The Owl

In the last few weeks I have noticed the distinct hoot of an owl as I wake up to start my day.This is not unusual in itself but one recent morning it dawned on me...I have awaken to that same wonderful sound most of my life.
I first heard it as a boy of 12 when my family moved us from the Bronx to a small ranch house on a 10 acre piece of land in what was called Freehold at the time. Mostly woods and many animals.I stayed there till I was 22 years old in a dark, dank green room at the halls end.
I spent 18 years in a small one bedroom house in Jackson Township semi secluded in a country setting, mostly alone except for the ever present sounds emanating from the woods.I remember distinctly waking up to the sound of an owl there as well.
Now as my 10th year here in Waretown winds down I have become attuned to the sounds that surround me. The birds are of a very special interest to me as my 4 parrots enjoy squawking loudly as the sun comes up every morning.I am very fortunate to say that the sound of an owl, (the same owl?) has been one constant in my life I truly love.

Obama's Excuse

Why haven't they just blown the oil leak shut with explosives already? Money is why. Apparently money is more important then sea life, all life it seems. George Bush had an excuse, he was a fucking idiot. What's Obama's excuse? End this catastrophe now and while your at it bring all our soldiers home. Let's start doing whats right already and fuck all this bi-partisanship bullshit.

Earth Crisis

Lets not confuse a Country founded on an ideology with the people we elect to run it.
Our Country is the best in the world. This why people give their lives to protect it and others risks their lives to seek refuge in it.
America is not defined by a person or persons, thank God. It is defined by whats right. A simple concept. We are ALL created equal and deserve to be treated as such.
Politicians are the problem not the solution, read the papers.We are facing an Earth Crisis ecologically speaking and Mankind as a whole needs to wake up and check it's priority's.
Its not politics, its Survival.

The Power of Symbols

During much of my youth America had been at war. Not just in South East Asia but here at home as well. We were a country divided. Violent anti-war protests were common place in the late sixties and by the early seventies America's children were not only dying overseas but right here on our own college campuses.
As expected, I picked my side and did what any 14 year would do in my shoes, I resented the military and any and all authority. I joined what had been fashionable at the time, the Peace Movement. I read many books, listened to the returning vets stories, went to lectures and knew in my very young heart that this was not a country to be proud of, so I thought.
Radicals of the time used our flag as a means of expression, the power of symbols is not to be underestimated. I knew I loved what America could stand for, the greatness with which it was founded and considered the Movement to be an act of patriotism at its purest. My heroes, The Yippies, The Black Panther Party, the Weather Underground, the SDS, were fighting the War at home and I wanted to be a part of that.
It was in that spirit that I took my Grandfather's 48 star American Flag and used it as a bedspread. How cool is that I thought. One evening my dad, a veteran of WWII burst into my room, he rarely ventured down the hall and had caught me off guard. When he saw the flag on my bed he flipped out, threw me against the wall and held me up by my throat. " What the fuck is this" he screamed while hitting me in the face with his free hand, "That flag means more to me then you."
I learned much later in life of the horrors my father suffered during the war, the loss of his brothers and friends had left him permanently scared, invisible to me at the time of course.
Thousands of soldiers over the years have given their lives for what our flag represents and for that I am grateful. I do not consider this day to be a cerebration but a day of gratitude and remembrance for all who have given the ultimate sacrifice at home and abroad.