The Death of a Friend

2 March 2010

To a friend:

Just a little while ago, my cousin called and delivered the news of your Mom’s passing. Apparently her mother informed her of this. So I’m glad you wrote to me. Of course I express my condolences to you and your family at this time in our lives.

The poet John Donne wrote something to the effect that every death diminishes each of us. I often think of that when I’m affected by someone’s passing away.

Tonight it was different. When your note came in e-mail I read the first sentences. Then I thought about it while I went downstairs and did some dishes. I knew I wanted to tell you how your mother brought joy to our lives, and even though it was many years ago true joy just stays around with you a long, long time. I felt a loss.

I returned upstairs to finish reading your note. My heart was so touched by your report of your father singing and telling the stories. And then I read of his reminding your mom of the picnic with my dad and mom and the rest of the family and guys from the shop, all by name. The singing, the memories, the stories for your mom. I am touched and honored to feel a part of the poetry of your family at this moment.

The poetry of our lives, our family’s, has been enriched as has yours. And like the poets, that’s forever.

Much love to all!

Tom Todaro

To Jan Vairio, Jules Gudchi

Did?

Done. On to more positive change for the United States of America.

Curiouser and curiouser.

The only tea party that ever made sense is showing now, in 3D at your closest IMAX theater. Take tea baggers take on taxes. This is what they think. And of course what actually is.

A Hand Large Enough For Palin To Write His Name

This is priceless. Sarah Palin goes after Allan Grayson, (D-FL), and he compliments her! for fitting his name on her hand and getting through an entire program without quitting. Promised to debate her on the issues on the unlikely event she ever learns anything about them.

This Placed Second In An AARP Contest

A Palindrome reads the same backwards as forwards. This video reads the exact opposite backward as forward and will knock you out.

My Review Of "Spring Awakening," The Broadway Show At The Fox In Atlanta

I hope to see more and more shows like this; the contemporary beat challenging our senses with what has been ingrained in our culture for centuries through the classics. Romeo and Juliet in this story? Goethe? (Faust is in there) perhaps. Is there a Led Zeppelin brick in this wall? yes. Do we strain forward to hear every word while leaning into our own futures, slouching to our pasts? these themes are universal, this play is beautiful. Bring your adolescents; if you're cool they'll be cool and you're doing them a favor plucked straight from the leitmotif of "Spring Awakening." It changed my internal perception of my early life, loves, what I thought of it all then and how I should perceive it anew now. --TT

Playing through Sunday at the Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta.

The "New Populism"

The government better do something about jobs but not get too big. Why are you bailing out the auto companies, whew, thanks for saving jobs in Detroit and beyond. The free market will guide us, except when the free market fails, then please, oh government, save us.

Tea bagers, slouching toward socialism, chaos in the political parties. Whatever happened to true patriotism, true community? only the true minorities? What's so funny about peace, love and understanding populism?

We don't insure burning houses.

HEALTHCARE SUMMIT. 2/25/19 POOR LOST DAVE, AND OF COURSE INSURANCE PROFITEERING IS OKAY AND LEGAL FOR NOW.

Best analogy I’ve ever heard was, “we don’t insure burning houses.” Which is fine. Insurance companies are in the business of turning a profit. In fact, they are not theoretically the problem other than they are exempt from Taft Hartley. They don’t have to abide by anti-monopoly law like any other company.

Here’s the problem. They can charge premiums as high as they’d like in a business atmosphere where the business is life or death. Often, even according to their own actuarial tables, the poorer people, the middle class, even the upper middle class in some cases, are sicker or more prone to sickness than others and/or they can’t afford to be without insurance. So they have to pay more and more and more. When they do get sick, insurance companies just keep jacking up the rates until they can’t afford their own care or the premiums and they are screwed. It’s happening to the best of us and it will happen to more of the best of us. Even Dave; too bad he’s buying off on what will kill him literally as well as financially, too. Many dumb asses are.

Remember, we “don’t insure burning houses.” And why should we? We’re in business to make a profit. American Way, right? Well, so is democracy the American way. And if there weren’t so many dumb fucks like Dave and the pathetic tea baggers we’d pass decent health care reform and come into life like the rest of the civilized world. After all, what is government for? Europeans don’t seem to think it’s for blowing things up needlessly, which is how America spends Dave’s big bucks. Balls, I say, balls.

On The Blog Again

I call this The Urban Farm Report because of where I live, on what was once woods adjacent to farmland along a river in close proximity to the City of Atlanta, where we sometimes work and always play.

I hope today is a political turning point. The turn will probably be for a big fight in Washington between the power of money and the power of people. President Obama’s health care summit is underway at Blair House.

Is the republican party really a wholly owned subsidiary of the insurance industry?

New Day, New Math

Ah.

Just when I thought I had moved to a theocracy or dictatorship somewhere in my sleep in the past two years to-the-day. Long live democracy, long live the United States Consitution.

Who's math now? Refreshing to know politics is not all about spin, all about math, all about dominance, hubris, bullies, and hypnotized hillbillies lead around by pockets of cash and a promise of everlasting life.

It's a new math now. Yet it's an old math, the real numbers. The Bush years never added up, never amounted to anything but lies and theft. I hope we can go to work fixing so much of what this administration fucked up so royaly.

They even lie about the polls

Who's math? The professionals, the academics, the White House? No matter. There can be change and we need it now. Vote tuesday!

Brothers in Arms

I feel tired after all of this. You must have just happened across the blog, because I haven’t written anything here since April.

But I just read something posted on “Truth Dig,” a trusty blog.

It is written in anticipation of Pat Tillman’s birthday, 6 November, by his twin brother Kevin. Pat, you may recall, was killed in Afghanistan 22 April 2004. The Pentagon trumpeted his heroic death, shot by the enemy, in trying to save his brothers in arms in battle. It was later revealed, after the Bush Administration got enough political propaganda mileage from the incident in a presidential reelection year, that Pat’s death was a result of friendly fire.

You may recall Pat gave up a promising, lucrative career in the NFL to serve his country. And how he joined his twin brother, the writer of the letter on this link, as his, well, real brother in arms. Pat is gone, of course. Kevin, the honorable warrior, waited until his discharge to write this for Pat’s birthday.

I was going to e-mail this to people I thought would take it to heart; not think I’m just trying to sway the “stay-the-course” crowd brainwashed so terribly by the Bush administration. I don’t know who you are anymore, but you do. Just thought maybe you’d check in again and read Kevin’s letter to Pat.

Brown Thrasher Nesting, Singing

Here is what is nesting outside our second-floor window this spring, on a trellis covered with yellow Jasmine. It is the Georgia state bird.

Robins usually nest there but since Brown Thrasher babies hatch in under two weeks, then fledge after another two, maybe the redbreasts are waiting their turn. They nest when it gets a bit warmer up here.

With the largest song repertoire of any other bird in America, the Thrasher is part of the mockingbird family though more secretive. I used to wonder what all the commotion was in our backyard—they’re always around—until I played this.

The Brown Thrasher is about ten inches long, ours look bigger. The male will defend his nest fiercely, is known to attack people and dogs, and can draw blood with that long beak. The trellis is on our garden and it’s way past time to plant flower seeds. To be continued, with my own photos if I can get them from the window.

Happy Patsy's Day, Mr. President

"I know he's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but he has good people around him."
--Bush voter

Incompetent, Liar, Idiot

Three words most used by Americans in describing Bush. Pew poll has his “approval” (my quote marks) rating at 33 percent. Too bad not enough people woke up to this before November 2, 2004, 2000 even better. Oh well. Clinton had his pants down but this emperor has no clothes.

Preemptive understanding

A foreign policy out front with war as its mantra is lunacy. The Bush administration’s “new” national security strategy may as well be headlined, “Bring it on.” The President dusted off a 2002 document Thursday and it is the same old fake mistake in a world begging for innovative understanding, harmony and sharing.

Has anybody considered a strategy of getting out of cushy, bureaucratic chairs in Washington and actually traveling to our allies and adversaries front porches? Maybe sitting down with an iced tea, or even cutting brush alongside other cultures in the spirit of true understanding? It’s hard, hard work, but nothing else is working. The White House is only working hard to support failure, despair and the lazy rich feeding off the teat of a military industrial complex.

Woodrow Wilson unintentionally taught a lesson. War never ends war. War creates war. Every war since WWI has reinforced that knowledge.

Let’s try something new.

Why Bother?

Once upon a time, criticizing the Bush administration took hard work; references to support my thinking, linking to alternative media. Now it's easy. Read anything current. Hell, watch CNN. Why was this guy ever elected?

Nice days in north Georgia, thirties at night, highs in the sixties. For Spring and Fall there couldn't be a better place to live. Winters are great too, and Summers lately have been milder than normal. Looking forward to my one-time-only role this June--father of the bride. Should be easy since the groom and family, the bride and mother of the bride have a good handle on everything.

Not even the troops support our troops.

What are we going to do with strong evidence within and without our government that the neocons drove us into their oily fantasy crusade of Christian dominion under utterly false pretenses? Now “W The President” faces some of the lowest support ever recorded, even among the very troops in Iraq! How will the White House lie its way out of this one? What now, W?

"The Final Hour" and Harry Belefonte . . .

We, the people . . . I guess we must rise to the occasion and take on the mantle of governing. We do, after all, have a role other than going to the polls. Look for findings presented at the National Press Club. Witnesses “former commander of Abu Ghraib prison Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray, and former UN arms inspector Scott Ritter, testified in the areas of war, torture, global environment, global health, and Katrina.” Watch Truthdig for results since you can’t, of course, depend on the neocon-hijacked fifth estate.

Bush lied, lies, is lying. Impeach him now

My Sunday sermon:

He lied. He lies every day in his public pronouncements and in his deeds. His lies have depleted America’s bank account, killed thousands in an unjust war. He has destroyed an America of law and replaced it with a country of incompetent men and women with motives contrary to true democracy.

In the name of freedom, he has attempted to place the shackles of theocracy on our wrists and ankles, and the shroud of false fear over our souls, breaking the First Commandment in the name of Christ.

He has broken the law set by the U.S. Constitution (unlawful search and seizure, for starters), and has cavorted with the moneychangers.

Save this man’s soul from further self-destruction. Save America. Impeach him now. At the very least, fight the unjust motives of this administration at every turn.

Lost Baseball Cards, Wealth

John Dufresne's blog got me going again, as it is wont to do. He writes today about his mother burning his baseball cards in the backyard trash barrel.

My mom didn’t burn my baseball cards but I know she threw them away, God rest her wonderful soul. Before we moved to Hollywood, Fla., (I was nine) from Monessen, PA, I gathered my collection in bulk. My brother had a weekend job buffing the local drug store floor. (Tommy Janoscik, the pharmacist, was our neighbor.) I “helped”; my brother got money and I got boxes! whole boxes of cards! with the gum. Being a Pirate fan, of course, I’d get several Bob Friend cards, many Bill Mazoroski’s, Roberto Clemente, Stan “The Man” Musial (the Cardinal’s family lived across the valley). I’d pick up several Micky Mantle’s at a clip; many biggies. I even had some gold legend cards, Honus Wagner (pictured), like that.

I was the trader man on the block. I could trade for anything so you can imagine the collection I had amassed.

When we moved to Hollywood (no baseball team) I got into other things like swimming and snorkeling. So I guess my mother thought I didn’t need the shoe boxes stuffed with baseball cards anymore. She swore she had no idea what happened to them. Now she’s gone and so are the baseball cards. Could have been my early retirement right there.

Ah, yes, shit does flow downhill!

Bush and his corpulent corporate cronies are trying to slip another slick fast one on us. They want to do short-form infrequent reports on releasing toxins. May as well tie us down and inject the crap directly into our veins. Says here attorneys general from twelve states oppose it so far. Says too, low income hoods, where polluters like to set up their tents, would be harmed the most.