Pencil Stubs Online

Where We Belong

2013-05-01T00:17:00.001-05:00

By Bruce Clifford

I wish I could tell you everything
Wish I could explain why you mean so much to me
Wish I could hold you in my arms
Wish I could take all of your fears away

Wish I could tell you all these things
Wish I could show you how much you mean to me
Wish I could take you on the ride
Wish I could talk to you every single time

Now I'm alone
Waiting by the phone
I don't know where I belong
Without you I can't carry on

Wish I could tell you everything
Wish i could show you what our past lives mean
Wish you could see things like I do
Wish you could love me as you're meant to do

Wish I could hold you in my arms
Wish I could show you where our hearts belong
Where we belong

©4/10/13 Bruce Clifford

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Three Crows Flew Away

2013-05-01T00:17:00.000-05:00

By John I. Blair

This morning, after dawn,
Three crows flew away
From a limb beside my drive.

I heard them flap
Before I saw them
Rive the muggy morning air
Discordantly.

Evidently I’d disturbed
A muster of our local gang,
Broken up a crow cabal
Convening in an arching ash
To plan corvine agendas.

I’ll never know
Quite what they had in mind . . .
Chevrolet defilement,
Thrush infanticide,
Or just rapacious
Rushes at my lawn.

©2004 John I. Blair

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Walking Alone

2013-05-01T00:16:00.000-05:00

By Bruce Clifford

Is there a reason you lead me to here

Are you walking alone

Is there energy left in your heart

Are you the final push tearing worlds apart

Are you walking alone

Every time I count the many ways

Each catastrophe seems to get mixed up in the haze

A little voice inside of me says run run run

My only sense of reason tells me you're the only one

Walking on the moon

Dancing on the ledge

Leave me alone

That's exactly what she said

The colors fade to promise

False memories were made

How did we get to tomorrow

Am I the one who has been saved

Is there a reason you don't like to hear

The amazing things about you

Am I walking alone

Are you walking alone

Is there a reason you brought me to here

Are we alone

Is there compassion left in your soul

I just can't let go

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Hawk At My Window

2013-05-01T00:15:00.003-05:00

By John I. Blair

The window, look!
A tawny shape,
A beak, a hawk.
She fakes repose,
Pretends at ease;
But silence cold
Holds memories
Of clutching claws
And hacking hook.
My sunny deck,
Where feeders full
Lull scolding wrens
And pudgy doves –
Her dining nook.

©2008 John I. Blair

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Dance Steps

2013-05-01T00:15:00.002-05:00

By John I. Blair

Once I skipped down stairs,
Right foot, left foot, kicking
Out alternately, a little dance
To celebrate my body, my
Agility and grace.

Now, five decades thence,
I stop,
Grasp the handrail
And take each step
Carefully, with thought.

The stairs
Are all the same
But I am not;
My capriccio’s forgot;
My cautious years are here.

But still I think the view
Looks just as fine
Or finer
In my adagio descent
As when I danced the stairs.

©2007 John I. Blair

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Kansas

2013-05-01T00:15:00.001-05:00

By John I. Blair

(First Published in "Prairie Poetry")

Like a tired cookie sheet,
One corner bent
By accident-prone Missouri,
You center fundamental USA
(Absent disconnected add-ons).

Scratches, dust I know you bear,
Bits of crusty residue, hints of heat,
Sticky places that won’t remove;
But also there remains a trace
Of fragrance and desire.

So though it’s been a lifetime
Since I’ve had the use of you,
Sweet memories forbid I should forget
How much I loved you,
How much I need you yet.

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Many Pass Our Way

2013-05-01T00:15:00.000-05:00

By Bud Lemire

In our lifetime, many pass our way
Teaching us lessons, almost every day
Some come to stay awhile
Others leave us with a smile

We can't go back to that time and place
Life keeps on changing and we must embrace
just like the clouds outside my window
We must move along everywhere we go

Cherish all the memories you've collected through the years
All the happy times, and all of the tears
All that was shared will be inside
Memories don't end even after we've died

Memories are connected to the soul
They are always there, this I know
They can be relived anytime at all
All you need to do is to recall

Think of all the people you've met in your time
I know so many who have touched this heart of mine
Thank you dear friends who have passed my way
Bless my many friends who have come here to stay

©April 21, 2013 Bud Lemire

Thank you all of my friends who have passed through
my life and taught me so very much.
Thank you for all my friends who have decided to stay
and teach me some more
Thank you all for the memories.
May the journey ahead be a wonderful experience Comments by Bud Lemire. See his photo below:
On Our Way to Georgia Pass East of Fairplay.

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Goddess

2013-05-01T00:14:00.003-05:00

By John I. Blair

Long before the sarsens
Tilted into place
On Salisbury Plain
And carvers

Shaped hard limestone
Into melon-breasted women
We knew whence we came,
Our Mother’s children.

The evidence surrounded us:
Though males could kill,
Females birthed us, suckled us,
Hugged us, crooned.

There were gods to fear,
Gods for lightning, gods
For crushing waves,
For burning sun;

But in our loins and guts
We knew the Earth
Must have teats,
A womb.

©2008 John I. Blair

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The Finch Flies Up

2013-05-01T00:14:00.002-05:00

By John I. Blair

The finch flies up,
Throwing itself at sky with wild abandon,
Trusting thereby to flee
The mildly menacing shadow
I am making in the window.

I follow its flight with grateful eyes,
Glad in my ache-filled morning
At motion so free of limits,
A body so blessed with youth,
However circumscribed.

In moments the finch turns back,
Perches on a laurel tree
And watches me, no doubt to check
If safe to return to feeding; possibly
Also to see what age looks like.

©2013 John I. Blair

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Peek-a-Boo

2013-05-01T00:14:00.001-05:00

By Joi Smith

There you are~
peeking out around the clouds,
dancing on a day dream.
Smiling right into the heart of it all.
To me ,there is only one;
You're IT!

And you~ oh how my heart sings
at the thought of you.
In your sweet innocent eyes,
whatever sins you created,
are washed away
by the unconditional love
I see in your gaze.

©2013 riva Joi Smith

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Reading to My Baby

2013-05-01T00:14:00.000-05:00

By Bud Lemire

Reading to my baby, as she lies in bed
She listens very closely, to each word that's said
A well written adventure, set in fantasy
Wizards and more magic, a world you can see

Imagination flowing, with every word
Taken flight, just like a yellow bird
Listening to my voice, a smile on her face
With the words spoken, she's in a special place

Chapter after chapter, words that always flow
Wondering just exactly, where it's going to go
She listens and thinks “how very sweet”
While I read on, I feel so complete

I take time out, to take a drink
Looking back again, at the words of ink
I continue once more, taking my baby everywhere
She loves it very much, when I like to share

She has the speaker, set up on her phone
It is just the two of us, we are all alone
When my voice is ready, we take a break
Feeling very wonderful, with each breath I take

©April 23, 2013 Bud Lemire
(Vicki, I love reading to you)
See Bud Lemire in pic below

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Let Freedom Ring True

2013-05-01T00:13:00.000-05:00

By Bud Lemire

In relationships, it's freedom that rings true
There shouldn't be anyone controlling what you do
Respect and trust and having the right attitude
Open conversations without being so rude
You are not a puppet, to be controlled on a string
You should be able to float on an Angel's wing
Feeling so free just like a butterfly
Not have to question any reason why
Love is a freedom, we give from our heart
Each of those involved, have to play their part
Equality is the way it should always be
No one is better, love unconditionally
If you choose to control, the love will then die
Emotions will be stepped on, the soul will cry
The very love you found, then will be lost
To me it seems to be, such a tragic cost
Don't be suspicious, don't put the blame
Love is for giving, life isn't a game
Don't control the one that loves you
Listen to your soul, let freedom ring true ©April 18, 2013 Bud Lemire

I believe in equality, with both parties having so much to offer.
No one is better than the other. They are two halves of a whole.
When someone becomes controlling, it is like snipping off their wings.
They become depressed, and life and love just isn't what they thought it would be.
When freedom is given, trust is the key. They will give freely without pressure
and of their own free will. The love will be greater, life will be better.
Our souls are meant to be free, flow free, give freely. Not be controlled.
Bud Lemire comments

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Wren

2013-05-01T00:12:00.000-05:00

By Joi Smith

I was thinking about having a strong will today. I have one, for sure! It may have shaped my life in ways that weren't always good for me.

I met a wren last year, she had the same kind of will I did. She wanted to build a nest inside my home. She began this task when I wasn't home and was kind of upset with me when we met. I was amused with her building a nest in my little trailer, as I had never seen a nest built before.

She would not be deterred !! Although she left the first nest because I scared her, she came right back and tried again! A few mornings after, I woke to find her whirring the grass and leaves and sticks into a nest. It was the most amazing summer. She would twitter at her partner and he would fly off and get what she wanted, she would do some bird magic spinning those grasses and leaves into the neatest little nest.

I must have frightened her again, because she finally made a finished nest in my clothes pin bag. I know this because I stuck my hand in there and to my surprise found a warm bird and 4 eggs instead of a clothes pin!!

I was always afraid she would leave when I scared her. She refused and a few weeks later her hard work and strong will paid off. In just going about her business she became a lesson to me about not giving up, no matter the seeming odds against you.

©2012 Riva Joi Smith

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Farewell Leo

2013-05-01T00:10:00.000-05:00

Biography: Leo C. (Tha's Me!) Helmer

In spite of all the warnings from forebears, my mother and father decided to produce an offspring. It seems as though I came about as an afterthought, since the stubborn Irish and German background were an inducement for my parents to push ahead with the deed anyway.

So here I am, and now at this late stage in life some of my fans, friends, and acquaintances, (and even some of my enemies, I'm sure they are looking for my flaws, and it's a shame they can't find any) have persuaded me to write this story of my life.

Where do I begin, other than to say that I have inherited all the stubborness of those before me. How stubborn? Well, since I never wanted to do this in the first place, I did it because someone told me I couldn't.

In spite of my mischievious, fun loving childhood, I did grow up, but then to this day everyone asks 'Leo, when are you going to grow up?' This being a profound question, I have no answer. And since I believe that I am the oldest, wisest mortal placed here, to date that is, I accept the fact without question that I, indeed, am grown up. So let's proceed to the basics, like what happened between the years of birth and the present status of wise ass?

It wasn't too long after beginning life that as a young boy in kindergarten I was advanced to the first grade in a very short time. This of course had an interpretation (mine of course) of being a very smart little boy. Later I learned the true reason: my teachers were damn tired of me being assertive. So their reasoning was that if I was placed into an advanced environment, that the progression would slow the aggression.

It seems my mother had a bearing on my aggressiveness, since (although I am named Leo Curry Helmer) she insisted that my name was Francis Xavier Helmer. And, that is how I was enrolled in school, so had to whomp up on the other kindergartners who usually called me Francis The Sissy.

After years of vanity and self-assurance that I indeed was the greatest, I did manage to graduate from high school (to everyone's dismay.) And, was told now that I was a 'grown up' I had to act like a 'grown up' (translation, 'Get a Job'.)

Well, that was easy for most young boys at the time since a war was going on. However, for me, it was not so easy as I was very near-sighted and no army of any country on earth wanted the association of a rifle with a kid that couldn't see what he was supposed to shoot.
Of course this led to a draft classification of 4F. A big put-down to a smart-ass that knew how intelligent and assertive he really was. That didn't stop me from getting rid of the 4F put-down. I, sure that I could get into some service by hook or crook, memorized all the eye charts in town and made the rounds of the recruiting offices. However, getting there required glasses on and then reading the Eye charts without. This was an insurmountable problem since when I walked into the various offices I was seen to wear thick, heavy glasses. And, (being the smart-ass that I was) I could read the charts from top to bottom. However, when questioned as to the reason for the 'specks' I had no reasonable answer and a new eye chart was pulled down for me to try to read. After a few attempts at this, I finally took out for New Orleans on a riverboat as an engine room hand. While there I passed the Coast Guard exams for various engine room endorsements. All that was required was to pass a written test and register with a Union to get into the Merchant Marine, and there I stayed.

And, on one of my leaves I did manage to get married, just because everybody else was doing it. But, not being housebroken I remained a Merchant Mariner until the end of the Korean Conflict.

That end was a new beginning. As one job terminated a new one was necessitated. The question 'What the hell am I going to do now?' was answered very simply. Russ Prescott, a seaman buddy, and I hit the beach with a nice payoff after about a year at sea. And, where would you think a sailor goes to spend his money? Well, of course, the nearest bar on the beach. As would happen, if you hit a bar, you are bound to find a situation not always found on any other street corner. It so happened that a 'down on his luck' truck driver was cryin' in his beer.

Surely, this here good ol' boy would never let another human suffer in silence without intervention. To make a long story short, we bought his rig. Now we had a job, so we thought.

To be sure, we did own a truck and trailer, and other things that are common to such a piece of equipment. However, we did not own a license to move the rig. Getting a license we thought was easy, and it is if you are going to drive a car to work on Monday morning. But we were going to transport property for other people so the ordinary license was pretty useless. As we soon learned we needed to get acquainted with the ICC, the DOT, a few PUC's, and even in those days before big government, a bunch of other agencies we never even heard of. We did run into a nice guy who ran a warehouse in town that the rig was leased to. He, feeling sorry for a couple of dumb sailors who just hit the beach, told us how to get off on the right foot and about a company program to train drivers and show them how to pack household goods.

My self-assuredness first wondered why the hell anybody had to show me anything, but to this day I guess I thank the guy because without all that six weeks of training we would have been broke after the first trip.

We did take our rig and use it as our transportation home from San Pedro, CA to St. Louis, where I picked up my wife and told her we were moving on to Michigan with Russ. After all, she was glad to see me again after about a year, so she didn't argue too much. Anyway, Russ and his family had a nice house and some other property in Dowagiac, MI where we settled in.

After the schooling we were on our way with a load of new kitchens from Youngstown, OH and from there it just went on. We made some money and even bought a couple of more rigs and had a driver working for us. All attributed to my active mind and all-knowing astuteness. We even put our wives and girlfriends and other assorted hangers on to work driving flag cars or trucks when we had oversized loads.

Wouldn't you know it, things go great for awhile and then something always comes along to complicate the circumstances. My daughter was born and now I had to learn a lot of lessons. My wife decided she would stay home to take care of the new arrival, and I had to work a little harder to compensate for the loss of income. And, not long after, my friend Russ passed on to the big wide interstate in the sky. To avoid all the legal eagles, we just took a rig and returned to Missouri.

For awhile I managed to make a living moving tool and construction trailers to work sites and hauling heavy construction equipment. But, I was wearing out rigs as fast as I was paying for them so finally gave up.

About the same time I began to have a lot of trouble with my eyes and really didn't want to drive over the road as I did have a good safety record. In about 1964, I had to have a cataract operation, but that was not a simple one as I did have other eye problems, and lost the sight of the right eye. Of course, being Leo C., that was only a slight set-back, and I decided that I knew so damn much about driving that I started a driving school. And, since I was known by my competitors as the only blind driving instructor in the world, business really took off.
After a number of years of that, and progressive eye problems, I got out of that endeavor and became a loafer. But, then since loafing is not lucrative, I did such things as bartending, bartering, and bar-hopping. And, since even that is not a time consuming task, I became a volunteer for several agencies. After all, I did know everything so was in demand by many organizations. One thing that I like to do is cook, and in spite of myself am a good outdoor entertainer and barbecue connoisseur. And, while loafing found a new lackey who relished such relaxation.

John and I used to go to chili cookoffs for various charitable organizations and help in fundraising. We even, in spite of ourselves, got a prize or two once in a while, so it was suggested that I write the recipes for the various things that we cooked. "So who reads a cookbook?' I wondered. Thereby was the first inklings of my inborn wit and humor. If Aunt Em or Granny was going to read a recipe, she surely wasn't going to let the likes of me show her up. But, she might read some recipe that attracted her attention and might even be good; and she might even tell the rest of the family that it was how she done it 50 years ago. I enjoyed writing these recipes, and getting a laugh out of everyone who read them, and then when they found out they worked, my writing career was launched. Some of the recipes were even published in the local papers by a good friend and fellow preacher, Elaine Viets. Oh, yes, I am a preacher too, got the calling for a 5 buck donation to a Arkansas traveling preacher, who blessed me with my certificate to preach, baptise, bury and pass the platter. He even suggested that if I were to make a twenty five buck donation he could proclaim me a bishop, however I wasn't quite ready for the sudden advanced calling, and passed on that.
Elaine and I became friends when she began to write stories about the carryings-on and strange customs of a certain south-side cultural group. Of course, on occasion I fed her bits of info which she quoted. A few years later when I decided to wed my second wife, Elaine performed the ceremony at a local bar and got the entire event broadcast on a local TV station. That was a fun event, and brought attention to me as the nut of the networks.

My new wife liked my writings and always asked me to explain various bits of the Good Book to her, since I had that legitimate certificate to preach. Thereby were the first Biblical interpretations, by me, Leo C. And, surely they had to be spoofs of the infallible ramblings. And, who else but me, Leo C., would undertake to undermine the uncovered secrets of the universe and purport to promote an understanding of such a work. Well, who else, but me? Leo C.

Now, at this time of my life, it should be understandable, that as far as I am concerned, life is beautiful. My feeling is that it should not be taken as some serious event, but rather a "progression of peculiar procedures making progress toward a point in time when populations will pervade the perceivable universe" (my quote.)

Leo C. tha's me!!!

Rabbo Tales II-Chapter 14

2013-05-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

By Mark Crocker

Soft Eyes

Ra sat alone deep in thought looking at the crystal box that held Hermes in a static state so that he would not age and that his body could be kept healthy until he could either get Bastet to release Hermes or figure out a way to do it on his own. “Well, my brother, that test went far better than I thought. It was just a pity that the energy in the storm ran out and three ships got away. But now I know that as a group we can make such a storm that Merwyn won’t be able to stand against us. Its just a pity that we could not sink those last three ships as Merwyn will figure out it is us that was behind the storm and he will be on watch for us while he sails back to his home. But that’s not my plan at all” said Ra talking to the crystal box. “It’s just a pity that you can’t hear me”.
Ra stood up and walked over to the window that was on the far side of the dark room and looked out at the people below who were working on building a new complex that would house Hathor and Horus’s research and development center where they would breed a whole set of warriors that Ra, Hathor and Horus could control mentally. “If Horus is right, my dear friend,” said Ra speaking to the crystal box “we could have a whole army that we can control mentally and if Hathor can mix some of our gene plasma they might have weak abilities that we can use. That will give us such power that by sheer weight of numbers we can wipe out Merwyn, Athena and the rest of those that are holding up my plans”.
Ra turned and walked back over to the crystal box and sat back down and looked into the box deeply. “You know in some ways you are very lucky my dear friend. You will never age and in other ways so unlucky. I know you will never see us defeat Merwyn not unless I can free you or get Bastet to undo what she did to you. And sadly I don’t have the time to undo what she did nor have I yet figured out how to undo it myself. And I don’t think she would undo it willingly”.
There was a soft knock at the door that told Ra that it was Hera. “Just a moment” said Ra as he stood up and walked towards the door. Hera was dressed in a short white kilt with a matching white halter top. As Ra walked out of the room she nodded her head and smiled. “How does Hermes sleep?” asked Hera.
“The same as last time you asked and the time before that” said Ra not too unkindly.
“I just keep hoping that one day he will wake up. Maybe I should have offered to bond with him” said Hera sadly.
“He was too in love with Bastet” said Ra.
“I know and that I could never understand. She was never as willing as I was” Hera said weakly with tears in her eyes.
“And you have always been willing to pleasure others” said Ra.
“I do what I can to please those that I care about” said Hera smiling shyly. v“I think it's time that I spoke with Yhva again. But first I must speak with the council to see if they can trigger any good idea’s” said Ra as he and Hera walked down the hallway.
It was almost dark when the last member of Ra’s inner council arrived. “So glad you could join us Ares” said Ra.
Ares sat down at the far end of the council chamber and looked at Ra and bowed his head in acknowledgment.
“I know that most of you are not recovered from our little test run the other day but I need you all to help me come up with a new plan to deal with Merwyn, Athena and his umm followers. Plus I think that Yhva might become a problem too so we need to look at him and see what we might be able to do” Ra turned to Horus and Hathor “Have you been able to look at his aura using the eyes of our gift”?
“We got a brief look at him but he is heavily shielded. But his umm, maid or what ever she is, is very powerful. But she is not Sirian. She is from one of our sister worlds. I am not sure but I think I might of seen her someplace before” said Hathor.
“Try and remember where you have seen her” said Ra dryly.
“Hathor and I have worked hard with our two creations and it is just a matter of time before he slips and we can get a good look at how powerful he is” said Horus thoughtfully.
Ares shifted restlessly in his chair and looked thoughtfully out of the high window.
“You have something you wish to add Ares” said Ra.
“Hmm yes as it happens I umm do” said Ares. “I think we are wasting our time with Yhva. The main target is and has always been Merwyn his bimbo and catwoman. I think and feel that we should focus on them. And all this sneaking around and trying to push him so that we have a reason is a waste of our time. Let’s attack him in the open and have done with it. I am sure that we can arrange an accident and get rid of the bimbo daughter of his. If she has an accident he can’t blame us and his will to live will be broken and he will just fade and therefore no longer be a problem to us. Once Merwyn and his bimbo of a daughter are out of the way as a group we can do what ever we wish with catwoman. So let’s get on with it”.
“And how would you suggest we do that” said Ra his voice dripping with acid.
“I just told you how. Don’t you listen” said Ares looking hard at Ra.
Ra thought for a moment then smiled at Ares “I did not think you were serious about arranging an accident. And how would you arrange an accident for Athena. Bear in mind that she could be as power as any three or four of us”.
“You wanted ideas I gave you one. If you don’t wish to listen to the idea’s that are being offered then I am wasting my time here” said Ares stating to get up.
“Please be seated Ares. I just have much on my mind and we are all tired from our little test run” said Ra hiding his anger.
Ares sat back down and looked at the others seated in their chairs.
“What a bunch of cowards” thought Ares to himself.
“Ok an accident would be usefully. But what kind of an accident? It would have to look like something that could happen and something Merwyn would think was an accident” said Ra.
“A riding accident” said Hathor.
“She does not ride” said Ra.
“A sailing accident” said Horus.
“That’s possible but what kind. A storm that comes up suddenly or gets strong fast would point at us. Besides Bastet is too good of a sailor to fall for that” said Ra thinking hard.
“Either an earthquake which they get in their area or if she is at sea a tidal wave. Both are simple to arrange” said Ares.
And as if to make his point even more clear Ares closed his eyes and the floor of the council chamber started to shake slightly.
Ra, Hathor, Horus, Anubis, Nut and the other stated to laugh.
“Ok that’s two options. Let’s look at others before we turn our attention back to Yhva” said Ra.
“What about a fire” said Thoth?
“A house fire? I think she would be able to put that out with just her mind” said Hathor. “But a forest fire might work if it could trap her. But she would have to have a reason to be in the forest”.
“That pet rabbit of hers would be good bait” said Nut. “Have him trapped in the forest by fire and she will come to his aid. That I am sure of”.
“The forest is shielded since Hermes got caught watching them. None of us can get though those shields to see what kind of shields they are” said Ra his anger showing in his eyes.
“Yes Hermes and his numerous screw ups” laughed Ares. “But if all of us tried as a group and I do mean all of us including Dionysus and Aphrodite we should be able to push though and see what kind of shields they are. And if we know what kind they are we can deal with them. But we would all have to act as one. Not as a group but as a single entity”
“You mean get all twenty five of us together in one place” said Horus.
“Twenty four we don’t have Hermes” said Ra.
“How could I forget that” said Horus.
“Ok so let's look into an accident for Athena and we can go from there. Now what about Yhva? Any thoughts on him” said Ra.
Nut smiled “we don’t have any information on him other than he is Sirian and that he is young. We can only list those two facts”.
“I agree we need to know more about him” said Hathor.
“I think one of us should visit him and his people” said Ares.
“No” said Ra “That could be very risky”
“In what way” asked Ares? “I am willing to go. I would even go by sea and you know how that upsets my stomach”.
“No. I will hail him and talk to him. I will have Hathor and Horus ready with their little toys and I will have Hera, you and Anubis linked to my mind so you can look around” said Ra for once speaking the truth about what he was planning.
Out of the corner of his eye Ra saw Hera standing in the doorway with two young women with very dark skin.
“I have found twins for you. Would you like me to dress them up as you like” said Hera on Ra’s private telepathic mode.
“Yes and this time don’t drug them. I feel like I need the fight in them” replied Ra in the same mode.
“I think it would be a good idea not to destroy them. There is something about them that is different” said Hera. “You might be able to plant in their gardens.”
Ra stood up and looked around “Tomorrow I will hail Yhva. Hathor, Horus and Anubis be in my rooms at noon and don’t be late”.
Ra turned and walked out of the council chamber leaving the others behind talking about how to arrange and accident for Athena.

Rabbo sat looking at Merwyn who was sitting at the helm of the ship with his eyes closed.
Athena walked up next to Rabbo and sat down.
“How long do you think he can keep this up” asked Rabbo?
“I don’t know. But so far it’s been three days that he has kept our ship invisible” answered Athena with worry in her voice.
“Do you know when we will make landfall” said Rabbo.
“It should be tonight. And I am so looking forward to being on land and to seeing what Bastet’s village feels like. As often as I have been there in astral form it will be nice to see it in person” smiled Athena.
“Do we really have to sail so fast and hard” asked Rabbo.
“I don’t know. But it is better than the slow way home” smiled Athena.
“Who is pushing us now” said Rabbo.
“Bastet is making the wind now. Angus is taking a nap and my turn will be in about two hours” said Athena.
“Why can’t I help” asked Rabbo disappointed at the fact that he had not been asked to help.
“Because Rabbo you are doing something just as important. And that is keeping Merryn and Wenna busy and seeing to their needs. You do know that you are not just Rabbo to them. But uncle Rabbo” said Athena smiling.
“Yes I know and I like that” said Rabbo beaming with pride. “But I would like to be more help”.
“I know sweetie” said Athena reaching down and sliding her fingers along Rabbo’s ears.
Rabbo looked up at Athena and jumped up into her lap before settling down to be comfortable while Athena petted him.
Rabbo scanned with his ears listen for sounds and thinking at the same time.
“Athena” said Rabbo turning his head to look up. “The mast is making loud creaking sounds that are louder than normal. You think Solee should be told”?
“What kind of creaking sounds? It does not sound different to me” replied Athena.
“It’s hard to explain” said Rabbo thoughtfully. “It’s like a moaning creaking hollow sound. It does not sound right”.
“Maybe you should talk to Solee” said Athena thoughtfully.
Rabbo nodded and slipped off Athena lap and hopped back to the helm where Solee was standing guiding the ship up the coast.
“Solee” said Rabbo standing up on his hind legs.
Solee looked down at Rabbo then at the coast before she handed the tiller over to one of the other sailors who was standing near by.
“What’s on your mind Rabbo” asked Solee.
“The mast is making a strange noise. Kind of like a creaking moaning sound but hollow too” said Rabbo looking up at Solee.
“Hollow” said Solee starting to walk down from the poop deck to the main deck where the mast was.
Solee placed her ear against the mast and listened carefully. She then touched the mast for a while before she looked it up and down very carefully and closely. Then muttering to herself she went below decks.
Rabbo hopped over next to Athena who was now sunning herself in the midday sun. Gentle he pushed his nose against Athena so that she would open her eyes and look at him.
Athena opened one eye and looked at Rabbo.
“Could you move around to the other side? You might be holy but I don’t think you are that holy as” Athena said as Rabbo’s head was haloed by sun.
Rabbo hopped around to the other side and Athena turned her head and opened her other eyes and looked at Rabbo.
“Solee went below decks in a hurry. I think there is something wrong with the mast and the fact that she went below fast makes me thinks so” said Rabbo in a hurried voice.
“The mast is cracked” said Solee who was now standing behind Rabbo.
“Cracked” said Athena and Rabbo.
“Yes cracked. But I am pretty sure it will hold until we get to our village. I have a couple of my crew wrapping the base of the mast with rope to hold it” Solee looked at Rabbo and smiled “Good job Rabbo. I think I should have you sail with me more often”.
“What made it crack” asked Rabbo.
“Well we have been running with full sail for three days and the wind has been a strong wind the whole time so the pressure on the mast has weakened it. To be honest I am not surprised that it’s cracked with all the pressure on it” said Solee. “I just hope that it can make it. Even with the wrap on it it’s no guarantee that it won’t break”.
“How long before we make it to your village” asked Athena?
“About six more hours” said Solee.
“In other words by the end of my watch” said Athena.
Solee nodded and smiled as she turned back to go below decks. As she walked towards the hatch to the hold she stopped and looked at one of the sailors who was leaning against a rail and pointed at him to go to the helm.
Rabbo thought for a moment and then remembered a time when he had tried to astral travel though a door and that as he did that he had seen the grain of the wood.
“Maybe if I astral travel up the mast from the base to the top I can see where it’s damaged” Rabbo thought to himself.
Rabbo closed his eyes and slipped out of his body and headed to the mast. Instead of going straight into the mast from the deck Rabbo slipped down into the hold down to the bilge and moved across the mast. Starting at the base of the mast he headed up the mast checking for cracks and weak spots.
About half way up the mast Rabbo came to a split and a crack in the mast. Rabbo moved out of the mast so that he could see where the crack and split was then he re-entered the mast and continued up until he reached the top.
Rabbo returned to his body and opened his eyes to look at Athena who was now sitting playing pat a cake with the twins.
Rabbo sat up and hopped off to find Solee. He found her in her cabin sitting on the bed looking out of the porthole towards the head land that the ship was just passing.
“Solee” said Rabbo “I hate to bother you but your sailors are wrapping the wrong part of the mast. The crack and split is about half way up the mast”.
“Oh it is” said Solee. “I will get a sailor up there and have him wrap and tie it off. Rabbo you are such a sweetie. I think all my ships should have someone like you on board”.
Solee picked up Rabbo and together they headed back on deck and towards the mast that could be heard clearly creaking as the ship moved though the waves.
Rabbo pointed out where the split and crack was and Solee ordered a sailor with rope to climb up the mast to wrap the rope tightly around the mast to brace it.

It was about an hour before sunset as Solee guided the ship into the harbor of her home village.
Athena had stopped pushing the ship as they had rounded the head land and the natural on shore wind had taken over slowing the ship so that Solee could guide the ship in.
Bastet, Athena and Angus had helped to maneuver the ship in so that it was soon tired up at the wharf and everyone could disembark.
Merwyn opened his eyes and looked around for a moment before he started to try and stand up after his three and half’s days of sitting making the ship invisible. As he attempted to stand his knees started pop and creak.
Athena came running over and reached down to help him stand but he pushed her away with one hand while placing the other hand on the deck and pushing himself up to stand.
“Dad let me help you” said Athena her voice full of worry.
“No” said Merwyn sounding more like a naughty child than an adult.
Merwyn staggered to his feet and staggered to the gangplank. He placed both hands on the rail and looked around at the wharf and harbor.
“Nice place here” Merwyn said.
Bastet's village was at the top of the cliff that overlooked the harbor below. Down the side of the cliff was cut a wide roadway that zigzagged back and forth that the villagers used to go from the village to the harbor. Also there were four cranes that could be used to haul heavy loads up to the village or down to the harbor.
On the shore side of the harbor were a number of large buildings that had huge wide doors and wide windows. But each building had the look of a fortress.
Off to one side on the only open area that did not have a building on it was a long ramp and at the top of the ramp was the skeleton on a half built ship that was twice as long and one third as wide as the ship that Solee normally sailed.
Merwyn weakly walked down the gangplank followed by Athena, Rabbo, Angus, Bastet, Wenna and Merryn.
Solee stood at the helm talking to her crew explaining that they would have to unstep the mast and that it would have to be replaced as there was a crack in it.
Then she turned around and joined the others on the harbor.
As they stood on the harbor Rabbo saw a cart being pulled by two oxen come up to the wharf.
Bastet walked over to the cart got up in the back where there was seats and sat down.
“Come on are you all going to stand on the wharf all day or are you going to ride up to my village. I don’t mind either way” said Bastet smiling.
The ride up to the village was slow and gave everyone the chance to see the harbor from above and the islands that were just off shore. Also they could see the fishing fleet that was far out to sea and that was heading towards them.
“You have a great vantage point up here Bastet” said Merwyn looking around though his blood shot eyes.
“We do don’t we” said Bastet smiling.
“You should see how the land drops off on the other side Merwyn” said Angus. “It’s a great defensible position. You could hold off an army here forever and feed yourself from the sea if you could get ships out” said Angus.
As they arrived at the top of the road Rabbo saw two huge gate houses with a huge wooden door that was wide open.
Rabbo stood up in the cart and rested his paws against the side of the cart and started looking around.
Between the village wall and the first houses was a wide open space that gardens had been planted with lots of food.
Rabbo could see squash plants, rows of lettuce and rows of carrots and parsnips. All around the inner area close to the stone wall was garden after garden and all planted with lots of vegetables.
The first row of houses that Rabbo saw where small houses with thick walls that had been painted white on the outside the windows were wide yet each window had thick heavy shutters that could be pulled closed from the inside.
The second row and third row of house where two story houses with gardens and play areas for any children that might live in those houses.
The front row of building that boarder the main village square were clearly for other uses.
“Rabbo the buildings around the square are our main administration building” said Bastet pointing to a huge three story building with a colonnade around the base. “On the next side is our hospital which thankfully does not get used much. Then on the next side is a temple and lastly as you can see are the shops, bars and a restaurant that is a very popular hang out at night”.
Rabbo looked at the shops and bars with surprise as it seemed that there were a great number of people shopping for food.
“I would of thought that the people would be eating from their gardens” said Rabbo to Bastet.
“Oh they do but sometimes they like different things that they can’t grow locally”.
“What about red meat do you have area for livestock” asked Rabbo.
“Yes but that’s outside the village. But if there is trouble we can bring them in and let them use the gardens near the wall” said Bastet smiling.
“But thankfully we get on with our neighbors very well plus they are about a days walk from here anyway and we can see anyone coming up the valley if we need too”.
“Then why all the fortifications” asked Rabbo.
“It’s better to have them and not ever need them. Than it would be to not have them and find out that we need them” said Angus leaning over and looking at Rabbo.
The cart stopped in front of the hospital and Bastet hopped out of the cart.
“Come in and see the hospital. You will love it” said Bastet as she walked away from the cart.
“Beside Rabbo you have to see what I have in the hospital”.
They all got out of the cart and walked into the hospital with Merwyn following along behind and still staggering a little from his days of sitting hiding the ship.
“Rabbo come with me” said Bastet. “The rest of you can wait here as I want to show Rabbo something in private”.
Rabbo and Bastet walked down the long hallway then up a flight of stairs until they came to a brightly lit room.
In the corner of the room was young woman that was standing in front of a small rabbit hutch that she was busy cleaning.
“Is she awake” said Bastet to the young woman.
“Shhhhh she is asleep” said the young woman. Rabbo and Bastet walked over to where the young woman was and the hutch.
“So this is the famed Rabbo” said the young woman.
Bastet reached down and lifted Rabbo up onto the counter top so that he could look into the hutch.
Lying curled up in fresh grass was a small rabbit kitten with its eyes closed.
It had a bare patch on its head that had fur that was starting to grow back.
“Did you breed from Soft eyes” asked Rabbo.
The rabbit kitten was no more than three months old but it was very clear to Rabbo that Bastet had been doing some genetic engineering on the young rabbit kitten.
Bastet smiled at Rabbo and looked away.
“Where is Soft eyes” asked Rabbo looking around with a sudden sinking feeling.
Rabbo looked down at the counter top with tears in his eyes. Then he looked up at Bastet and said weakly “she passed away didn’t she”.
Bastet smiled at Rabbo and looked at the young rabbit kitten.
“Yes and no. In a manner of speaking she did. But then again in a manner of speaking she did not’ said Bastet.
The young woman moved close to the hutch and reached in and picked up the sleeping rabbit kitten.
The rabbit kitten opened its eyes and looked at Rabbo. “Hi grand pop” said the little rabbit kitten.
Rabbo let out a loud squeal and almost fell of the counter top in his surprise.
“SOFT EYES” squealed Rabbo.
Soft eyes wriggled against the young woman’s hand and leaped down onto the counter top. She hopped over to Rabbo and looked at him.
“Grand pop you look different clearer” said soft eyes.
“What did you do to her” said Rabbo looking at Bastet.
“Well I cloned from the original Soft eyes. Then while she was still a fetus I did what Athena did to you. Notice her front paws look like yours. Plus I used some of my brain cells to give her the abilities that I have. Then came the hard part and that was getting her spirit and memoirs to leave her old body and come into her new body. That was something I had only heard about once and I thought it was impossible to do. But she did it. She moved from her old sick body into this new one. The only problem is that she won’t be able to breed. I don’t know why yet but I will figure it out. Plus I did some gene manipulation so she won’t ever have the growths again that were making her die”.
Soft eyes sniffed Rabbo and then cocked her head to one side before she stood up on her hind legs.
“I dreamt of you, grand pop” said Soft eyes on Rabbo’s private telepathic mode.
Rabbo turned and looked at Soft eyes “Oh my you can already talk telepathically”.
“Well duh clearly I can or you would not be hearing me otherwise now would you” said Soft eyes.
“I think we should head back down to the others” said Bastet.
Rabbo was about to leap down off the counter when Bastet reached over and picked him up. The young woman picked up Soft eyes and placed her gently on the floor.
Bastet placed Rabbo next to Soft eyes and together Rabbo and Soft eyes hopped off down the hallway and then down the stairs to where the others were waiting.
At the bottom of the stairs sat Merwyn Athena, Angus and Solee. The twins where racing around and around being chased by Bastet's little girl and boy.
Rabbo and Soft eyes hopped over to Athena and looked up.
“Hey Soft eyes welcome back” said Athena with tears of joy streaming down her face.

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Editor's Corner

2013-04-02T03:30:00.000-05:00

By Mary E. Adair

April 2013

"When a poet digs himself into a hole, he doesn't climb out. He digs deeper, enjoys the scenery, and comes out the other side enlightened." - Criss Jami.

We welcome our poets and new authors to our publication to climb right in and make themselves a cosy little nest. We continue to feature poetry and foster its appreciation. For instance this April, we are presenting "The Journey," a poem by Martha A. Bradley along with a photo she took. Thank you, Martha.

Wendy Shepard-Kalan is back with the poem "His Real Mother" dedicated to her friend Cathy. John I. Blair did one romantic poem "Moonlight" and one Spring time poem, "Shadows on The Grass" along with his column "Always Looking--People Who Made A Difference" about Roger Nash Baldwin who helped found ACLU. (Good to hear from John as we know his computer has been on the sick list with him and also Clara.)

Bruce Clifford, one of our prolific poets sent five poems, "You and Me," "Guilty of Hurting You," "I Love You More Each Day," "Maybe One Day," and "When You're Hurting."
We are pleased to have another poet new to these pages, Judith Kroll, with a nostalgic "The Homestead." She also has a column for us, "On Trek" some encouragement for those finding their own paths. Many of our readers will know her better by her chat name, Featherwind.

Merlin, a chat friend and teacher, allowed us to reprint his comments on the fear of looking within, "Love, Not Fear." As is often the case, Judith's column mentions that particular fear too.

Peg Jones (Angel Whispers) has been traveling and was not able to prepare a column this time, nor was Andrea free to create a recipe for her grandfather's column "Cookin' With Leo". We miss their input, however Kat Embrey, another of Leo's granddaughters, a member of the Army Reserve sends the good news that..."I'm now a published illustrator! Check out the cartoons I did for my Army Reserve unit's monthly magazine :)"
Here is the link so it can be found on FaceBook and there's one cartoon at the bottom of this column.

March Magazine FY 2013 .pdf
5527K View Download

Eric Shackle in his column discusses some gastronomical oddities ("Chinese Eat Oz Cane Toads") and warns about their deadly poison. Shackle also tells how the Cuban newspaper "Grandma" got its name in his article.

Thomas F. O'Neill (Introspective) spotlights the intriguing essay of one of his physicist students, while Mattie Lennon (Irish Eyes) celebrates a new CD featuring Irish voices from the past.

The new chapter in the adult fantasy with rabbits by Mark Crocker is "Rabbo II, Chapter 13-Party Time." Previous chapters of this tale can be accessed by clicking the author's name.
See you in May! Once more we thank our co-founder and webmaster Michael Craner, for his continued support of our creative activities. Thanks again, Mike.

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This issue appears in the ezine at www.pencilstubs.com and also in the blog www.pencilstubs.net with the capability of adding comments at the latter.

Always Looking--People Who Made A Difference V

2013-04-02T03:06:00.002-05:00

By John I. Blair

Meet Roger Nash Baldwin

Born in 1884, Roger Baldwin grew up steeped in a tradition of social responsibility. “Social work began in my mind in the church when I was 10 or 12 years old and I started to do things I thought would help other people.”

In 1981 his memorial service celebrated 97 years of vigorous life. Baldwin had rich, comfortable Boston roots. Relatives included Mayflower Pilgrims and a Revolutionary general. Family friends included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes and Booker T. Washington.

After Harvard, Baldwin engaged in social work, soon establishing a national reputation. During World War I, he became a leading figure in the American Union Against Militarism. Concerned about safeguarding political rights for conscientious objectors, Baldwin eventually headed the National Civil Liberties Bureau.

First he tried to reach out to top government officials, then he deliberately violated the Selective Service Act. This led to a celebrated trial and his imprisonment. In January 1920 Baldwin helped found the American Civil Liberties Union, which quickly became involved in a series of noteworthy cases, including Sacco and Vanzetti, John T. Scopes, and the Scottsboro Boys. ACLU attorneys helped reshape American constitutional law, concentrating on the protections afforded by the Bill of Rights.

All the while, Baldwin continued to urge Americans to join in fighting fascism, racism and poverty. Revered by many, he also made enemies, including J. Edgar Hoover. Baldwin became increasingly disturbed by purge trials in the Soviet Union and accusations leveled at the ACLU by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. After the Nazi-Soviet pact of August 1939, he worried for the very existence of the ACLU. The following spring, Baldwin campaigned to revise the ACLU charter so those affiliated with totalitarianism could not serve on its Board.

At the same time, Baldwin and the ACLU challenged internment of Japanese-Americans and Japanese aliens. He continued to fight such violations of civil liberties, while seeking to stay on good terms with the federal government. In 1947 General Douglas MacArthur called him as a civil liberties consultant in Japan.

In late 1949, when Baldwin resigned as ACLU director, Samuel Eliot Morison wrote, "You have done wonderful work with the Civil Liberties Union. More than any other agency in this country, it has kept alive the traditional rights of man." Margaret Sanger declared, "The name Roger Baldwin and Civil Liberties are synonymous in the minds of all people in the United States."

For the next several years, Baldwin worked for international human rights. His book, A New Slavery, condemned "the inhuman communist police state tyranny, forced labor." In South Vietnam he criticized the repressive regime of Ngo Dinh Diem. By contrast, in Puerto Rico, Baldwin remained close to Governor Luis Munoz Marin, a former fiery socialist; jailed independence leader Pedro Albizu Campos; and cellist Pablo Casals, among others.
In India, Baldwin maintained a friendship with Jawaharlal Nehru and his family. As the 1960s began, Baldwin worked at the United Nations as a consultant for the International League for the Rights of Man.

He was praised for his support of civil rights for black Americans. In a moving tribute, Margorie M. Bitker referred to Baldwin as "long the moving spirit of the American Civil Liberties Union . . . a pacifist, the only label, by the way, that he is willing to wear." Bitker quoted him as affirming, "The rule of law in place of force, always basic to my thinking, now takes on a new relevance in a world where, if war is to go, only law can replace it."

Adapted from an article by Robert C. Cottrell at www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/baldwin_r.html

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Below: Baldwin, middle aged and at his most active period of his life

Moonlight

2013-04-02T02:48:00.001-05:00

By John I. Blair

Tonight I drove down moonlit streets
And although it was early yet
Old magic filled the air.

Ever since our star-stuff
Stood erect, looked at the sky
And dreamed of goddesses,

We’ve reacted to this sight
With a feeling
Best explained as awe.

No matter if we’re in a dusty car,
The backseat packed
With paper bags,

Our heads a-teem
With thoughts of supper,
Once we behold that ancient orb

Behind the trees, glowing,
We still sense a tiny thrill
For all our bookish knowing.

©2013 John I. Blair

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Love, Not Fear

2013-04-02T00:55:00.000-05:00

By Merlin Energy

Why would you be afraid to look within, fearful of what you think is in there? Does not the love of The Universe overcome all that we would choose to perceive as flawed?

Fear associated with sin the ego would see as entirely appropriate and smiles upon you in approval. The ego is not alone. Its rule is tempered by its unknown enemy, which it cannot see. What it cannot see, it fears.

The ego tells you not to look within, it tells you if you do you will see the “sins” for which you must answer to the Universe, to your God, and be struck blind. This you choose to believe! Your faith in a fear that you can neither see nor understand is the true source of fear for you.

This presents to those who are willing to "see", a double negative!

What if you looked within and saw no negatives?
What if you looked within and saw nothing upon which the ego has cast its control?
What if you saw only the love over which there is no control, because love “Is”?
What if you looked upon the illusion you have created of a life controlled by fear and choose in that instant to awaken from the dream you have been living and see yourself as beyond the control of fear and of the ego?

Is this not the moment of your own resurrection? This week my friend, I wish for you a life beyond control by fear of the unknown, instead to be replaced by life filled with the love of the known.

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Irish Eyes

2013-04-02T00:23:00.001-05:00

By Mattie Lennon

Voices From the Past

“The voice of the dead was a living voice to me.” (Tennyson.)
When listening to The Lake Isle of Innisfree or reading The Great Hunger, have you ever wondered what the authors’ voices sounded like.

Wonder no more. The British Library has brought out a 3CD set, The Spoken Word; Irish Poets and Writers. It consists of 24 recordings; almost three and half hours of listening.

The Spoken Word

It covers more than sixty years from a recording of James Joyce, reading from Ulysses, in 1927 to Eavan Boland in 1988.

In an extract from a recording made in 1963 Frank O Connor tells of how he became a writer. He illustrates his development with readings from his books including his short-story Guests of the Nation.

There are 38 minutes of W.B. Yeats (6 tracks.) One track In the Poet’s Pub runs to almost 20 minutes.

It is from a BBC broadcast of 1937. Yeats convinced the BBC to present English poetry readings on radio as if in a pub atmosphere. I find this surprising since it is widely believed that W.B. was only in a Dublin pub once in his lifetime. Listening to his voice recorded so long ago I couldn’t help thinking of the opening line of one of his poems, ”Speech after long silence; it is right.”

On this track his poems are read by actor, V.C. Clinton-Baddeley and Yeats himself can be heard singing in the choruses.

That other master of the English language George Bernard Shaw gives us, Spoken English and Broken English and Address at the British Drama League Conference. In the former he spoke about how the gramophone could distort the human voice. This was one of the earliest commercial spoken word recordings in English by any literary figure and it is a pleasant irony that now, 86 years later, we can listen to this amazing digital restoration of Mr. Shaw and others. And it would be hard to agree with Oscar Wilde who said, “Bernard Shaw has no enemies but is intensely disliked by his friends.”

There are only two recordings of James Joyce’s voice in the world and they are both in this collection. He is heard reading an extract from Ulysses in 1924 and an eight-and-a-half minute piece from Finnegans Wake which he recorded in 1929. Another track features Sylvia Beach discussing the recordings of Joyce in which she relates that Joyce picked the Aeolus section from Ulysses, to record, because, he claimed it “The only passage that was defamatory and therefore suitable for recital.” She makes it clear that she didn’t believe that Joyce picked the piece just because it was defamatory but that it was something the he wanted to say himself and have it recorded in his own voice.

Another track has Frank O Connor with Portrait of James Joyce in which he speaks of the only time he met Joyce in Paris. According to O’Connor Joyce, at the time was surfing from,” . . . a slight persecution mania ...” and, what O’ Connor calls, “association mania.” He also refers to Joyce’s obsession with, not Dublin, but Cork, the home of his father.

Tracks which were recorded in the 1960s include Sean O’ Casey, Elizabeth Bowen (who said, “Ireland gives one a sort of terrain of imagination”), Mary Lavin, Patrick Kavanagh and Sean O Faoláin. (There is also an earlier track of O’Faolain recorded in 1949.)

Brendan Behan sings The Auld Triangle which was written by his brother Dominic. The track is taken from a private disc donated to the British Library by the Theatre Royal, Stratford East. No date is given for the recording but I’m fairly sure it was made in 1961 the year of his trip to the USA and Canada. (On his return when asked what the thought of Canada he It’ll be nice when it’s finished.”)

I would, at times, like to think that I know a thing or two about Patrick Kavanagh but to hear him baring his soul to Peter Duval Smith in a BBC interview, in 1964, was a revelation.
The man who accused Monaghan of burgling his “. . .bank of youth” and clogging ( . . .the feet of my boyhood,” confessed in this interview that leaving his home place was a mistake and that he had “lived in a fog” an because of a “fantastic inferiority complex” had always seen himself as a failure. This interview was recorded about the time he wrote "Song at Fifty" which begins,
It came as a pleasant surprise
To find experience
Where I had feared that I
Had no such currency,
Had idled to a void
Without a wife or child . . . Almost every Irish person has read, or at least heard of, The Valley of the Squinting Windows (I couldn’t ever understand why it wasn’t made into a film) and the controversy surrounding its publication but how many know what the author Brinsley McNamara sounded like. He’s heard here along with four other literary luminaries, discussing Yeats and other poets.

From the stories of Edna O Brien and Mary Lavin, read by the authors to the philosophies of Liam O Flaherty and sean O Faoláin, it’s all there.

Anybody who has any interest in our Irish poets and writers owes a big thank you to the British Library for rescuing those voices from the jaws of obscurity.

The 3CD set is available from the British Library Shop: www.bl.uk/shop

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On Trek

2013-04-02T00:23:00.000-05:00

By Judith Kroll

I was recently talking to some friends online, and we got into discussing our old cult-like religion. We all left the religion, for some of us it has been awhile since we left, for others it is a new experience coming out of this cult like religion.

The problem we all faced was what do we do now? Should we start going to other religions right away, and if so which one?

Most of us that had left the religion decided to take the time to step back from all religions, man-made teachings and all the different avenues of a spiritual approach to life, and look within ourselves deeply. We all needed to take the time to notice where we were, where we are, and figure out what makes us happy. We are here, on this planet, each with our own journey. So we should be looking at our own journey as just that, ours alone. Most of us had to abide by the choices our parents made for us, but it is possible it just isn’t a perfect fit. I might add there is nothing disrespectful in finding our own nitch in beliefs.

One needs to find out what they like and dislike. We should walk thru the trees and along the beach if we can. The old saying, take the time to smell the flowers truly is great advice. We need to clear our head and start over in our thinking, feeling, seeing, and tasting life. We do not want to jump out of the fire into the frying pan. We need to see the world thru our own eyes of understanding, and our own light and love, not someone else’s.

When we hug a tree, we know that God made that tree. He made everything. So becoming one with all things is a great start on our new chapter in our trek thru this life. It never hurts to talk aloud to the universe, God, etc. Our thoughts become alive once we think them, but I like to picture them traveling thru the universe once they are airborne.

We need to say thank you also for everything in our life. Gratitude is a great quality to have. Maybe our leaving the religion is traumatic, but being grateful we are not there anymore because it no longer SERVES US and moving on with our life is something to smile about. I am not saying it is wrong to be in a religion, if one is happy there, then that is where they belong. But choosing cult like institutions that control our every thought in life, is not using our free will, it is more like letting our free will become stomped on.

My advice is to take the time to indulge in reading whatever suits your fancy. Take the time to find who you are and what motivates you. Always be happy in your pursuits, and if it feels right, then it is right, FOR YOU. Of course, we would never judge another in what they decide, but what we do, do it for us, and not for someone else.

JudyK

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Eric Shackle's Column

2013-04-02T00:22:00.001-05:00

By Eric Shackle

Chinese Eat Oz Cane Toads!

Millions of highly venomous cane toads are invading northern Australia, killing countless small native and domestic animals. Men and dogs hate them.

Cane toads would never win a beauty contest. In fact, they’re hideous. John Burey, of Charleville, Queensland, sends vast numbers of the pests to China, where they are eaten or their toxin is used as a traditional medicine.

We asked John if he had ever tasted a cane toad, and how they’re caught.

He replied, “I’ve eaten quite a few of them in China, where they’re kept in captivity and feed on worms. To catch them, just walk around in the evening with a torch and gloves.”
An Australian website, All About Dogs, says:
"Toads exude a milky white toxin from poison glands behind their eyes. They squeeze this poison onto the surface of their skin when they are under threat. Toads do not spit or squirt the poison as commonly believed, and they don’t bite. Dogs and cats are poisoned when they mouth the toad or sometimes when the toad’s poison gets into their eyes.
"The toad’s poison is also dangerous to humans and deaths have occurred. Some adults have even been affected when they absorbed the poison through cuts in their skin after handling a toad.
"In China, they have used toad poison as an expectorant, a heart stimulant and as a diuretic. It has also been used as a remedy for toothache and sinusitis. In Africa and South America, toad venom has been used on the tips of arrows as a poison.
"Dogs may be poisoned by oral exposure to many types of toads. All toads produce venom but toxicity varies greatly by species.
"The most important species of concern in the United States is the giant or marine toad Bufo marinus, ( a.k.a. bufo toad ) an introduced species that has established itself in Hawaii, Florida and Texas.
"Local effects include shaking of the head, pawing at the mouth, retching and frothy salivation. Severe intoxication as from the Bufo toad may include life threatening cardiac and CNS involvement.
"Toads were introduced into Australia in 1935 to control the cane beetle - a disastrous move, as toads have no natural enemies in Australia.
"Australian Terriers and Fox Terriers also think this was a dumb idea, as they are the breeds most often affected by toad poisoning.
"The Cane Toad is Australia's only true toad, it grows to a massive 24cm and can lay up to 40,000 eggs in one season. Most native tadpoles cannot live in the same water as the poisonous Cane Toad tadpoles. Each female cane toad lays up to 40,000 eggs a month, and half that number can expect to develop into tadpoles within three days.
"The largest cane toad on record in Australia was 16.5 cm wide, 24cm in length and weighed 1.36kg.!
An article on The Australian Museum (Sydney) website says:
No humans have died in Australia from cane toad poison but overseas, people have died after eating toads and even soup made from boiled toad eggs. Cane toads are also poisonous to pets and in Hawaii up to 50 dogs a year have died after mouthing cane toads. Signs of poisoning through ingestion include profuse salivation, twitching, vomiting, shallow breathing, and collapse of the hind limbs. Death may occur by cardiac arrest within 15 minutes.
Australian native fauna that have been killed by eating or mouthing cane toads include goannas, freshwater crocodile, tiger snake, red-bellied black snake, death adder, dingo and western quoll.
A cane toad responds to threat by turning side-on so its parotoid glands are directed towards the attacker. The poison usually oozes out of the glands, but toads can squirt a fine spray for a short distance if they are handled roughly.
The poison is absorbed through mucous membranes such as eyes, mouth and nose, and in humans may cause intense pain, temporary blindness and inflammation.
First aid treatment includes irrigating (washing with a lot of water) the eyes, mouth and nose if they have been exposed to toad poison.
Seek medical attention if symptoms persist. When handling any frog or toad, protect the eyes, wear gloves, and thoroughly wash hands before and after touching the animal.
The cane toad has mounted a successful invasion in Australia and many other countries - but where did the toad come from originally? These toads have a wide native range in Central America and South America. Studies on DNA characteristics of Aussie toads suggest that they descend from a group of toads originally collected from South America (perhaps French Guyana). These were taken to Puerto Rico, then toads from that island were taken to Hawaii – and finally, 101 Hawaiian toads were brought to Australia to form the beginnings of the invasion.
A message from Hilbilly NC on an American online forum says,

"Most toads have poison glands in their skin, some have pretty potent toxins. I've heard of Cherokee cleaning toads by holding them under swift running water, twisting their heads off and skinning them while keeping them under the current. I think I'd have to be pretty damn hungry to try it, though. I really like frog legs."

LINKS:
Hopping mad: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/cane-toad-spat-leaves-slayers-hopping-mad/story-e6frg6n6-1226599838178

Save Our Frogs: http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/save/whattodo.html

Cane toad video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mvV8OT-mmE

Kimberley Ark: http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2013/s3719551.htm

Toad sausages: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8640207.stm

Cane toads in Oz : http://www.canetoadsinoz.com/
From ERIC SHACKLE, in Sydney, Australia. Posted Saturday, 16 March 2013, at 18:07.

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Author's Blog.

Introspective

2013-04-02T00:22:00.000-05:00

By Thomas F. O'Neill

One of my students here in Suzhou, China is a Physics major and she compiled a research paper on the subject of invisibility which is a fascinating read.

When I was a kid I always wondered what it would be like being invisible entering rooms unseen. One of the first books I read as a child was ‘the invisible man’ by H. G. Wells and I also watched several movies that were adapted from his famous science fiction novel.

Invisibility has been the theme for many other novels and movies but Japanese researchers are now a step closer in making it a reality. They have developed a hi-tech cloak which, worn by a person, makes him or her look “transparent.” The transparent cloak was made by using so-called retro-reflective projection technology. A camera fitted on the back of the cloak records what happens behind the wearer and projects the image on the front, creating the illusion that the person is transparent.

A computer processes the background imagery and relays it to a projector that filters through a half mirror and projects the scene onto the wearer. From a certain angle, the cloaked person looks transparent to onlookers.

Scientists are developing practical uses for this technology and hopefully it can be applied in future cars, helicopters, and planes, helping drivers and pilots to see “through” the vehicle as they operate it. It could for example help eliminate “blind spots” in the car, so that the driver notices easier a motorcyclist approaching from behind, or it could help a driver back the car up without the risk of hitting unseen obstacles. This technology would certainly reduce those unforeseen fender benders.

Physicists have had a fascination with light throughout the centuries and we see things because light reflects off of objects and hits our eyes.Light has properties that can be manipulated, which is how objects can be rendered invisible. Magicians, for instance will use mirrors to reflect light away from an object making the observer see the object disappear or seem invisible.

The United States Military has done extensive research on bending light around objects to render them invisible to the human eye. In the past however there have been little practical military uses for this technology. Our Defense Department has also spent Billions of dollars on camouflage that solders say doesn't quite work in combat situations.

Scientists however are developing a cloak that can have practical applications in combat. This cloak was developed by combining copper tape with polycarbonate, a material commonly used in DVD's and CDs. The resulting cloak has a miniscule pattern -- like a finely checkered shirt -- that neutralizes light waves bouncing off of it. For it to work, the material's pattern has to be roughly the size of the wavelength of light to be canceled out. That gives it a tightly limited range of waves it will work on.

It has no effect on a vast array of electromagnetic waves, which come in a myriad of sizes. The light waves we can see make up only a thin sliver of them.
Although the scientists say the principle behind the cloak at our present time could only be used to hide objects from the human eye. This is however "paving the way" to the development of advanced "camouflaging and invisibility." Our military has also developed ways to neutralize Microwaves that are used in radar detectors.

I never thought that the Science Fiction stories of my youth could one day become reality, especially, in my lifetime. Making objects magically disappear or rendering them invisible was something magicians did with mirrors. Perhaps future magicians will no longer rely on those mirrors to perform their disappearing acts but rather a common camouflage cloak will accomplish their grand illusions.
Only time will tell …….

Always with love from Suzhou, China
Thomas F O’Neill

U.S. voice mail: (800) 272-6464

China Cell: 011-86-15114565945

Skype: thomas_f_oneill

Email: introspective7@hotmail.com

Other articles, short stories, and commentaries by Thomas F. O'Neill can be found on his award winning blog, Link:
http://thomasfoneill.blogspot.com

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Maybe One Day

2013-04-02T00:17:00.000-05:00

By Bruce Clifford

You amaze me more each day
Even when we go our separate ways
Do you mind if I tell you how much you mean to me
Maybe one day things will just be

No one else has ever touched my heart
I never used to cry, but now I do when we're apart
Do you mind if I tell you exactly what I see in your eyes
Maybe one day, you and I

As the rain comes down
My heart skips a beat
As the tear are flowing down
You mean everything to me

How can I escape when I love you
It's the only real thing I know how to do
Do you mind if I ask you to take this leap of faith
Maybe one day you will find what's great

As the rain comes down
My heart skips a beat
As the tear are flowing down
You mean everything to me

Love can make you cry
Love can make your heart sing
Love can make you question why
Love, i love you more than anything

©3/22/13 Bruce Clifford

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When You're Hurting

2013-04-02T00:16:00.000-05:00

By Bruce Clifford

When you're hurting
My heart sinks a thousand ways
How can recover
All I feel is your pain

I will love you even more tomorrow
And I love you as much as anyone can love you today

Maybe you don't understand me
I've been here for you though all the centuries
Maybe you don't feel any pain when I am crying
I know my heart is broken because you're afraid

I will love you even more tomorrow
And I love you as much as anyone can love you today
I will love you through all this sorrow
You're the only one who can make me feel this way

©3/29/13 Bruce Clifford

Pencil Stubs Online

Where We Belong

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Three Crows Flew Away

Click on John I. Blair for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.

Walking Alone

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Hawk At My Window

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Dance Steps

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Kansas

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Many Pass Our Way

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Goddess

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The Finch Flies Up

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Peek-a-Boo

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Reading to My Baby

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Let Freedom Ring True

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Wren

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Farewell Leo

Biography: Leo C. (Tha's Me!) Helmer

Rabbo Tales II-Chapter 14

Soft Eyes

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Editor's Corner

April 2013

Click on author's byline for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.This issue appears in the ezine at www.pencilstubs.com and also in the blog www.pencilstubs.net with the capability of adding comments at the latter.

Always Looking--People Who Made A Difference V

Meet Roger Nash Baldwin

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Below: Baldwin, middle aged and at his most active period of his life

Moonlight

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Love, Not Fear

Click on Merlin Energy for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.

Irish Eyes

Voices From the Past

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On Trek

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Eric Shackle's Column

Introspective

Click on Thomas F. O'Neill for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.

Maybe One Day

Click on Bruce Clifford for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.

When You're Hurting

Click on Bruce Clifford for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.

Click on author's byline for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.
This issue appears in the ezine at www.pencilstubs.com and also in the blog www.pencilstubs.net with the capability of adding comments at the latter.