I Had The Bell Bottom Blues

Bell Bottom Blues Derek and the Dominos

My first foray into rock-blues arrived at the very time when I was breaking up with my first real girlfriend. Or maybe that's just the way I remember it, for perhaps I had just never really paid much attention to the blues until I was down and out - under the influence of a broken heart.

At the time my hair was down well below my shoulders, I wore hand patched pairs of bell bottoms, and I, along with all my west-side friends, managed to stay high most of the time - especially during the summer.

My luck would have it that my best west-side Springfield-Leland-Grove, Illinois buddy, Dave, was moving upstate and he and his girlfriend decided that I would be the perfect person to take over as her boyfriend.

This may have been a seemingly generous gesture on the part of Dave, but I don't think he was too happy about leaving his girlfriend. Dave ended up drinking like a fish, and one evening he broke a large window at Penny Lane which at the time was located at the corner of Ash and MacArthur.

A rather dangerous, and fully grown adult, Tony Wables (one of the "founders" of Penny Lane) quite seriously threatened to kill Dave if he ever stepped foot near Penny Lane again - which scared off Dave for about one week.

Dave was a bit cocky as Tony was straight out of prison at the time on an attempted murder charge in which he tried to kill a cop by running him down in his car. Oh well, we were young at the time - and Dave may have felt that death would release him from his broken heart.

Anyway, Dave's girl was a friend of mine and had been for what seemed like ages. I was very conflicted about just stepping into Dave's boyfriend role, and Dave's obvious jealously didn't make it any easier. I had betrayed my best buddy by holding hands with, kissing and making out with his girlfriend - at least that is what I felt at the time - even though they both agreed that I was the heir apparent.

There was also the matter of which kind of person I was supposed to be. All my buddies wanted me to be a total burn out - which I was at that time - and which they were at that time - and which they wanted me to remain at that time - and which they wanted to remain at that time.

Pot, acid, and booze were like gods to be worshiped. And yes there were girls in our little gang, but it was getting high which was paramount above all other considerations - not love.

But my new girlfriend didn't approve of this lifestyle. She had fought Dave on this, and lost, and she was quite determined to win me back from the dark side. For she had known both of us before we ever took our first puff of the evil Mary Jane. In fact she was a jock.

I recall literally watching about five of my friends heading on foot over to Penny Lane, to pick up some rolling papers, or god knows what, and there I was standing across the street with an open invitation to join them, and get high with them like I had a thousand times before.

My girlfriend made it very clear that she was not going to come with me, so I just waved my friends off, but I knew then that my relationship with this girl wouldn't last. It was over - that's how stupid I was at the time. Pick the girl! Pick the girl - not the drugs! Damn it, he can't hear me!

Still I had feelings for her big time, and as we were headed toward the inevitable, "You have to choose either your stoner friends, or me" choice, I often felt confused and brokenhearted. I had never felt brokenhearted before. Having those feelings allowed me to understand the blues for the first time.

And it was Bell Bottom Blues by Derick and the Dominoes (Eric Clapton, et. al.) that I'd end up listening to when I'd get home from partying with my friends during that period.

Upper Respiratory Infectious Agent In Illinois

For most of the month of June, 2008 I worried that I had lung cancer. Although I knew that several coworkers had similar symptoms I had never before been visited with such a persistent low key respiratory infection during a summer month.

The seemingly non-stop rains which have visited Central Illinois this year have made this summer the wettest on record in over one hundred years.

Combine the soggy humid air with the fact that Illinois is one of the moldiest states in the United States and something has got to give.

I would often find myself drinking a half gallon of tea (decaf please) in the morning, and another half gallon in the afternoon just to get through the day without coughing uncontrollably.

And of course I found the whole experience of grabbing for a bag six month old cough drops rather dispiriting. Was this not Summer?

My only comfort came from knowing that others were experiencing this low key respiratory infection too. Some seem struck a bit worse than others, and most people were not affected at all.

Finally after more than a month of shortness of breath, upcoming phlegm, quick triggered coughing fits, and a strange burning in my lungs - it has gone away.

I had almost forgotten about it when today I spoke with a young woman who had been fighting this evil nasty infection. I made sure that she knew that she was not alone, and that no she didn't have some incurable form of lung cancer.

I often wonder how many of these quiet infections pass through our population - never being officially reported. I wonder about the changes such diseases make to our tissues, to our cells, to our bodies - with no government body even attempting to track what could easily be a form of germ warfare, or perhaps an accident at a lab somewhere.

Renaissance - Can You Understand

Renaissance - Can You Understand

Really loved this group, and bought all of their albums. I no longer have a music collection as it was stolen by my daughter and sold for drug money. Thank goodness for Youtube, and Rhapsody.

Renaissance - Can You Understand

Dollars down the penny drain
Frozen in the clouds
Dream away the last of pain
In waterfalls of sounds

Float across the icy pools
Leaves with curl and sway
Now your mind is floating cool
And you can find the way

Can you understand you can really understand
When the darkness comes you still shine
Open up your eyes and make the day shine sunshine now
Open up your dreams and and make the way shine sunshine now
Can you understand you understand
Can you understand you understand
Open up your life and make your lifetime sunshine now
Open up your soul and make your lifeline sunshine now
Can you understand you understand
Can you understand you understand

Dancing without moving now
Growing with your soul
One with all around you now
Related to the all

Purple mist around your hair
Eyes are fading blue
Smiling into everywhere
Love is coming through


Renaissance - Carpet of the Sun

Needless to say I was in love with Annie, as was I'm sure many a young teenage boy who was lucky enough to hear her beautiful voice.

The combination of romantic trip mystical lyrics, fine instrumental performance, and great vocals made this British group one of my favorite groups.

I never shared this group with any of my friends, that I can recall, as I felt at the time that they just wouldn't get it.

Renaissance - Carpet of the Sun

Come along with me
Down into the world of seeing
Come and you'll be free
Take the time to find the feeling
See everything on it's own
And you'll find you know the way
And you'll know the things you're shown
Owe everything to the day

[Chorus:]
See the carpet of the sun
The green grass soft and sweet
Sands upon the shores of time
Of oceans mountains deep
Part of the world that you live in
You are the part that you're giving

Come into the day
Feel the sunshine warmth around you
Sounds from far away
Music of the love that found you
The seed that you plant today
Tomorrow will be a tree
And living goes on this way
It's all part of you and me

[Chorus 2x]

See the carpet of the sun
See the carpet of the sun
See the carpet of the sun
See the carpet of the sun


Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning

And no post about Renaissance would be complete unless it included a mention of their anthem song Ashes Are Burning.


The following is from Wiki

History

Former Yardbirds members Paul Samwell-Smith, Keith Relf, and Jim McCarty organised a new group devoted to experimentation between rock, folk, and classical forms. This quintet — Relf on guitar & vocals, McCarty on drums, plus bassist Louis Cennamo, pianist John Hawken, and Relf's sister Jane Relf as an additional vocalist — released a pair of albums on Elektra (US) and Island (UK-ILPS 9112), the first one being produced by Samwell-Smith, As touring began to grind on them, the band gradually dissolved one by one, leaving McCarty and Jane Relf to hold things together. As the rest drifted off, new or guest members were added. A barely finished second album, Illusion, was released in Germany in 1971. It was finally released in the UK in 1976. (Island, HELP 27)]

One of the new additions was Michael Dunford. McCarty and Relf soon left, and Dunford, inheriting the helm of the band, started auditions for a new lineup. Vocalist Binky Cullom came and went. Reflecting his academic training, Dunford started rebuilding the group with more classically-trained personnel. With some vocal training and local gigs under her belt, Annie Haslam saw an advertisement in the music sheet "Melody Maker" for a singer in Dunford's new group. She was hired, and the second incarnation of Renaissance was begun.

This lineup was the best-known and longest running, consisting of Annie Haslam (vocals), John Tout (piano), Jon Camp (bass pedals/vocals) and Terence Sullivan (drums). Rob Hendry (electric guitar) left the group after the first album was recorded. Michael Dunford took over as lead (acoustic) guitarist. The group released Prologue in 1972 on EMI-Sovereign Records (UK), with music composed by Dunford with the exception of one track by McCarty. Renaissance began its long-standing collaboration with Cornish poet Betty Thatcher-Newsinger as lyricist; Dunford sent her sheet music and demo tapes, and she wrote poetry to fit.

The next album, Ashes are Burning, was released in 1973. Dunford, McCarty and Thatcher continued as composers and lyricist, and Dunford debuted with acoustic guitar contributions. Andy Powell, of the group Wishbone Ash, was brought in for a blistering guitar solo on the final track "Ashes are Burning," which became the band's anthem piece.

The band left major label EMI, and was recruited by Stewart Copeland's new prog rock boutique label BTM Records-British Talent Managers. The label's first release was Turn of the Cards in 1975/76*. With a larger budget, the album went from folk-flavored to a more dark, lush, orchestral rock sound. One of the album's two standout pieces, "Things I Don't Understand" clocking in at 9:30, was Jim McCarty's last writing credit with the group. A lengthy tribute to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, called "Mother Russia", closed out the album, with lyrics inspired by his story "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich".

The LP was first issued in the United States on Sire Records in August 1974, capitalizing on the group's increasing popularity there in Northeast coast cities. It was released in the UK in March 1976, followed only a few months later by their epic tone-poem Scheherezade and Other Stories, released on both sides of the Atlantic in September 1976.

In the 1970s, Renaissance defined their work with folk rock and classical fusions. Their songs include quotations from and allusions to such composers as Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev. Renaissance records, especially Ashes Are Burning, were frequently played on American progressive rock radio stations such as WNEW-FM, WHFS-FM, WMMR-FM, KSHE 95 and WVBR. Although commercial success was limited during this period, Renaissance scored a hit single in England with Northern Lights, which reached #10 there during the summer of 1978. The single was taken from the album A Song for All Seasons. With the unionization of professional orchestral musicians that followed, it was no longer financially feasible for the band to continue with its traditional orchestral sound. Renaissance floundered following 1979's Azure d'Or, as many fans couldn't relate to a largely synthesizer-oriented sound. Michael Dunford and John Camp assumed most of the band's songwriting, and after Azure d'Or, John Tout and Terry Sullivan left the group. Subsequent albums Camera Camera (1981) and Time Line (1983) brought Renaissance more into the contemporary New Wave genre. Neither garnered enough commercial interest to make a viable future for the band, which then ended its second incarnation.

Renaissance albums were not available individually on CD for some time. A pair of compilations were issued in 1990. In the next decade most of their catalog appeared on cd from reissue record labels such as Repertoire Records (Germany). In 2006 Repertoire did much higher quality remasters of Ashes are Burning, Turn of the Cards and Scheherezade with markedly improved sound.

In the late 1990s both Haslam and Dunford formed their own bands using the name Renaissance and released albums with different line-ups.

Renaissance partially reformed in 2000 with several new musicians to record the cd Tuscany. They played one concert at the Astoria in London before embarking on a short Japanese tour. Annie Haslam, who had become the band's spokesperson, said that several factors made further touring and recording impractical. The band's short third incarnation was soon over.^[1]

Terry Sullivan has since recorded an album called South of Winter with a studio group he named Renaissant. It is evocative of Renaissance's music, with lyrics by Betty Thatcher Newsinger and keyboard contributions by John Tout.

Personnel

The original 1969 line-up comprised Keith Relf (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Jim McCarty (drums, vocals), John Hawken (keyboards), Louis Cennamo (bass) and Jane Relf (vocals). This lineup released Renaissance (1969) and appeared on most of Illusion (1971). (Note: The following list includes temporary replacements & sidemen.)

• 1970 - Added Terry Crowe (vocals), Terry Slade (drums) Neil Korner (bass) replaced Cennamo, Michael Dunford (guitar) replaced Keith Relf. This lineup recorded one track for Illusion (1971).
• 1970 - Binky Cullom (vocals) replaced Jane Relf
• 1970 - John Tout (keyboards) replaced Hawken
• 1971 - Annie Haslam (vocals) replaced Cullom
• 1971 - Danny McCullough (bass) replaced Korner
• 1971 - Frank Farrell (bass) replaced McCullough
• 1971 - John Wetton (bass) replaced Farrell
• 1972 - Crowe left, Terence Sullivan (drums) replaced Slade, Jon Camp (bass, guitar, vocals) replaced Wetton, Mick Parsons (guitar) and Dunford reduced his role to composing for the band.
• 1972 - Rob Hendry (guitar) replaced Parsons (who had died in a car accident). This lineup released Prologue (1972).
• 1973 - Peter Finer (guitar) replaced Hendry
• 1973 - Michael Dunford (guitar) replaced Finer. This lineup released Ashes are Burning (1973) through Azure d'Or (1979).
• 1981 - Peter Barron (drums) replaced Sullivan, Peter Gosling (keyboards) replaced Tout. This lineup released Camera Camera (1981).
• 1983 - Gavin Harrison (drums) replaced Barron, Mike Taylor (keyboards) replaced Gosling
• 1984 - Greg Carter (drums) replaced Harrison, Raphael Rudd (keyboards, harp) replaced Taylor
• 1985 - Charles Descarfino (drums) replaced Harrison, Mark Lampariello (aka Mark Lambert) (bass, guitar) replaced Camp
• 1998 - Terence Sullivan (drums) replaced Descarfino, Roy Wood (bass, keyboards, percussion) replaced Lampariello, John Tout (keyboards) replaced Rudd
• 1998 - Alex Caird (bass) replaced Wood, Mickey Simmonds (keyboards) replaced Tout
• 2001 - David Keyes (bass) replaced Caird, added Rave Tesar (keyboards)

Discography

Albums

• Renaissance, 1969
• Illusion, 1971 (Germany), 1976 (UK)
• Prologue, 1972
• Ashes Are Burning, 1973
• Turn of the Cards, 1974 (US), 1975 (UK)
• Scheherazade and Other Stories, 1975
• Live at Carnegie Hall, 1976
• Novella, 1977 (January in US, August in UK, as the band moved to the Warner Bros Music Group)
• A Song for All Seasons, 1978
• Azure d'Or, 1979
• Camera Camera, 1981
• Time-Line, 1983
• Tuscany, 2001
• In the Land of the Rising Sun: Live in Japan 2002, 2002

Where An Old Fence Meets New

Photo: JeromeProphet - Where An Old Fence Meets New

Where An Old Fence Meets New
by JeromeProphet

Old fences gray with age. The sun and rain. The wind and snow. Faded and worn.

New fences filled with color. Beautiful and proud. Protecting. Dividing. Ageless somehow.

Yet each is simple. Each was stained. Each stood tall. Each proclaimed. Here I stand.

A Dead Man's Flowers

A Dead Man's Flowers

For many years you ignored the property line
That divided your yard from our own.
You repeatedly walked a half block
just to gain access to our back yard.

Without ever asking permission.

You brought your poisons with you
To kill the flowers which had spread
From your back yard
Into our back yard.

Along our common fence.

It never made sense to me.
In fact I thought you were insane.

You were one of those people
Who must control every plant,
and every blade of grass in your yard,

but even that wasn't good enough
for you had to show us disrespect too.

I just wanted you to see
from your lofty perch in Heaven
The flowers that bloom along our fence today.

They are still here,
But you are gone
Because you are dead.

Like one of God's weeds
you have been removed.

Remember - Turn Off Your Air Conditioners!

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency
Bush Leaves The U.S. A Disaster Area

President Bush advised the American people to turn their air conditioners off when they're at work - so as to bring down gasoline prices.

Thank you President Bush for supplying us with yet another reason to detest you.

Dozens Of Major U.S. Banks To Go Bust

The Bush Legacy - War and Recession

Hundreds of lending institutions have already gone bust (see below).

Now FDIC insured banks are starting to go bust as well. It is estimated that dozens of FDIC insured banking institutions (many of them major institutions) will implode over the next two years! Some estimates place the number of failing financial institutions at well over one hundred.

The remaining solvent FDIC member banks will be forced (FDIC rules) to finance the bail out, closure, or purchase of the less responsible insolvent members. To raise the hundred's of billions of dollars to save the U.S. banking industry interest rates charged by banks to their consumers must be increased, while interest awarded to account holders, and bond holders will decrease. There simply is no other way to raise the hundreds of billions of dollars it will take to save all of the failing banks.

U.S. consumers and investors should expect the cost of borrowing to increase.

This process has already begun, which is driving fears both in the stock markets, and the bond markets that the U.S. economy is plunging into a long lasting (years) recession.

The Federal Reserve will be unable to lower interest rates much lower than they already have, and thus using monetary policy to prevent or shorten the recession in unfortunately off the table.

The Fed's actions of decreasing interest rates to stave off the coming recession has resulted in a weak dollar which has driven the cost of oil and food up - actually driving the economy toward a recession.


Why has all of this come to pass?

The Bush Administration appointed "anti-regulators" to run the financial regulatory bodies which were charged with preventing this nightmare from happening.

The anti-regulators chose to do nothing even though they knew what was happening years ago.

Hundred's of Billions of dollars in foreign investment had kept the U.S. housing industry afloat based upon the assumption that no matter how poorly based mortgage lending became that U.S. real estate market would prevent the coming disaster of hundred's of thousands of home mortgage defaults and home foreclosures. The collapse has led to a historic collapse of lending institutions and soon - banks.

The pyramid scheme is falling apart - just as the U.S. Clown King Bush and his merry band of fools are leaving power - like rats deserting a sinking ship.

As all scam falls apart a major recession has been predicted by wide range of economist - and it could last as long as the next President's administration.

It appears that "priming the pump" (fiscal policy) won't stave off the recession any more than monetary policy, but it may shorten it somewhat.

Calls are being made that the next President, and Congress spend hundreds of billions of dollars in rebuilding the United State's crumbling infrastructure, and that this, at least, might keep millions of otherwise soon to be unemployed and idle housing construction workers off the dole.

Also, with six hundred billion dollars (and climbing) leaving the nation each year for foreign oil it has also been suggested that investing in alternative domestically produced energy supplies would help the country recover - however - this will have to wait until an administration not owned by the oil industry is able to break the stranglehold that big oil has on the U.S. government.

The U.S. should expect several rounds of major layoffs in a broad variety of sectors over the coming three years, with a short lived rebound and continued relapses into recession driven by ever increasing oil prices.


Here's a list of failed (non-FDIC) lending institutions (Since 2006)

266. Lehman Brothers SBF
265. IndyMac Bancorp
264. Mortgages Ltd.
263. Wilmington Finance - Wholesale
262. Accredited Home Lenders, Home Funds Direct
261. Assured Lending Corp. - Wholesale
260. Homewide Lending Corporation
259. Vanguard Mortgage & Title, Inc.
258. Chase Home Equity - Wholesale
257. Chase Subprime - Wholesale
256. Evergreen Investment & Carnation Banc
255. Casa Blanca Mortgage/Shearson - Wholesale
254. Guaranty Bank - Correspondent
253. Citi Residential Lending
252. Montgomery Mortgage Capital Company
251. E*Trade Wholesale Lending
250. Shearson Financial Network, Inc.
249. American Bank Mortgage Group - Wholesale
248. AmeriBanc Corp.
247. Washington Mutual - Wholesale
246. Century Bank, F.S.B. - Wholesale
245. Diversified Mortgage, Inc.
244. National Wholesale Funding
243. Centennial Mortgage and Funding, Inc./Award Mortgage
242. Fidelity Home Mortgage Corp. - Wholesale
241. LMI Funding, Inc.
240. Millennium Mortgage - Wholesale
239. Origen Financial, Inc. (Correspondent)
238. CitiMortgage - Home Equity Wholesale
237. Bear Stearns Residential Mortgage
236. East West Mortgage Co. of VA
235. New Vision Residential Lending
234. Washington Savings Bank, F.S.B. - Wholesale
233. Macquarie Mortgages USA Inc.
232. Global Mortgage, Inc.
231. Unique Mortgage Solutions (UMS, LLC)
230. First Franklin - Merrill Lynch
229. First National Mortgage Sources
228. Resource Mortgage (Wholesale)
227. KH Financial
226. Lydian Mortgage
225. OMG Wholesale Lending
224. Saxon Mortgage (Wholesale)
223. Beazer Mortgage Corp.
222. E-Loan (Wholesale)
221. Allpointe Mortgage (Broker Program)
220. Popular Warehouse Lending
219. Allied Lending Corp. (Wholesale)
218. BF Saul Wholesale Lending
217. Community Resource Mortgage
216. Lehman/Aurora Loan Services
215. Residential Mortgage Capital
214. Maverick Residential Mortgage
213. Countrywide Financial Corp.
212. First NLC Financial Services
211. First American Bank (Wholesale)
210. Soma Financial
209. National City Corp. (Wholesale)
208. Heartland Wholesale Funding
207. Homefront Mortgage Inc.
206. PNC Bank H.E.
205. Family First Mortgage Corp.
204. First Fidelity Financial
203. BSM Financial
202. 1st Choice Mortgage
201. Wescom Credit Union
200. Coast Financial Holdings/Coast Bank
199. WaMu (Subprime)
198. First Madison Mortgage
197. Southern Star Mortgage
196. TransLand Financial
195. Secured Bankers Mortgage Company (SBMC)
194. ComUnity Lending
193. Delta Financial Corp
192. BayRock Mortgage
191. Empire Bancorp
190. Option One - H&R Block
189. Citigroup - FCS Warehouse
188. Charter One (Wholesale)
187. Wells Fargo - Home Equity
186. Paul Financial, LLC
185. Webster Bank (Wholesale)
184. Fieldstone Mortgage Company
183. Tribeca Lending Corp. (Wholesale)
182. WAMU Comm. Correspondent
181. Marlin Mortgage Company
180. Countrywide Specialty Lending
179. UBS Home Finance
178. MortgageIT-DB (Retail)
177. Edgewater Lending Group
176. ResMAE Mortgage Corp.
175. Citimortgage Correspondent (2nds)
174. AMC Lending
173. Liberty American Mortgage
172. Exchange Financial (Wholesale)
171. FirstBank Mortgage
170. Bank of America (Wholesale)
169. Diablo Funding Group Inc.
168. Honor State Bank
167. Spectrum Financial Group
166. Priority Funding Mortgage Bankers
165. BrooksAmerica Mortgage Corp.
164. Valley Vista Mortgage
163. New State Mortgage Company
162. Summit Mortgage Company
161. WMC
160. Paragon Home Lending
159. First Mariner Wholesale
158. The Lending Connection
157. Foxtons, Inc.
156. SCME Mortage Bankers
155. Aapex Mortgage (Apex Financial Group)
154. Wells Fargo (various Correspondent and Non-prime divisions)
153. Nationstar Mortgage
152. Decision One (HSBC)
151. Impac Lending Group
150. Long Beach (WaMu Warehouse/Correspondent)
149. Expanded Mortgage Credit Wholesale
148. The Mortgage Store Financial
147. C & G Financial
146. CFIC Home Mortgage
145. All Fund Mortgage
144. LownHome Financial
143. Sea Breeze Financial Services
142. Castle Point Mortgage
141. Premium Funding Corp
140. Group One Lending
139. Allstate Home Loans / Allstate Funding
138. Home Loan Specialists (HLS)
137. Transnational Finance Wholesale
136. CIT Home Lending
135. Capital Six Funding
134. Mortgage Investors Group (MIG) - Wholesale
133. Amstar Mortgage Corp
132. Quality Home Loans
131. BNC Mortgage (Lehman)
130. First National Bank of Arizona
129. Chevy Chase Bank Correspondent
128. GreenPoint Mortgage - Capital One Wholesale
127. NovaStar, Homeview Lending
126. Quick Loan Funding
125. Calusa Investments
124. Mercantile Mortgage
123. First Magnus
122. First Indiana Wholesale
121. GEM Loans / Pacific American Mortgage (PAMCO)
120. Kirkwood Financial Corporation
119. Lexington Lending
118. Express Capital Lending
117. Deutsche Bank Correspondent Lending Group (CLG)
116. MLSG
115. Trump Mortgage
114. HomeBanc Mortgage Corporation
113. Mylor Financial
112. Aegis
111. Alternative Financing Corp (AFC) Wholesale
110. Winstar Mortgage
109. American Home Mortgage / American Brokers Conduit
108. Optima Funding
107. Equity Funding Group
106. Sunset Mortgage
105. Nations Home Lending
104. Entrust Mortgage
103. Alera Financial (Wholesale)
102. Flick Mortgage/Mortgage Simple
101. Dollar Mortgage Corporation
100. Alliance Bancorp
99. Choice Capital Funding
98. Premier Mortgage Funding
97. Stone Creek Funding
96. FlexPoint Funding (Wholesale & Retail)
95. Starpointe Mortgage
94. Unlimited Loan Resources (ULR)
93. Freestand Financial
92. Steward Financial
91. Bridge Capital Corporation
90. Altivus Financial
89. ACT Mortgage
88. Alliance Mortgage Banking Corp (AMBC)
87. Concord Mortgage Wholesale
86. Heartwell Mortgage
85. Oak Street Mortgage
84. The Mortgage Warehouse
83. First Street Financial
82. Right-Away Mortgage
81. Heritage Plaza Mortgage
80. Horizon Bank Wholesale Lending Group
79. Lancaster Mortgage Bank (LMB)
78. Bryco (Wholesale)
77. No Red Tape Mortgage
76. The Lending Group (TLG)
75. Pro 30 Funding
74. NetBank Funding, Market Street Mortgage
73. Columbia Home Loans, LLC
72. Mortgage Tree Lending
71. Homeland Capital Group
70. Nation One Mortgage
69. Dana Capital Group
68. Millenium Funding Group
67. MILA
66. Home Equity of America
65. Opteum (Wholesale, Conduit)
64. Innovative Mortgage Capital
63. Home Capital, Inc.
62. Home 123 Mortgage
61. Homefield Financial
60. First Horizon Subprime, Equity Lending
59. Platinum Capital Group (Wholesale)
58. First Source Funding Group (FSFG)
57. Alterna Mortgage
56. Solutions Funding
55. People's Mortgage
54. LowerMyPayment.com
53. Zone Funding
52. First Consolidated (Subprime Wholesale)
51. EquiFirst
50. SouthStar Funding
49. Warehouse USA
48. H&R Block Mortgage
47. Madison Equity Loans
46. HSBC Mortgage Services (correspondent div.)
45. Sunset Direct Lending
44. Kellner Mortgage Investments
43. LoanCity
42. CoreStar Financial Group
41. Ameriquest, ACC Wholesale
40. Investaid Corp.
39. People's Choice Financial Corp.
38. Master Financial
37. Maribella Mortgage
36. FMF Capital LLC
35. New Century Financial Corp.
34. Wachovia Mortgage (Correspondent div.)
33. Ameritrust Mortgage Company (Subprime Wholesale)
32. Trojan Lending (Wholesale)
31. Fremont General Corporation
30. DomesticBank (Wholesale Lending Division)
29. Ivanhoe Mortgage/Central Pacific Mortgage
28. Eagle First Mortgage
27. Coastal Capital
26. Silver State Mortgage
25. ECC Capital/Encore Credit
24. Lender's Direct Capital Corporation (wholesale division)
23. Concorde Acceptance
22. DeepGreen Financial
21. American Freedom Mortgage, Inc.
20. Millenium Bankshares (Mortgage Subsidiaries)
19. Summit Mortgage
18. Mandalay Mortgage
17. Rose Mortgage
16. EquiBanc
15. FundingAmerica
14. Popular Financial Holdings
13. Clear Choice Financial/Bay Capital
12. Origen Wholesale Lending
11. SecuredFunding
10. Preferred Advantage
9. MLN
8. Sovereign Bancorp (Wholesale Ops)
7. Harbourton Mortgage Investment Corporation
6. OwnIt Mortgage
5. Sebring Capital Partners
4. Axis Mortgage & Investments
3. Meritage Mortgage
2. Acoustic Home Loans
1. Merit Financial

Obama - It Started In Springfield, Illinois

It Started In Springfield

Barack Obama's presidential campaign is funded entirely by grassroots supporters like you. Senator Obama does not accept money from special interest groups and Washington lobbyists. As a result:

* Barack Obama owes nothing to the Health Insurance Industry
* Barack Obama owes nothing to the Oil Industry
* Barack Obama owes nothing to the Weapons Industry

Instead, Senator Obama truly represents the change we can believe in because his only obligation is to the best interests of the American people, made possible by individual supporters like you.

At the end of the video when Michelle Obama, and Barack Obama hug, if you look at the crowd behind the Obamas - that's where Dave of The11thhour.blogspot.com, and I were. Standing out in the crowd with the giant American flag behind us.

It was so cold that morning, but it was the most historic event I have ever participated in.

If you haven't donated to Senator Obama's presidential campaign visit his website, and donate five or ten dollars - or more if you can.

The Republican National Committee, and John McSame's campaign raised nearly $100 million dollars last month - and almost all of it from washington special interest lobbying firms and PACs.

If we want to liberate our government from the stranglehold of the special interest which have derailed universal health care, kept our nation embroiled in a trumped up never ending war in Iraq, prevented all efforts to promote what's best for the common American family - then it's now or never.

Obama's campaign is NOT taking PAC money, and it's not taking money from lobbyist.

It's your choice folks - be jaded, and sophisticated, be too wise to get suckered into supporting any politician - and don't donate.

Say to yourselves that it won't matter, or someone else can donate for you, and watch as this country continues down the same horrible path of war profiteering, of government by lies, of government run by the most corrupt.

If you want eight more years of WAR, if you want FIFTY MILLION WORKING AMERICANS to continue to have no medical insurance, If you want a government as corrupt as a McCain Administration will be - then simply do nothing - and you'll get your wish.

But if so, you'll have no credibility whatsoever when you complain - none.

But if you care about your country, about your future, about your family, then now is the time to donate to the Obama campaign.

Even a five dollar donation will allow you the bragging rights to having helped put the best candidate in office - someone who cares about you - instead of the millionaire's club that the Republican Party caters to.

It's time to take our government back - for the people - for the real Americans.

My Cat Koshi On Dope

Video: Poor Koshi Cat Doping It Up

I've tried and tried to persuade my cat to break his addiction to dope, but will he listen?

While I'm out working all day all Koshi does is sleep, and stare out the window.

He doesn't seem to think it's a problem.

But years from now I'm sure he'll look back at all the wasted time, and he'll see that he really could have used his energies more wisely.

Note: I had a coworker tell me today that she thought Koshi was eating Marijuana in the video above. Koshi is eating cat nip. I don't smoke pot, but if I did I sure as hell wouldn't let my cat eat it at the current price of pot. From the look of the video that would be about ten dollars of pot there - and don't ask me how I would know such a thing - the point is - it's cat pot, not human pot.

Who Is John McCain?

John McCain Flip Flops

Republican Party Presidential Candidate John McCain needs the conservative right wing of his party to pay for his campaign, and turn out in November, yet he knows that those very same backers hold views contrary to the majority of his potential supporters.

He therefore lies like there's no tomorrow trying desperately to appeal to all sides.

Just who is John McCain? I don't believe we'll find out by November, and that's a pretty dangerous thing considering how close he is to ruling this nation for the next four years.


More Non-Stop Lies From John McCain

He lies like there's no tomorrow folks. Four more years of this? We've already had nearly eight years of the most corrupt regime in the history of the nation. Let's not let this happen again folks.

While I Burn And I Rot

While I Burn And I Rot
by jeromeprophet

My hand hesitated
My heart it did not
In that moment I waited
and found grace to stop

For if I had done
What I had wanted to do
Your blood it would run
I'd have followed it through

I'd have hurt you my dear
And I wouldn't want that
Even though I don't care
My thoughts are still mad

So I put the knife down
And I picked up this pen
And I scrawled all these words
Words filled with my sin

And I look at them now
written in blood
not your life my dear
It's my red river that floods

You'll never know how
close you did come
to joining me down in
Hades my love

So use your gift wisely
And think of me not
Live your time twicely
While I burn and I rot

Blogging Again

I feel motivated to blog again. My daughter has done about everything short of killing herself lately, and has dragged my heart down with her. But I've healed up some, and feel motivated to write again. One can only stab at one's heart so many times until one gives up one's dreams and simply goes on.

So onward I go - with fewer daddy dreams intact, but onward I must go.

Also, I bought a nifty new phone, and have been lurking about certain websites learning about modifying my phone. I've done some rather interesting things to it so far. Nothing too crazy, or too dangerous as long as I follow directions. Not following directions could lead to turning a phone into an interesting paperweight.

I love my Voyager.

Anyway, I've got the phone moving in the right direction, and will continue modifying it as time permits, but I must blog - so here I am again.

Now, what to write about?

Donated to Obama Campaign Again!

I'm barely making it financially, but I have to donate to the Barack Obama presidential campaign.

I consider it an investment in the nation's, and my own family's future.

If the Republicans win in November this nation is history - at least in our lifetime. We've simply got to stop them. Anyone who wants to help take the country back for the average American - for the Middle Class - should donate now, and keep donating. It doesn't have to be a large amount. Even five dollars is good.

I increased my donation this month to make up for the smaller donation last month. I plan to give a whopping $200 by November - possibly more. That's big money in my family, but another Republican administration is not what this nation needs. For those fellow bloggers who have written about how much they despise Bush, and his pals - this is your chance to actually do something to help your country - so donate now.


Dear Eugene,

Thank you for your generous donation of $45.00.

Your gift will be immediately put to work building a campaign to change our country and our politics for the better.

Looking for more ways to get involved?

Head over to My.BarackObama.com where our growing set of tools puts the future of this campaign in your hands:

http://my.barackobama.com

On My.BarackObama.com you can...

... build your own profile and connect with supporters near you
... find or create your own local or national group
... create your own personal fundraising page and track your progress
... find events near you or plan your own
... chronicle your campaign experience on your own blog

There will be much more to come in the weeks and months ahead thanks to your support.

Thank you again for your donation.

Obama for America
http://www.BarackObama.com

Grilled Chicken In Ash Filled Webber

July 5th 2008 - An Ashy Grill From Day Before

The Combustibles

The Accelerant

The Fire

The Watchful Cat

The Chicken

The Food

Pledge Allegiance To The Mexican Flag

O.K. liberals chime in saying how this is no big deal. On the other hand, conservatives, this is not the end of the U.S. either. Still it shows just how much work needs to be done in reinforcing a sense of nationhood based upon values which made this nation great. We need to be the nation that children will naturally grow up proud of - otherwise who knows what will happen in the future.


BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS
Pledge to Mexican flag captured on video
Texas officials admit they handled 'diversity' program the wrong way

---

Posted: October 19, 2006
5:00 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com

Station KTRH has posted both a video clip showing elementary students cheering and waving Mexican flags, and a separate clip showing people the school described as volunteers leading students in the pledge in Spanish.

The story by Scott Braddock of KTRH notes that "whether students also recited the Mexican pledge remains a point of contention," however the audio clearly indicates that students are reciting the pledge along with the volunteer leader, because their voices can be heard finishing the final phrase well after the volunteer has finished.

A radio station in Houston has posted on its website two video clips of a Texas elementary school "diversity" assembly where a volunteer leads students in saying a pledge of allegiance to the Mexican flag.

European Honey Bees Are Missing

Flowers Without Bees In Springfield, Illinois - Summer 2008

I have been looking for European honey bees for weeks now. I saw exactly two honey bees several weeks ago, but that's it.

Let me say that once more. I have seen two honey bees in the last month - while actively searching for them.

Now some people may never look for honey bees, and will in fact try to avoid them, but I have been searching for them after reading about the problem which these bees are facing - that is colony collapse syndrome.

I've been walking at lunch time nearly every day and I can tell you I have a nice place to walk because I am surrounded by hundreds, probably thousands, of flowers of dozens of varieties.


Springfield, Illinois - Summer of 2008 - No European Honey Bees

I've stood silent, and patiently watched for honey bees - but I haven't seen them.

And the flowers are there. The succulent incredibly sweet smelling flowers of dozens of varieties are there waiting.

But there are no bees.

I have seen small flies, hornets, butterflies, yellow jackets, and wasp - all pollinators too, but I have only seen two bees several weeks ago.

This is very disturbing. We humans are doing something VERY WRONG when we have killed off the honey bees. And the thing is, we're all going to pay dearly for it.

One third of the U.S. food supply depends upon honey bees, and food prices will skyrocket if we don't do something to save the bees before it is too late.

Flies, hornets, butterflies, yellow jackets, and wasp are pollinators, but all of them combined don't come anywhere near the European honeybee when it comes to importance to agriculture.

I've asked several people at work for their opinion, and I have been told that even in nearby communities, within twenty five miles of Springfield, Illinois, that European honeybees haven't been spotted at all.

Finally Bought New Cell Phone

Bought An LG Voyager - The IPhone Killer

After having purchased three phones for my teenage princess in the last year, while watching my own phone fall apart - It's literally being held together by tape - I decided it is time for me to upgrade - the first time for me in three years!


Here's another review of my new phone - not mine

After reworking my Verizon plan I've added the neat VCast package, and unlimited web, text, photo and video messaging for just an extra twenty five dollars per month?

How you might ask?

Well, I was already paying extra for princess' extra services, and when I switched plans I actually ended up giving everyone in our Family Share Plan the same thing that only Princess had for just ten dollars more.

The trade off is that Verizon will charge by the Byte for the digital transmissions - but they won't charge air time. Now this entails some risk, but not if I block extra digital services on Princess' phone.

Princess will still have everything she had before, but I'll be charged per Megabyte for her digital transmissions. I figure it will still be worth it, because everyone in the family will have unlimited text, voice, and video messaging - which would have cost us sixty dollars more per month under the old plan.


Here's the first part of the Voyager's Review From Youtube

I then signed up for the VPack, without Mobile Television for just fifteen dollars extra a month.

The VPack means no charge on the Megabytes I mentioned above for the Vpack services and the messaging services. Plus Vpack provides unlimited access to free games, music, and videos via Verizon's super fast broadband network.

For just ten dollars more per month I could get the Vpack for Unlimited Mobile Television, and I might do that, but I'm not sure if I really need to watch television on my Cell Phone - still it might be fun for a month.

Is it worth twenty five dollars a month to have any of this? Not sure, but if it isn't I can drop the Vcast, and still have a great phone for just ten dollars more per month. Not a bad deal.

Oh yes, almost forgot - I paid Just $107 (includes tax and free overnight shipping) for this sweet phone.

This has been a hard week folks, with a bit of a family crisis - the teenage princess is at it again - so I decided what the hell - life's short - it's my money - I'm getting a new phone.

And yes, the old phone this new phone is replacing is really being held together with tape - keeps disconnecting during calls, etc. Three years is a long time for a cell phone.

Saudi Arabia Saves America Before Election!

Surprise! Surprise!

Thank Allah for Saudi Arabia, which has decided to increase oil production from 9 millions barrels a day to 9.7 million barrels a day - and just in time to have an effect upon gasoline prices before the upcoming 2008 U.S. Presidential General Election!


Now Why Would Saudi Arabia Ever Want To Drive Oil Prices Down?

This from CNN

The country's petroleum minister, Ali I. Al-Naimi, said that increase will take place in July.

It would be Saudi Arabia's highest production rate since 1981.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto praised the step, saying, "Any increase in production in today's oil market is welcome. It is important that we also take steps to increase domestic production and our refining capacity."

Al-Naimi also said the government will invest in oil projects that would allow the nation to produce 12.5 million barrels per day by the end of the year.

King Abdullah's announcement came at the end of the Jeddah energy summit, where he also called for OPEC to set aside $1 billion for a strategy to ease the oil price crisis.

The McBush Administration Embraces Big Oil

You see, America, what we really need is increased oil production, not all this crazy talk about producing our own energy alternatives and conservation.

Saudi Arabia owns 15% of the United States, the oil industry runs the U.S. government and economy, and neither party is about to let their stranglehold over the U.S. go quietly.

In the meantime vote for John McCain as he is the approved candidate.

Oh yes, and expect the price of gasoline to go back up after the election.

Jimi Hendrix - Back From The Dead

Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child (Woodstock 1969)
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Dreams From The Longest Morning of 2008
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....
I. The Unremembered Dream

In this post I review a series of "dreamlets", that is snippets of dreams which lead into each other. There was a snippet, seemingly the starting point for the sequence of later dreams which followed. I struggle now to recall that first dream which I can sense, but not recall.

I recall the later dreamlets better because they came closer to the end of my dream experience. I must make a decision, try to go back to the beginning, and lose all of the dreams, or pick a safe place to begin my dream recall.

I chose to play it safe, and to recall what I could, and to allow the first dream to remain a mystery.

All the tens of thousands of dreams that we dreaming creatures must experience over the course of a lifetime, and yet only a small fraction are ever recalled. I wonder how important dreams are to who we are, and how it is that we know so little about that part of our experience.

.

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II. The Zombie Wormhole

The first dreamlet that I can recall involved a type of wormhole. The kind portrayed in movies like Stargate. This kind of wormhole is an opening to another space-time.

There were ZOMBIES in my dream - yes, this dream is about Zombies, and wormholes!

In the dream there were only a handful of non ZOMBIEFIED people left in the time and space in which I was visiting. I had a mission - to save those few non ZOMBIEFIED people which were near the verge of being eaten by the ZOMBIES.

I used some kind of small hand held device to open a worm hole.

The worm hole began to swirl, and air started rushing into it.

I suspect the wormhole led to outer space, and the planet's atmosphere was rushing through the wormhole toward the vacuum of space.

For some reason I wasn't entirely afraid of the wormhole - probably because I could shut the wormhole down. But I also wasn't afraid of being sucked into the wormhole because the vortex didn't seem strong enough to pull me into it - not by much anyway.

This swirling whirlpool like wormhole was having a great affect upon all the other people which by the way were ZOMBIES! They were slowly getting sucked into the wormhole from all points near and far.

Except for a few others who were not ZOMBIES, every other "person" was flying past quickly and swirling into the wormhole.
.

.
III. Jimi Hendrix - Back from the Dead

The next dreamlet has an entirely different set.

I'm on a street corner, in a suburban setting, and I hear people on a nearby sidewalk talking about a most interesting topic. What are they discussing? Being able to bring back the DEAD!

And as proof of this new day - a day in which people no longer need to fear death - it turns out that JIMI HENDRIX has just been brought back from the dead.

Jimi Hendrix' body has been reanimated straight from the GRAVE and he's walking around for the very first time since his untimely death - and only a few steps from me.

While he is not acting like a ZOMBIE, he is not exactly acting like he is all that happy to be back either. He seems very confused, very fragile, and very hungry.

Jimi Hendrix has just been told that he had died, that he had been dead for a very long time, and that he has been BROUGHT BACK FROM THE DEAD. And he is hungry.

JIMI is wearing all white clothing, and I feared that he was on the verge of going ZOMBIE.

A handful of people bring him out of the street and into a MCDONALD'S where they offer him some food and something to drink. They sit with him - only just then discovering that he has risen from the dead. And they are not frightened, but instead treat Jim Hendrix, as if he is a celebrity - a celebrity from the dead.




IV. Magic Oil Can of a Future Past

The next dreamlet's storyline has me suddenly appearing within a racing car.

I'm not sure if the car I am in is a race car, or just a car that is racing very fast. I'm supposed to be there, and no notice is taken of my simply being there - even though I have no idea why I am there.

There are others. There is one person sitting in one of the rear passenger seats, and the driver.

There is some talk between the driver, the rear seat passenger, and "me". I end up having to fake my way through the conversation because I really don't belong there.

There is some mention of a "can of oil" which I found. The style on the oil can dates to an earlier era - when oil was a new product. I found the style interesting and decided to keep the can.

When I show the "oil can" to the race car driver the style of the "oil can" changes into a futuristic style, and I am confused. I put the "oil can" into a backpack that I have, knowing that it is valuable, and that I will need it - but why I do not know.

At the end of the road upon which I am traveling the dreamlet transforms into another dreamlet.




V. A Gift for the Dead

In the last dreamlet I make my way to the top of a hill. There is a fine looking home atop the hill. I walk into the home, and find that I am at a party to which I haven't been invited. I see that the people there are older. I decide to leave.

I try to make my way out of the home, but I am confused by its style of construction, and so I decide to climb to the upper level of the home. The house is on a hill, is multi level in design, and has an exit at one of the upper levels. It is a very beautiful home.

As I make my way upstairs I find no one there - except for an old man. He is frail. His daughter who is downstairs would not approve of me disturbing the old man for fear of his poor health.

As I approached the old man I recalled (how does one recall something in a dream) that I had seen some gravestones outside of the home behind a row of trees (down the hill a bit).

I reached into my backpack, and pulled out the "oil can" and discovered it had been transformed into a bottle of wine. I was walking toward the man to offer him the bottle of wine, when his daughter started coming up the stairs, and I felt it was time to leave.

I asked the old man if he wanted the bottle of wine, and he said no, that I had another use for it, and so I held it in my hands, and rapidly made my way to a large patio door leading outside the old man's room. From this location I could see that the house was atop a hill, and was surrounded by trees, and that the ocean wasn't far off in the distance.

When I looked past a row of trees which were nearby I saw a row of gravestones, the same one's I had seen earlier in my dream as I walked up the hill (to the house). I knew that I was supposed to do something with the object I held in my hands.

I looked down at my hands again, and noticed the bottle of wine had transformed into a small statuette of a lighthouse. I walked along a path behind the house toward the gravestones, and found a circular spot overlooking the row of stones, and I placed the lighthouse statuette there.

As a sign of remembrance, and respect.

I Awoke - The End.

I greet the summer of 2008.

I Just Donated To Barack Obama!

I just donated to Barack Obama's Presidential Campaign!
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I may not be able to stop global warming, or get our troops out of Iraq, or institute a universal health care plan, or rebuild our failing infrastructure, or make the tax code fair, or save Social Security, or increase pay for teachers, or protect our jobs here in the United States of America, but I can do this - and so I did.

Admittedly, it's a small donation, but I hope to make one a month up through November.
And yes, I'm still struggling to make ends meet, we're barely getting by, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't put my money where my mouth (blog) has been for many months now.

I invite my readers to do the same. If you're fed up with the endless crap, it's time to help change it.

Think of it this way: One Million Pissed Off Bloggers Donate $100 each and that will raise about as much money as John McCain's very pretty and much younger wife has in her bank account. So we need to raise a lot of money folks.
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I Love The Scenes Of Barack In Springfield, Illinois
..
..
The email response which I received after donating

Dear Eugene,

Thank you for your generous donation of $25.00.

Your gift will be immediately put to work building a campaign to change our country and our politics for the better.

Looking for more ways to get involved?

Head over to My.BarackObama.com where our growing set of tools puts the future of this campaign in your hands:

http://my.barackobama.com

On My.BarackObama.com you can...

... build your own profile and connect with supporters near you
... find or create your own local or national group
... create your own personal fundraising page and track your progress
... find events near you or plan your own
... chronicle your campaign experience on your own blog

There will be much more to come in the weeks and months ahead thanks to your support.

Thank you again for your donation.

Obama for America
http://www.BarackObama.com
.
.

Springfield, Illinois' Intersection From Hell

I drove down the street.
The Street.
The one that made all the difference
In your lives.
The one that killed your son.

You were driving that day.
You took a left turn, but I won't say where.
Let's just say that it was on the north end of town.
It was a day that none of us will ever forget.

Your son was in the front passenger seat.
I don't know if you were speeding.
I don't know if you were responsible at all.
For I have seen that turn.
And it is deadly.

That's right - it is deadly.
That street, at that specific location.
Is as deadly as a loaded gun.

On that day.
That tragic day.
You turned left.
And a car slammed into your car.
On the passenger side.
Killing your son.

It was a car out of nowhere.
At least it must have seemed that way
To you, and your son.

For the car which killed your son was
coming up the hill.
Yes, the intersection is atop a hill.
And it is the hill that makes this intersection
A killer.

Now some might look at the hill
And say that it isn't really a hill at all.
And they would be right.
For there really is no way to tell that the hill
exist until you hit the crest - of the hill.

The slow gentle incline up that hill is ever so mild.
So mild that it doesn't betray the danger at the top.

Nor is there any warning for those coming
from the opposite direction - the direction you came
from on that tragic day.

This spot on the road is an accident waiting to happen.
It is a deadly road inside the city of Springfield Illinois.

Your son was only a year older than my daughter.
And they went to the same school.
They knew each other.

I remember watching your son play basketball.
Your family was totally supportive from the stands.
And your son seemed very athletic.
He, being your oldest son, must have been
your pride and joy.

I will always remember my daughter crying her eyes out.
After she was told of your son's death.
She went to the funeral.
With her little early teen girlfriends.
It was the second funeral of a boy who died
At their school in less than two years.

The City of Springfield has placed a temporary four way stop
At the intersection at the top of the hill.
It looks very temporary indeed.
Shockingly so.
The stop signs are not even posted within the ground.
And it has been three summers since your son was killed.
Leading me to believe that some engineer has prevented
a stop light, or permanent stop sign from being posted
at this killer intersection.

I'm sure the politicians blame the engineers.
And the engineers point at each other.
What does one life cost?
Do the bean counters really care?
They have their arbitrary rule book to refer to.
The one that killed your son, and which will one
day kill others.
It's called cost containment.

Three years later.
I see the flowers that are left on the side of the road.
I see the little string of battery operated miniature lights which
were meant to bring life to the spot where your son died.
I find that heartbreaking.
I guess I just have difficulty turning sorrow to joy.
Please forgive me.

People still remember your son.
They still love him.
And they miss him.

I know that you are the head of
A religious family.
A very religious family.
You surely take comfort in your faith.
And in knowing your son is in Heaven.
With Jesus Christ your savior.

This knowledge has allowed you to heal
both physically, and spiritually.
It has allowed you to continue in the
face of self doubts, and grief.

And in this there is joy.
But it is a joy tempered by fear.
A fear that the killer intersection waits
for yet another victim.

If Springfield, Illinois were a smaller town.
And this were a simpler time.
Someone would just go out, and post a permanent
stop sign.
But trying to save lives in this manner would put
anyone who tried behind bars, and into a cage.

Ironic and unjust as it would be.

Every time I pass by that intersection I can't help but to
wonder how long it will be until the City of Springfield, Illinois
Removes the temporary stop signs atop the hill.
And how long it will be until the next person dies
At that intersection from hell.

Dick Cheney Told Truth About Iraq!

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney Tells Truth About Iraq

In recent years U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney has taken a great deal of criticism regarding his role in leading the U.S. into a war with Iraq. Some claim that he is, more than any other person, responsible for all of the death, and mayhem which naturally resulted from the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.

However, few know how Dick Cheney stood resolute in his opposition of a U.S. invasion. Few know that Dick Cheney knew going in that if the U.S. invaded Iraq that the U.S. would become trapped in a quagmire.

Dick knew!

Not only did Mr. Cheney know the truth about the consequences of a U.S. invasion of Iraq, he also spoke out about it.

So now we know.

We know that Vice President Dick Cheney knew long in advance that sending troops to Iraq was not worth the lives which would be lost. We know that Dick Cheney knew that the U.S. would be trapped in a quagmire if it invaded Iraq. We know that Dick Cheney knew that it would destablize the region.

We know that Dick Knew!

And we wonder how Dick can live with himself knowing what he has done.

YouTube Video Interview of Dick Cheney in 1994 referring to the first Gulf War, and why the U.S., under the first Bush Administration, wisely decided not to invade Iraq.

Time's Up

Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Time's Up

Stones In Neat Rows Stand Silent
Grass so perfectly cut
An occasional flower
A shade tree creeks softly
in the breeze.

Dark shadows
and soft gray light
separates the
letters and numbers
etched
Upon the cold
still gravestones.

Moss grows
Ants walk
Bees Buzz
Butterflies dart
On an otherwise
Typical Day
In this - the city
of the dead

Older stones speak
to each other
For no one visits now
All relatives long dead
Only the odd rambler
The misguided teenager
The historian
Tread upon their soil

Many are damaged
Feebly presenting
the Names.

Oh the names.
The countless names
and dates.
Long forgotten.
But so very important
So very very important
long ago.

But it is the newer stones
Which are saddest of all
For they are so new
in appearance
That they could have been
erected days ago
yet have been here
for many years.
And even decades.

Upon these shiny stones
Are the photographs.
Pictures of those who have passed
Etched with modern precision.
The deceased stare back
from their own grave stones
Smiling

There are children here too
Children killed
In auto accidents
Reported in long
ago faded newspaper clippings

The sixteen year olds.
Bright beautiful
High School queens and kings
Fallen.
Lives cut short
In senseless carnage
Never to know adulthood
Always to be mourned in
Youth.

Oh the pain.
Oh the searing never ending pain
Of parents barely able to live
After losing their beloved
Children.

Mommy's little baby.
Daddy's little princess.
Now lay silent
Under feet.

Coffins laying within
dark rich dirt
wet brown clay
Awaiting
Resurrection.

Parent's solemn vows to "Never Forget".

We shall never forget you our beloved
son, or daughter. We shall never forget.

The sickly sweet smell of wet rotting flowers
It rained not long ago - fills the air
but only momentarily so.

The distant sound of a lawn mower fills the void
But only temporarily so.
And then there is silence.

A deafening silence
And then
Years pass.
Parents die.
And join their fallen children
One to the right
One to the left
There is a family here
Of sorts

And the surviving children
Now parents or
grandparents themselves
leave notes
And flowers
And keep the vigil going
just one more generation
While they still can
Before that family
That precious family
Finally
winks out.

Some simply stop
In their cars from the road
And look
At the stone
Which cast a shadow
Upon their loved one's grave

They wonder
Is this what it all comes too
Is there any meaning here?

Are we meant to live only to die
And then be forgotten?
After those who knew us
Those who loved us
Grow old
And die themselves?

Is this all there is?