Nobody 858

Sunday, March 20, 2011
Nobody # 858

Nobody Asked Me But:

That Was The Week That Was – As always, each of these short verses is based on a news event that happened during the past week.

Things in Japan are so awful
I can’t even rhyme them in fun
But soon comes a day
When again they will say
We’re the Land of the Rising Sun

Glen’s not saying God caused it
In his recent story so hot
Beck won’t go that far
It might tarnish his star
But he also won’t say God did not

Chu says that our nuc power is safer
He knows that it can’t happen here
If we just chant om
Means no China Syndrome
So it’s time to meltdown our fear

I sit here alone and am frowning
As I ponder from bracket to bracket
I don’t know too much
About Morehead and such
But I must see how well I can hack it

Poor Buffalos not tourney bound
Their fate really seems unfair
At their record a glance
Shows their right to dance
But the NCAA selectors don’t care

Romar and Roy are recruiters
Save for Cal they haven’t a peer
But when game time rolls round
Their decisions aren’t sound
So most often it’s wait ‘til next year

When all the early rounds are over
You can hear the losers cry while winners soar
Buckeyes and Devils Blue
Boilermakers, Panthers too
These, my friends, will be the Final Four

64 was more than just a number
It helped March Madness climb up to the top
But adding four’s a mess
Just shows that more makes less
‘cause every game turned out to be a flop

Money’s real tight in states everywhere
Means large budget cuts for the olders
To confront senior’s plight
Pols step to the right
And offer them naught but cold shoulders

Gun limit talk in the desert
In a state still stained by its tears
The Pres tries to reason
Common sense has no season
His remarks all fell on deaf ears

It’s so hard to convince the gun toters
They listen to nothing that’s said
They seem to care not
That since Gabby was shot
2,000 more were shot dead

And did you know Monday was Pi day
But for those who find math out of reach
When you ask about pi
Their likely reply
I’ll have two slices of peach

Newt says the past is behind him
Yes, a ladies man he might have been
When he sees one now
He remembers his vow
And prays it won’t happen again

Then Newt took a shot at Obama’s escape
To basketball he’s giving attention
Says what I did when stressed
Helped a girl get undressed
Then we did things too indecent to mention

Hugo likes breasts that are natural
Chavez says no implants allowed
So what if they’re small
Doesn’t matter at all
Your own should make you real proud

The word from Arizona’s business bunch is
Immigrant bashing’s not funny
It’s gone on too long
It clearly is wrong
And besides it is costing us money

Charlie Sheen’s tour is drawing large crowds
Despite the nut who stars in it
Each sellout night
Proves Barnum’s right
There really is one born each minute

The Nazis rallied yesterday in Claremont
It’s said their words won’t hurt like stones and sticks
But since they’re spewing hate
Wouldn’t it be great
If our response was a ton of real bricks

According to nuclear science
If in radiation zone you get stuck
Don’t be a dork
Just pull the cork
On a life-saving bottle of two-buck Chuck

BOOK REVIEW

I’d Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman - “Life isn’t a timed event. The clock’s not on you. Take your time.” If I am lucky, I can take an extra treasure from things I read, something I can use to make my life better. The above is such a treasure.

Here’s Lippman’s story: When Elizabeth was 15, she was kidnapped by Walter, a spree killer. Only, for some reason, Walter didn’t kill her. Now it is 22 years later, Elizabeth, Eliza now, is a happily married mother of two, and Walter is the longest-surviving prisoner on Virginia’s death row. His time is almost up when he manages to contact Eliza, (“I’d know you anywhere”) hoping to use her to avoid his execution.

This was one of those books that, while reading it, I was thinking, “I like this, but don’t love it.” Wrong. The ending was so right and so moving that it changed my perspective on the novel as a whole.

So, in conclusion:

I’ve always felt life’s clock IS running
With living-life’s speed at hell-bent
But as I near December
It helps to remember
Life isn’t a timed event