A.G.E's Joint

Two glasses in On the last day of the year. Listening to my son and his friends Laughing in the other room. Echoing back to another day Another time When it was me as the entertainer Or the entertained. Not that it matters Doing the same thing over And expecting a different result Is still insanity. The guardian angel aghast At the proceedings of the night. Seeing things through the alcohol lens Instead of as they are or were. Now, thirty years later It is my son's turn To chase illusions And hope they become real.  So before the last leaves fall And the glass ball drops  I wonder at where I am And where I will be. 

Dark night in Treme Joe came into the bar Black sheep of his family He'd float down this far. Voodoo Priestess saw him Shaggy dog mane came down Slid down the stool to greet him And give him the night on the town Joe did not know what to do With this tall dark rail. With eyes widening He looked for a way to bail She wasn't having none of that There was something she needed With long lost words, whispered slowly The recalcitrant spirit heeded. Shooting through the dank Esplanade Down to Jackson Square As they hurried forth Passerby gaped at the mismatched pair. Soon, a house they came to Another incantation said They embraced violently  And another spell read When it was done, the Priestess laughed At the sight she had wrought Sagittarius in the flesh And Joe hopelessly caught. 

It was an unusually warm Christmas Eve at my Uncle Archie's house.  My family had driven to Savannah from Orlando with a car load of "Santa" gifts. I was 10, and had pretty much figured Santa for a ruse, but I really didn't want to let go of the fantasy.  It took away from my parents fighting again and my Dad had lost his job.  There wasn't a partridge in the pear tree for us, just ravens in the live oaks along the dock. The launch of Apollo 8 was on the morning we left, so we delayed our start to see it. The cartoons that touted and mocked the inventions of the future were about to come true.  All the scoffing about lunar travel and it’s impossibility silenced for all time.   Our house was 40 miles west of the launch pad and the schoolyard at the end of the street made viewing launches easy. We could see the glint off the fantastical machine as the craft vectored away from shore.  When the dot made 15 degrees over the horizon, the thunder of

So, the challenge from Group Blogging is the Anti Bucket List?  The stuff you wouldn't do for love or money?  That is a challenge.  I have always been one to take a dare and do stuff I normally wouldn't.  but that said there are a few things I just can not see doing. 1) Jumping out of a perfectly good, flying airplane.  Sorry, folks. Unless there is a REALLY ugly Drill Sergeant with an M-4 at my back, I ain't doing it.  You can talk all you want about rushes and how pretty the scenery looks... 2) Likewise, jumping off high fixed objects.  Now, I actually used to jump off cliffs and stuff into a river, but I'm older now.  That sweet zone just doesn't look that big. 3) Drink Gin.  Gasoline tastes better. 4) Ride a motorcycle in traffic. Sorry, too many idiots to ride anywhere within 100 yards of a car. 5) Buy a house larger than 2500 square feet. All I need is a roof over my head, not a monument to my ego. Most of the houses constructed in my neighborhood ar

Interesting choice of topic this week.  " From Just Beyond ".  At church this week, we did Lessons and Carols.  In the Anglican tradition, the back story of the coming of Chirst is told through Old and New Testament scripture, alternating with appropriate hymms and carols of the season. Towards the end of the sequence is the story of Mary the Virgin.  There is little information about her lineage, although we know that Joseph was a descendant of the house of David.  We can assume that she was from a more humble clan.  Indeed, scripture indicates she was nothing more than a young woman, probably acting in a servant role in the village. Her marriage was an arraigned affair, to become formalized at the next harvest. On a dark night in the early spring , Light broke where no sun shone , and an unknown caller came up with the ultimate pick up line: "Greetings, favored one." Yeah. She had her doubts. What would everyone say?  It wouldn't take a genius to know tha

"Starbucks.  The art of socializing alone." Jared said out loud. Eyes slid his way and then back to what they were doing. He didn't care anymore what these rude people thought.  Shifting in the soft leather chair, he   looked  on the darkening sidewalk.  Was she coming? The eyes lost some focus.  New York wasn't Birmingham, for sure. He wondered why he'd left it behind. Oh, the job with ad agency was alright and it was kind of cool to have a bunch of stuff in walking distance. But people here were more interested in climbing the ladder and chasing money stacks than socializing. They tended to scatter like rats when the illusion was interrupted. Energy wasted in Jared's opinion.  You can't take it with you. There few people at the office he felt comfortable with. Melanie was one of them. The thought of her red curls and crinkly eyes make him feel a little warmer. He really didn't know her that well. But she was friendly and that served her well as