the Shining City on the Hill aint pearly white     John Winthrop  a Puritan  

              gotta ask Wha City

                                               definitely asking Wha Hill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j44G9NyC5hY

                                                                                         1613,  ReggaeFriday,  26  11. 21

HARDEN the democracy  there are no citiesnot hills without democracy

didnt seem like anyone was home 

he climbed the black picket wrought iron fence and walking across the wide lawn towards the flatstone apron that ranaround the swimming pool he reminisced of bygone times  its accompanying hilarity

the pool was empty

                   drydead leaves scattered on the bottom  its blue walls faded

he wondered how long had it been unused

its emptiness shook himtook him by surprise it took the wind out of his sails he had come to swim

he hoppedup on the divingboard walked to the end and sat down crosslegged

                                                                                  this pool for three summers while he was a teenager was where theyhe and his buddies boys and girls kicked off all the swimming pools that followed on those particular nightsthose riotous galavants

                                             it was his idea   he wanted to recreate John Cheevers The Swimmer

   

their happy roving band was usually between fivesix ten tops it was hard to get ten naked teenagers into the water before being found out 

                Scott a buddy who worked as a caddie at the Country Club casually mentioned his surprise that club members owned swimming pools  he and Scott swam at public pools or the Y

                                                                                  Can you imagine how cool that would be, swimming in your own pool?

I cant No he shook his head

I can’t either. Something else, ain’t it? 

Yes it is Theyre fortunate  I cant imagine

                                           his imagination took that as a challenge  it summonsed Burt Lancaster Ohman Scott have you ever seen or read Cheevers The Swimmer   

his Who? was quick a snarl

                            Cheever? was as pungent No. You know if school didn’t assignment it I ain’t reading it.

I just thought . .

. . You didn’t think, Joe, no, you always have your nose in some book or another, I ain’t like you; you know that.

Yes I know that I wasnthe wasnt apologising  I didnt mean anything by it Just listen hear me out

In this book a man Ned lives in an highend community after swimming and drinks at his Country Club he decideshes adamant  hes going to swim home The story proceeds as Ned goes from one neighbours pool to the next along the way Its fascinating

                           Whadaya think

Think?  Think about what?

We could do thatnot necessarily swim home  jump fences swim fourfive pools through parts of town As a lark Skinny dip Bring some girls along

Itd be a kick

 

there was outrage which was crippled an fell to goodnatured laughter naked fit teenagers swimmingsplashing running off as the lights went up and the owners came out yelling  first time he heard the word inimitable said

                                                                                                            a womans voice

they fled

only a few times the cops were called  but they dressed were on foot hid up in trees

cops  no one  looks up

1022,  ReggaeFriday,  19  11. 21

1104,  ReggaeFriday,  26  11. 21

Christina Yantzou & JAB  Empty Courtyard  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8hf-J9AFow 

 

maybe if Burns kept his mouth shut his vehicle wouldnt have failed him this morning  “The best laid plans o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley. askew/awry”

                                    hadnt thought of himself as a gang but his disappointmenthis failure was thrashing him asif he was more than one person

                                        Take yer best shottake yer best shot the wheels came off the ride

the last time the wheels came off his ride he found himself just off Technology Drive Ironic he had a hard-on spite for things technological which wasnt to say he didnt have some appreciation a sliver

                                                                                              his daughter Anielaher boyfriend collected his ass off the side of the road Technology Drive was not lost of them

                                                                                   they howledHOWLEDpulled no punches which he was game for had it happened to either them hedve HOWLED one has an opportunity to laugh take itTAKE ITNEVER LET IT GO Life “. . . best laid plans” is too short not to take pleasuretake humour wherever one finds it     

Thanksgiving was Anielas holiday she floweredshe OWNED it coming through her front door she greeted you with an enormous smileenormous DIMPLES hugged an kissed you slathered you with LOVE

                                                                                        then enthusiastically reminded you that on the dining table was a homemade card with your name on it all the cards were different  an on them you were to write what you were thankful for

she bound them

the folder was laid beside the centerpiece

everyone could read what they had been thankful for over the years since she conceived of it

think hard

             think realeyes why you are thankful grateful   Life isnt as long a ride we fool ourselves to believe tomorrow may not come

1242,  Day-between-Two-Ts,  24  11. 21

Bigheaded Todd and the Monster  Bittersweet  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXV8oyIsvpE

 

Trippin the light fantastic

                            Awcomon now   truth be known

Awright awright . . . truth be known   tryptophanin the light fantastic                                                                                                               

 

 

Happy turkey day

back in a few   1022,  Day-between-Two-Ts,  24  11. 21

 

if he had anything going for him in his corner he was observant to a T  to the nth degree

only time his head wasnt on a swivel was when he read as he walked

                                                                           One of these days, man, you’re gonna get your ass mowed down.

Nah Got peripheral got ears

                              Anover these many years Ive developed sonar I am aware a type of observant

he told himselfconfided that

                            anwhat he eventually learned was now innate

one of his best attributes was to look up

people owned eyelevel

                         but not a couple feet above  that was nada

tried and true

he discovered that as a boy hide n seek

                                           usually played out of doors however the few times they were allowed to play insidein basements he hid in plain sight an wasnt found

                                                           he didnt hide in laundry deep sinks not under the tool bench behind the wood and metal toolboxes not in dryers he hid on top the cast iron plumbing just under the roughsawn floor joists  when he wasnt found at games end whoever was IT cried Alle, alle, auch sind frei, frei, frei. lotsa German families in the neighbourhood maybe they dictated thats how it went when the game was over he didnt question it kinda musical  just rolled off the tongue

when they played outdoors he wasnt found

                                              he climbed into the trees like a little monkey

  up

    hiding in plain sight the other kids didnt look up   kids grow into a-dolts

walking and reading his antenna firedhis head came up out of the book

                                                                          Wha he said outloud

nothing was immediately apparent

but there was something

he panned eyelevel

                     then by degrees he ticked it up until he scanned the skylineBAM 

perhaps a halfmile as the crow or hawk or whatever bird turns one on flies a redwood was driving a corkscrewed limb into the belly of the caeruleanblue sky the scene floppedone-eightied in his eyes they were always damn playful anhe imagined a chubby gorgeousblue bottle being uncorked an from it flowed wonderful creatures humours  salves salvations  bequeathed if one were so disposed

in his case it was all left to him

                                 he had a diamondhard time imagining anyone other than he noticing the pointed redtinged corkscrew protruding into the sky between the leafy live oaks digger pine boughs which madeup the reefs and crowns of the skyline

1234,  ReggaeFriday,  12  11. 21

337 preferred or 1537,  Monday – President Kennedy assassinated,  22  11. 21

 

whas life

to each his own

his was a fluid origami foldingunfolding lived to dreams an dreamed to life   

when he discussed Life capital L he did not distinguish between them

                                                                       his experiences were codifiedwere simply MEMORY long rich deep memories  it didnt matter to him if circumstances he faced were blacknblue redblooded live daydream dream hypnagogic or hypnopompic  he kept them in the same stone well  dipped into it greedily sipped savoured

the other eveningmorning he read the words over and over reading them he eventually heard them recited by an unknown voice then in his  then other voices women menhe wasnt able to distinguish them either despite listening intensely usually he dreamed of strangers

“You were so busy watching where you were going you didn’t see where you were.”  declarative   accusative

perhaps   . . where you had been.

it seemedbecause it was looped he must have read itheard it at least onehunred times as he slept “busy watching” was the Present the act of lookingmoving forward not prescient however disregarding what retreated in the rearview mirror he was taught to drive in high school by a strict teacher learned in hectic Chicago traffic who was obsessed with where his students eyes were  Mirrors, dammit, you have three! Check them every five seconds!

                                                                                        he remembered on two occasions the instructor had the driver stop the car and get out  You can walk back to school. Find another teacher, we’re through.

    mirrors

                they are there for a reason

lessons learned

0757,  Sunday,  21  11. 21

241,  Monday,  22  11. 21

Nucleus  Alleycat  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0S2nF-IJno

 

he nearly spitinterrupting their conversation Mack wanted to know what happened to the woman he was recently dating Mack forgot her name  he wasnt going to remind him

                                                                 Im not seeing her Im not fond of clingy women

Clingy? She was dropdead gorgeous.

No matter clingys a dealbreaker

What’s clingy?

You an assholeya know wha it is

                                   he paddled the air with the back of his hand Go off woudya baby I need some room to breathe                    

I like a woman’s attention; I would have liked hers.

he snorted

            Lemme put it this way If a womans beautiful intelligent she gives wonderful blow jobs but clingy   Adios

his face flushed What are you talking about?

                                              Those attributes but clingy, you kicked her to the curb?          

Adios Thas the size of it

You’re nuts. If she was the three, I wouldn’t mind clingy.

Noya wouldnt  Not really

Mack was enthused

                      Really.

Yaknow wha I can write a single word that would change your mind so youd understand me

A word?

One word

You’re on.

            I don’t think you can dissuade me.

he took a napkin from the dispenser on the lunch counter Look off to the side a moment woudya

he could have saved his breath  their waitress a young goodlooking woman had returnedwas behind the counter again  far end

he wrote gave Mack a chuck to the shoulder with the back of his hand  Thats it

reluctantly Mack slowly swiveled his stool left

                                               the waitress had leaned forwardput her elbow to the counter to read somethingtop of her garment gaped open handsome cleavage What? he looked down at the napkin

You remember what happens to the male

AwJesus.

Good  Yaremember

                     The male anglerfish has to find a female fast shes enormous  several males can can attach  Slowly   whahappens

Slowly his body is absorb by the female and he is reduced to and functions as nothing more than a gonad.

Right  Dealbreaker

1447,  Saturday,  20  11. 21

1012,  Monday,  22  11. 21

https://www.wired.com/2013/11/absurd-creature-of-the-week-anglerfish/

 

the catbox trembled litter shivered

he touched it

             it was tremblingit wasnt a trick of his eyes

it grew more impatientmore violent

                                      Whas going on   it wasnt weird for him to talk to inanimate objects though an inanimate animating not in his usual fare

                                           Whas up

he wasnt expecting it to talk back

We do this every morning

                           Whaya peeved about I keep you damn clean Same damn litter for years Wha bugs up your ass

its violence upticked

he grabbed either side

                        he changed it up on top the washing machine in the laundry room there was a second box there hed already cleaned it it was to his right right of the dryer this box he maintained under the water heater mounted on a fourlegged metal platform and deep tray in case the it leaked

                                                                 he didnt whiteknuckle it but he could feel the violence coursing through it

Yawanna trade places out from under the water heater over by the dryer

                                                                             the trembling persisted

Yawanna be in the bathroom by yourself the third catbox was there

                                                                         it bucked scattered litter on the toe of his boots  the trembling hadnt begun until he cleaned itfreshened it with more litter

Awright awright Im stepping away stepping back

he did

it pitched forward and flopped onto the linoleum facedown

                                                               he gave the dive a 10 perfect execution  it was a catbox

litter scattered forward hit the baseboard itd be an easy cleanup

it quit its violence 

laid still like a dead snake

he picked it up

its guts were emptied on the floor

he placed it back on top the washer

it remained still

he swept up the litter with a broom and dustpan refilled the catbox 

no violence it accepted the same litter   obviously the litter wasnt the animating force

You cool 

he still wasnt expecting an answer

he returned it to its place under the water heater

it complied

           seemed complacent

he back out of the laundry room

everything was chill

coming up the hallway he heard the coffee machine belching its last  he began a fresh pot before going to clean the catboxes

hed have Irish with his coffee this morning

entering the kitchen he saw all the cabinet doors were open

ROOMMATES  YA FUCKIN WITH ME

                                      he hadnt seen or heard hide nor hair of them in months he thought they blew this pop stand

Should I say welcome home

three cabinet doors shut at once he had three roommates

Welcome home gang

                      We could have done without cleanup in Aisle 13

he heard something highpitched 

it wasnt the wind

appeared the band was getting back together again

0938,  Sunday,  21  11. 21

1244,  Sunday,  21  11. 21

Classic IV  Spooky  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqtqKURtTxM his ghosts were two women and one man

 

he didnt like itNO  no   not one bit

                                    if he was going to die he wanted to hear the roar of the engine gunnedescaping its tires shriekingsquealing rubber burningDIE die under the smell of black acridsmoke tinged with the scent of his hot red saltedblood

           his thickening blood turning dead leaves pushing loosegravel made more noise

                                                                                            MADE more noise than the stealthy electric car whiisperingwhiizzing away

he was blownup by a cowarddriven drone

he did hear something just before being rundown

                                                  breaths sucked in

afterwards he heard

                    It’s his fault, walking and reading like that.

another voice

             If you gave me your damn phone this wouldn't have happened; DRIVE.

he despised technology

                       seemed it was going to be his death   he was miserable  cheated   he was in the last chapter  he wasnt going to know how it ended

 

 

he heard himself say weakly

                              Whaas thasound  

the sound was a heavy shadow walking on fibrous shadows cast by the trees overhead  not that hed know then he couldnt hear his ears sayonarahe couldnt feel pain sayonara  he felt something dark lean over himhis eyes sayonara

he was mute                

                   Ah he thought   he wondered  Was I mute just before I was born

                                                                                             ------------------------------------------

1230,  ReggaeFriday,  12  11. 21

1408,  Saturday,  20  11. 21

 

freshawake relaxed living alone emptying his tankscratching his head he farted Aw ferChristssake he hadnt even cleared his throat yet sounded like Donald Duck was irate snuck up behind him https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoLdlmr-v2w but sometimes like Popeye yuckyuckyucking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBdqk5uhM7g an othertimes Toodys UUU UUU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVk9jR0tYec (from Car 54, Where are you?) but then there were times he couldnt say what he sounded like   otherworldly 

                                                                    a bathroom vocalist

on occasionhumoured by an odd dialect he was tempted to say over his shoulder Speak up say again didnt quite catch that but he figured hed be tempting Fate anrather than sayingblowing gas hed shit himself

                                                                                                discretion is the better part of valour he didnt wanna be cleaning valour off his ass legs an the floor

though no matter it always made for an innaresting beginning to the start of his day

he felt light  buoyantboyant    like a beauty coloured balloon

 

1857,  ReggaeFriday,  19  11. 21

0931,  Saturday,  20  11. 21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBdqk5uhM7g

 

25 February 1956

                    Nikita Khrushchev the Soviet Unions First secretary denounced Stalin in a secret speech before 20th Congress of the Communist Party it became known as The Personality Cult and its Consequences  might wanna pay mighty keen attention to that title  victims of Stalins Great Purge were posthumously exonerated of their crime really helpful for the executed

19 November 2021

                    Manhattan judge Ellen Biben exonerated Muhammad A. Aziz who died in 2009 and Khalil Islam of their convictions for murdering Malcolm X they maintained their innocence throughout the trial and while imprisoned

the USSR got around to denouncement and exoneration decades before the USA did

1040,  Saturday,  20  11. 21

https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/115995.pdf?v=3c22b71b65bcbbe9fdfadead9419c995

https://www.historytoday.com/archive/stalin-denounced-nikita-khrushchev  https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4510&context=edissertations

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/17/nyregion/malcolm-x-killing-exonerated.html https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/exonerations-men-convicted-malcolm-xs-1965-death-81249311

he had many mugs threeshelves full in an overhead cupboard

one his girlfriendlater wife gave him an outlandishmoustachioed face it was her mug

                                                                                         You appreciate it more than me. he was genuinely touched

one his daughter gave him a buffalo etched in its clay and facing left

                                                                         I know how you prefer the buffalo faces left she was so freaking observant  he was genuinely touched 

should anyoneafter he was gone aside from his daughters see them or the others each having their own story  they would have no ideano imagination  probably wouldnt give a moments noticetry to imagine what the simple pottery meant to him  he had thoroughly enjoyed them now fifty years  thirty years

pottery doesnt betray it age

                            anif they could speak  as with women  itd be rude to ask their age ask if they had secrets to share

       for they overheard frank conversations while dinners were being prepared mixed drinks made wine decantedhad witnessed frenetic sex begun under the guise of doing dishes together witnessed maulings on the counters before them taken from behind or blatantly fucking on the kitchen table

                                                               it would be rude to ask

so many mugs

              so many coffees teas hot chocolates hot toddies  so many lips pressed to them so many words spoke over them

so much life

Do you mind? she asked

Wha

Do you mind if I ask what you wished for when you blew out the birthday candles on your lemon meringue pie?

Wha I wish for every year

Every year?   It doesn’t change?

Hasnt changed since I first conceived of itmy nineteenth birthday living then on my own nearly a year

Unchanged?

The same every year

Do you mind?

Nah  Im not superstitious

                           I wish that when I die my mugs disintegrate turn to dust blown awayasunder by an idiot wind  After Im dead they wont be appreciated        

0012,  ReggaeFriday,  19  11. 21

1700,  ReggaeFriday,  19  11. 21

Bob Dylan  Idiot Wind  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBLViMLws10 

 

STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES

Rittenhouse

Wisconsin judge & jury 

He could be doxxed

He could be.

             Would that be right?

Right

          Its richly deserved

Ah yes, do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Matthew 7:12

Oh you little Bible-thumper you

                               yawanna drop that superior look off your face

You’re funny.

Funny  How

I’ll give you a moment, I’ve given you a plenty big hint.

Aaah    HA Thanks for letting me dig out from under

Carry on.

Judge said to the prosecutor “Is there something I’m saying that’s caused the face you’re making?” Prosecutor started to speak but the judge cut him off “Go ahead, say what you were going to say.” The prosecutor said “Your honor, no” you must have caught my bitchy resting face

1211,  ReggaeFriday,  19  11. 21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v98CPXNiSk