pro soldier
fiction
edward w pritchard
Many Americans have become antiwar but pro-soldier. Which is understandable as Providence has provided us with perhaps the largest, richest bounty of lands, mountains, rivers and living space
ever obtained by a civilization. With an assist by God America acquired by conquest most of our our fifty States. Now someone must secretly protect our flank.
Jousting at straw men again, we Americans should understand that others covet our abundance. Standing armies are the recipe for war. One day soldiers will be sent to War again. Others covet our abundance and freedom and other others covet our freedom of and from worship.
War, sometimes it just happens.
Sunday, April 28, 2019
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Protecting Zelda
Protecting Zelda
fiction
edward w pritchard
At a restaurant recently I saw a young twenty something girl exhibiting her style and uniqueness by wearing a black floppy Hat, thick black framed glasses and black lipstick. At such times I always remember Zelda Sayre and my attempts to protect her as she changed from being around F Scott Fitzgerald the writer who was a bit of a bore and a humbug. True to my premonitions the girl's boyfriend seemed more interested in the food of the mediocre restaurant than the vivacious young lady that fate had matched him with there at the restaurant yesterday where I played the silent voyeur.
Zelda was always interesting as a young socialite vying for attention back in Montgomery, Ala.
and a bit spoil-ed as the youngest child but it wasn't until Fitzgerald began promoting her to sell books as the world's first flapper that she began to lose herself. I always thought that pretty boy Scott Fitzgerald caused Zelda to develop the Schizophrenia that destroyed her.
The last time I saw my secret Zelda she gave me that coy smile oh so briefly. A few years later I heard she was killed in a fire while a patient in a sanitarium. Too sad for satire. Fitzgerald drank himself to death a few years earlier. I never forgave Fitzgerald and although I never could finish his first autobiographical novel"this side of paradise" I had to admit the"Gatsby" was well written. After Zelda and Fitzgerald died I hated the Nazi's after WW2 to appease my guilt at not being able to protect the young Zelda Sayre.
fiction
edward w pritchard
At a restaurant recently I saw a young twenty something girl exhibiting her style and uniqueness by wearing a black floppy Hat, thick black framed glasses and black lipstick. At such times I always remember Zelda Sayre and my attempts to protect her as she changed from being around F Scott Fitzgerald the writer who was a bit of a bore and a humbug. True to my premonitions the girl's boyfriend seemed more interested in the food of the mediocre restaurant than the vivacious young lady that fate had matched him with there at the restaurant yesterday where I played the silent voyeur.
Zelda was always interesting as a young socialite vying for attention back in Montgomery, Ala.
and a bit spoil-ed as the youngest child but it wasn't until Fitzgerald began promoting her to sell books as the world's first flapper that she began to lose herself. I always thought that pretty boy Scott Fitzgerald caused Zelda to develop the Schizophrenia that destroyed her.
The last time I saw my secret Zelda she gave me that coy smile oh so briefly. A few years later I heard she was killed in a fire while a patient in a sanitarium. Too sad for satire. Fitzgerald drank himself to death a few years earlier. I never forgave Fitzgerald and although I never could finish his first autobiographical novel"this side of paradise" I had to admit the"Gatsby" was well written. After Zelda and Fitzgerald died I hated the Nazi's after WW2 to appease my guilt at not being able to protect the young Zelda Sayre.
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
endless white bread
endless white bread
fiction
edward w pritchard
Sometimes when I dream of the anarchy about to flood America's border walls caused by endless streams of illegal aliens from Central America I hear them whispering to each other and their children that when they get to America "there will be endless white bread for everyone."
You know the white bread -from the dollar store that even the low income folks won't eat because it tastes old, doughy, starchy and stale. Yet the illegals who are good people although I don't speak Spanish do I hear faraway telling their children that when they get to America they can eat endless white bread. As they speak I hear the reverence in their voices for the affluence of America as measured in endless loaves of white bread.
Wouldn't it be humane if the aliens could do a trial period in America in Detroit or Akron, Ohio to see what it's like to take the bus to work at the dollar store and have all the white bread to eat that anyone could want.
fiction
edward w pritchard
Sometimes when I dream of the anarchy about to flood America's border walls caused by endless streams of illegal aliens from Central America I hear them whispering to each other and their children that when they get to America "there will be endless white bread for everyone."
You know the white bread -from the dollar store that even the low income folks won't eat because it tastes old, doughy, starchy and stale. Yet the illegals who are good people although I don't speak Spanish do I hear faraway telling their children that when they get to America they can eat endless white bread. As they speak I hear the reverence in their voices for the affluence of America as measured in endless loaves of white bread.
Wouldn't it be humane if the aliens could do a trial period in America in Detroit or Akron, Ohio to see what it's like to take the bus to work at the dollar store and have all the white bread to eat that anyone could want.
Monday, April 22, 2019
Pray for Brittany
Pray for Brittany
fiction
edward w pritchard
A picture is making the rounds of the Internet of Brittany Spears in which her former manager says she appears to be terrified upon leaving extended stay a mental health facility for treatment. She certainly appears to not be herself and in need of comfort in the photographs in question.
Please pray for Brittany. Please pray even if like me you are not strong believer.
Once I was robbed at gun point and for a moment or two I had two loaded pistols pointed within four inches of my head. I was not in the least scared then or later. Later a police chief interviewed and interrogated me related to me being held at gunpoint while working. The chief described me as having a flat affect, meaning no emotion at all concerning the incident.
Another time nearly a half century later I received a phone call imparting bad news to the status quo as I lived it and I was described shortly thereafter by an impartial observer as being temporarily "scared to death".Yet I was in absolutely no imminent danger merely receiving normal information by phone.
Please pray for Brittany. Please pray even if like me you are not a bona fide believer.
James Longstreet Confederate Civil war General was fearless in battle and a man's man burly and tough. Yet even though he was a veteran of many bloody in war encounters his attitude and nature was changed when three of his children died suddenly of scarlett fever. Following his children's deaths Longstreet changed his philosophy in battle from offensive and aggressive to defensive and cautious to the detriment of his later reputation as a General. Perhaps his mind could never blot-out the sudden deaths of those three children.
Please pray for Brittany that she may find solace.
fiction
edward w pritchard
A picture is making the rounds of the Internet of Brittany Spears in which her former manager says she appears to be terrified upon leaving extended stay a mental health facility for treatment. She certainly appears to not be herself and in need of comfort in the photographs in question.
Please pray for Brittany. Please pray even if like me you are not strong believer.
Once I was robbed at gun point and for a moment or two I had two loaded pistols pointed within four inches of my head. I was not in the least scared then or later. Later a police chief interviewed and interrogated me related to me being held at gunpoint while working. The chief described me as having a flat affect, meaning no emotion at all concerning the incident.
Another time nearly a half century later I received a phone call imparting bad news to the status quo as I lived it and I was described shortly thereafter by an impartial observer as being temporarily "scared to death".Yet I was in absolutely no imminent danger merely receiving normal information by phone.
Please pray for Brittany. Please pray even if like me you are not a bona fide believer.
James Longstreet Confederate Civil war General was fearless in battle and a man's man burly and tough. Yet even though he was a veteran of many bloody in war encounters his attitude and nature was changed when three of his children died suddenly of scarlett fever. Following his children's deaths Longstreet changed his philosophy in battle from offensive and aggressive to defensive and cautious to the detriment of his later reputation as a General. Perhaps his mind could never blot-out the sudden deaths of those three children.
Please pray for Brittany that she may find solace.
Sunday, April 21, 2019
first full moon past Easter
first full Moon pasts Easter
fiction
edward w pritchard
Certainly as DNA testing and probing of our ancestral racial memories using futuristic brain scanning techniques becomes more accurate in the not too distant future Christians will wish to have their brains scanned for distant racial memories of the first full Moon past Easter at the time of Jesus' arising and resurrection. If you would be a believer in the significance of the Resurrection the first full Moon past Easter less than a month after Jesus' death would be of importance to you concerning exactly where your ancient relatives did abide on the first Easter. Your future relatives might consider that ancient full Moon just past the first Easter as personally significant and remarkable.
Listen now under a full Moon in your room at night. Imagine your ancient ancestors straining to hear roaming packs of howling Wolves near where they were sleeping and hooting owls whispering warning. Someday such racial memories will be recoverable from our future relatives collective unconsciousness's.
fiction
edward w pritchard
Certainly as DNA testing and probing of our ancestral racial memories using futuristic brain scanning techniques becomes more accurate in the not too distant future Christians will wish to have their brains scanned for distant racial memories of the first full Moon past Easter at the time of Jesus' arising and resurrection. If you would be a believer in the significance of the Resurrection the first full Moon past Easter less than a month after Jesus' death would be of importance to you concerning exactly where your ancient relatives did abide on the first Easter. Your future relatives might consider that ancient full Moon just past the first Easter as personally significant and remarkable.
Listen now under a full Moon in your room at night. Imagine your ancient ancestors straining to hear roaming packs of howling Wolves near where they were sleeping and hooting owls whispering warning. Someday such racial memories will be recoverable from our future relatives collective unconsciousness's.
Friday, April 19, 2019
cousin Winston
cousin Winston
fiction
edward w pritchard
After praying for what to do to escape his ennui cousin Winston following God's command
began to walk in a straight line from Alliance, Ohio to Salt Lake City, Utah. Walking ten to twelve hours a day carrying only a light pack Winston was going Utah to convert the Mormons to the true
religion.
I was very busy that Spring in 1874 with planting about the farm and the Country was in Recession
so I lost track of my cousin Winston and his plan to convert the Mormons.
A few years later I was at a business lunch at a tavern in Salem, Ohio and there was Cousin Winston with four local politicians I recognized from pictures in the papers. Winston was well dressed and talking earnestly but we nodded across the room at each other as we went about our separate business affairs. Still I eaves dropped a bit of Winston's conversation that day in 1880.
Winston was trying to convince four local politicians to back ex-President Grant for a third term as President. Apparently my cousin Winston had joined the Republican party.
fiction
edward w pritchard
After praying for what to do to escape his ennui cousin Winston following God's command
began to walk in a straight line from Alliance, Ohio to Salt Lake City, Utah. Walking ten to twelve hours a day carrying only a light pack Winston was going Utah to convert the Mormons to the true
religion.
I was very busy that Spring in 1874 with planting about the farm and the Country was in Recession
so I lost track of my cousin Winston and his plan to convert the Mormons.
A few years later I was at a business lunch at a tavern in Salem, Ohio and there was Cousin Winston with four local politicians I recognized from pictures in the papers. Winston was well dressed and talking earnestly but we nodded across the room at each other as we went about our separate business affairs. Still I eaves dropped a bit of Winston's conversation that day in 1880.
Winston was trying to convince four local politicians to back ex-President Grant for a third term as President. Apparently my cousin Winston had joined the Republican party.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
it's about routine not glamour
it's about routine not glamour
fiction
edward w pritchard
It about routine not glamour. As long as your job nets you enough dough to do your thing you are making it man.
Pete Johnson the worlds finest boogie woogie man played piano at Carnegie hall and popularized the boogie woogie craze. Glamorous Work for him. But asked what paid the bills along the way Johnson said "working at a construction site carrying water to the bricklayers", washing cars at a funeral Home" and "washing cars at an ice cream delivery company".
It's about routine not glamour. Find a nice little job and do it.
fiction
edward w pritchard
It about routine not glamour. As long as your job nets you enough dough to do your thing you are making it man.
Pete Johnson the worlds finest boogie woogie man played piano at Carnegie hall and popularized the boogie woogie craze. Glamorous Work for him. But asked what paid the bills along the way Johnson said "working at a construction site carrying water to the bricklayers", washing cars at a funeral Home" and "washing cars at an ice cream delivery company".
It's about routine not glamour. Find a nice little job and do it.
Monday, April 15, 2019
His face will not be revealed
His face will not be revealed
fiction
edward w pritchard
When I visited Notre Dame in Paris a gigantic tarp covered the front of the building. The famous church building was being cleaned and repaired on the one and only day I would ever see and observe the sacred structure. Still I hear the bells from Notre Dame Paris 4,000 miles away daily at noon through an open window in my room. I hear the bells from St. Francis Catholic Church in Manchester, Ohio five mile south of my Home which is an important part of the Catholic church's worldwide network of Churches.
Although he who's name will not be revealed to us is silent tomorrow his voice will be audible summoning the faithful through the Catholic churches of the World at noon each day as the bells toll faithfully uninterrupted by the sons of man.
fiction
edward w pritchard
When I visited Notre Dame in Paris a gigantic tarp covered the front of the building. The famous church building was being cleaned and repaired on the one and only day I would ever see and observe the sacred structure. Still I hear the bells from Notre Dame Paris 4,000 miles away daily at noon through an open window in my room. I hear the bells from St. Francis Catholic Church in Manchester, Ohio five mile south of my Home which is an important part of the Catholic church's worldwide network of Churches.
Although he who's name will not be revealed to us is silent tomorrow his voice will be audible summoning the faithful through the Catholic churches of the World at noon each day as the bells toll faithfully uninterrupted by the sons of man.
like the ancients
like the ancients
fiction
edward w pritchard
Like the ancients sometimes the only time I know I am completely alive is when I must leave my shelter at 2 AM and as I move about surreptitiously I observe the night sky.
Is it Jupiter or Saturn low in the southern sky. Perhaps the ancient ones would know from familiarity better than I which planet it is low in the sky at 2 AM in spite of people now having acquired scientific knowledge of the universe.
The night sky is familiar and comforting to me. More so than any companion or Deity. Certainly I feel many hundreds of generations passing this comfort down to me.
The air about me is crisp and clean at 2 AM and the sky is open and honest; uncluttered by human duplicity the universe is revealed to me East to West rotating across the night sky in small manageable pieces.
fiction
edward w pritchard
Like the ancients sometimes the only time I know I am completely alive is when I must leave my shelter at 2 AM and as I move about surreptitiously I observe the night sky.
Is it Jupiter or Saturn low in the southern sky. Perhaps the ancient ones would know from familiarity better than I which planet it is low in the sky at 2 AM in spite of people now having acquired scientific knowledge of the universe.
The night sky is familiar and comforting to me. More so than any companion or Deity. Certainly I feel many hundreds of generations passing this comfort down to me.
The air about me is crisp and clean at 2 AM and the sky is open and honest; uncluttered by human duplicity the universe is revealed to me East to West rotating across the night sky in small manageable pieces.
bound for glory land
bound for glory
fiction
edward w pritchard
See the picture of the young Mother from Central America dragging her two daughters and carrying the four year old boy across the Rio Grand into El Paso, Texas and up the bank bound for glory in the United States of America. The boy only speaks Spanish but for months his Mother has told him about America and their final destination clear up to Michigan to Detroit. It's nearly Heaven to the family. She has made her only son a promise of a better life and in a few more steps they will have finally made it to America.
The children all have new coats and look healthy and optimistic.Trusting faithfully in their Mother to protect them in their new Homeland. Their Mother is the promise keeper and the three determined children hopefully following their Mother are the freedom seekers.
If only they could fly thinks the one little girl bound for glory.
fiction
edward w pritchard
See the picture of the young Mother from Central America dragging her two daughters and carrying the four year old boy across the Rio Grand into El Paso, Texas and up the bank bound for glory in the United States of America. The boy only speaks Spanish but for months his Mother has told him about America and their final destination clear up to Michigan to Detroit. It's nearly Heaven to the family. She has made her only son a promise of a better life and in a few more steps they will have finally made it to America.
The children all have new coats and look healthy and optimistic.Trusting faithfully in their Mother to protect them in their new Homeland. Their Mother is the promise keeper and the three determined children hopefully following their Mother are the freedom seekers.
If only they could fly thinks the one little girl bound for glory.
Sunday, April 14, 2019
life without electricity
life without electricity
fiction
edward w pritchard
What if a comet or some other fiction removed our ability to have electricity for 90 days everywhere on the planet? Many disruptions would occur to the entire world's economy. What would become the source of money exchange and what would be the store of value to make people feel secure about their future?
It would be titillating to decide not to pay any of our bills or obligations for a couple of months.
Some wood to burn, an axe to cut it and some plastic bottles of water would be the order of the day.
Perhaps the Sun would be worshiped again as the source of all light.
OMG no texting, no electronic media or yahoo news, and no networks of friends and followers.
For a while it would be a simpler time again if we were experiencing life without electricity for a few months. It could happen.
fiction
edward w pritchard
What if a comet or some other fiction removed our ability to have electricity for 90 days everywhere on the planet? Many disruptions would occur to the entire world's economy. What would become the source of money exchange and what would be the store of value to make people feel secure about their future?
It would be titillating to decide not to pay any of our bills or obligations for a couple of months.
Some wood to burn, an axe to cut it and some plastic bottles of water would be the order of the day.
Perhaps the Sun would be worshiped again as the source of all light.
OMG no texting, no electronic media or yahoo news, and no networks of friends and followers.
For a while it would be a simpler time again if we were experiencing life without electricity for a few months. It could happen.
graft on a small scale
graft on a small scale
fiction
edward w pritchard
We read in this weekends Wall Street Journal that the mayor of Baltimore self published a series of children's books and then used her political connections and influence to entice various private and public business interests to buy the books en mass in return for later political favors. That's illegal even in America.
Graft on a small scale in Baltimore as if they didn't have enough problems there. Still it's nice to see that the ambitious Women have gotten a chance to line their pockets from the public till illegally.
All in all it's much better to cheat everyone a little bit.
Let the new generation of women politicians in on the graft.
The mayor of Baltimore is currently in the hospital apparently recovering from pneumonia. Hopefully the public in Maryland will go easy on the poor girl. Perhaps she was just trying to compete on equal footing with the big boys. We do so admire ambitious people.
fiction
edward w pritchard
We read in this weekends Wall Street Journal that the mayor of Baltimore self published a series of children's books and then used her political connections and influence to entice various private and public business interests to buy the books en mass in return for later political favors. That's illegal even in America.
Graft on a small scale in Baltimore as if they didn't have enough problems there. Still it's nice to see that the ambitious Women have gotten a chance to line their pockets from the public till illegally.
All in all it's much better to cheat everyone a little bit.
Let the new generation of women politicians in on the graft.
The mayor of Baltimore is currently in the hospital apparently recovering from pneumonia. Hopefully the public in Maryland will go easy on the poor girl. Perhaps she was just trying to compete on equal footing with the big boys. We do so admire ambitious people.
Friday, April 12, 2019
mostly silent
mostly silent
fiction
edward w pritchard
Keep an East facing window open to hear the early morning echo of the ancient ones.The series
of the Portage Lakes where I stay are a sacred place where the native Americans once did abide from time to time and on windy quiet mornings you can hear advice from those long gone if keep your mind free of the frets of the day.
Those spirits are shy and do not enter houses. The sound of cars and trucks racing to work drives them away.
Hear the birds, hear the ducks, hear the wind. When no one sees or will hear you the ancient ones are about. Five times five a bird repeats to me drawing thoughts from my subconscious.
Blow wind blow. The universe enters mostly silent through an East facing window.
fiction
edward w pritchard
Keep an East facing window open to hear the early morning echo of the ancient ones.The series
of the Portage Lakes where I stay are a sacred place where the native Americans once did abide from time to time and on windy quiet mornings you can hear advice from those long gone if keep your mind free of the frets of the day.
Those spirits are shy and do not enter houses. The sound of cars and trucks racing to work drives them away.
Hear the birds, hear the ducks, hear the wind. When no one sees or will hear you the ancient ones are about. Five times five a bird repeats to me drawing thoughts from my subconscious.
Blow wind blow. The universe enters mostly silent through an East facing window.
Thursday, April 11, 2019
a few hours in jail
a few hours in jail
fiction
edward w pritchard
Once I spent a few hours in jail. Eventually I got out of jail and out of trouble and went on with my life.
Tonight I have spent a few hours rereading parts of Jack Kerouac's"on the road". I have just closed the book that I once enjoyed reading and feel now like I did that time 50 years ago when I was walking out of that small town jail after a night of carousing about the countryside. That night when I got out of jail I decided that it was time to get some adult type habits and goals.
"On the road" by Kerouac is enjoyable to read once for the joy to be unattached, goal-less and solipsistic. Not great literature or important but enjoyable once for a while never the less.
fiction
edward w pritchard
Once I spent a few hours in jail. Eventually I got out of jail and out of trouble and went on with my life.
Tonight I have spent a few hours rereading parts of Jack Kerouac's"on the road". I have just closed the book that I once enjoyed reading and feel now like I did that time 50 years ago when I was walking out of that small town jail after a night of carousing about the countryside. That night when I got out of jail I decided that it was time to get some adult type habits and goals.
"On the road" by Kerouac is enjoyable to read once for the joy to be unattached, goal-less and solipsistic. Not great literature or important but enjoyable once for a while never the less.
America reaches out to Africa
America reaches out to Africa
fiction
edward w pritchard
For exercise sometimes I will ride my bike about the City of Akron rather than out in the scenic hills South of town down around Clinton. Yesterday I was riding on North Arlington south towards Coventry where I stay when I decided to stop at a bus stop and temporarily load my bike on the front of a Metro bus and skip a bad part of Akron and get out of the hot Sun for a few minutes with a break from bike riding.
While I was waiting for the bus an older black man just younger than me came by the bus stop where I waited carrying a full sized folded mattress on his back. Making conversation I asked him where he was headed and he said "to the apartments on South Arlington near the WalMart" which is where I go for my prescriptions about six miles South of where I was so I decided to help the man with the mattress since he had no friends with a truck and needed the mattress at his new place.
When the bus driver came rather than load my bike on the bus in the usual way I slipped the bus driver five bucks of the thirty dollars I had in my wallet and the driver let me and the old guy load the mattress in the fold down rack on the front of the bus where bikes usually ride. The old guy with the mattress paid his own metro senior fare of one dollar and it was lucky that he had exact change because the drivers do not make change.
Riding down Arlington near Lovers Lane where riots occurred back in 1968 and Urban shootings occasionally happen now as I petaled I got to thinking about slavery and reparations. It was hot out as I rode my bike as I remembered that hot Summer of 1968 and the riots here in Akron. My uncle the soldier who was tortured by the Nazi's in WW2 had once had a used appliance shop on Arlington near Lover's Lane where he sold used stoves and washers and dryers to the Black folks at Arlington and Lover's lane in the 1950's until he had to move to Phoenix for his health because of his bad lungs he got when tortured by the Nazi's in WW2. If he were alive I would like to ask my Uncle the tortured soldier about reparations for descendants of slaves. My uncle called the local blacks in Akron colored people I recall and when he moved to Phoenix him and his sons my cousins called the Mexican people "Mexs".
I was at football practice when the Akron riots occurred back in 1968. My Father who had served with Black soldiers in Guam in WW2 told me then that Black soldiers on Guam had rioted once because in 1944 some of the white soldiers didn't like seeing Black soldiers with the Guam "native girls" [Chamoru women].
In college I took a class called Black History in 1972. The only book I keep in my library now on black History per say is "Modern Black Nationalism " from Marcus Garvey to Louis Farrakhan. The
definitive article on reparations in the book is " the new Afrikan Case for Reparations "by Imari Obadele.
Sometimes as I ride my bike about Akron if I am near where the 1968 riots occurred I think about slavery and reparations as I ride.
fiction
edward w pritchard
For exercise sometimes I will ride my bike about the City of Akron rather than out in the scenic hills South of town down around Clinton. Yesterday I was riding on North Arlington south towards Coventry where I stay when I decided to stop at a bus stop and temporarily load my bike on the front of a Metro bus and skip a bad part of Akron and get out of the hot Sun for a few minutes with a break from bike riding.
While I was waiting for the bus an older black man just younger than me came by the bus stop where I waited carrying a full sized folded mattress on his back. Making conversation I asked him where he was headed and he said "to the apartments on South Arlington near the WalMart" which is where I go for my prescriptions about six miles South of where I was so I decided to help the man with the mattress since he had no friends with a truck and needed the mattress at his new place.
When the bus driver came rather than load my bike on the bus in the usual way I slipped the bus driver five bucks of the thirty dollars I had in my wallet and the driver let me and the old guy load the mattress in the fold down rack on the front of the bus where bikes usually ride. The old guy with the mattress paid his own metro senior fare of one dollar and it was lucky that he had exact change because the drivers do not make change.
Riding down Arlington near Lovers Lane where riots occurred back in 1968 and Urban shootings occasionally happen now as I petaled I got to thinking about slavery and reparations. It was hot out as I rode my bike as I remembered that hot Summer of 1968 and the riots here in Akron. My uncle the soldier who was tortured by the Nazi's in WW2 had once had a used appliance shop on Arlington near Lover's Lane where he sold used stoves and washers and dryers to the Black folks at Arlington and Lover's lane in the 1950's until he had to move to Phoenix for his health because of his bad lungs he got when tortured by the Nazi's in WW2. If he were alive I would like to ask my Uncle the tortured soldier about reparations for descendants of slaves. My uncle called the local blacks in Akron colored people I recall and when he moved to Phoenix him and his sons my cousins called the Mexican people "Mexs".
I was at football practice when the Akron riots occurred back in 1968. My Father who had served with Black soldiers in Guam in WW2 told me then that Black soldiers on Guam had rioted once because in 1944 some of the white soldiers didn't like seeing Black soldiers with the Guam "native girls" [Chamoru women].
In college I took a class called Black History in 1972. The only book I keep in my library now on black History per say is "Modern Black Nationalism " from Marcus Garvey to Louis Farrakhan. The
definitive article on reparations in the book is " the new Afrikan Case for Reparations "by Imari Obadele.
Sometimes as I ride my bike about Akron if I am near where the 1968 riots occurred I think about slavery and reparations as I ride.
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Africa reaches out to America
Africa reaches out to America
fiction
edward w pritchard
I took an attitude test for a job once that since I wanted to meet and know famous people I was hired as having an ideal attitude for a salesman career. Alas not quite.
But if I could meet a famous person it would be the Pope or Dali Lama to ask "what should I do when I want to annihilate these Nigerians" who robo call me from Africa on my broken trac phone which doesn't show the phone number calling me or their caller ID.
I am sure they are just trying to make an unethical living trying to rip off rich Americans- ha ha
Why should I refuse to be understanding of their unfortunate circumstances there at the university in Nigeria calling me with an urgent messages for nefarious purposes.
Next time I will try be a more compassionate backsliding christian and liberal.
fiction
edward w pritchard
I took an attitude test for a job once that since I wanted to meet and know famous people I was hired as having an ideal attitude for a salesman career. Alas not quite.
But if I could meet a famous person it would be the Pope or Dali Lama to ask "what should I do when I want to annihilate these Nigerians" who robo call me from Africa on my broken trac phone which doesn't show the phone number calling me or their caller ID.
I am sure they are just trying to make an unethical living trying to rip off rich Americans- ha ha
Why should I refuse to be understanding of their unfortunate circumstances there at the university in Nigeria calling me with an urgent messages for nefarious purposes.
Next time I will try be a more compassionate backsliding christian and liberal.
Monday, April 8, 2019
just a few words
just a few words
fiction
edward w pritchard
Just a few words. One of my relatives became more revealed to me when I heard just a few words.
My cousin who I don't see nearly often enough told me recently that his Father my Uncle who sometimes helped guide and direct me as a boy had once done something extraordinary that I didn't know.
My uncle it was revealed to me was once as soldier and had hit the beaches at Normandy.
My Uncle now long gone had once been a soldier for our Country and all the years and all these times I had remembered him had once done something extraordinary in his youth.
As a boy at family gatherings and parties I remember my Father once a soldier and his Brother in law
my uncle who hit the beach at Normandy talking and never once did I hear either talk of soldiering.
fiction
edward w pritchard
Just a few words. One of my relatives became more revealed to me when I heard just a few words.
My cousin who I don't see nearly often enough told me recently that his Father my Uncle who sometimes helped guide and direct me as a boy had once done something extraordinary that I didn't know.
My uncle it was revealed to me was once as soldier and had hit the beaches at Normandy.
My Uncle now long gone had once been a soldier for our Country and all the years and all these times I had remembered him had once done something extraordinary in his youth.
As a boy at family gatherings and parties I remember my Father once a soldier and his Brother in law
my uncle who hit the beach at Normandy talking and never once did I hear either talk of soldiering.
Sunday, April 7, 2019
eleven invisible hands
eleven invisible hands
fiction
edward w pritchard
The Walmart I patronize is poorly run. Bottlenecks occur routinely at the returns counter where the sole employee working must wait on six to ten mildly irate customers who in addition to returned merchandise for myriad reasons must also process utility bills which is why I was there and handle many other unusual problems without help or backup. Warren Buffet called it about Walmart- a better stock than retailer- when he sold a few billion dollars worth of his stock in 2016. Sadly it seems Wal Mart can not get proper employees for what they pay. Buyer beware.
It's the same with street repair and maintenance public employees workers where I live but for different reasons. Whatever the reasons the road repairs drag on forever while the workers stand around in little groups and talk.
The customers and consumers vote with their feet. It seems the eleven invisible hands that regulate relationships between customer, employee and owners are breaking down as the economy approaches full employment. Seller beware.
fiction
edward w pritchard
The Walmart I patronize is poorly run. Bottlenecks occur routinely at the returns counter where the sole employee working must wait on six to ten mildly irate customers who in addition to returned merchandise for myriad reasons must also process utility bills which is why I was there and handle many other unusual problems without help or backup. Warren Buffet called it about Walmart- a better stock than retailer- when he sold a few billion dollars worth of his stock in 2016. Sadly it seems Wal Mart can not get proper employees for what they pay. Buyer beware.
It's the same with street repair and maintenance public employees workers where I live but for different reasons. Whatever the reasons the road repairs drag on forever while the workers stand around in little groups and talk.
The customers and consumers vote with their feet. It seems the eleven invisible hands that regulate relationships between customer, employee and owners are breaking down as the economy approaches full employment. Seller beware.
Saturday, April 6, 2019
who hasn't sat
who hasn't sat
fiction
edward w pritchard
Who hasn't sat with one of those artificial intelligent unit robots manufactured by amazon back in the 2040's at a bar mitzvah or wedding straining desperately to develop conversation or dialogue during a long evening in which your robotic companion had been programmed to live only in the current moment refusing to talk about past events or future anticipations. It's programmed into them not to discuss the crowded past or invisible unknown future. So for four hours on end you discuss the food, the wine selection and eventually the proper arrangement of the silverware around your plate.
If I am hiking in the woods before a rain storm, racing down a steep hill on a bicycle or meeting for the first time a beautiful woman I rejoice at living in the moment and having mindfulness. For social dialogue however sit me by by a companion for the evening who will share with me their intimate concerns about the future price of rental apartments or peaches and is nostalgic about those who came before us.
fiction
edward w pritchard
Who hasn't sat with one of those artificial intelligent unit robots manufactured by amazon back in the 2040's at a bar mitzvah or wedding straining desperately to develop conversation or dialogue during a long evening in which your robotic companion had been programmed to live only in the current moment refusing to talk about past events or future anticipations. It's programmed into them not to discuss the crowded past or invisible unknown future. So for four hours on end you discuss the food, the wine selection and eventually the proper arrangement of the silverware around your plate.
If I am hiking in the woods before a rain storm, racing down a steep hill on a bicycle or meeting for the first time a beautiful woman I rejoice at living in the moment and having mindfulness. For social dialogue however sit me by by a companion for the evening who will share with me their intimate concerns about the future price of rental apartments or peaches and is nostalgic about those who came before us.
Friday, April 5, 2019
you can't move freely along the coast any more
you can't move freely along the coast anymore
fiction
edward w pritchard
These coastal towns were originally owned by the Indians
until the Pilgrims and puritans killed them all with King Phillips War
now the roads between the towns have drifted over with sand dunes
driven by the winds and waves
and I can't see our daughter Sheely anymore
because she and her Mother live permanently with her Grand Mother in the Hilton hotel
over near Rockport, Massachusetts
two years ago on Sheely's seventh birthday
I got so drunk after work Friday night
I tried to walk along the beach clear to Rockport barefoot
throwing empty beer bottles at the gulls
the rich called the Sheriff
and the deputy called Sheriff Johnson
my old peewee football coach when they saw it was me
and coach took me to his house and let me sleep it off on the screened in porch
and his wife brought me Indian blankets and some lemonade
while Coach's grand daughter played the piano till midnight
fiction
edward w pritchard
These coastal towns were originally owned by the Indians
until the Pilgrims and puritans killed them all with King Phillips War
now the roads between the towns have drifted over with sand dunes
driven by the winds and waves
and I can't see our daughter Sheely anymore
because she and her Mother live permanently with her Grand Mother in the Hilton hotel
over near Rockport, Massachusetts
two years ago on Sheely's seventh birthday
I got so drunk after work Friday night
I tried to walk along the beach clear to Rockport barefoot
throwing empty beer bottles at the gulls
the rich called the Sheriff
and the deputy called Sheriff Johnson
my old peewee football coach when they saw it was me
and coach took me to his house and let me sleep it off on the screened in porch
and his wife brought me Indian blankets and some lemonade
while Coach's grand daughter played the piano till midnight
each little group
each little group
fiction
edward w pritchard
the couple in the seats in front of me were getting married in about a week
he was a fireman and her an eye Doctor
they left the theater just as the house lights went on
scooting down the row avoiding the feet
the curtain fell down mechanically with little bumps and grinds
I slumped in my seats and waited
as each little group left the Theater
just before the big auditorium emptied completely
one unsupervised little boy ran to the front
and pretended he was going to jump on the stage
eventually his Mother corralled him and they were the last to leave
except me slumped in my seat watching
until the janitor guy smiled as he lifted up all the folding seats
preparing to sweep the hall I suppose
arising
I thought
god
is the name we call all the little processes
that make up everything
fiction
edward w pritchard
the couple in the seats in front of me were getting married in about a week
he was a fireman and her an eye Doctor
they left the theater just as the house lights went on
scooting down the row avoiding the feet
the curtain fell down mechanically with little bumps and grinds
I slumped in my seats and waited
as each little group left the Theater
just before the big auditorium emptied completely
one unsupervised little boy ran to the front
and pretended he was going to jump on the stage
eventually his Mother corralled him and they were the last to leave
except me slumped in my seat watching
until the janitor guy smiled as he lifted up all the folding seats
preparing to sweep the hall I suppose
arising
I thought
god
is the name we call all the little processes
that make up everything
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
a reminder
a reminder
fiction
edward w pritchard
Wondering here if the American Civil War would have been shortened with Internet, face book and tweeting by politicians?
How many face saving Generals would fight new battles if they were so busy justifying their strategies in previous conflagrations in mini tweets.
How many politicians who hated each other would cause gridlock with their twittering?
and
how many pictures of piles of sawed off arms and legs to finish the War.
fiction
edward w pritchard
Wondering here if the American Civil War would have been shortened with Internet, face book and tweeting by politicians?
How many face saving Generals would fight new battles if they were so busy justifying their strategies in previous conflagrations in mini tweets.
How many politicians who hated each other would cause gridlock with their twittering?
and
how many pictures of piles of sawed off arms and legs to finish the War.
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
a second start in a brief life/ part 2
a second start in a brief life/ part 2
fiction
edward w pritchard
"If I had the wings of an angel over these prison walls I would fly" [1] so originally said the Anasazi Indians one day in the thirteenth century as they left their home at Mesa Verde and the four corners region and disappeared, without fanfare or as far as we know without regret. They left some small valuable black pots, a few dried out mummies and one hand made pair of wooden crutches in the
small clusters of pit houses they once lived in . But they didn't fly they walked and disappeared into the future to become "the ancient ones" to the Navajo Indians who told stories about them sometimes calling them the"enemy ancestors".
No one knows why they left. Scientists speculate-no water, secret enemies, mass ennui.
Start walking and don't look back.
[1]copyrighted Vernon Dalhert 1924 {also sung by the Bowery Boys} in one of their movies.
part 2
Say the Anasazi the ancient ones
one day we began to walk
leaving the safety of the sacred mountains
each one carrying one personal possession
searching for meteors
searching for painted hieroglyphics letters of the ancestors
but why walk on, one said
in atonement said one, as good deed said another
for what?
we have been given one more day
fiction
edward w pritchard
"If I had the wings of an angel over these prison walls I would fly" [1] so originally said the Anasazi Indians one day in the thirteenth century as they left their home at Mesa Verde and the four corners region and disappeared, without fanfare or as far as we know without regret. They left some small valuable black pots, a few dried out mummies and one hand made pair of wooden crutches in the
small clusters of pit houses they once lived in . But they didn't fly they walked and disappeared into the future to become "the ancient ones" to the Navajo Indians who told stories about them sometimes calling them the"enemy ancestors".
No one knows why they left. Scientists speculate-no water, secret enemies, mass ennui.
Start walking and don't look back.
[1]copyrighted Vernon Dalhert 1924 {also sung by the Bowery Boys} in one of their movies.
part 2
Say the Anasazi the ancient ones
one day we began to walk
leaving the safety of the sacred mountains
each one carrying one personal possession
searching for meteors
searching for painted hieroglyphics letters of the ancestors
but why walk on, one said
in atonement said one, as good deed said another
for what?
we have been given one more day
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