Poetry Scraps Saved

9-4-07  Jason Tribute   Buried in a junk pile   His former existence    Cries for redemption          Like many souls wandering    Long before him   No justice is revealed.          The haze may soon clear   But no peace survives   A silent tragic emptiness.                    9-4-07   Nothingness      Scratch numbers     Disregard letters     Dust covers up     Past thoughts     Deftly added     Wordy confusion     Carefully scented      Covering nothingness.                     9-4-07   Lines Crossed     Foggy mountain morning     brings a breakdown of sight     No two hour delay to help     World weary travelers.          Postponed advancement     Freezes computer students     Blue glare stares blindly     No place to go, without shutdown.                    2-19-07    Cyberspace Man     Call dial up connection     Volume on welcome     View e-mails, delete     Sign off, shut down     Blank screen with only     Recorded music background      Fade to nap time      All passes by quickly.                2-19-07   Passing Cat Thoughts     Funny how poems     Slip away inkily     Cats roll across     Floors stealthily     Preying upon passersby     As thoughts preserve.                  7-22-07 Voids     Collapsed laughter     Propels tidal waves     Wandering aimlessly     Around creative processes     Validating memories     Universally transmitted     Across empty circuits     Left to be reclaimed.                    7-11-07     Out There     Thought drought    leaves us wordless     Sniffing stale air     Humidly stifled.          Our idiosyncrasies     Balanced against     creative essence     Of internal turmoil.               We had our 32nd anniversary yesterday.   Gloria and Mario are still here as they came for Lisa nd Tim"s wedding.  They are leaving today so last night we had chili dogs over to Ybarra's.   Luke is taking 3 classses at LCC and Phillip started school Tuesday and likes most of his classes.   On 7-5-07 Cyril McGuire died, he had been president of Local 652 and lived 3 houses from me on St. Joseph St.    His family was the first blacks to move on the 1500-1600 block in the fall of 1958 and by 1960 there were only a handful of whites.   I went to his son Kent's birthday party and I shoveled their drive way once.  Later in life when Cyril was our union president he came late at night to the hall as we were there protesting an unfair issue concerning change over job assignments.  He was a good and well respected man who worked hard for justice for all. 

Detroit 40 years July

   Forty years ago July 23, 1967 six days of rioting began in Detroit.  Looting and vandalism resulted in a police state leaving 43 dead, 2000 injured, and 7000 arrests.  I was 16 and had been in Detroit only for a couple of Tiger games, seeing it only from the expressway and the poorer area near the stadium.   Here in Lansing I had lived in a neighborhood that from 1960 to May of 1963 was mostly black.  I still had a fear of rioting and did not fully understand the reasons behind social injustice and prejudice.  I believed anarchy had to be stopped by any means necessary, and prayed the rioting would not happen here.   As time and life experience change perceptions you realize all is not black and white.  Though I can't justify violence, the riots did bring about a better society and changes that had been slow to come.  Some change has to be forced and pushed in order for it be more timely, when waiting only stretches out implementation.  Many more riots followed and societal inequality still exists, but have been addressed with the need to fix defeatist attitudes a priority.  We will never have a totally equal society, but so long as effort is rewarded and opportunity is given to those who work hard, then we can be on a fair playing field.  Race is not the definition of a person or what they are capable of achieving.  Our society is not as white dominated and that should make for a more universal people.  I have been back to Detroit and it no longer is the huge city it was when it had over a million white majority in 1960.  It has and still struggles now as a smaller black majority city facing the need for better education, housing and good jobs.  In 1701 Detroit was settled by the French with Fort Ponchartrain and their struggles with the British.  306 years later it still has potential to remain a great city, and racial equality is the only way it can get back to that state!

Third Summer Blog Evaluation

     I've been at this blog now three years recording my life changes.   We have been going to Pier Point cabin in Grand Haven for five years now, and this year was our earliest start on June 30th.  This year went faster and on July 4th the Wickershams and Simon came up on a foggy day.  We went down to the beach and though it was warmer the fog didn't lift until after 8 at night.  It was just Luke and Phillip for a week and the main attraction was the Art Fair and 2 trips to the Mall in Norton Shores.  Yesterday I had my first summer school job at Dwight Rich, as I never had been called before.  It was at the computer lab for 6-8th graders who varied from good workers to jerk-offs, who I could lock out from the main screen.   Jon came home today from Indiana for the rest of the week and the Alvarado family reunion Saturday.   Today was the first day of relief from 90+ heat since we returned from vacation.  Thought drought/  Leaves us wordless/  Sniffing stale air/  Humidly stifled./  Our idiosyncrasies/  Balanced against/  Creative essence/  Of internal turmoil./  j.S.pratt   Mumbling on between sentences, poems consume themselves in blogs meant basically for no one but the desperate wandering souls of a lonely self inflicted world!   I need another Beach Bum blonde ale for inspiration as my empty glass is full of oblivion.

Lukas has Graduated

   We had Luke's open house last Friday, all went well and a good time was had.  We have been to many open houses for Luke's friends and they have been enjoyable.  Graduation was at MSU Auditorium June 3, on a misty day.   The campus is under construction so we had to detour to park but ended up pretty good, and we sat in the back lower row of the balcony so we got a little breeze.   Last Thursday I cashed some dated savings bonds and brought $500 home and when I went to look for it Friday morning I couldn't find it or really recollect where I put it.   I spent 5 days retracing the possible places where I might have hid it, and praying.  On Tuesday morning I decided to  look again in the church envelope boxes and take everything out this time.  The first one revealed nothing different but when I started pulling everything from the second one green appeared from the front of the box and thank you GOD there was where I had put it.   This is a sign for me to take my time and think about even simple things and to take time to appreciate the good family and blessings GOD has bestowed on me.   Jane and I worked at Luke's senior party and he won a mini-frig., which we finally decided to return to Sams Club for the credit so Luke can get something else he wants.  Phillip pitched for the JV baseball team and did a very good job as well as playing first base.   Jon is still in Valpraiso taking a business class and is going to work there at a grocery store.   He also had another encounter with the Delta Township police Friday morning of Luke's open house, when I got a call from his cell phone asking me to pick him up in front of Runaway Bay apartments or he would be going to jail.   Life never is dull with 4 boys and sometimes we all get lucky learning lessons. 

56 Spring, Sprung

   I added a year to my resume and we are on spring break, except Jane.  I was at Elmwood Thursday and it was pajama day.  I was in Mrs. Hind's Kindergarten and in the AM we had an accidental biting that I had to report because it broke skin.  In the PM the whole school was in the gym for the read in.  Able was with his mother and asked to have our picture taken when I went to pick the kids up as it was our Library time and she got to spend the time with them. Able always hugs me when I sub and tells me how much he missed me and has his arm in cast now.  I talked to Tina and Marge Crawford and they both said WPCA is in dire need of leadership as Wimpy Whipple is lost in his Java with Jeff.  Dr. Harvey checked my lung test and says it has improved in capacity.  The boys had good conferences and they were complimented by their teachers.

Max the Moose

    On Thursday the 15th I was subbing for Ms. Robbins class at Fuestenau in Dewitt.  Marc Thomas, an entertainer was singing songs for Reading month.  Max the Moose is his puppet he uses but Allison in the morning class had told me she was afraid and I told her it would be better than a real live moose. I was  made Bananaman for a song where the audience has to raise their arms up when their word is sang in the song.  Allison went from teacher to parent helper to try to ease her fears of the moose and when she finally found out he was just a small puppet she calmed down and enjoyed the antlers made with balloons that I had placed on me for the last song.  I wore them back to class and told the class to tell Ms. Robbins she had to wear them for missing the show. I had this typed up once and Mr. Blanco stepped across the keyboard and made it disappear.  I've been subbing daily for a lot of good classes the past month and got a lot of hugs at Riddle  this week.

Mrs. Pearsons class revisited

  Yesterday I subbed in Mrs. Pearson's class in the morning.  I had subbed regularly for them last year and this is a looping class so only 2 students were no longer in her class.  When Andrew saw me he said,"Mr. Pratt my dream came true".  He has always liked me and was hoping I would sub for them this year but they had a student teacher so the chances would be rarer for me.  He gave me a big hug and told me not to tell Mrs. Pearson as he didn't hug her.  All the kids were glad to see me and Justin also gave me a hug.  The day before I was at Sheridan Road for gym class and had many students I had subbed for the year before.  I was introduced to crab soccer and the students did a good job on their warm ups and refereeing the game.  It is still very cold  and Monday I was at Reo and they went outside many in tennis shoes and without hats or gloves but as bad as most were they deserved it.  On Valentines day I was with 5th graders at Grand River and they spent the last hour not watching a movie and exchanging cards and candy.  Phillip sent Jane a dozen roses at work, he was proud of himself showing up his dad who is too cheap.  Histopher or Fluffy or Hister is now a regular at staying inside and he loves running around playing with mice, climbing the pole, and watching TV or just lying on the floor in your way.   Jon came home for the weekend and had no problem driving around the Lake Michigan snow drift corner. 

Old man

   Quite often when I sub for younger children I hear them say "We have a boy teacher today."  On 2/1/07 I had a job at Attwood school teaching kindergarteners. I was preparing for the day in a class that usually had an MSU student helping and the calendar was still set as January.  The students started to come in and I began to see how they moved their stick for lunch choice and I gave them their seat work.  I had about 5 students and one boy was saying the teacher was a grandpa and then asked me if I was.  I told him no and then he asked if I was old, to which I replied some days I feel it.  So as more students trickled in he told them the teacher told us he's old making, me feel this may be one of those days that would make me old.  Ten minutes after class time I had 11 students and tardies should have been in by now, so I found 6 students absent making a very manageable class.  We did the calendar for February and despite Ryan's and some other active students we had a good day even when a twelfth student showed up at 10:00.  The old man label thankfully was soon forgotten.  I also subbed for 2 former students, Kaylee at Windemere View and Taylor at Grand River.  Lukas had an operation for a deviated septum (cartilage in his nose) and except for a couple of bloody noses has been doing well.  The weather the past week has been either near zero or below with wind chills down to -18.  It is the first below 0 temperatures in 2 years and the longest cold spell since before 2000.  Lisa is now a Wickersham as she got married by the Potterville Justice of Peace Friday.  Well the old man shouldn't stay up too late so he can keep up the younger generation.  

It's 2007

O little town of Bethlehem a wall now stops the weary from getting to the Inn and the stables are bare because of terrorists.  Saddam Hussein's hanging live from Baghdad "plummeting  through the gallows trapdoor and dangling in death."  This past week there have been almost daily deaths of Michigan soldiers to add to the over 3000 total in Iraq.  Gerald R. Ford our 38th president and oldest at 93 died  Dec. 26.   He is to be buried in Grand Rapids today.  He was the only president from Michigan and was never elected Vice president, was appointed after Spiro Agnew's resignation. He assumed  the presidency after Nixon's Watergate impeachment avoidance and lost to Jimmy Carter when he ran for election.   Now on with 2007 it starts here with temperatures near 50 with little snow or cold weather.  Jobs now offer less security than ever and people have more debt than during the Great Depression.   Should we be optimistic or should responsibility and respectability become our personal and corporate guides?   Jon has been home for 3 weeks from school and  has been working at Sears and hoping he did well on his exams. He is worried about keeping his scholarship as he needs to maintain a 3 point average.   President Bush described Gerald Ford  as a rock of stability may we all take a lesson.