I surely know,
I never will forget my buddy Joe.

In Nineteen Sixty Seven, the war was raging on,
our country was divided and reborn.
Though I was back at home, I had never left Saigon,
'cause all I got was ridicule and scorn.
This was no place for hero's now, they all seemed to resent me,
They said "Why did you ever go?" I said "Because they sent me."

Nineteen Sixty Seven they buried my friend Joe,
and I was flashing back while people wept.
I thought of how he saved us and I watched the land-mine blow,
and I looked down at his dog-tag that I kept.
You'll always be a young man, you always will be smiling,
you always will be confident and true.
Your picture may grow faded and the world you knew gone jaded,
but as long as I shall live I surely know,
I never will forget my buddy Joe.
Long as I shall live I surely know,
I never will forget you buddy Joe.

Lone Palm

My garden is filled with papayas and mangos
My life is a mixture of reggaes and tangos
Taste for the good life, I can live it no other way

While out on the beach there are two empty chairs
That say more than the people who ever sit there
From under my lone palm I can look out on the day

Where no bird flies by my window
No ship is tied to my tree
Love is a wave building to a crescendo
Ride if you will, ride it with me

I knew this girl made of memories and phrases
Who lived her whole life in both chapters and stages
Danced til the dawn, wished all her worries away

Well she wasn't crazy no she wasn't mad
She just wanted the father that she never had
From under my lone palm I think about her today

Where no bird flies by my window
No ship is tied to my tree
Love is a wave building to a crescendo
Ride if you will, ride it with me

We sailed from the port of indecision
Young and wild with oh so much to learn
Days turn into years as we tried to fool our fears
But to the port of indecision I returned

My gardens are filled with papayas and mangos
My life is a mixture of jingles and jangles
Come Christmas winds and blow all my worries away

Where no bird flies by my window
No ship is tied to my tree
Love is a wave building to a crescendo
Ride if you will, ride it with me

Sing if you will and we'll sing to the sea

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

She Sings Songs Without Words

I was thrown on the cobblestones, tossed at her feet
My fool's mouth was filled with the dust from the street
An out of work court jester with nowhere to go
And no need to speak, for she seemed to know

She sings the songs without words
Songs that sailors, and blind men, and beggars have heard
She knows more of love than the poets can say
And her eyes are for something that won't go away

This mad mocking town, and its dishonored guest
Disappeared in the colors that danced on her dress
She led me to safety in a forest of green
And showed my stale eyes some sights never seen

She sings the songs without words
Songs that sailors, and blind men, and beggars have heard
She knows more of love than the poets can say
And her eyes are for something that won't go away

She spins magic and moonlight in her meadows and streams
And seeks deep inside me and touches my dreams
The morning comes smiling and I laugh with no sound
And snuggle in silence and the sweet peace I've found

And she sings the songs without words
Songs that sailors, and blind men, and beggars have heard
She knows more of love than the poets can say
And her eyes are for something that won't go away

No they won't go away
Go away

Paint a Picture of Yourself

Well, I hear you are a painter now
Though you're almost halfway through
You pulled a pallet knife, you cut away a wife
And you started something new

But it was not the strife of married life
That ordained what you would do
A quick look back through your history
Shows the same things goading you

It's just like you to try painting
Because you're color blind
Each time you conquer something
That's the time you change you're mind

And now your new preoccupations
Give you your handicap to start
Yes you're happiest when you're chasing clouds
With a halfway broken heart

Paint a picture of yourself
Let the images flash past
Don't weep on watercolors, Michael
Make this moment last
Paint the kid with restless eyes
Yeah, the way you looked back then
'Cause the man keeps getting frightened
When the boy's not born again

I remember how you led us
Back when we all were kids
And that fact that you were older
Made us copy what you did

The day you bought that cheap guitar
We all fell into line
We got hooked on music
But you drifted off in time

So, I can see you at your easel
Splay legged there you stand
And your eyes are darting back and forth
Brush flashing in your hand
You're reaching always for that dream
You need to make you real
Leaning in a heavy wind
That no one else can feel

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Half A World Away- Distantly In Love

Pay phones all were ringing as the crowd went roarin' by
Lovely dancers swaying to an island lullaby
Beside the southern ocean taking stock of what's to be
Writing you this letter that you'll probably never see

But I can't help but be
Ruled by inconsistency
Not unique just distantly in love

Tried to phone from Paris thinking
Things could be arranged
Me and you could rendezvous
But I found your number changed
So I drove to San Remo where
The crazy painter dwells
And toasted our old photographs
Still up there on his shelf

But I can't help but be
Ruled by my antiquity
Not unique just distantly in love
I can't be the one to fill
Your times and all your places
I can't be the one to fill
Your blanks and empty spaces

I heard it from a friend of ours
I saw in Timber Bay
That you had a new lover who had
Stolen you away
That could be be the reason that
I never got in touch
And may present slight problems
If he loves you half as much

As I who can't help but be
Ruled by my antiquity
Not unique just distantly in love
You know I can't help but be
Part of my own philosophy
Not unique just distantly in love

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Literary Passion- Love In The Library

On the corner of Government and Bay Avenue
The old doomsday fanatic wore a crown of kudzu
Sirens were wailing in the gulf coastal heat
And it seemed like the whole world was in forced retreat

I paid no attention as to who revolved through the door
Passing the newspaper rack on the worn marble floor
Near civil war history my heart skipped a beat
She was standing in fiction stretched high on bare feet

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

I was the pirate and she was the queen
Sir Francis and Elizabeth the best there's ever been
Then she strolled past my table and stopped at the stairs
Then sent me a smile as she reached for Flaubert

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

She gathered her books, walked while she read
Words never spoken but so much was said
You can read all you want into this rendezvous
But it's safer than most things that lovers can do

Well stories have endings and fantasies fade
And the guard by the door starts drawing the shade
So write your own ending and hope they come true
For the lovers and strangers on Bay Avenue

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

Literary Passion- Love In The Library

On the corner of Government and Bay Avenue
The old doomsday fanatic wore a crown of kudzu
Sirens were wailing in the gulf coastal heat
And it seemed like the whole world was in forced retreat

Literary Passion- Love In The Library

On the corner of Government and Bay Avenue
The old doomsday fanatic wore a crown of kudzu
Sirens were wailing in the gulf coastal heat
And it seemed like the whole world was in forced retreat
I paid no attention, revolved through the door
Passed the newspaper rack on the worn marble floor
Near civil war history my heart skipped a beat
She was standing in fiction stretched high on bare feet

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

I was the pirate and she was the queen
Sir Francis and Elizabeth the best there's ever been
Then she strolled past my table and stopped at the stairs
Then sent me a smile as she reached for Flaubert

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

She gathered her books, walked while she read
Words never spoken but so much was said
You can read all you want into this rendezvous
But it's safer than most things that lovers can do
Well stories have endings and fantasies fade
The guard by the door starts drawing the shade
So write your own ending and hope they come true
For the lovers and strangers on Bay Avenue

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

We Were Three

The old lady on the park bench
In the park with just one tree
Was there from the very first day
That you were part of me
It seemed like she'd been sitting there
Since 1000 B.C.
And you said, "She is as permanent
As anything can be."

From that first day
We were three
The old lady and you and me

You sat there in the window
You were looking 'cross the street
You said, "The birds and the old lady
Yet the same bread crumbs they eat."
I could not get you back to bed
'Till you took them both a treat
And I learned that you were twice as stubborn
As you could be sweet

From that first day
We were three
The old lady and you and me

Do you remember that summer rain storm
On the day that you moved in
I was caught in the excitement
Of what was to begin
Well, you disappeared for a little while
And when I asked you where you'd been
You said you'd lent the old lady my new umbrella
Then you gave me that wicked grin

From that first day
We were three
The old lady and you and me

Yes on March 21st the first day of Spring
The old lady would be there
Spend all the days of summer
Then she'd disappear somewhere
Where she spent her falls and her winters, babe
No one was aware
But you were the first to wonder
Yeah, you were the first to care

It was three years we were together
The old lady held that spot
Through the nights when life was wonderful
Through the days when it was not
And the times we were in trouble
In a way we sometimes got
Just knowing that she was out there
Meant we gave it just one more shot

From that first day
We were three
The old lady and you and me

Well it's March 21st the first day of Spring
And you know what I had to do
I got up and I ran to the window
To confirm what I already knew
I wish I had your address
To send this letter to
You see the old lady's not on the park bench
And I'm still wondering where are you?
Where are you?

Some Life Lessons from the Old Man of the Sea

The old sailor sat at the window seat
So he could watch as the ships went by
And he drank from a glass that was always filled
For the rest of us would buy.
And he would tell us tales about the ships that sailed
When he was young and strong.
And when he thought we'd heard enough of his words
He'd break into this song.
Dee dee dee dah dah dah dee dee dee dah dah
Dah dah dee dee dee dum.

Each and every day he'd spend this way
Until the stroke of four
When a woman as rough as a dockside tough
Came bursting through the door.
She'd stalk up to that sailor
And he'd shrink to the size of a pin.
And she'd curse and shout and as she hauled him out
He'd say with a sheepish grin:

I've sailed the southern oceans
And the stormy northern sea,
But now that me sailin's over, me boys,
It's harbor time for me.
I know you call us Salt and Pepper,
For an old salt I may be,
But though she may be pepper to you, me boys,
She's sweet as sugar to me.
Dee dee dee dah dah dah dee dee dee dah dah
Dah dah dee dee dee dum.

Yes, we called them Salt and Pepper,
For that's the way she was
And it seemed she got as least as hot
As fresh red pepper does.
And a bunch of the boys made offers
To protect him from her wrath,
But each and every time, he would decline,
Declaring with a laugh:

I've had my body broken,
Not drowned, but parched bone-dry.
I've heard my name be spoken,
I've spit in the Devil's eye.
The sea once was my mistress,
Now Pepper's replaced her.
But just another captain,
Like my tough old captains were.

And you can have your milquetoast ladies,
I'm made of old salt brine,
And the gal you saw had starch in her craw,
Not a lace instead of a spine.
Sure, the old girl can get tough at times,
But a sailor's what I've been,
And when a storm's about, you learn to ride it out,
So you can sail once again.

College- Looking Back 20 Years Ago....

Of course I picked a rainy night
To try to find our past
The street lights all were flickering
The leaves were falling fast

I walked down the winding road
Looked up through the trees
And I saw the corner window
That you once shared with me

It was Old College Avenue
And in the time of having you
I remember it as if it were today

The tiny room and the single bed
Though the tangled trails of time
Have led us far astray
The membrance seems to stay

And through all the roads
That led me on
And through all the years
That you've been gone
I have found that it would never go away

It was Old College Avenue
And in the time of having you
I remember it as if it were today

That fall turned into winter
The winter into spring
And all the while, you led me through
The sweet awakening

But summer never came that year
It's what you went to find
And you took my future with you
And you left your past behind

It was Old College Avenue
And in the time of having you
I remember it as if it were today

The tiny room and the single bed
Though the tangled trails of time
Have led us far astray
The membrance seems to stay

And through all the roads
That led me on
And through all the years
that you've been gone
I have found that it would never go away

It was Old College Avenue
And in the time of having you
I remember it as if it were today
I remember you
As if it were today

Monday, September 24, 2007

College Love- Someday Soon

There's a young man that I know whose age is twenty-one
Comes from down in southern Colorado
Just out of the service, he's lookin' for his fun
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon

My parents can not stand him 'cause he rides the rodeo
My father says that he will leave me cryin'
I would follow him right down the roughest road I know
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon

But when he comes to call, my pa ain't got a good word to say
Guess it's 'cause he's just as wild in his younger days

So blow, you old Blue Northern, blow my love to me
He's ridin' in tonight from California
He loves his damned old rodeo as much as he loves me
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon

When he comes to call, my pa ain't got a word to say
Guess it's 'cause he's just as wild in his younger days

So blow, you old blue northern, blow my love to me
He's ridin' in tonight from California
He loves his damned old rodeo as much as he loves me
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon
Someday soon, goin' with him

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Smitty Dreams

Smitty dreams
He's a child to the end
What a joy
When you are your best friend
The world's such a toy
If you just stay a boy
You just spin it again and again

Smitty flies
With no use for disguise
Just escapes
Using mirrors and capes
And the words do the trick
There is no bigger kick
Than just rhyming again and again

Sound of the low tide
The smell of the rain
Traveling' alone
On my boat and my plane
Take it all in
It's as big as it seems
Count all your blessings
Remember your dreams

Smitty stares
Towards the bright Pleiades
It's so strange
What his distant eye sees
Who knows why you start
Rediscovering your heart
But you do it again and again

Sound of the low tide
Smell of the rain
Traveling alone
On my boat and my plane
Take it all in
It's as big as it seems
Count all your blessings
Remember your dreams

Smitty stares
Towards the bright Pleiades
It's so strange
What his distant eye sees
Who knows why you start
Rediscovering your heart
You just do it again and again

The world's still a toy
If you'll just stay a boy
And that's why Smitty dreams.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Dreaming of Home

She said I can't go back to America soon
It's so goddamn cold it's gonna snow until June
Yeah, they're freezin' up in Buffalo stuck in their cars
And I'm lyin' here 'neath the sun and the stars.

Customs man tell her that she's gotta leave
But she's got a plan hidden up her shrewd sleeve
Wants to find her a captain, a man of strong mind
And any direction he blows will be fine.

But, please don't say manana if you don't mean it
I have heard those words for so very long
Don't try to describe the ocean if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being wrong.

Tried and I tried but I don't understand
Never seems to work out the way I had it planned
Hanging out at a marina when Steve Martin called
Singin' anybody there really want to get small.

But women and water are in short supply
There's not enough dope for us all to get high
I hear it gets better, that's what they say
As soon as we sail on to Cane Garden Bay.

So, please don't say manana if you don't mean it
I have heard your lines foe so very long
Don't try to describe the scenery if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being wrong.

Called all my friends on those cheap nightly rates
Sure was good to talk to the old United States
While the lights of New Baghdad lie twenty clicks west
I see General Electric's still doing their best.

I've got to head this boat home pretty soon
My new book's are old and I'm fresh out of tunes
But I know that I'll get 'em, I know that they'll come
Through the people and places and Caldwood's Rum

So please don't say manana if you don't mean it
I have done your lines for so very long
Don't try to describe a Buffett concert if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being gone

Friday, September 21, 2007

Today's inspirational psalm from the Book of St. Jimmy

He's holed up down on Ramrod Key in the Tavenier Hotel
Livin' out his loneliness like an oyster in a shell
By days he pulls the trap line
By night he lives alone
Don't really feel like company

It's just him and his fridge and his phone

Meet me in Memphis
That's where I'll be
I'm by the river, please come back to me
Meet me in Memphis
My wild days are through
And nothin' replaces me next to you

He's been there since she ran away
She said she needs some space
Occasionally she still calls collect
From some god forsaken place

Then one day a letter came
Postmarked Tennessee
And the envelope scent
And the postage spent
Well it lit up her old memory

I know she could break my heart again
But I'm gonna play and I'm gonna win
Where Otis would play
Da da da dock of the bay

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

A Psalm from the Book of St. Jimmy

I took off for a weekend last month
Just to try and recall the whole year.
All of the faces and all of the places,
wonderin' where they all disappeared.
I didn't ponder the question too long;
I was hungry and went out for a bite.
Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum,
and we wound up drinkin' all night.

It's those changes in latitudes,
changes in attitudes nothing remains quite the same.
With all of our running and all of our cunning,
If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane.

Reading departure signs in some big airport
Reminds me of the places I've been.
Visions of good times that brought so much pleasure
Makes me want to go back again.
If it suddenly ended tomorrow,
I could somehow adjust to the fall.
Good times and riches and son of a bitches,
I've seen more than I can recall

I think about Paris when I'm high on red wine,
I wish I could jump on a plane.
And so many nights I just dream of the ocean.
God, I wish I was sailin' again.
Oh, yesterdays are over my shoulder,
So I can't look back for too long.
There's just too much to see waiting in front of me,
and I know that I just can't go wrong
with these...

These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes,
Nothing remains quite the same.
Through all of the islands and all of the highlands,
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane

Letter to a soldier so far away from home...

Dear, I thought I'd drop a line.
The weather's cool. The folks are fine.
I'm in bed each night at nine.
P.S. I love you.

Yesterday we had some rain,
but all in all I can't complain.
Was it dusty on the train?
P.S. I love you.

Write to the Browns just as soon as you're able.
They came around to call.
I burned a hole in the dining room table.
And let me see, I guess that's all.

Nothin' else for me to say,
and so I'll close. Oh, by the way,
everybody's thinkin' of you.
P.S. I love you.

I do my best to obey all your wishes.
I put a sign up. Think
now I got to buy us a new set of dishes,
or wash the ones that have piled in the sink.

Nothing else to tell you, dear.
Except, each day feels like a year.
Every night I'm dreamin' of you.
P.S. I love you.
P.S. I love you.

The Last Farewell

There's a ship that lies rigged and ready in the harbor
Tomorrow for old England she sails
Far away from your land of endless sunshine
To my land full of rainy skies and gales
And I shall be on board that ship tomorrow
Though my heart is full of tears at this farewell
For you are beautiful and I have loved you dearly
More dearly than the spoken word can tell
For you are beautiful and I have loved you dearly
More dearly than the spoken word can tell.

I heard there's a wicked war a blazing
And the taste of war I know so very well
Even now I see the foreign flag a raising
Their guns on fire as we sailed into hell
I have no fear of death it brings no sorrow
But how bitter will be this last farewell
For you are beautiful and I have loved you dearly
More dearly than the spoken word can tell.

Though death and darkness gather all about me
And my ship be torn apart upon the sea
I shall smell again the fragrance of these islands
In the heaving waves that brought me once to thee
And should I return safe home again to England
I shall watch the English mist roll through the Dales
For you are beautiful and I have loved you dearly
More dearly than the spoken word can tell.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Iraq- A Day In The Life

It was a slow day,
And the sun was beating
On the soldiers by the side of the road,
There was a bright light,
A shattering of shop windows
The bomb in the baby carriage
Was wired to the radio,
These are the days of miracle and wonder,
This is the long distance call,
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all,
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky,
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby don't cry
Don't cry,

It was a dry wind,
And it swept across the desert
And it curled into the circle of birth,
And the dead sand,
Falling on the children
The mothers and the fathers
And the automatic earth,
These are the days of miracle and wonder,
This is the long distance call,
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all o-yeah,
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky,
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby don't cry
Don't cry

It's a turn-around jump shot
It's everybody jump start
It's, every generation throws a hero up the pop charts,
Medicine is magical and magical is art think of
The Boy in the Bubble
And the baby with the baboon heart

And I believe
These are the days of lasers in the jungle,
Lasers in the jungle somewhere,
Staccato signals of constant information,
A loose affiliation of millionaires
And billionaires and baby,
These are the days of miracle and wonder,
This is the long distance call,
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all o-yeah,
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky,
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby don't cry
Don't cry don't cry..........................................

Mess Of Potamia

THEY shall not return to us, the resolute, the young
The eager and whole-hearted whom we gave:
But the men who left them thriftily to die in their own dung,
Shall they come with years and honour to the grave?

They shall not return to us, the strong men coldly slain
In sight of help denied from day to day:
But the men who edged their agonies and chid them in their pain,
Are they too strong and wise to put away?

Our dead shall not return to us while Day and Night divide—
Never while the bars of sunset hold.
But the idle-minded overlings who quibbled while they died,
Shall they thrust for high employments as of old?

Shall we only threaten and be angry for an hour?
When the storm is ended shall we find
How softly but how swiftly they have sidled back to power
By the favour and contrivance of their kind?

Even while they soothe us, while they promise large amends,
Even while they make a show of fear,
Do they call upon their debtors, and take council with their friends,
To confirm and re-establish each career?

Their lives cannot repay us—their death could not undo—
The shame that they have laid upon our race.
But the slothfulness that wasted and the arrogance that slew,
Shall we leave it unabated in its place?

-- Rudyard Kipling (1917)

Monday, September 10, 2007

That's What Livin' Is To Me

Jason Mason hears the sound
The whistle blows in Congo town
And the mail boat's in, mail boat's in
Brings him things from oh so far
Old magazines and Snicker bars
A simple man, a simple plan
The world's too big to understand

Be good and you will be lonesome
Be lonesome and you will be free
Live a lie and you will live to regret it
That's what livin' is to me
That's what livin' is to me

On a timeless beach in Hispaniola
Young girl sips a diet cola
She's worlds apart, worlds apart
Spirit of the black king still
Reverberates through Haitian hills
He rules the sea and all the fish
What if he had a TV dish?

Be good and you will be lonesome
Be lonesome and you will be free
Live a lie and you will live to regret it
That's what livin' is to me
That's what livin' is to me

Now in the far off regions the foreign legion
Keep the thieves and the predators at bay
While closer to home some bad boys still roam
The streets aren't safe so give it one more day
One more day
One more day

Stories from my favorite books
Still take on many different looks
And I'm gone again, home again
The time has come the walrus said
And little oysters hide their head
My Twain of thought is loosely bound
I guess it's time to Mark this down

No Mail Today....

Why don't you write me

I'm out in the jungle
I'm hungry to hear you.
Send me a card,
I am waiting so hard
To be near you.
(La, la, la)
Why don't you write?
Something is wrong
And I know I got to be there.
Maybe I'm lost,
But I can't make the cost
Of the airfare.
Tell me why
Why
Why
Tell me why
Why
Why

Why don't you write me,
A letter would brighten
My loneliest evening.
Mail it today
If it's only to say
That you're leaving me.

Monday morning, sitting in the sun
Hoping and wishing for the mail to come.
Tuesday, never got a word,
Wednesday, Thursday, ain't no sign,
Drank a half a bottle of iodine.
Friday, woe is me
Gonna hang my body from the highest tree.
Why don't you write me?

Sunday, September 09, 2007

You know you've been in Iraq too long when...

When on R&R you plan your day to ensure you are within close distance of a porta potty after eating dinner because of too many "sphere of influence" engagements with the Iraqis.

When you use the porta potty at 0400 in late summer, see the winter constellation "Orion" in the night sky, and cheer because winter is coming!

When mortars land near your compound and you roll over in bed and think "still way off, I got another 5 minutes"

When you start humming with the Arabic song playing on the radio on the shuttle bus

Every woman that reports to your unit starts looking attractive

Every man that reports to your unit starts looking attractive

You walk an extra 6 blocks to eat at the KBR (contractor run) dining facility to have the exact same food they are serving in your dining facility because you think it tastes better

You actually volunteer for convoy security duty because you still haven't seen the country yet

You start picturing your wife in a traditional Arab dress

The contractors have more fire power than the military combat units. (This is sad, but true)

You take the time to add your lines to this list

You drink the water from the tap because you want to drop 20 pounds in two weeks (done that, don't recommend it!!)

Driving around in SUVs with weapons pointed out the windows and forcing cars off the road seems very normal to you

You can put your body armor and helmet on in the dark in under 5 seconds

When the organization you work for has changed its name more than 3 times

When you can actually talk to people in the United States on a cell phone, yet you can't get people on their cell phone a block away

When you actually spend more time writing e-mail about the dog in the compound versus how to conduct the fight in Najaf

Your idea of a fun Thursday night is to go to the Palace pool to watch the State Department folks get drunk, naked and try to pick each other up

When you actually get excited to get a package that contains 3 pair of socks, 12 bars of soap and a Victoria Secret Catalog

When you start to enjoy the rocking of the trailer every time the MEDEVAC choppers fly over

You memorized every episode from the 4th Season of Sex in the City

You enjoy the audience commentary while watching a bootleg movie bought at the Haji mart

You see celebratory fire going over the compound at night and think, "wow the colors are so pretty" and want to fire back

Your thinking of buying real estate in the green zone

You wake up and think Baghdad, "I am still in friggin Baghdad!"

You make the new guy show you his count down timer just to make you feel better about your time you have left in country

You're in the Army and you start saying Ooorah

You're in the Marines and you start saying Hooah

You're in the Navy and you realize you are in the middle of the desert, the exact opposite of being in the middle of the ocean, where one might normally find the Navy.

You're in the Air Force, and you're on the plane home because an Air Force tour is too short to have been a long Iraq tour. Ignore this list, zoomie, you won't get it.

You only notice the stench of Haji funk when its not there

You plan on removing all trees and grass in your yard when you get home so it will look more natural

You forget there are other colors than brown that can be found in places other than power point slides

The temp drops down to 102 degrees and you shiver while reaching for your Gortex jacket

You have noticed a change of season, from long, hot and dry to short, cold and wet.

When you call home and your kids ask "Who is this?"

You call home and your wife says hello Bill (your name is Sam)

When you go on R&R, you duct tape your child to the roof of your car, hand him a pellet rifle, and assign him a sector of fire for the ride to "The Olive Garden."

When you can comfortably shave and brush your teeth using bottled water, but don't mind showering in the "non-potable" local water.

While on R&R, you look out the window and find Nature, which leads you to wonder who stole your sandbags.

When some of the contractors wear their DCUs (Desert pattern camouflage uniform) more properly than some of your soldiers.

When 12 hours is a short work day

You go Battle Captains!

When you start using words like G'day mate, Cheers, and Bloody hell as part of your normal vocabulary

When you have your opinions printed in the STARS and STRIPES more than 3 times

When the palace catches fire and instead of helping to put it out you grab a bag of marshmallows and start roasting

When you step into any office and there are 6 colonels, 12 lieutenant colonels, 15 majors, and 8 captains supervising the work of 1 sergeant

When you end every phone conversation with "Out"

When you're ordered to get an air mission together on short notice because it's a "Hot priority" only to have the Major call back once he is in the air to ask "Does anyone know where I am going?"

When the weapon buyback program has become so successful that you have issued the same AK-47 to the Iraqi army 3 times

When you can actually tell the difference between the sound of an exploding car and an exploding mortar

When on R & R you tell your wife that your weapon status is Red and your looking for the clearing barrel

When on R&R you go to Church and wonder why no one is wearing body armor or carrying an automatic weapon to the service

You see an indirect fire attack take out a generator and get angry at the enemy for not hitting the one that powers your computer

You see an indirect fire attack take out an air conditioner and your vigor to fight is renewed

You yell at the FNG for shouting incoming when the rounds don't impact close enough to hit your tent with dirt

You know that you need to run inside immediately after any win of an Iraqi sports team to keep from being hit by celebratory fire

You decide for that for shits and grins - lets take a run around Lost Lake at Camp Victory to see if we can get shot at by the sniper

You never worry about oversleeping because if the morning call to prayers doesn't wake you, the daily 0430 mortar attack will (most mornings)

The highlight of your shopping experience at the PX is to see that they got in a new shipment of Schick Tracer razor blades

When you send out your laundry and your whites become grayer, your blacks become grayer and your DCU's become grayer - makes it easier to sort loads...

You get offended by people wearing clean, pressed DCU's

You decide that it is a better course of action to pull your blankets over your head than put on your body armor during a mortar attack

You make a contest out of seeing who can wear their uniform for more days before becoming entirely disgusted with themselves

You wonder if the fish served at dinner really was carp caught out of the Tigris or Camp Victory's lake

A rocket or a mortar really isn't a big deal until the crater it leaves is big enough to trip over in the dark on the way to the latrine

You go to a social gathering and intermittent gun fire or explosions don't even cause a pause in the conversation

Monday, September 03, 2007

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Saturday, September 01, 2007

Babylon Diary: Shopping in the Green Zone

By César G. Soriano and Zaid Sabah, USA TODAY

Yet another article on daily life here in Central Baghdad

Vendor Fadhil Sinheir, 36, on the lookout for customers Dec. 2 at his stall in the Iraqi bazaar. "Sales are up right now because everyone is buying Christmas gifts," Sinheir says.

(bazaar outside of the embassy PX)

BAGHDAD — Mehdi Mohammed's antiques business has never been better.

On a good day, he sells more than $1,000 worth of carpets, gold jewelry, ornate copper bowls and brass vases.

His success is thanks to a customer base with disposable cash and few opportunities to spend it. Mohammed, 45, is one of several dozen Iraqi vendors who run souvenir shops inside Baghdad's Green Zone.

The Green Zone is a 4-square mile, heavily fortified compound that is home to about 5,000 troops, American diplomats and civilian contractors. About 10,000 Iraqis live inside the area. It's a city-within-a-city, complete with restaurants, cafes and cinemas.

The Iraqi bazaar, where Mohammed works, is part of a shopping center operated by the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, better known as the PX. The courtyard mall also features a Burger King, Subway and even a car dealership.

Many American diplomats and officers rarely get outside the protected Green Zone. And on occasions when they do, there is no opportunity to stop and visit shops. So the PX brought the Iraqi merchants to the base.

Mohammed says he was recruited by American troops who paid a visit to his family's antique shop in Baghdad's Karrada district.

"There are no foreigners and few Iraqis shopping for antiques at our downtown store. But here, business is much, much better," says Mohammed, whose shop specializes in carpets and rugs that range from $150 to $7,000.

"Most of my customers are U.S. Embassy officials and military officers," he says.

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Tom Thygesen was shopping recently for rugs for his wife and mother-in-law. "I wish we could go out and shop among the populous if it weren't so disruptive and dangerous," Thygesen says. "Unfortunately, this is one of the few ways we can really interact with local Iraqis. They've got really nice quality stuff for decent prices. And it's mutually beneficial. It's nice to be able to help these guys," the Chicago native says.

Iraqi vendors undergo thorough background checks before they are permitted to set up shop in the Green Zone.

Vendor Fadhil Sinheir, 36, got his job four months ago through the recommendation of a friend who was already working in the bazaar. Sinheir couldn't be happier.

"Sales are up right now because everyone is buying Christmas gifts for their children and families," says Sinheir, whose stall sells humorous stickers, patches and worthless currency notes from the Saddam Hussein era.

His most popular item is a $15 beach towel that reads, "Caution: Stay 100 meters back or you will be shot" in English and Arabic. It's a parody of a sign often posted on U.S. military vehicles and warns that "deadly force is authorized" if orders to keep a distance are not followed.

Abbas Subhi, who runs a tobacco and trinket shop in the bazaar, says his most popular items are hookahs, tea sets and antiques — "anything related to Iraqi culture."

He complains that his sales are falling because of growing competition.

"They are opening Iraqi bazaars all over this base and at other bases in Iraq. Our sales have been down this month," says Subhi, 26.

In addition to submitting to background checks, Iraqi vendors must pay a percentage of the sales — 10% to 25% — to the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which in turn uses the money to fund entertainment and recreation programs for soldiers.

Like most Iraqis who work on U.S. bases, the bazaar vendors worry about being targeted by extremists. "Because of where I work, it is very easy to get killed," says Ammar Dexin, 26.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Babylon Diary: Endless Journey to the Emerald City

By Noah Shachtman: Wired Magazine

Mainp4 It's not simple, getting to Baghdad. To start, you wait it out for 36 hours, minimum, in Kuwait's phantom outpost. Then, once the pixie dust has been spread over your passport, and all the proper paper has been pushed, you pack your bags, head over to the makeshift flight terminal... and get ready to be treated like cargo yourself.

Gear and grunts alike are carried up to Iraq by barrel-throated, turbo-propped C-130s. First us people file into flight "Chrome 34," sandwiching knee-to-knee in two sets of rows. We face the sides of the plane, staring at the padded blankets and exposed wires that line the interior. To my left is a blond corporal, headed up to Iraq for the first time. He's worried he won't see enough action in his new post, near Baghdad's Green Zone. His sergeant and captain – a dead ringer for Liev Schriber – were each hit by IEDs twice during their last tour. "The quieter, the better," Liev says, staring at the ceiling.

Then, slowly, the pallets of equipment are brought aboard. A "loadmaster," wearing a khaki jumpsuit and on oversized black helmet, directs. And then we wait, as the combination of body heat and Kuwaiti sun turn the C-130 into an oven. We sweat like bad sausage. I'm on the edge of a netted "row," with only half a flimsy butt-cheek hanging off. It goes numb.

Finally, the props begin to mmspin. Their roar engulfs all other sound. And we take off. For eleven minutes. Then, we're back at Kuwait commercial airport – to pick up "a couple of generals," the rumor goes. After an hour wait, it turns out to be Bing West, the writer and former Pentagon official.

Finally, we roar back off of the tarmac. It's not long before everybody passes out, me included.
When I come to, the plane is gently rocking. Nothing awful – especially given the Baghdad run's demon reputation. Even a wimp like me, who grips armrests at the slightest turbulence, isn't bothered. I open up "A Feast for Crows," the latest George R.R. Martin geek opus.

Then the loadmaster straps on night vision goggles. And the lights go out.

We spin – first chest-first, then counterclockwise, sending knees above shoulders. I could swear flying perpendicular to the ground. We straighten out. Then we drop, fast and flat. I squeeze the netting beneath me until we stabilize. I exhale, and tell myself it's nothing too bad. Suddenly, our nose dips. We head for the ground, screaming, like we've lost power. Then, just as quickly, we change directions, and shoot back up.

The tilt-a-whirl continues for what I'm guessing was ten more minutes – but what felt like a hundred. Then it's once more with the drop-nose routine, until we finally scrape the ground. Welcome to Baghdad.

I run out, grab my bags, and dash for a shuttle bus to take me across the massive U.S. military base that rings the airport here. That bus drops me off at a second shuttle stop, which is supposed to bring me down to the Green Zone. When I first got to the airport terminal in Kuwait, at quarter-to-four, I was under the impression that bus left at eight PM. But now that I've shown up -- at eleven thirty – no one will tell me what time it leaves. Security concerns, I'm told. Keep the bad guys guessing.

Finally, it – or, rather, they – arrive: a team of five, heavily-reinforced, armored-up Rhino buses. They look like jails on wheels. I can't tell you much about the drive – I was passed out the whole time. But I woke up in the middle of the Green Zone.

Now, watching TV, you might get the impressions that this is some little, walled-up compound, with a single ring of defenses. Not so. There are checkpoints, everywhere. During the four-minute ride from the Rhino stop to the press center, IDs must've been demanded a half-dozen times. The center itself is a former parking garage ("Hey, at least you got two feet of concrete overhead," quips one Marine). To enter, you have to prove your identity on at least five more occasions.

Then, us reporters need to be issued IDs. Which means getting a scan of your index finger, and a having a standard, passport-style picture taken. At two-thirty in the morning, it took seven tries to get a shot where I didn't look stoned out of my mind. After that, they take scans of both your irises. Five more headshots – for the facial recognition software. And scans of all ten fingerprints.

Finally, I'm approved as an accredited member of the press in Iraq. Just that easy.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Travelin' Boy

Wake up, my love, beneath the midday sun,
Alone, once more alone,
This travelin' boy was only passing through,
But he will always think of you.

One night of love beside a strange young smile,
As warm as I have known,
A travelin' boy and only passing through,
But one who'll always think of you.

Take my place out on the road again,
I must do what I must do,
Yes, I know we were lovers but a drifter discovers...

A travelin' boy and only passing through,
But one who'll always think of you.

Take my place out on the road again,
I must do what I must do,
Yes, I know we were lovers but a drifter discovers
That a perfect love won't always last forever.

I won't say that I'll be back again
'Cause time alone will tell,
So no good-byes for one just passing through,
But one who'll always think of you.
-- no good-byes

Crying In My Sleep

I took a walk around the yard
I dug the flowers till it got too hard
Smoked my first pack of cigarettes today
Then I went down, down to Lucy's old cafe
I put a half a case away
Took a sleeping pill and I tried to watch TV
But you know baby, the leading lady
Looked too much like you for the likes of me

And I woke up crying in my sleep
I was talking to your pillow
And I reached out to touch your hand
And knocked the phone off the night stand
An the operator said "Can I help you please?"
And I said "No thanks baby, tonight there ain't no help for me,
You know I just had a bad dream."
That's all that's wrong with me
You see I just had a bad dream.

Went out to loosen up the car
Somehow I wound up at the Rainbow Bar
I had a scotch and soda on the run
But I didn't get too far.
I ran down some friends I used to know,
I dragged them out to see the show
I ran myself a bath and I tried to read your book
But you know baby, this time it just didn't seem
Worth all the time it took

2nd Avenue

Since we can no longer make it, girl,
I found a new place to live my life.

It's really no place at all,
Just a hole in the wall, you see.
It's cold and dusty but I let it be,
Livin' here without you,
On Second Avenue.

And since our stars took different paths,
I guess I won't be shavin' in your looking glass.
Guess my old friendly grin,
Must have started to dim, somehow,
And I certainly don't need it now,
Still, I keep smiling through,
On Second Avenue.

I can still see you standing
There on the third-floor landing.
The day you visited we hardly said a word.
Outside it was rainin',
You said you couldn't be stayin,
And you went back to your flowers and your birds.

Since we can no longer see the light
The way we did when we kissed that night,
Then all the things that we felt,
Must eventually melt and fade,
Like the frost on my window pane.

Where I wrote, "I Am You,"
On Second Avenue.

Friday, August 03, 2007

Things That I Have Learned

I've learned that I like my teacher because she cries when we sing "Silent Night"..... Age 6

I've learned that you can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk ......Age 7

I've learned that when I wave to people in the country, they stop what they are doing and wave back .......Age 9

I've learned that just when I get my room the way I like it, Mom makes me clean it up ......Age 13

I've learned that if you want to cheer yourself up, you should try cheering someone else up ......Age 14

I've learned that although it's hard to admit it, I'm secretly glad my parents are strict with me ........Age 15

I've learned that silent company is often more healing than words of advice .......Age 24

I've learned that brushing my child's hair is one of life's great pleasures .....Age 26

I've learned that wherever I go, the world's worst drivers have followed me there....... Age 29

I've learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it .......Age 39

I've learned that there are people who love you dearly but just don't know how to show it ..... Age 41

I've learned that you can make some one's day by simply sending them a little card .......Age 44

I've learned that the greater a person's sense of guilt, the greater his need to cast blame on others .....Age 46

I've learned that children and grandparents are natural allies ..... Age 47

I've learned that singing "Amazing Grace" can lift my spirits for hours .....Age 49

I've learned that motel mattresses are better on the side away from the phone ......Age 50

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a man by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights ......Age 51

I've learned that keeping a vegetable garden is worth a medicine cabinet full of pills .......Age 52

I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you miss them terribly after they die .....Age 53

I've learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life ......Age 58

I've learned that if you want to do something positive for your children, try to improve your marriage ......Age 61

I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance ...Age 62

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back....Age 64

I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if you focus on your family, the needs of others, your work, meeting new people, and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.......Age 65

I've learned that whenever I decide something with kindness, I usually make the right decision.......Age 66

I've learned that everyone can use a prayer ......Age 72

I've learned that it pays to believe in miracles. And to tell the truth, I've seen several ........Age 73

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one ......Age 82

I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch -- holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back .....Age 85

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn ......Age 92