North Carolina Home

Long about 700 A.D., a kingly dynasty emerged from among the people of what is now called France. From 688 to 741 A.D. the politics and military operations of the Frankish people was ruled by a leader, Charles Martel. When Charles died, the kingdom was divided between his sons, Carloman and Pepin. Pepin’s reign over Frankish lands became known, as ages passed, as the Carolingian dynasty. Pepin’s son, Charlemagne, built a legacy of military rule, leadership and regal authority that became known historically as the Carolingian dynasty. Thanks for reading Carey's Snippets! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. In the year 778, Emperor Charlemagne engaged in battle at Roncesvelles pass in the Pyrenees mountains, which are along the border of what is now France and Spain. Events in that battle became, later, the basis for the French epic, Chanson de Roland. As the time of Emperor Charlemagne’s death was approaching, his legacy became known as the Carolingian empire, which ruled the Frankish dominions for the greater part of the 9th century. Later, the name was simplified to “France.” Their epic, the Chanson do Roland, later became the inspiration for naming my first vinyl LP (1978) the Songs of Rowland. But that’s neither here nor there. As I was saying. . A century later, King Louis V ruled for about twenty years. He was the last of what is called the Carolingian dynastry of what later became France. Then centuries rolled through time. About a thousand years later, a new kid on the block of world history came along, Britannia, known these days as Great Britain. The origin point is that island in the North Atlantic, also known as England. A thousand years after the Carolingian empire discombobulated, the Brits were sailing around establishing their hegemony, later known as the world empire on which the sun never sets. Dream on, ye limeys! But anyway, as I was getting to. . . ,During that era of British expansion, they established colonies in North America. On the east coast of the North American continent, the Carolina colony was established. Ultimately the colony was divided into North Carolina and South Carolina. Later, after the thirteen British colonies of north America had fought their way out of British nomination, we established the state of North Carolina.

On our southern border, which runs east-to-west from the Atlantic to the Smoky mountains region, a state line was established to clarify, for all time, that we citizens of North Carolina are who we are, and those folks down there in South Carolina are who they are, and they can do their own thing, I mean, it seems to me that sometimes they get a little cocky. But that’s neither here nor thee. . . it’s there, not here in North Carolina where we live. You see , , , back in the day those cocky South Carolinians started a civil war, and later we got dragged into it, even though we didn’t have near the number of slaves that they had had. But hey! Let bygones be bygones. We’ve managed to forgive them for that. That kind of sumters it all up for you, in a nutshell, a peanut shell or whatever. Even so, I must admit that we tarheels and blue devils and mountaineers and other North Carolinians do like to vacation down there in Myrtle Beach every now and then. But I digress. What i’m getting to here is that, about thirty years ago, I wrote a song about the great state of North Carolina. I thought you might like to hear it; so, if you care to, you can listen to North Carolina Is My Home.

Chicago!

Chicago, Chicago, my kind of town! To you, to you, did the coasts come around. Great pumping heart for the American dream. Designated hitter for the American team Pumper of power, builder of towers, Engine of steam

Manufacturer, Retailer, Joiner of Rivers, Progress shipper Master of migration, piper of hydration, mid-America skipper Wheeler, dealer, produce peeler, slump healer, water dipper Engine of progress from Conception to Completion Wagon of wheels from New York to California. Joiner of Rivers Snow king, Water whiz, prairie prince, furnace against shivers Makers, shakers, quakers, stakers, takers and givers. They tell me you are butcher for the world. But I see you as the American dream unfurled.

You are the football, the puck, the bat, the baseball hurled You are the American flag, old glory, the flap and the whirl You are Lake Michigan, the Illinois, the swamps made to whirl. You’re the playground for every boy and girl You are the Freedom, the Energy, the stars and the stripes; You are the water, the prairie conduit, steam and pipes. You are the Apple of Manhattan made ripe! Oh, New York, New York, where is your bling? To you, L.A. Frisco, Seattle, Denver, Twin Cities, we bring the other side of America, westward migration, completing the ring the cycle of progress, the wheel of fortune and wealth the prairie, the harvest, the produce: American health! Chicago, Chicago, joiner of the halves of a Nation enjoined Oh windy city, city of plenty, Wealth of the nation encoined! You are Production defeating poverty purloined. Chicago, Chicago, glorious and free

Great city where to whence movers and shakers did flee. Oh, Chicago, Chicago, great middle city for America, for me! You are the football, the puck, the bat, the baseball hurled! The three-pointer long shot to win the tournament of the World! King of Soul

Thanks for the Memories

When I was a child, I spoke as a child. Now I am an old man; I write as an old man. Early on, I rode a bicycle. Now I recycle. oh, yes, household detritus and worn-out stuff gets properly handled for the sake of the planet that I grew up on. But in a wider perspective, I recycle the stuff of my 73 years into whatever comes to mind . . . whatever I find, in that grey matter up there at the crown of creation. Creation is an ongoing miracle that I did not invent; Creator created me, and I make the best of what I got; been doing it for 73 years now. When I was younger, a fellow named McGuire came along and wrote a song, “Eve of Destruction.” I see what he was getting at, Things were dire for McGuire when Kruschev and Kennedy were rehearsing Russian roulette. I remember. I remember. After spending part of my life in construction, I have decided that is generally better than destruction, although, truth be told, sometimes you have to tear down before you can build up. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation wasn’t fulfilled around his mission required sending soldiers to tear down the slave establishment that my southern forebears had been constructing for a couple of centuries. Life comes shining, we notice, from the East unto the West. Dreams may culminate in Fulfillment, or . . . maybe not. But you gotta give it a shot. And it’s funny; sometimes its New to New; sometimes its New to Old to New. And, for sure, kids have a lot to do with it. There was a time when I was one of the New Generation; now I’m just an old guy, like my wife’s gramps was, back in the day, The Blood Sweat and Tears singer sang. . . or maybe it was the the Chicago Transit Authority singer (I’m writing this in Chicago) who sang: “Give me my freedom for as long as i live; all I ask of living is to have no chains on me, and all I ask of dying is to go naturally . . . and when I die, when I’m dead, dead and gone. . . there’ll be one child born and a world to carry on, a world to carry on. Well, in our case, its three who carry on, and so on and so on. Neil Young sang to and Old Man to “take a look at my life; I’m a lot like you.” Now that I am on old guy, I do see young folks out there in the hinterlands, living life. . . well, we’re all the same really, but not really. . . at least, us Americans, we’re a special breed. i mean—not that we’re any better than anybody else—but we did inherit something special when Jefferson wrote, back in the day: “. . . all Men are created equal; they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” And that has worked well for us. It still does. And there’s so much good stuff to ruminate about. At the Simon and Garfunkel show, a couple of nights ago, the two guys there were singing the old song, “Old Friends” who “sit on their park bench like bookends; a newspaper blown through the grass falls on the round toes of the old shoes of the Old Friends. And come to think of it. . . that’s important to understand: Friends are very important in Life. I mean, next to husband or wife, and the young’uns that come along, friends are one of the most precious blessings we have. When I was a teenager, I remember listening to Judy Collins, on—I think it was the “Wildflowers” album, “My father always promised us that we would live in France; we’d go boating on the Seine, and I would learn to dance. We lived in Ohio then; he worked in the mines. . .now I remember . . . the setting sun . . . in my father’s eyes.” Or something like that. Now I’m a fathe—grandfather no less—remembering—or trying to—all of it. But I have also learned that, if you want to live a quality life, you should tap into the ancient wisdom, such as: the ancient prophet comes to mind, Jeremiah. He went to a potter’s shop because the Lord told him to. When he got there, he watched what the potter was doing. And life is a lot like that: we are clay in the Great YWHW Potter’s hands, spinning on the wheels of time, chance, providence and the grace of God. To get a glimpse of the final phase—where we’re headed in the big picture, check out Revelation 5:9: https://open.spotify.com/track/4t3dyoa2vpmTqvZ2uKuL9W?si=4d13b30bc6b34974

Time Times and half a Time

About 2400 years ago, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar took control of what had been the land of the Jews—Judah and Israel. Because ole Neb was a smart guy, he understood that those Jews whom he had subdued were smart people. They were not street-smart like he was. They were not control freaks. They were not powermongers. They were people of the Book; they are the people pay attention to what is going on; who read and pay attention and pass from generations to generation the history and the theology that we know in this modern ago. Moses started the Book long ago when he wrote the story of their Exodus, a story that later inspired Martin Luther King, when he had spoken and acted with conviction to set free the captives of racist oppression. https://open.spotify.com/track/0NNQLsb7YExz88Fgak87Ze?si=ce9bd4eb7aaf4550&nd=1&dlsi=9fc79d1cb31e4cf7 The Book known as Bible is a profound historical narrative; it’s a preservation of wisdom, a foundtion for Law and proper relations among all peoples. The people of the Book have often found themselves in persecution and peril because, compared to their antisemitic neighbors, they know too much. It was for that holocaustic purpose that the little kraut colonel kicked off the nazi movement in 1923, his “third reich”, that strove to eliminate the Jewish race. That did not work out for the hateful nazis; nor will it ever work for future antismites. The People of the Book will not be eradicated from human history. That is why some watchful members of that Hebrew tribe discern the patterns of human behaviour accurately enough to prophecy events that would take place 2000 years later. That’s what Daniel did, long, long ago, because he was of the People of the Book, and he understood, by divine revelation, what the long arc of history would ultimately present: a brazen attempt to exterminate the People of the Book. Case in point: About 400 years before Christ, the scholar Daniel, a captive Hebrew, was taken prisoner. Nebuchadnezzar hauled the Hebrew wise man to his capital, Babylon, and prevailed upon the young man’s literacy and perception, using Daniel’s advice, much like Jewish lawyers are often prevailed upon in modern times, except at that time it was more about dreams and visions than Law. Even so, while in service to his boss, Daniel discreetly composed a book of his own, which we find, even today, in the Bible. Because the people of the Book send historic signals that raise red flags to signal the onslaught of a strange crooked crosses that represent holocaust and terrible abuses in human history. About 2300 years before it later happened, Daniel discerned and depicted, in cryptic Hebrew, the rise of a “little horn”. . . a despicable being who would erect a vast system of murder to snuff out the Jewish people, and also to put to death thousands of other folks who had answered the call to stop the little nazifying lunatic. In the biblical canon, the Book of Daniel, in 7:24-27, the prophet presented a literary, symbolic scenario representing events that would transgress human decency, many, many centuries later. . . even 2000 years later.

“. . . the ten horns of the kingdom are ten kings that shall arise; and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the rest, and he shall subdue three kings. “And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his control until a time, times, and a dividing of times. “But the judgement shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, and they shall take away his dominion . . .” Then later, in my parents’ lifetime. In the early 20th century— it happened this way: The adolf hitler demoniac mounted up, in a great heap of third reich insanity, a mountain of hate against his European neighbours. During his hyper-murderous, swastikafied campaigns, his fascist minions captured as many Jews as they could, imprisoned six million of them in concentration camps and tried to murder them, en masse, to exterminate the Jewish race. But, but—praise be to God—the brave men of France, Britain.and the United States of America, along with many others, put a stop to hitler’s murderous campaigns. And when the great liberation from nazi holocaust and warmongering had been put and end, the Allies discovered the camps where the demon hitler had tried to exterminate the people of the Book, and they put hitler’s Holocaust officers on trial in Nuremberg. And that’s why Daniel had written,in his prophetic account—long, long before it actually happened. . .7:25. this: ““But the judgement shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, and they shall take away his dominion , to consume and destroy it to the end.” Furthermore, moving right along. . . the prophetic voice of the people of the Book is still active. That’s why—to present one expression of perseverance and courage— a couple of Jewish boys from the Bronx, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, sang Paul’s profound verses, which I heard sung two nights ago in a live, theatrical presentation set to Paul’s prophetic music, using literary symbolism that goes back, way back. . . in time. back in the day,-1970’s. . . ”In the clearing stands a boxer. . . a fighter by his trade, and he carries the reminder of every glove that laid him down and rocked him, ‘till he cried, in his anger and his shame, ‘I am leaving; I am leaving, but the fighter still remains.’ ” Paul’s “Boxer” is far more than himself; it represents his people, the embattled People of the Book who have managed, through all these millennia of time, to survive, carrying the reminders—written in the Book— of every attempt to knock them down into the the holocausts of prejudice, hatred and discrimination And. . . as Amos had said to Andy: “And I told him that!”. Smoke

Eternity

I, Carey, was wandering in the world, working a job, enjoying life. It was 1977. Life was good, but I was not. I mean, I was doing ok. I made a few choices that turned out to be counterproductive. I was legally connected to another person for awhile but that didn’t work out; it ended. I was wandering around. I wrote some songs and sang them around town in Asheville. I went to Nashville and somehow managed, with a little help from me friends, to make a record album: Something for Everyone;Songs of Rowland.; it presented the songs that I had written up to that time. I drove to Texas with the intention to start a new chapter of life in Austin. I stopped in Waco to visit my grandmother. On a certain Wednesday, my aunt Francis invited me to a church gathering. When I walked in, I saw two women kneeling; they were singing, as the charismatics say, “in the spirit.” I thought I was hearing angels in heaven. Don’t believe it? I understand, But listen up. When the meeting started, a blind man went up to the pulpit and began speaking. He said, “Nowadays, the devil is stalking around dragging people down; if you’re not careful, he’ll drag you down.” Or something like that. The devil? Are you kidding me? Well, no, the preacher was not kidding me. I realized that he was right. I had been wandering around without a plan, without a direction, fulfilling my own desires and ambitions and. . . and, look where it got me. So there’s this question about the devil. Does he really exist? Uh, are you kidding me? Take a look at humanity and history. . . a long parade of men fighting and killing and deceiving each other and stealing things and stealing wives and even mounting vast campaigns, as in nazi Germany, to wipe out an entire race of people from the face of the earth: to incinerate those people who had written, since the beginning of time, the greatest story ever told. So, yes, Virginia, there is a devil, and it could be true. . . maybe this Bible legacy which gives an account of the devil’s contention with the Creator of Universe is a scenario that should be considered when deciding what is true, or not true, about life on this planet. And it could indeed be true that the Creator of the Universe separated a part of Himself—that part which we call the Son, Jesus— and he came down to this lost planet called earth, and then He allowed the enemy to execute Him on a cross, so that. . . wait for it (three days) he could demonstrate to us that Life does, indeed, go on after death. And if you believe that, I’ve got some real estate in heaven I’ll tell you about. I’m not kidding. Moving right along. . . Jesus showed us that death and our own f****-up can be redeemed by joining Him, the Risen One in eternity in heaven. When Mary Magdalene went to the tomb on Sunday morning. . . what she saw looked something like this:

Sp there you have it. Either believe it or not: the empty grave. I. do not believe any man or woman could outdo that. I do believe it did happen, and I will join Him in heaven when my time is up. So instead of continuing to follow the rebel dark angel who thinks he can control the world. . .I recommend turning to the One who created the Universe, the Lord who initiated life itself. . . yes, even DNA and the genetic code and all of that—everything. Yep. I’m going with Him. So I did. I saw the Light, as brother Bob, and many others. . . Lonnie Frisbee. . . also did at about that same time, the’70’s, and we got . . . “Saved.” Read ‘em in weep, all you unbelievers. But hey, perhaps some day you’ll join us. And the world will be with the Son. By ’n by, I managed to make a second record album, Revelation 5:9 to clarify my Faith that Jesus is Lord, risen from the dead. . . and He is communicating, through His Word—what they call the Bible—and also through His people, the church, who believe in Him. We are now communicating the Truth about what this world is, what this Life is really all about, even—if you care do some deep reading—. . . how it got here and how to deal with it and how to get through life without all hell breaking loose inside of you. That’s why I sing this song, https://open.spotify.com/track/1zfGddC1N9WXbNxlOWTULB?si=84ef893eaa2e4a64. Now I understand that this is a lot to take in at one time. Not to worry. Just consider the whole thing, life itself, where it came from, your place, your role in it, who is in charge here and all those heavy questions. But do not fail to notice that, as the years roll by, every now and then someone you know kicks the bucket. They die. . . and it could happen to you. And there is only one way out of that inevitable end: Turn to Jesus. But the death/eternal life thing is not the whole picture. Life is just better when you’re walking with the One who conquered death. In the end, He will take you with Him. You just gotta believe! Smoke

A Tall TAiL

Hello worldweb, my weird friend; I’ve come to write on you agAin, about a tall t’Ail creeping. . . that flipped its tAils while I was sleeping and the image that was planted in my brAin, still remAins. along the webs of AiLence. To Witman, who wandered lonely in the Cloud: In the fifth year of donald the dweeb, king of fifth revenue, a streaming twAit dropped in while I was streaming in the province ulAi. On the the 21st day of the third month, while I was scurfing on the web, I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold; there was an icon, programmed in the guise of coded jazz, and all that razzmatazz. And I discerned the message that it wrote to me. To begin with, he looked like a knight-con in shining code, and before I could say tweetledee, I was suddenly feeling tweetledumb. (But. I transgress; Ai guess.) “Oh Danube tube, grok the the tweeb” said he, as if I should agree. “It took me a wild to get here, cuz the programmer of PruizAi was giving me a hard time,” said he. “That sAid, I just dropped in to see what condition your condition was in. . . agAin.” “No problemo”, said I. :What’s up?: “The prince of DOjE is about to drop in to see what condition your condition is in. He’ll be giving you a hard time, but not to worry, We’ve got it Aill under control. All you gotta do is pay the toll. Comprendez? “I’m tracking with ya” said Ai. “Where are we going?” “I’ll get to that” said he, “but i can give you a clue . . . a preview, so to tweek. It Ain’t what you think; it may be a mystery wrapped in an enigma, or. . . maybe not. We shall see. It depends on what you say to me.” And there I was smurfing in the streaming ULAi, wondering, pondering. . . and then, bAi and bAi, I responded; “Let us go then, U and Ai. . . in the wardrobe of the knight, to don what armour that we might. . . to assign what code that we may find, perhaps ahead, perhaps behind. . .to do the best we can, so Left can do the same as Right again. . . just like the ole days!” The prince of DOjE gave me a funny look; a grokkish smile came across his face. I think from his sleeve he had pulled up an ace, or it might have been a face. We sat there face to face. “Book it,” said he. “and you can take that to the bank. It’s the art of the steal,” said he. “Say what?” “The art of the steal. We’re going to deal your job away, or your social mercurial chek, depending on which comes first. Butt not to worry; ’t’is not nearly so bad as a mad train wreck, such as folk would find in nineteen twenty-nine, or nineteen thirty-nine, or nineteen eighty four, whichever one will close the door. “The door?” said Ai. What door are we talking about here? I need to know which way to turn. . . when, y’know, when zero checks come in the mail, and my golf score is beyond the pale... I mean, I’m like, clueless, like kevin when he met shoeless joe jackson. I thirst, said I. Please give a drink in this dry and dreary land. Or tell me what it is—this new Doje plan. I would like to grok it if I can.” “Hey” said he. ’T’is no big deal; rather, ’t’is the art of the steal. UlAi get over it, by ’n by, in the sweet bAi and bAi.”

And with that, he twittered away, with no Xplanations. Stepping on board his starblink, while I stood there, by and by. Let us think, then, you and Ai: What fearsome hand or Ai, can program thy fearful symmetrAi? But hey! You gotta roll with the punches, n’est que ce pas? As B’lingo had crooned, back in the good ole days. . . “Now it’s time to say good night; good byte, stream to the Right. Dream sweet dreams. . . in coded streams. Dream sweet dreams.” And Ai told him that! Glass half-Full

Andre Rieu and Joy

In the annals of orchestral music, there is no conductor whose audience appreciation could surpass the showmanship of Andre Rieu. If you attend, or watch online, a performance by the orchestra and chorus conducted by this Dutch genius, you understand my enthusiasm.

I write “genius” because it is the truth. Andre took the ancient, formal, rather stuffy tradition of orchestral music and turned it around 180 degrees. He and his performers have done for classic music what the Beatles did for popular music. There is a precedent for Andre’s historic role. Johann Strauss had composed and conducted waltzes in Vienna, back in the late 19th century. Johann had the people dancing instead of just listening. I suppose that is why Andre calls his ensemble the “Johann Strauss Orchestra.” This nominal recognition of his Viennese forebear is appropriate. To behold a Rieu concert online is an experience unprecedented in the history of music. There is perhaps another predecessor for Andre’s contribution: Ludwig Van Beethoven. This comparison may seem strange when we consider that Ludwig, the Bonn genius who revolutionized 19th century Romantic music, is known for his gruff facial expression in the pictures that we see nowadays. But Ludwig saw the light. While nearing his life-end, Beethoven composed his last—his 9th symphony—as a tribute to Joy. That last labor of Ludwig’s love featured a libretto, a Schiller poem, “Ode to Joy”. T’was a great labor of love, a great onus of orchestral and vocal celebration. I devoted a whole chapter to it in my novel, King of Soul, So, yes, that hyper-serious genius laid the groundwork for Andre Rieu’s 2-centuries-later joyful inspiration. But hey! What Andre does with his people is beyond comparison, beyond tradition, beyond description. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVH89ggy1fY Glass half-Full

Time Times and a half

First there was Time; then there were Times. As Time ticks along, we find the Present. “As the present presents itself . . . next thing you know, it has surpassed us, and we have the Past,” the old man said. “Past? Say what?”, the young man queried. “Present has passed; so now we have the Past” the Old man explained. “But we do not have the Past” said the young man, . . .”because it is gone; it’s left behind us. So we do not have it anymore.” “Oh, but we do. It is written in the Books.” said the Old man.

The Young man’s phone buzzed some noise at him. “Hold on a second; I gotta take this.” “Sure” said the Old Man. . .”whatever floats your boat.” The Young man was inspecting his device. For the better part of a minute he read the text message. Then he pressed a few letters into the circuits of the Present and sent the letters into the Web. The Web passed the thoughts and words of the Young man into the Sender’s phone where they were delivered to the consciousness of the messenger. The Young man looked up from his device. “Ok. You were saying. . .” “Uh, I was saying it is written in the Books.” “Oh, yeah, right. I get it, like the history books, the Bible, Moses, the poems, the stories and poems and words of wisdom, Solomon, and stuff like that.” “Yes” the old man confirmed. “And you also have your philosophy books. . . Aristotle and Plato and, and Rene Descartes, who wrote: ‘I think; therefore, I am.” . . . and many thinkers and writers who came after them.” “Yeah, I’ve heard about that. . . all those guys from the Past. And now we’re talkin’ way back, way back in time.” “Yes, my boy. . . in Time.” “Yeah, like the magazine.” “That’s right. I mean, that’s part of it — a very small part of the whole legacy of literacy.” “My grandfather said it was kind of Lefty.” “Uh. . . the magazine, Time, Well, that’s a complicated subject,” said the old man. You have your Left and your Right; that is true. And you have more than one Time. There’s the New York Times and the Times of London, and the Los Angeles Times” “Whoa! That’s going way back, man!” “Well, no. It wasn’t so long ago, and the Times, Times and Times are still publishing.” “Right. I knew that. I saw some guy online railing about the Times.” The Old man laughed. “ The ‘Times’ do go way back. About 2400 years ago, the Prophet Daniel spoke of “times, times, and half a time.” “What did he say?” “It’s complicated, my boy; but Daniel said that, well, uh, long story short, there would come a time when a very bad person would come into power and decree a lot of bad policies and desecrations., and destroy many people and their institutions.” “Whoa, that’s some heavy sh**, man.” “Yes” agreed the old man. “Yes, it is quite serious. According to the prophecies, there would be another corrupt man who would come along, much later in time, and provoke a similar set of dire destructions and persecutions.” The young man pondered for a moment. “I have heard something about that. . . hitler.” he said. “Yes.” “Whoa! That’s some deep sh**t man! I’ve heard about that guy.” “Indeed”, said the old man. “His ‘third reich’, killed millions of people. He did not like the fact that the Jews and the Christians had written so many books to expose the foul deeds and conspiracies of his bully superman master race.” “You probably read about all of that in some old books,” said the young man. “Yes. But it’s ongoing. Time just keeps on going and going; and sometimes its not books; knowledge and understanding can come through art, or spoken word, poems, songs. . . When I was a young man, not so very long ago, a prophetic voice was raised when a prophet came out of the midwest, went into the big apple and began spreading the message that the “times were a’changin.’ And. . .Indeed they are. The times they are a-changin’. Always. Furthermore, my young friend, as Woody’s son , Arlo, had sang, a few years later, back in the day. . .”halfway home and we’ll be there by morning, through the Mississippi darkness rollin’ down to the sea.” “Whoa!” exclaimed the young man. “You lost me there. You’re way ahead of me.” “Or way behind,” mused the Old man. “I’m not sure which. Time is, you know, a funny thing. I’m still trying to figure it out. About all you can say, at the end of the day is. . . what goes around comes around, like the hands of a clock, or. . .Time is like water; it just keeps flowing along. Sometimes, it moves in currents and sometimes in streams. In some places it collects, in ponds, or lakes or oceans.” Selah. That reminds me, y’all. https://open.spotify.com/track/1zfGddC1N9WXbNxlOWTULB?si=84ef893eaa2e4a64&nd=1&dlsi=467916166f9346a7 Smoke

Birds in Sunshine

Here in the Blue Ridge, we await spring. Now it’s just two days away. This morning, we discover finches at the feeder by the kitchen window, feasting in feed and morning sunshine. Selah!

And we recall, from times gone by, what we had read in the old Book, words from an ancient king, David, who wrote: “He who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is as the light of morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, when the tender. grass springs out of the earth. . .” And we ponder the difference between ancient noble righteousness and, and. . . what we encounter in this present darkened era wherein maga self-obsession blots out the brightness of sunshine and Son-shine. And we ponder words written long ago by prophet, Isaiah: “All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on earth, as soon as a standard is raised on earth, you. will see it, and as soon as the trumpet is blown you will hear it. For thus the Lord has told me. I will look from my dwelling place quietly, like brightening heat in the sunshine.” Yes, yes, I will look from our kitchen window, and see the birds feeding on seed that we have provided for them. Herein, we recall the words of Christ: “Look at the birds of the air; they don’t sew; they don’t reap, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” In this particular instance, on this almost-spring, bright morning, I— earthly father that I am—do feed these finches, on behalf of my Father in heaven. And if you believe that, I’ve got some heavenly real estate, I’ll tell ya about. https://open.spotify.com/track/025lnPzFKnKxXxuc4rmipg?si=801235d50ff9477e&nd=1&dlsi=5b6b80e6f7094c6b https://open.spotify.com/track/5tfdMttcDR0WhBeH4x0JD2?si=07b6bf7214b1449e&nd=1&dlsi=3919d55c5725444b Glass half-Full

Going Loco

The human race has been traipsing around on this planet for a very long time. Back in the day. . . way, way back in the day, there came a moment in time when some feller got the idea to jump on a horse. And, lo and behold, it pretty well; Undoubtedly some of his companions noticed what he had done; they were amazed at the sight. So they they thought they’ed give it a whirl. Next thing you know, we had a troop of horseman trotting around the old homestead. Well, that changed everything. Once those horses were domesticated beneath their human masters. . . next thing you know, we had troops and armies and empires. By ’n by, some other developments happened along. Some feller decided it might be a good idea to build a small cart; then attach some wheels to it and set in a tethered horse at the front of it. Next thing you know, we had chariots. Sing low sweet chariot, and ride high. . . high enough off the ground to do some serious to enemies, or impress the citizens at the collisseum, or maybe later haul some passengers around, bring the crops to market or trot into the big city and hang out with the hoi-paloi for awhile. That horse-driven did canter on for a long, long time. And I do mean a long, long time. . . 2000 years or more and then something incredible happened. Some fellow built a horseless carriage! It wasn’t very long before we had a whole slew of ’em running around, from coast to coast! all over the place. The Locomotive The human race has been traipsing around on this planet for a very long time. Back in the day. . . way, way back in the day, there came a moment in time when some feller got the idea to jump on a horse. And, lo and behold, it pretty well; Undoubtedly some of his companions noticed what he had done; they were amazed at the sight. So they they thought they’ed give it a whirl. Next thing you know, we had a troop of horseman trotting around the old homestead. Well, that changed everything. Once those horses were domesticated beneath their human masters. . . next thing you know, we had troops and armies and empires. By ’n by, some other developments happened along. Some feller decided it might be a good idea to build a small cart; then attach some wheels to it and set in a tethered horse at the front of it. Next thing you know, we had chariots. Sing low sweet chariot, and ride high. . . high enough off the ground to do some serious to enemies, or impress the citizens at the collisseum, or maybe later haul some passengers around, bring the crops to market or trot into the big city and hang out with the hoi-paloi for awhile. That horse-driven did canter on for a long, long time. And I do mean a long, long time. . . 2000 years or more and then something incredible happened. Some fellow built a horseless carriage! It wasn’t very long before we had a whole slew of ’em running around, from coast to coast! all over the place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCbJ5FVWz20&list=OLAK5uy_m5Bxo9Fd2KOO2UVmR6ZdzMGY_rwDa_qyU&index=7 They put steel tracks under ’em to keep those iron horses going in the right direction all the time and steadily huffing and puffing to a proper destination, instead of, you know, just cruisin’ around town like a bunch of teenagers with beach boys song on the radio. Oh, I almost forgot. Then there was this fellow, Ford — I think his name was — who figured out a way to keep a motor-driven cart on the correct itinerary, without the tracks! He built a steering wheel into it and connected it with the fancy engineering under the hood, and to the wheels so that the rider could control the direction of the vehicle. Pretty cool, huh! But hey ! There’s more. These two brothers on the east coast took one of those gas motors out of a car and strapped it inside a very strange, winged thingamajig, cranked it up and. . . and. . . I’m not making this up! Next thing you this Wright fella was flying in the air. . . no wheels on the ground! They called it an aereoplane, which John Hartford sang about when I heard him sing about his aereoplane. . .in Madison County back in the day. And that was the same day I shook hands with Bill Monroe! My head was in the clouds, y’all. I’m not making this up. But, as I was sayin’ . . .Some amazing things happen in this world. Now it’s all — all of it that I just blathered about — it’s just ole hat, sound and fury signifying — signifying only the the millennia and the centuries, and the years that have passed since some feller jumped on a horse and was so surprised at what happened. After a few minutes, he had to say: Whoa! Nellie! All that to say: Every now in then in the long dusty trail of our travels and our marvels, we do have to say, like, “Whoa, Nellie!” before the horse with no name goes hog wild and the next you know we’re fallen in the dust with a broken leg in a way where there is no Way. It all goes back to going loco, when some yahoo jumped on a horse for to be locomoted and now. . . well. . . like I said. . . it kinda looks like we’re going loco. As for what to do about this contraption we call industrialized civilization, I don’t have a clue. There must some folks who can get a handle on it, maybe lend a helpin’ hand to folks, get us off of this runaway horse with no name as we gallop toward God only know where. Selah. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZluTDHEzI4&list=OLAK5uy_m5Bxo9Fd2KOO2UVmR6ZdzMGY_rwDa_qyU&index=9 Smoke

Parabolic Mediaholic

These days, we write in code. People streaming in silicon and copper write code in offices, in universities, in seasons of hostility and in dens of iniquity, in schools of ability and in underfunded disability. Every now and then, in living rooms of tranquility, a human being will jot a few notes in old school literary poppycock, such as this writer now does in his own living room of tranquility. . . after he fell into a hole in the ground

because some rabbit he was chasing got him destabilized and next thing you know the queen of hearts is handing you the ace of sorrow. A Republic here today is gone tomorrow. . . or something like that. But i digress. It has been said among the wise, and even among those who think they know a thing or two, that some people know what they are doing and some people havant a clue what to do or not do, but they do it anyway, Case in point: (And I found this in an ancient book.) So take it for what it’s worth. Something happ’nin here; what it is ain’t exactly. clear, as the nerdy literati and the needy donkey party get pushed aside while the elephants tromp through swamp so the bulls can romp and stomp. You see. . .there was was this nation and they were lollygagging along, singing a song of ditch-pence having a maganificent party in what used to be the Grand Ole Party and It just so happened that, as they were feasting, they drank the mash and they turned to smashing and they lauded the gods of gold, silver, silicon and foxywoxycottontail. But, but. . . suddenly the twit of a man’s hand appeared on the screens of boob and tube and Hal and Sal and every guy and gal. And the sign said the words of the profits were written on the bathroom walls, and Capitol halls, and then there were the sounds of violence. No, no; that’s not what is says. It says, uh, (squinting) it says, . . uh “many, many tickle, but they will perish when the farces are unfurled.” Say what? I mean… the times were a-changin’ but who could figure it out? I don’t know, but I been told that streets in America paved with old fairy tails. And I guess it’s true; what’s it to you? Well, uh, wait a minute; there’s someone knockin’ at the door, someone crackin’ again the Liberty bell. Do me a favor and. . . Crash! Bang! Red rover, red rover, send putin right over! Little Marco, please see what you can do to get this maga-mess straightened out. As for me and my house, I’m looking for my bomb shelter, haven’t seen it since 1963 when the hit hit the man and now I’m suffering deja-view since the sudetanland scam and chamberlain’s gamblin’ and But hey! gotta go now. . . catch the rabbit trail before the eggs are dropped and the curtain’s flopped and the deepstate weeps while the Founders leap in their graves. Watch out! Incoming! Selah and so long; been nice knowin’ ya.Thanks for the memories, Uncle Sam. You’ve be replaced with Uncle Scam. Glass half-Full

Moses and Martin

Many moons ago, long ago and far away, in a kingdom by the Nile, there came upon the folk of that region a dynasty that took control of everything, grabbing the reins of power, erecting the pyramidic stones of elevated hegemony, and leaving a permanent pyramid of wonder for all the see and wonder. . . how in the hell did they do that? Slaves, my dear. T'was slaves, bound to harness, driven to a destination, driven into exhaustion and unchosen servitude. T'was slave labor that built those incredible pyramids, slave labor driven by the Pharoah's, man. It all happened long ago, in a dynasty far, far away, a desert region where people from all over the world go to gaze upon those Pyramids of ancient and wonder how they did it and stand amazed that those triangular monuments have stood there for so, so, long, thousands and thousands of years. Yes, Virginia, 't'was slave labor that did it. And who, you may ask, who were those slaves? Now I don't know, but I been told, some reports of old, about who those slaves were who built those Pyramids of old. Considering what I know about the African continent, and what I have learned about the natives who lived there, I do believe that many, many of those enforced laborers were black folk, maybe from nearby, maybe from Cush or even further down ole man River Nile. But one thing I know cuz I been told that some of those slaves of old were (wait for it) Hebrews. Jews. How do I know this? Moses. Moses wrote about it, explaining to his descendants and - as it later turned out - to all the world - explaining how the Hebrews had been enslaved, by and by, generations after their ancestor, Joseph, son of Jacob, had found himself stuck there. After that . . . after millennia of time had rolled through the hour-glass of world history, a young preacher in Atlanta was reading about Moses' having lead his people, the Jews, out of Egypt and into the Promise Land. Now that ancient account - that biblical history and testimony has become sacred Scripture for millions of believers, Jew and Christian. In the 1960's, Dr. Martin Luther King was lifted, by his people and by the inspiration of Almighty God, beyond his Atlanta ministry. He was called upon by the Lord of the Universe, and by the people of the United States of America, to lead his people out of servitude - out of second-class citizenship. . . beyond discrimination and prejudice and into . . . wait for it . . . The Promised Land! Sad to say, there were some people here in what s'posed to be the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. . . some people who refused, for a long while, to forsake their prejudice.

And so Dr. King took unto himself, and to those who joined with him, the mantle of leadership, to struggle, as the Jews had done in ancient Egypt, to exit, to exodus, out of the land of enslavement and to travel through the deserts of of discrimination, prejudice and deprivation . . . to the Promised Land! On the night before Dr. King was shot in Memphis, he spoke to a crowd of Christian believers in that city. His message was profound, well-prepared through his wisdom and his biblical understanding and wisdom. There were signs of impending peril and doom. The air was thick with tension, fear and wonder, at what will happen next, because Dr. King knew - he had been warned by the enemies in a phone call - that his days were numbered. But he didn't know, of course, exactly what going to happen. He spoke to his brethren, on what is now know to be. . . that last night, and he said, following the precedent of Moses: "I've been to the mountaintop; I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. . ." I mean, we know that Moses did not get to the Promised Land with his people, even though he had lead them out of Egypt, through the wilderness and to the very pinnacle of being able to see that Promised Land. But the Lord took him. And, hear this, all ye believers, the Lord took Martin Luther King, even though the racist assholes thought it was there victory. Later, those people who were lead out of southern slavery - those former slaves - where are they now? Where are their descendants? Look around you. Need I say more? Listen to the song I wrote about Moses and Martin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxR5ldxyg8U

Jews

Most of us humans understand that this world was made by a supernatural entity — something or someone that is far beyond our capability to create any good thing. I am here to tell you that there is a God, and the reason we know about God is, mostly, because of the Jews. Thanks to the Hebrews! Now the reason that we know about the Creator is because God himself commissioned a particuar people group to document the history of God’s interaction with man, or as they say in scientific jargon, with homo erectus, which is documented for all people to read, or hear about, if they are so inclined, in the book which the Jews call the Torah, which is called by all of us other folk, the Bible.

Now. . . as Amos had said to Andy, back in the day: “And I told him that!”, now I am telling you that the divine mission of revelation was given to the Jews and they handled it quite well because the chronology, history, wisdom, prophecy and revelation is still with us. The process started with Moses, continued for thousands and years. continues still, and will into eternity, although the functionality of human life and work on this earth is not a matter of certainty. But we do know more about it because of Jewish writers. My people, the Christians, are able to view history through the lens of Faith. You can believe or not; whether you believe it has nothing to do with the reality of its existence. . . that is to say, the actual existence of a God story that originated with Moses. In ancient Egypt, a certain people group, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, were stuck in a rut called slavery. The Lord began a dialogue with a certain wise man, Moses — a Hebrew who was well connected to Pharoah’s Establishment. Moses had brought to God’s attention that they were being abused and that they needed to get the hell out of there. Long story short. . . it happened. You know the story, Exodus from Egypt. The reason you and I know the story is because of Moses’ later explication of it in his writings; they were handed down from generation to generation all the way through our history to now. The Creator/Revelator/Lord used the occasion of the Jews’ escape from slavery in Egypt to demonstrate to the human race that enslavement is not a part of the Creator’s will. When one people-group enslave another, the enslavers will be made to — one way or another — release their captives into liberty. In modern times, in America, black folk were able to discern that the Creator’s will was not to have them in bondage, but rather to be liberated — to liberate themselves, “with a little help from me friends”, And so they did. Our President, Abe Lincoln understood that, because, y’know, he had read the Book too; so he emancipated them with his Emancipation Declaration. Slave-owners in the deep south didn’t agree, so they started a big frickin’ war. But the Lord’s Will for Freedom for His people — for all people who have the faith to believe — had been made plain and clear in his Book, the Bible. Working toward the bottom line here. . . The Jews initiated, continued, persisted in, documenting the human struggle for identity, freedom, awareness of history, and wisdom. And they have done it through literature. Jews are known for being smart. You’ve heard of Jewish lawyers? It’s because they have been writing, studying, and advocating for the Rule of Law ever since Moses showed them — and us — how to do such things. About nine decades ago, a German lunatic got hold of the government, renamed it the third reich and tried to convince his people that if they if they would snuff out the Jews, all would be well. All ye antisemites out there — how’d that work out for you? But guess what. The little mustachioed satanic dicatator was — thank God for our soldiers, and for, yes, Stalin’s soldiers — was defeated and ended up killing himself in Berlin. And guess what! Out of that holocaust came the second Exodus — the flight of the persecuted — and eventually many more Jews — to Israel. Aliyah, they call it. And Israel was born again in Judea/Palestine. Now I understand there’s a problem now in Gaza. There is nothing about human struggle that is easy. Sh** happens, and people — Netanyahu or whoever — react, or perhaps over-react — in defensive ways that are destructive and controversial. We, as Justice-conscious Americans who actualized the concept of government by, of, and for the People . . . we Americans — our leadership, official, religious, charitable or whatever — we have taken the initiative to help Jews out of this perilous clusterfud that happened as an over-response to a brutally offensive act perpetrated by Hamas, or Hisbollah, or whatever they call themselves. But I digress into current perilous political matters. Bottom line: the Jews initiated, retained, maintained, and extended to the rest of us, the history of human civilization. They did it by writing, through generations, the Torah, which we Christians call Bible. There were other historical writers and documentation throughout history, of course. But the Bible, or Torah, is the one that my people, the Christians, use, mainly, along with many other folks. To conclude. . . if you ever get into legal trouble in this life, it might be a good idea to get yourself a Jewish lawyer, because these guys have been doing LAW for a long time and they’re good at it. As for you who don’t like the Jews. . . get over it. Look what happened to hitler. Don’t fall into that antisemetic quagmire. Rather, understand that these people have been educating the human race for a very long time and we need to give them some room on this planet. Lastly. . . as for Hamas and Hisbollah, back off, or go jump in the Dead Sea. Do what the Jews did. If the heat gets too intense in any certain place, make an Exodus! “And I told him that!” Glass half-Full

Parable of the Christian

Then it happened that as Christian was reclining at the table in the Democrat house, many liberals and genderites and were associating with the legaqubes. When the magalicals saw this, they said to his associates, “Why is your leader hobnobbing with the libtards and the legaqubes?” Thanks for reading Carey's Snippets! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. But when Christian heard this, he said, “People who are on the right track don’t necessarily need someone to straighten them out. The ministry of reconciliation is for those who need to be directed in their chosen lifestyle.” A few days later, at another venue, Christian gathered his associates and taught them what truly Faithful evangelism is really all about. So he sent them out with a few instructions, to whit: “Don’t get all bent out of shape about getting rich or famous. You don’t necessarily need to spend all your time with the evangelicals and the churchgoers. As you mozy around the county, or the state or even from coast to coast, don’t lollygag your time with the religiites, and don’t just hang out with the evangelicals, but go, instead, to all those folks out there who have wandered away from faith and have gone astray.” “And wherever you go, preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is eminent. It could happen, y’all! with you or without you. Heal sick people, raise up those who have fallen into destructive lifestyes, help the defilers get their act cleaned up. Rebuke demonic acting out. Freely you have received; I didn’t charge you for this. So you ought not require compensation for your good samaritan generosity. You did not inspire such generosity; the Lord God Creator of the Universe did. Don’t go around hankering for money, or assets, or a fat bank account, or insane cars, or multiple speculation portfolios. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with those things if they are handled properly and appropriately, but if you get all bent out of shape over getting rich or being top dog or hobnobbing with the fat cats and the cool cats, or chasing black swans, you’ve lost sight of the true prize. Keep your eye on the true prize.”

“Whoever is willing to listen to you, hang out with ‘em for a while. It doesn’t matter what color they are or what color flag they’re flying, just treat ‘em as you would expect them to treat you. Be nice. Be liberal in you generosity. And listen to them. You might learn a thing or two. lf they dis you or give you the shaft, just check out. Don’t make a big deal of it, and you don’t need to go around talking sh** about them. Live and live let. Life is good; get on with it. There’s a lot of work to do in a world that is not bent on destruction. We cannot be lollygagging around casting accusations of nananabooboo and whatsit2ya and who the hell do you think you are. So remember what we told you. Love your neighbor, no matter how degenerate you think they are. . . and even love those who spite you and act out to take your jobs. Treat ‘em like the human being that you consider yourself to be, even if they are a democrat.” He told them that! and She did too. What’s it to you? Glass half-Full

Everywhere around the world, people build walls. Some walls stand for a long time.

Other walls fall down after awhile.

The Great Wall of China hasn’t fallen down. The Ming Dynasty started building it 700 years ago. It is the longest wall in the world. In this 2009 family pic, you can get a glimpse of the wall behind us.

Every now and then, we come across a wall that memorializes a great person. I noticed this memorial in Boston, dedicated to President John F. Kennedy. Carved in the monument wall is a quote from him that is still worth our attention, and quite relevant to our present dilemma as a nation populated by people from all over the world. Have a look:

In Jerusalem, the sacred hilltop, called Kotel, or Haram al Sharif , or Temple Mound, is bounded on the west face with a stone wall. When Jesus Christ entered the temple area before completing his first ministry of teaching, preaching, suffering death and resurrection, he was greeted with palm branches, waved by people who had heard of his miracles and his teaching. Riding on a donkey, Jesus entered through that eastern gate. Later, in the 16th century, Ottoman conqueror Suleiman had that east gate blocked up solid with mortared stones. But those stones will fall away when Jesus returns to that holy hilltop in Jerusalem. A stone wall presents no problem for the only person in history who conquered death itself after being nailed to a cross.

Glass half-Full

Royals

Ever since 1914—and probably even before that—the Royals in this modernizing world has steadily diminished. It’s been—to use David Crosby’s phrase—a “long time coming.” In my reading of history and Bible, and going back to the earliest days of my reading, the word “kings” has been in multiple verses. The earliest of my memory was not called “king”, but “pharoh. in that same vein were the many kings mentioned in biblical books: Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, and later of course the kings of Israel. . . Saul, David, Solomon, and so on. By the time Jesus was born, King Herod was ruling the Hebraic kingdom, but under the shadow of HIS overlord, Emperor Caesar in Rome. When Jesus was crucified by the powers that be in Jerusalem, his death , itself, was terminated when he resurrected three days later. And if you believe that, I’ve got real estate in heaven I’ll tell you about. The Bible affirmation of his life, death and resurrection concludes with his second coming, which has not yet happened. He is still honored by myself, and millions of others, as the King of Kings. But I digress. I’m thinking today about royals, and generally their place in history. After the legacy of the King of Kings, the news of his conquest of death, conquest of sin and ultimate Universal authority. . . gave rise to to a system of life that persisted in this world—especially Europe, where the “Catholic”/later Christian, church presented a type of leadership that leaders strived to duplicate for many, many centuries. Hence. . . the monarchies. This strain of leadership strove to provide living arrangements and environs for all of their “subjects. Here’s where my long store stops short, like a horse suddenly being halted by the breaking of a bridle. In the 19th century, all of those monarchies started to unwind. It started with King George VI, from whom we Americans discharged ourselves in 1776. A few years late, the French launched their version of our American revolutionary vision and, yes, war, with blood and all that. Blood, royal blood flowed when the Jacobins dropped the guillotine on King. Louis VI and Marie Antoinette. That was—the way I see it— the beginning of a long, long unwinding of royal authority and royal function in modern societies. Napolean came along, acting like a king but having not birthright. That was a big hit on monarchy. By the time the 20th century rolled around, the royals of Europe were in a deep shift. The Czar of Russia was assassinated. (The current czar is still hanging out in his power trip.) In 1914, the most extreme dissolution of royal authority in history was inaugurated when Archduke Ferdinand—not even the Austrian emperor yet—was shot in Sarajevo. That was the beginning of a long, long downhill run for royals all over Europe.

Now I’ll cut to the chase with the thoughts that started this musing. About ten years ago, a very old newspaper crossed my path and I bought it. It was a special edition of the Times of London, Special Coronation Edition, May 1937. That ancient, yellowed, tattered tabloid opened up a world of wonder for this American guy who had visited, a time or two, London and Buckingham Palace (from a distance) and Canterbury Cathedral. As time rolled by for this Rowland, and my songs of Rowland had been sung, I had, a few years back, gotten into writing novels. I was able, by the time the third one, Smoke, wafted out the keyboard to publish it, by the grace of God and Amazon KDP. Now today, I was pondering some of this old history stuff because I happened to view a YouTube about the royal family. It was a fascinating vid to watch, but what i found most interesting about it was that Queen Elizabeth had, in her will, willed her father’s royal sword to Prince Harry. Her will turned out to be an dispensary expression of her vision—her understanding—that the role of royals in this 21st-century world ain’t what it used to be, because, as brother Bob had sung it, “the times they are a-changin’. And I think she comprehended that the place of her legacy—primarily her family—in this world, would from this time hence be. . . well . . . who knows. I mean, she gave Harry her father’s sword. What does that tell you?

I’ll conclude with some royal wisdom from a fab four group from Liverpool: John sang: “Come Together.” Ringo sang: “I get by with a little help from me friends.” As Paul sang: “Her Majesty’s a pretty nice girl, but she doesn’t have a lot to say.” And George sang, “While my guitar gently weeps. . .” I am sure many, many Brits were weeping when her Majesty passed away. Now her last will and testament is a vectored message to her legacy family: Stay together, work together. Every member has a role to perform. As for Harry, with his new sword, whom I like because he married an American. . . On Guard, Prince! And yes, Virginia, there may yet still be a place for royals in the world. Someone needs to demonstrate the importance of dignity in this life that we live every day in a very puzzling world. Smoke

Jobs

Jobs; and I'm not talking about Steve Jobs, although i thank him and his crew for this laptop, upon which I peck away, day after day, because I can afford to, even though I am on Social Security. I'll remind us that I paid into social security and other federal, as well as state programs, for purposes of defending this nation, assuring our Constitutional freedoms and privileges, preserving the rights of all citizens who have, by their citizenship and toil, earned and secured the rights to receive support from that governance that was assured by our Constitution. As for the money itself . . . that is, the wages, the salaries and so forth that were earned and paid out from the time of my age, at 14, 1965, through the 73rd year of my life, this year of our Lord 2025. The money started trickling in, in 1965, from Burger Chef. Then it was A&P, with tips, then a summer as an office boy at the Louisiana State Capitol, and semester or two, part-time, at a shoe store in downtown Baton Rouge. In the LSU years, I serviced vending machine stocks at the LSU Union. Summer after freshman year was spent selling dictionaries door to door in southern Ohio, for Southwestern Publishing Company of Nashville. Then I was working for a semester or two or three, operating a cash register at a drug store. At long last (for that phase !! of life) I graduated from LSU. They let me get away with a BS in General Studies, even though most of what I had studied was philosophy, English literature and political science. As a newly-formed baccalaureate, I moved to Florida, St. Pete, where I worked a life/disabilities insurance debit in a black neighborhood. After a while I switched to selling classifed advertising, on the phone, for the St. Pete Times. With some traffic violations, a revoked driver's license due to points, I was ticketed for driving on a revoked license, did three days in Pasco County Jail. That was only the second time I got punched in my life, because I wouldn't lend a guy a buck to get in a poker game. The guard let me out early.  Went to my grandfather's funeral in Louisiana and then drove to Asheville. Got a job - turned out to be several years - for Groves Printing Company, sales. Decided to shift into carpentry because my landlord was renovating some commercial buildings in downtown Asheville. Somewhere in there, managed to make a a 33rpm record album, "Something for Everyone," in Nashville. Suffered a failed marriage. Left Asheville for Texas, never made it to Austin but instead got saved in Waco, gave my life to Jesus, eventually drove out west. On a mountaintop in Wyoming, watching sun go down, decided to go back to North Carolina. I'm glad I did. A Norman and Nancy Blake concert at Asheville Junction turned out to be the meeting point where Pat and I started our 45 years together. Before leaving Asheville, I was able, by the grace of God, to muster up some dear music friends to do a second LP, "Revelation 5:9"

Moved to Boone NC, joined a New Testament Christian fellowship. As for work, and paying taxes etc, which this is supposed to be about . . . I spent two years tying rebar for the Linn Cove Viaduct, which had been the Blue Ridge Parkway missing link since New Deal years. In '83, with the great S-shaped bridge around Grandfather Mountain completed, I drifted into carpentry while our three young'uns were growing up. We also made a move to the Carolina coast tor two years, where I did construction work. Upon our return to the Blue Ridge region, I was still doing carpentry for a coupla years. Then I thought maybe I'd break into teaching for a few years, took nine education courses at Appalachian State University., obtained certification in four subjects. But that didn't pan out, I guess I was considered to be too old, with all the new Education grads coming out of Appalachian State U. So I did five years at as a maintenance man at an apartment complex near our home. While working there, I discovered a very old edition of the Times of London, Special Coronation Edition commemorating the coronation of King George VI of England (King Charles' grandfather). Long story short (haha!), perusing that ancient tabloid newspaper inspired the writing of my third novel, Smoke, which was all about the year 1937. After printing two full, typrewritten copies at home, I mailed them to Random House and Harper Collins. But guess what happened. Nothing! which is why I say Thank God for Jeff Bezos, and Amazon KDP for their publishing availability and excellence. And that's why, at age 73, I spend my time promoting my old LPs from back in the day, on Spotify and YouTube, and God only knows where else, along with my four novels, Glass half-Full, Glass Chimera, Smoke, and King of Soul, while pecking away our retirement resources with this blog, and the other 1300 or so blogs I've published. Now do you think I should have the benefit of getting regular checks from Social Security? even now, as Pat is still doing part-time as an ICU Nurse. Do you think we are worth being supported by you and by all the other citizens of this great nation. . . receiving Social Security checks every month? If you do think we are worth the expense, go tell Elon and his wrecking crew go find some real work, like maybe controlling carbon emissions or conserving our natural resources and our national parks and our American way of life, and maybe trying to keep some peace among our allies who are being attacked by Vlad the Mad! If you think we're worth the expense, we would appreciate your support. Thank you! God bless America, land that we Love!

After 73 years on this earth, I do not pretend to know or understand what unexpected events lurk on the corners of my memories. An old song from the '60's popped up in my awakening thoughts this morning: ". . . like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel, never ending or beginning, like an ever-spinning wheel. . . the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind" While those lyrics do come to mind, the more profound lyric I had found myself contemplating earlier, while awakening this morning, comes from an old labor union song, sung by Joan Baez, on one of her many vinyl LPs, back in the day, when she sang: "I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night, alive as you and me. Says I, 'but Joe, you're ten years dead' 'I never died', said he. ' I never died,' said he. . ." The Joe Hill tribute song goes on to explain that wherever working men strive for equality or safe working conditions or higher wages or whatever, the legacy of Joe Hill, the bold labor organizer, lives on. Now I'm a southern boy, born in '51. . . never did know nothin' 'bout no labor union, but I remember hearing Joan singing about that old dream of a labor organizer. But obviously, I do recall them for some reason or other. Those meditations spun into a wider cycle of memory as I now recall the words of Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg, carved into the wall at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington: "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." With myself having stood at the Lincoln Memorial while reading the slain President's words from Gettysburg Address, I lifted those words (above) in a scene - at that same Memorial location - which was written in as part of the story in my novel, Glass half-Full. But that's neither here nor there now.  Just now - and I'm pondering how all this memory stuff operates - I'm pondering the significance of a bundle of those memories. . . where they came from, why they are so meaningful to me, and. . . in this present day and time. . . No matter what the musky does or what words are uttered by any mar-lago maven or his magamaniacs, I know that the history of this nation. . . our striving and fighting for freedom against privileged tyranny, slavery, capitalist excess, cruelty, thievery and against any kind of human abuse - our striving to overcome all those injustices- is necessary to defeat the presence of evil among us (yes, I am a Christian) because. . . as Dr. Martin Luther King had said, and as Moses long before him said. . .  WE SHALL OVERCOME and as for me and my house: we say, we shall overcome, because we know that Jesus conquered death by defeating death itself with his Resurrection. . . and. . .as Amos had written in what later became my bible, the Lord does act on behalf of po' folks and he sho'nuff does expect His people to do the same! And furthermore, as the other Amos had said to Andy back in the day. . . and "I told him that!" Now I'm a'telling you that. Lastly, being an old guy, I just got, by doctor's orders, a brain scan, to see if any of my 73-year-old brain cells were leaking out. I got through it at Moses Cone Medical Center, although Moses never mentioned brain scans in any of his biblical books.  But it all turned out ok and I survived it, and that's the news, as Garrison Keillor used to say, " from Lake Wobegon". . .

the Prairie Home Companion Radio Man from Lake Wobegon. . . because, you know, when you get to be my age, all woe is, indeed, gone. There's nothing you can do now about the state of the world or the state of the Union or the deep state or even the state of the world. About all you can do is jot a few notes about what you remember and hope for the best and maybe share your thoughts and your memories with some good folks because, as Bob Hope and Bing Crosby of my childhood used to sing: "Thanks for the the memories." Don't do what the gangsters in the movies used to say in the movies, don't fuhgedaboudit.  Which is to say, remember what, as brotha Louie Armstong sang, in between his trumpet virtuosities : "Thanks for the memories!"  Thank the Lord, the Creator, for the recollections, and the mind he gave you that reserved those precious memories, for you in your latter years. And if you believe that . . . I've got some real estate in heaven I'll tell you about (later.) King of Soul

It's very simple. Peace can be achieved when vladimir putin withdraws his soldiers and blitzkrieging destruction from Ukraine. He must be made to do so. The European nations are United in their resolve to oppose putin in his aggressive sudetanland-like invasion of Ukraine.

The European nations are United in their resolve to defeat putin's aggression. What is truly tragic is that the American president is unwilling to take the stand that our founders took when they opposed King George III's aggression. He is unwilling to take the American stand that our President Roosevelt took in joining the Europeans against nazi aggression in 1938 Sudetanland and the subsequent 1939 Poland invasion, which detonated WorldWarII.  The MAGA-backed occupant of the Oval Office (MAGA stands for Mark America Go Apeshit) is supporting a Russian dictator, because donald himself wants to be a american dictator - as if there were such a thing! He wants to play dishrag to putin's sending Ukraine down the drain of fascist aggression. Our present Oval office-occupant and his VP are unwilling to stand with our European Allies, although the leaders of those European nations stand United in their resolve to support Ukraine and to defeat Vlad-the-Mad, the Russian dictator, the hitler of the 21st-century.  Give us Liberty or give us death! was the declaration of our forefather, patriot Patrick Henry, back in the days of our Revolutionary birth pangs when the United States of America was being born. Give the Europeans Liberty and give putin an exit visa back to his kremlin hellhole.  Give Zelensky Victory and give putin Defeat! Glass half-Full

After Yellowstone

I have a vague memory of a speaker i heard, many moons ago, who took the liberty of departing what would have been his gospel message to take a side path of his opinions about a move that was being viewed around America at that time. The movie that the speaker mentioned was called Dances With Wolves. I don’t remember much about the story therein, but I do remember that the speaker fellow was criticizing Kevin Costner’s implied message in that movie. As for the Dances With Wolves message, or plot line, or conclusion I don’t remember much about it, but I think I do recall that Kevin had some empathy with the naive Americans, and apparently that was his motive in making the movie. Past is prologue, as you will see when I explain more about this topic. Just a few minutes ago, we watched the concluding episode of Yellowstone. I’m not going to be a spoiler here by telling you how the series ended.

I will say that in one of the last episodes, the main character, a Montana rancher, was killed, and the last episodes revolved around what happened after his death. The surprise conclusion of the series—maybe I am a spoiler here but here goes nothing. Bottom line: his heirs returned the maga-ranch back over to the native Americans whom they had befriended in previous seasons of the series. Their decision to favor the sacredness of the land, rather than its monetary and developmental value was, it seems to me, a noble one. Reflecting on this plot conclusion, and that Kevin Costner had been, before he got killed off, the main character, and probably the producer of the series, I found myself pondering the meaning or message of “Yellowstone” in the big picture of life on this great north American continent that we call America. . . but perhaps more profoundly, life on this planet, and where our lifestyle on this planet may be leading us. It’s not likely that this continent would be returned, in toto, to the naives who were here when the Europeans began their centuries-long immigration and domination of the continent. But maybe, applying a different twist to my feelings about this would be to consider the possibilities that this planet would somehow be returned to a native appreciation and respect for this land. . . this great land. . . this land that was made, as Woody Guthrie sang, “for you and me.” This land that was made for living in, not getting rich, although I have nothing against rich people. I will not hazard any more ruminations about these thoughts or feelings just now. But I will leave you with this: a song that i composed back in the ’70’s and recorded on my record album at that time. You can hear it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAQSqwrVdQw or here: Sitting Bull’s Eyes http://www.micahrowland.com/carey/Sitting Bulls Eyes.mp3" http://www.careyrowland.com

The Root and the Rock

It takes all kinds to make a world. It started with the Root and the Rock. The Root said to the the Rock: Look! I can make a Tree! The Rock, gazing up skyward, had a look at the tree, and he said: Well that’s nice; “I suppose you’re gettin’ up in the world. . . but, uh. . . what the heck is that?”

The Root said, “that. . . what? The Rock said, “that big lump hangin’ off of your trunk.” The Root said, “oh, that. that’s just a spot where some alien immigrant tried to break into my territory.” The Rock said, “alien?” The Root said, “it’s just some, uh, visitor who stopped by to make a home in my little crack.” Rhe Rock said, “oh, and that’s. . . okay with you, that he just decides to hang out in your territory? I mean, it’s like, kinda weird, don’t you think?” The Root said, “nah, man. whatever floats your tote; live and let live.” The Rock said, “Oh . . . but don’t you need to, like, develop something to improve the world, make it a better place?” Don’t let some immigrants come in and screw it up for you.” The Root said, “like what? what do you have in mind?” The Rock said,” well, uh, like. . . like these homo sapiens came along and dug up some of my stuff, and they processed it and made it into a steel and glass creation. have a look at this; pretty impressive huh!”

The Root said, “uh, yeah; that’s nice. but what’s all that colory stuff in the foreground? It looks a little bit like what some of my kinfolk like to do.” The Rock said. “uh, I don’t know; its just stuff that some human merchant put together, just like because, those humans don’t have anything better to do than make stuff up.” The Root said, “uh. . . but, I mean, I think it’s pretty nice what they did. i mean, it’ colorful and all.” The Rock said, “yeah, well, whatever floats your boat. I never have figured those homo sapiens out.” The Root said, “I haven’t either, I mean they do some nice stuff every now and then.” The Rock said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But you better watch out for them. They’ll have this whole world set up in contrived stuff if you don’t watch out.” The Root said, “Yeah, some of those humans don’t have anything better than to do than sit around on a friday afternoon and make up stupid stories about us.” The Rock said, “Yeah, we’ll have to keep an eye on ’em. They’ll have this whole world turned around before you can say licketty split. The Root said, “ Yeah, I heard some of them were piddlin’ around with the E=mc squared thing. I hope they can’t make that go full blast.” The Rock said, “If they do, we’ll have to shut ’em down before all hell brakes loose; I got some cousins who could fall pretty hard on ‘em.” The Root said, “ Oh, not to worry; they’ll just make mushrooms out of molehills.” The Rock said, “I’ll have to keep an eye on them; if they get too far along with that fission f****up stuff I’ll just have to gather up some of my klan and fall down on them.” The Root said, “ Oh, shucks, Yeah,keep an eye on it. If that happens, I’ll have to start all over again. The Rock said, “ Ugh, yeah, we’ll try to make it hard on ’em so they don’t f**** up. The Root said, “Keep me posted. I’m gonna take a nap. Let me know if anything happens.” The Rock said, “Not a problem. If anything serious happens, I’ll let ya know about it.” The Root said, “ Thanks. I know I can depend on you.” And they both lived happily ever after, or at least we hope so. Glass Chimera