GREAT NEWS--IRISH VOTERS SUPPORT ABORTION RIGHTS

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT---IRELAND--A CATHOLIC COUNTRY--SUPPORTS A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE.  This delights me--because I am a long time warrior in this fight.

Check out this battle:

KODGER KING KONFRONTS KRAZIES

And this essay I wrote for the NEW MEXICAN newspaper.

I marched in Washington DC for women's right to choose---carrying a sign I made saying: 

 ACORNS ARE NOT OAKS

ZYGOTES ARE NOT FOLKS

I think it went over the heads of the anti choice fanatics standing by, so I shouted out to them:  AN ACORN IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS AN OAK TREE.  ACORNS AND ZYGOTES ARE EXPENDABLE FOR THE GREATER GOOD.

I have participated in an underground railroad in New Orleans providing safe abortions

to woomen who did not wish to be pregnant..

I oppose with all my being the ideas of the rligious right that a freshly fertilized human  egg  is as important as a fetus of 6 month.development.  The Supreme Court of the US has wisely ruled that fetuses of less than 22 weeks development may be legally aborted.  Beyond 22 weeks (viability) the individual states may regulate.

It is obvious to every thinking person that human and every other form of life TAPERS into significance and that in its early form is expendable for a lot of good reasons---poverty, malformation, the health of the mother, overpopulation of the earth or simply because the lady does not want it.

FINALLY, FINALLY sweet people good sense has triumphed over religious doctrine--IN IRELAND.

A SHORT STORY OF ALIENS -----AND PALESTINIANS

I'm camped in a vast and beutiful field with 3 terrific friends.  I have all the comforts of home and most importantly, TIME to think about things.  Today I thought of this story:

The space-faring aliens announced their coming in good English: said they come in peace and landed their mile-wide ship in a remote valley of Montana, South of Kalispelll on the Salish Indian reservation in sight of Mt Baldy.

They asked that a clearance zone of 20 miles all around their ship be established.  A few hundred Indians and ranchers had to be moved to accomplish this.  It was done.

Ambassadors from the US and Canada very quickly engaged the Aliens; learned that they were escaping a dying world and needed a home.  They informed that they would be permanently occuping this area and would be compensating the US and the displaced locals by giving new technology and useful information from their advanced civilization.  They tactfully informed the ambassadors that they were very powerful, possessing the wherewithal to defeat any earthly resistance.  They had no intent to conquer, however, beyond this small territory.

Some of the dispossessed Indians and ranchers tried to reclaim their land and were met with an unpleasant force field.  Thereafter, US troops secured the 40 mile diameter circle and the gradual acceptance of the aliens presence went forward steadily and peacefully.

In the months and years to come humanity learned much from the aliens because they were clearly a superior culture.  Only afew thousand in number, they settled their land and provided for themselves.
Water rights and other tricky issues were negotiated satisfactorily.  The whole world benefitted from the coming of the aliens.
_________________________________________________________________________________

I tell you this story, sweet people because it is a fair approximation of the Israeli acquisition of the land of Israel.

With reasonable gentleness, they took the land they needed and repelled all resistance.  They have the necessary force to defeat any and all the surrounding nations but surprisingly have restrained their capabilities and settled for a relatively small piece of land.

They would like to be good and useful neighbors but surprisingly are resisted with every tactic their neighbors can devise.  They defend themselves with moderation, using only enough force to defend their people.

Their enemies, however are implacable, raging at the injustice of having their land taken away.  They cannot appreciate the big-picture ethics of a desperate and persecuted people determined to have a homeland.

They cannot accept with any grace the bad luck of being in the way of a determined and powerful people.

Their pride is injured to look across a fence and see a superior culture and superior army.

The smart thing to do  is to accept with good grace their bad luck and make the best of a bad situation.

The reasonable thing for the arab world to do is to assimilate their dispossessed and make peace with the powerful "aliens".

Fanatical people, however, will not see the immorality of waging a war that is probably unwinnable and with massive collateral casualties.

The world is littered with dispossessed, defeated and angry people.  Whole generations of native Americans seethe with a useless and fruitless hatred of their dispossessers deriving a twisted source of satisfaction from their anger.  And it is useless to point this out to them.

All these grieving people would do well to consider Japan who "took a lickin and kept on ticking."
And even made friends with their conquerers.

REMEMBERING MY MOTHER

NONE OF US KNOWS HOW MUCH OF OUR CHARACTER WE INHERITED FROM OUR PARENTS.  In my case, I am confident that I inherited my best qualities from my mother.  She was the oldest of 9 children and I knew all of them.  Almost uniformally, they were cheerful, fun to be with individuals.  My friends who find me generally cheerful have my inheritance to thank.

I show you the front of my rig this morning so you can see that I keep her picture forever in front of me. (on the cabinet)

When I was 12 I was given a poem to memorize and perform for a community mother's day ritual:

IF I COULD BE THE FELLOW THAT MY MOMMY THINKS I AM

As I was walking down the street the other day

I heard a little urchin to his comrad turn and say:

Jimmy let me tell you,  I'd be happy as a clam

If I could be the fellow that my mommy thinks I am.

She thinks I'm a wonder, she knows her little lad

could never mix with anything that was ugly mean or bad.

Jimmy let me tell you, I'd be happy as a clam

if I could be the fellow that my mommy thinks I am.

My mother told me that a beautiful poem in the head is a treasure in the heart and she started a project by teaching me the poem FLANDERS FIELD.  I memorized it and as the years went by I memorized a hundred more of the classics at a rate of one or two a year.  When I came home each time she would take me to her senior center, introduce me and have me recite one or more of  them from my repertoire.  It  made her very proud.
When we went to church together and were singing along with the congregation from the hymnal, she would sometimes smile at me and close the hymnal challenging me to sing the words from memory. She could do it and often I could too.
She loved me with a great obviousness.  I had the pleasure of taking care of her in the last months of her life and I was with her when she died.  What she said on her deathbed is nothing short of astonishing.  I wrote it into a poem and placed it on her tombstone for all the world to see.  Check it out  here.

I PROMISED TO DAZZLE MY FRIENDS

I LOVE TO CREATE DRAMA .  SO I ANNOUNCED TO THE FRIENDS CAMPED WITH ME IN THE FOREST NEAR FLAGSTAFF,AZ THAT TOMORROW at 10 AM YOU WILL BE DAZZLED.  Something is going to appear right here that may leave you speechless---or you may just utter: "DAMN"!   I said that I had a friend who was working on a rather large do-it-yourself project that was causing people everywhere to do a double take.  I 'm sure I had them believing that a hippy acquaintance had cobbled together a ramshackled something that was making its way here at my request.

As the moment neared, I saw them glance anxiously at the entrance to our private paradise, wondering if one or more of my eccentric friends was headed here to contaminate our pristine meadow with their presence.

At precisely 10am some kind of behemoth with a quiet murmer was nosing itself through the forest toward us.

Almost stealthily, it glided past some trees into the meadow.  My friends prepared themselves for the coming dazzle.

AND THEN----AND THEN----THE DAZZLE---AN INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL BUS ROLLED INTO OUR MEADOW.

Could a hippy possibly create such a thing?  The dog chased it to a stop.

Did I hear someone say DAMN?

Out stepped an old and valued friend who was willing to drive 80 miles to humor me and dazzle my friends.

Meet Ron Walker, the creator of this wonder.  

I met him decades ago in the badlands of California above the Salton Sea.  He is not a rich man but he has something better? VISION AND WILL.

The retail price of a bus like this is 2.4 Million dollars and requires 12 men working a full year.
Ron estimates this one will cost less than a tenth of that plus a lot of work.

The dazzled folks gathered around--met Ron

and were treated to a tour.  

My tiny rig and van

Looking rearward--at Cheri seated.

And forward at Kathy seated.

Shower, bedroom etc.

Ron says it's still under construction.

We sat around for awhile and he answered our questions.

RANDY PHILOSOPHIZES:  THE REAL STORY HERE IS THE CREATOR AND NOT THE CREATION. (though it is a wonder)  I asked him the source of his vision and his will.  He said that he saw one of these splendid things and just decided to build one for himself.  The will and skill he explained was inspired by his father who did excellent work in all his projects.  Ron has discovered
he says that you can train yourself to do about anything by digging into it.  He said that a vast project like this bus resolves itself really into a thousand separate projects and that each offers satisfaction along the way to keep him interested in continuing.
     A quote from Goethe came to my mind:  "WHATEVER YOU CAN DARE OR DREAM--BEGIN IT.  BOLDNESS HAS MAGIC AND POWER IN IT."
     Thank you Ron for coming and for the inspiration.

WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING---AN UPDATE

Bloggers like myself often must choose between writing about life or living life.  I've been living life and will now write about the last few months.

Decided to record the Walt Whitman performance I do on occasion.

My buddy CB has the equipment and skill to make me sound good.

Sometimes he gatheres a crowd of 10 or so to enjoy a movie in his splendid trailer.

Here's a homemade camper with a secret:  It's made from a paddleboat turned upside down.

Engaged this guy who has a novel plan to beat the heat of oncoming summer.  He's dug this hole in the desert--lined it with plastic, gathered water from assorted sources to begin filling his "cool pool".

He has a sign asking for donations of water.

I went to Yuma for a month or so--made a speech, caught up on movies, celebrated New Years with local friends.

This famous guy stopped by for a visit.  Recognize him? His van is almost as famous as he is--a marvel of ingeneuity and craftsmanship. (Glenn Morrissette: https://www.instagram.com/tosimplify/?hl=en)

Met this terrific guy Chris Huelsbeck.

He writes music--sometimes hiring this symphony.  give a listen to his work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-8tNEDVG8U

Here he is at work.  He has persuaded me to consider Patreon.

 some of his albums.

Meet Tracy, his lovely wife--art director of a gallery--

here in nearby Jerome, Az, an artsy fartsy tourist town on the side of a mountain--where everyone has a 40 mile view. 

On a leisurely walk, I met The Poet Federico.  We exchanged poems and she posed by this picture appropriately labled WANDER WOMAN. 

Then the 4 of us decided to camp together.  Here we are nestled  in the desert near Cottonwood, Az.

When the weather reached 90 degrees, we packed up and moved three thousand feet and 40 miles uphill to the Flagstaff area with 3 more friends we recruited.

How sweet it is! Temps 75 degrees and 50 at night)  Here the poet lady (Kathy) serves us all watermelon.

RANDY PHILOSOPHIZES:  AH SWEET PEOPLE--Have I persuaded you that the good life can be enjoyed while being houseless? (not homeless mind you) Tomorrow I hope to have a surprise for you.