My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me. Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.
It's time for some A to Z catch-up. , I am currently 2 posts behind. The next letter is S so let's get right to it shall we?
My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me. Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.
It's time for some A to Z catch-up. , I am currently 3 posts behind. The next letter is S so let's get right to it shall we?
Randy Stonehill is one of my five favorite singers. Collectively I call these artists the Big 5. I have seen them all multiple times in concert and am more than familiar with each one's entire body of work. I have been listening to Randy since 1982 and like just about everything he puts out. Stonehill still performs and I had the opportunity to see him two times in a 6 month period bettween October of 2023 and March 2024. Here are some sights and sounds from those concerts.
Randy Stonehill & Phil Keaggy
10/7/23/ South Holland Illinois
Randy Stonehill , Leslie Stonehill & Phil Keaggy 10/7/23
South Holland Illinois
Randy Stonehill 3/2/2024
Concord Missouri
Randy Stonehill
Concord, Missouri 3/2/24
Randy Stonehill - This Old Face
A few years ago I wrote a review of Stonehill's most recent album The Lost Art of Listening. This is what I said about This Old Face:
This Old Face- Whimsical wisdom amid evocative imagery is one of the thing's I've come to expect from Uncle Rand these many years and This Old Face does not disappoint. This song could be titled turning 70 as this is something Stonehill, born in 1952, will be doing sooner than later. Featuredlyrics: It's been weathered by the wind of sadness and of sin but it shines whenever Heaven's love appears
Randy did a children's album called Uncle Stonehill's Hat and Emma , Amy and I were able to se him perform as Uncle Stonehill when Emma was little. The next 3 videos are Randy performing a song form that album at the concert in March 2024
.:
Randy Stonehill - Stormy Winds Intro
Randy Stonehill - Stormy Winds Part I
Randy Stonehill - Stormy Winds Part II
Randy Stonehill Returning To Depart
So a little musical interlude from one of my favorite artists to add to my ABC's of me.
My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me. Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.
It's time for some A to Z catch-up. , I am currently 3 posts behind. The next letter is R so let's get right to it shall we?
The phrase Republican in Name Only has been around for over a century. The acronym Rino is only been in place a little more than 30 years. Vox did an excellent job in 2015 chronicling the history of the phrase and the acronym and the shift in meaning over the years. A RINO to mix my metaphors a little here is a politician who walks like a duck talks like a duck but swears there an elephant.
I am no RINO. But just as the meaning of the phrase Republican in Name Only has shifted so has the perception of what it means to be a Republican in America these days. I slowly began to find myself cringing just a little when identifying myself as a Republican then Donald Trump became President in 2017 and I found myself cringing a little more then a lot more as his term went on.
In late November of 2020, I became more hopeful. Trump had lost the election although he and some of his followers were still contesting it, Republican officials in the disputed areas were the first to admit that he did not have enough votes to win. I wrote a post on one of my blogs entitled 10 Things I'd Like to See the Republican Party Do Now That the Election is Over.
I encourage you to click on the title and read the article before moving forward.
The 10 issues or actions were:
Abortion
Racial Reconciliation
COVID 19
Distancing from Donald Trump
Establish a Platform
Address Gun Violence
Widen Base
Reform Immigration Compassionately
Reestablish Sound Foreign Policy
Appeal to Independents.
Now I want to give credit where credit is due from the time I wrote that post until this present moment in time the Republican Party has only failed to achieve 10 of these goals. I mean come on the 2024 White Sox won more than 10 % of their games. You think the Republican party could have addressed at least 1 of my concerns.
If you look at some of my concerns it's obvious from the title that the Republicans have not addressed them. How can a party distance themselves from Trump and elect him again at the same time? They can't. How can a party reform immigration compassionately when they are allowing the deportation of those who are here legally? How do they reestablish sound foreign policy by allowing a President to chastise allies visiting the White House for wanting a war to stop in their country? How do they reestablish sound foreign policy and allow their President to talk about adding their neighboring country and ally as a 51st state? You can't in either situation. As for widening the base and appealing to independents it is difficult to imagine much of either happening with such a polarizing President. This is especially true when the rest of the GOP will not provide checks and balances to the President and seemingly live in fear of him as was written about in an opinion piece in today's U.SA. today
President Trump, his policies, his character, his demeanor, and for that matter his medeamors and his felonies are a large part of why I am only Republican in theory, anyway. Perhaps a greater part is how others have allowed him not only to lead the party but define it.
It started well before 2015, but when 16 other Republican leaders ran in the Republican primary and did not put personal and party desires over protecting the presidency from the unbalanced that's when I realized that the Republican party was no longer close to what it was even a quarter century before when I started aligning myself with them.
In theory they may still be the Grand Old Party riding on an Elephant and bringing the Cold War to a halt. But to quote Remember The Titans "Attitude reflects leadership", and the attitude of this president has made his party simply, the elephant in the room that no other Republican dare talk about.
I hate to rant and run, but it's time to move on. Click on the various words to get to the various places.
My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me. Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.
It's time for some A to Z catch-up. , I am currently 2 posts behind. The next letter is Q so let's get right to it shall we?
It's been over 5 years since the co-vid shut down and some of the things that were common place back then are getting a little fuzzy in our collective memories. Social distancing, the prevalence of masks, one way lanes in supermarkets, daily co-vid updates, drive by graduation celebrations, zoom game nights lessened and some all but disappeared. The necessity and celebration of essential workers has changed somewhat as well. I was an essential worker for a year at the onset of co-vid. Stocking grocery shelves overnight and glad for the work.
It was nice being an essential worker but I have always strived to be a quintessential worker. Colossians 3:23-24 says "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." I have always tried to model that verse in my work life.
Work for me has always been more about meeting needs than having a career. Some of those needs were the financial needs of me and my family. Other of those needs were the needs of my customers. There were also the needs of my employers and co-workers. Each job I have had , and I've had lots of them has always had a component of ministry.
I remember when I was making the transition between corporate customer service and education working a part time/ seasonal job at Amazon. A shift could easily segue from more work than people to do it to more people than work to do. When the latter happened, I would always try to find some way to be useful. One day I asked my manager for a reference. He said to me "Dave, you work with a sense of urgency." I only worked that job four months and am in my 7th school year as a substitute teacher since then. I have also worked several 2nd jobs and summer jobs in that time. In each of these jobs I have reflected on my managers comment and continue to work with that sense of urgency.
Sometimes that means going out of my way at the movie theatre to make sure patrons enjoy their experience or at school making sure a student doesn't miss his bus while he goes back to his room to get his backpack. Sometimes it means making jokes to customers ,students or co-workers just to brighten their day a little.
I worked in customer and client relations at a mortgage company for about 10 years coinciding with the first 10 years of my marriage. My checks were automatically deposited to my banking account, but this wasn't as prevalent as it is now. Many employees received paper checks and all employees received an envelope every 2 weeks with at least the paystub if not a paycheck for the previous pay periods work. Most every time my boss handed out our envelopes I would remark, "This is great, I thought I was volunteering."
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that working is more than 401 K's, paid vacations and insurance benefits. I'm glad I've been able to experience and benefit from those things. but it's also about being a positive influence, having a servant's attitude, and a team spirit.
That's Q for Quintessential Worker.
click on the various words to get to the various places.
My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me. Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.
It's time for some A to Z catch-up. , I am currently 2 posts behind. The next letter is P so let's get right to it shall we?
They say beggars can't be choosers. I think the same logic applies to people who are behind on their assignments. Instead of not being choosers, we can't be perfectionists.
So I'm just making a pastiche of some examples of my poetry for today's post. If it's been on my blog or appeared somewhere else before I am also providing a link.
In 2023 and 2024 I participated in the Kid Lit Progressive Poems as part of the celebration of April as National Poetry Month. A progressive poem is ehre several poets take turns writing a line for that day's part of the poem. I have included the 2023 poem in it's entirety with mycontributions are in bold/
Raindrops, Moonseeds, and Dreams
Suddenly everything fell into place
like raindrops hitting soil and sinking in.
When morning first poked me, I’d wished it away
my mind in the mist, muddled, confused. \
Was this a dream or reality, rousing my response?
The sun surged, urging me to join in its rising,
Rising like a crystal ball reflecting on morning dew.
I jumped out of bed, ready to explore the day.
My feet pulled me outside and into the garden
Where lilies and bees weave…but wait! What’s that?
A bevy of bunnies jarted and darted and played in the clover.
A dog barked and flash, the bunderstorm is over.
I breathed-brave, quiet. Like a seed,
as the day, foretold in my dream, ventured upon me.
Sunbeams guided me to the gate overgrown with wisteria
where I spotted the note tied to the gate.
As I reached the gnarled gate, pollen floated like fairy dust into my face. Aaah Choo!
Enter, if you must. We’ve been waiting for you.
Not giving the curious note a thought, I pushed the gate open and ran through.
Stopped in my tracks, eyes wide in awe—can this really be true?
Huge mushrooms for tables, vines twined into chairs,
A flutter of fairies filled flowery teawares
With glazed nut cakes and apple blossom tea,
I heard soft whispers from behind a tree. Oh my! They had been “waiting for me!”
Still brave, but cautious, I waited for them.
Forested friends filled the glade. “You’ve arrived! Let the reverie begin!”
I laughed as my bare feet danced across the dew-soaked grass,
matching the beat of paws, claws, and wings—around me, above me.
Tea cakes and hugs, twice all around, then silly games and races ’til the sun slid down,
Moon shared a warm wink, and showered moon-seeds over earth’s precious ground.
Last Year for the Q day if the challenge, I wrote a poem: \
According to Merriam Webster, A quatrain is a unit or group of four lines of verse. I have decided to write the heart of my A to Z post in quatrains today. I am following an ABCB rhyme scheme
My A to Z Q Post
The A to Z Challenge
Is a big to do
Each year I struggle
As I get to Q
My theme this year
Has been Holidays
I've tried to approach it
In some different ways
Each Day, save Sunday
Calendars I consult
And search for Holidays
That I can exult
When I find the occasion
That I like better
I match the event
With that day's letter
For example April 2nd
Was Children's Book Day
B is for Book
I put on display
On the days of the alphabet
That start with A, E, I, O or U
I created my own holiday
Don't ask Y, but it's true
Today's Holiday
Wasn't hard to find
It was Poetry
And the creative mind
But how would that match
With the letter Q?
I just scribbled out some
Quatrains for you
This has been Poetry Friday
And Also A to Z
Thanks ever so much
for joining me.
I am not entirely a rhyming poet. I think all of my poems referenced here do rhyme. I did do an Acrostic poem for O in this years challenge and while that did not rhyme it did follow a pattern.
SO to end this post I'll just jot some unrhymed lines and see if later I can make something more of it.
Twisting and turning
The parade passed through
An optical illusion or a deliberate lie
A furtive glance of desperation
Ignorance of the truth
disdain for the needy
The I doesn't see
That the me is beside myself
in myopic misery
A buffet of brutality
with extra helpings of apathy
washed down with righteous indignation
X marks the spot
where twitter once retweetd
link on the various words to get to the various places.
