just ruminating yesterday, had josh decided on carnegie mellon
he would have known prof randy in person gallant
beating odds since his infamous lecture to celebrate life
fare thee well gracious icon, for sharing how in strife to thrive

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also in the news yesterday
qantas 747-400 airliner flight30 from hk didn’t make it to melbourne way

edwin loobrera/agence france-presse — getty images

a hole in its fuselage, oxygen masks drop, it was may day, come what may
imagine if u were one of 346 passengers or 19 crew members, what in your mind would play
at the thought of decay

would u pray?
would u turn gray?
would u wail and bray?
or would u be in shock, nothingness display?
or would u, as plane dives a mile a minute, make hay
quickly scribble who gets your assets if any, or debts pay

would u want to know
how and when u go?
or do we need to know in order to each day dim or glow?

so eat, drink and be merry everything to blow
but, what if it didn’t snow
would knowing then, be a worse curse? – whoa woe

would u want to be a randy
or would u want that fateful flight30 experience, which landed in manila fine and dandy
to live life differently and more handy?

will u be ready?
licking life’s candy
filling up gas tank before it gets empty?

someone told me long ago
there’s a calm before the storm,
i know
it’s been coming for some time.

when it’s over, so they say,
it’ll rain a sunny day,
He knows
shining down like water.

i wanna know, has life been in vain, through peak and pain?
i wanna know, have we ever seen the rain
coming down on a sunny day?

yesterday, and days before,
sun is cold and rain is hard,
i know
been that way for all our time.

till forever, on it goes
through the circle, fast and slow,
i know
it can’t stop, we wonder.

and here, i ramrom ponder…..
creedence-clearwater-revival-misheard-lyrics

what matters?

just read an article
how much one needs to stash to retire and comfortably unbuckle

to brake and breakfree from self-bound tethers
to live life light like floating feathers
to dwindle what one has taken stock
stop “work-to-pay-bills” clock
no longer your worth to world prove and mock
worldly treadmill to dock
purposeful living to rock

what are we chasing?
what’s worth finessing?
why are we dressing for earthly impressing
what illusions and vices are we financing
what’s clogging flow of what-matters blessing

how much is enough, enough?
for it’s “no matter how much, it doesn’t matter” fluff?

badfinger straining in my ear
divine instruction to harken dear

no matter what u are
I will always be with u
doesn’t matter what u do girl, I have paid your due

no matter what u do
I will always be around
u don’t have to tell me what u found girl, oh girl what’s new
cos’ I already knew

knock down the old brick wall, and be a part of it all
nothing to say, nothing to see, nothing to do
if u would give Me all, as I would give it to u
for without Me,
nothing would be,
nothing could be,
nothing should be

if u want it, here it is
come and get it
make your mind up fast on things that eternally last
if u want it, anytime
I can freely give it
but u better hurry cause the end is coming fast

lap swim desire
has been set on fire

rinconada pool located
exercise guilt emancipated

ain’t no master program swim
pure garbage yardage, just wanna be trim
started slow with 70 lengths aka 35 laps
before building up to 100 lengths max

blasting pink martini on drive back
a fond memory attack

je ne veux pas travailler
je ne veux pas dejeuner
je veux seulement oublier
et puis je “schwime”

courtesy wiki: pm in oregon zoo

alors, pardon pink martini
je remplace “fume” avec mot allemand car j’aime bien le passe-temps de natation, mais oui
philippe – merci..

buddy tanahkow again providing ramrom material
an obituary supposedly printed in london times, interesting and sadly real

here goes
with ramrom rapping blows

today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, common sense
who for many years have graced our lands and lens

no one knows for sure how old he was
since his birth records were long ago lost and tossed
in bureaucratic red tape
he will be remembered for such lessons bait
“knowing when to come in out of the rain”
“the early bird gets the worm”, it’s not in vain
“life isn’t always fair”
“maybe it was my fault” to declare

common sense lived by simple, sound financial policies
don’t spend more than you can earn – hmm, a life moxie
adults, not children, are in charge – reliable strategies

his health rapidly deteriorated when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.
eg a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, an innocent grace;
teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch;
and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his bent and hunch.

common sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers
for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly young creatures.

it declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent or permission
to administer an aspirin to a student, or sun lotion;
but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

common sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses;
and criminals received better treatment than their victims and witnesses.
common sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home
and the burglar could sue you for assault while trepassing your dome.

common sense finally gave up the will to live,
after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, can u believe??
she spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement for her peeve

common sense was preceded in death, by his parents – truth and trust,
his wife – discretion crust,
his daughter – responsibility gust,
his son – reason must to bust

he is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
i know my rights;
i want it now; whatever delights my sights
someone else is to blame;
i’m a victim, to flame

not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
if you still remember him, pass this on.
if not, join the majority and do nothing.
well, ramrom did something…

discovered indiana pop punk band ataris
their common sense not to miss
these lyrics from “life makes no sense”

jingle worth epitaph cents

“the world’s nothing but a lie
and everyone is going to die
but what can i say?
just help me make it through today”…

some of you may have seen this nugget
from george carlin, a comedian rugged
who apparently, from e-circulation received
wrote this after his first wife deceased
and who recently himself rested in peace

so circulating “carlinism” below to introspect
the paradox of life to inspect
faux or not, in honor of george and paying last respect
i left the prose intact
ramrom formatted for effect

the paradox of our time in history is that
we have taller buildings but shorter tempers,
wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.
we spend more, but have less,
we buy more, but enjoy less.

we have bigger houses and smaller families,
more conveniences, but less time.
we have more degrees but less sense,
more knowledge, but less judgment,
more experts, yet more problems,
more medicine, but less wellness.

we drink too much, smoke too much,
spend too recklessly, laugh too little,
drive too fast, get too angry,
stay up too late, get up too tired
read too little, watch tv too much
and pray too seldom

we have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
we talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

we’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life.
we’ve added years to life not life to years.

we’ve been all the way to the moon and back,
but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor.
we conquered outer space but not inner space.
we’ve done larger things, but not better things.

we’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.
we’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.
we write more, but learn less.
we plan more, but accomplish less.
we’ve learned to rush, but not to wait.
we build more computers to hold more information,
to produce more copies than ever,
but we communicate less and less.

these are the times of fast foods and slow digestion,
big men and small character,
steep profits and shallow relationships.

these are the days of two incomes but more divorce,
fancier houses, but broken homes.
these are days of quick trips, disposable diapers,
throwaway morality, one night stands,
overweight bodies, and pills
that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

it is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.
a time when technology can bring this letter to you,
and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete..

life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away…
george carlin (may12,1937-june22, 2008)

from carlin to berlin crooning in my head
in His time, all of us be permanently laid to bed
to be resurrected or in hell dwell, based on while-alive choices made?

watching every motion in this foolish lover’s game
haunted by the notion somewhere there’s a love in flames
turning and returning to some secret place inside
watching in slow motion as you turn to me and say
take my breath away
my love, take my breath away

this showed up in my inbox today
from my tanahkow buddy in singapore, all the way
now i put it here for all to savor life’s gems and clarified clay

for effect, it got ramrom re-formatted
hope your heart will be ignited

given at the graduation ceremony of an american university
where she was awarded an honorary phd

– this was the speech –
http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/annaquindlen/
made by pulitzer prize-winner author, anna quindlen, who beseeched:

“i’m a novelist.
my work is human nature.
real life is all I know.
don’t ever confuse the two,
your life and your work.

u will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has.
there will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree:
there will be thousands of people doing what u want to do for a living.
but u will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life.

your particular life.
your entire life.
not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus,
or in a car, or at the computer.

not just the life of your mind,
but the life of your heart.
not just your bank accounts
but also your soul.

people don’t talk about the soul very much anymore.
it’s so much easier to write a resume
than to craft a spirit
but a resume is cold comfort on a winter’s night,
or when u’re sad, or broke, or lonely,
or when u’ve received your test results
and they’re not so good.

here is my resume:
i am a good mother to three children.
i have tried never to let my work stand in the way of being a good parent.
i no longer consider myself the center of the universe.

i show up. i listen. i try to laugh.
i am a good friend to my husband.
i have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say.
i am a good friend to my friends and they to me.
without them, there would be nothing to say to u today,
because i would be a cardboard cut out.
but i call them on the phone, and i meet them for lunch.

i would be rotten, at best mediocre at my job if those other things are not true
u cannot really be first rate at your work if your work is all u are.

so here’s what i wanted to tell u today:

get a life. a real life,
not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger pay check, the larger house.
do u think u’d care so very much about those things if u blew an aneurysm this afternoon,
or found a lump in your breast?

get a life
in which u notice the smell of salt water
pushing itself on a breeze at the seaside,
a life in which u stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water,
or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a sweet with her thumb & first finger

get a life
in which u are not alone.
find people u love, and who love u.
and remember that love is not leisure,
it is work…
pick up the phone.
send an email.
write a letter.

get a life
in which u are generous.
and realize that life is the best thing ever,
and that u have no business taking it for granted.
care so deeply about its goodness that u want to spread it around.
take money u would have spent on beer and give it to charity.
work in a soup kitchen.
be a big brother or sister.

all of u want to do well.
but if u do not do good too,
then doing well will never be enough.

it is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes.
it is so easy to take for granted the color of our kids’ eyes,
the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again.

it is so easy to exist instead of to live.
i learned to live many years ago.
i learned to love the journey, not the destination.
i learned that it is not a dress rehearsal,
and that today is the only guarantee u get.
i learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back
because i believed in it, completely and utterly.

and i tried to do that, in part, by telling others what i had learned.
by telling them this:
consider the lilies of the field.
look at the fuzz on a baby’s ear.
read in the backyard with the sun on your face.
learn to be happy.

and think of life as a terminal illness,
because if u do,
u will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived”.

eins, zwei, drei
du bist frei