The Wonderful, Fabulous, Betty White…dead at 99. Her 100th birthday is January 17th…huge loss.
Photo: Dreamtime.com
Archive for December, 2021
The last of the decorations are down and the Poetry Club just finished their readings…
POETRY...BY CHICKLET MARIE
poetry
is the way to tell a story
in a few words
they have to be the right words
and the timing has to be perfect
birds are wonderful poets
because most of them
can fly
THE NEW YEAR…BY CHICKLET REED
humans as a species
are heartless
cruel
and deadly
stay away from them
if you value your life
CATS…BY MISS KITTY GRAY PAWS
cats are perfect
there’s nothing they can’t do
if they want to
but only then
because we never do anything
we don’t want to do
even for treats
or pets
but at The Coop
things are different
and we all pitch in
and do what needs to be done
A GUINEA PIG’S TALE…by Ken
some say that I’m not aggressive enough
not brave enough
that I’m small
and fearful
I suppose that’s true
after all
I’m very small
which makes everything else
very big
but at The Coop
everyone tells me that I am a hero
an important part of the group
they think I’m a perfect Guinea Pig
and sometimes
because of their trust in me
I think I can do anything
BATS…BY MIDNIGHT
I think we should all get along
there’s no point to all this fighting
the earth doesn’t belong to us
it’s a thing of its own
we’re fortunate she lets us live on her
and instead of thanking the earth
for letting us be here
we destroy her
humans
we don’t know what to do with humans
we don’t know why they’re here
why they kill and eat everything
how can we understand them
it’s a new year
but what’s really going to change
LIFE…BY CHICKLET NORA (on the wire)
I love everyone
I love sunshine
and rainbows
and corn bread
and parties
and naps
and new eggs
and all kinds of other things too
TWEETS
I wish you could all fly
it’s a wonderful thing
you can see so much
but we’re all made
to be who we are
so we should be happy
with that
and write poetry
because it’s good for you
And that’s the contribution of the Poetry Club
How they met…
He sat down in the seat across from her.
“That’s not a good look,” she said, shaking her head, sipping her malt. “Kind of, end of the world type thing. Gas masks aren’t really in, at least not right now.”
“I’m from New Year’s Future, here to warn you.”
“Really? I thought that only happened with Scrooge,” she said. “Look how thick this malt is. I can turn the glass upside down and the straw doesn’t even move.”
“I’m what your future looks like. You should pay attention,” he said.
“Sure,” she said, looking at her phone. “We’re all gonna die, blah, blah, blah.”
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked. “I’m trying to warn you of things to come. One of those things is extinction.”
“Whatever.”
“Whatever?” he said, horrified.
“Look,” she said. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but PEOPLE DON’T CARE. They didn’t CARE when all of this started, and they don’t care now. They won’t even care when they start dying in bunches, when there’s no food, when there’s no water, or other life forms. What part of that don’t YOU get? No one is willing to DO ANYTHING to make a difference. So, we’ll die, and that will be that. I don’t know what you want me to say. Even those who do care don’t have any power to actually change anything. Our government, churches, institutions and corporations made sure of that a long time ago, so we may as well enjoy what we have now and continue our love of immediate gratification while we can. What else is there?”
“I…”
“You what?” she laughed. “You thought you could make a difference? Thought you could wake people up? Thought you could get everyone off their couches and out of their chairs? Get them to turn off their televisions and start them marching in the streets. Sorry, that’s not going to happen. We’re going to slide into oblivion and act as if we don’t know what happened, when we knew what was happening all along. What part of that don’t you get? Besides, even if we all did try and do something our government would kill us in the street. Death is big here. In fact, people would try and steal your look. You could be on the cover of some high class magazine. Instead of the heroin look, it would be the end of the world look. I mean, some people will want to dress for the part, right?”
“You all deserve to die,” he mumbled.
“I know,” she said smiling. “Logical consequences, right?”
“You’re not afraid?”
“Of what?”
“The end of everything?”
“We’re all kind of dead already, can’t you see that? They teach that kind of thing in schools and churches. They kill you before you even get started. Feed you lies and make up insane laws and rules that no one follows. What’s to be afraid of? We were brainwashed to believe that we are powerless, even though there are billions of us, and six of them. Kind of impossible to convince people they have all the power and have been divided to weaken that power base on purpose. This malt is delicious. Want one? Or can’t you swallow with that thing on?”
“Strawberry,” he said.
She turned and raised her arm. “Hey, Markie, a strawberry malt for the guy in the end of the world outfit.”
“Thanks,” he said.
“No problem.”
“So you’re just going to accept your fate?”
“As opposed to????”
“What about future generations?” he asked.
“You do know how babies are made, don’t you? If everyone is dead, no one will be here to make future generations.”
“Just like that?” he asked.
“Just like that.”
“How can you be so flippant about the end of everything?” he asked, as his malt was placed in front of him.
“Is there a special way to act when faced with the end of things? I’m not into moaning, groaning and wringing my hands, I’m more the, stand in front of the bad guys and scream at them, kind of person.”
“I see.”
“I doubt it. If you saw, you wouldn’t have wasted your time coming here to warn us.”
“So, it’s hopeless?” he asked.
“Pretty much. I suppose there could be a catastrophic event that would change things, but I doubt it. As long as the few make the rules for the many, there’s no hope at all, because the many just do as they’re told. Sheep. Baaaaa.”
“Wow. I didn’t expect this level of…”
“Of what? Of emptiness? Jadedness? Um…”
“I’m going with acceptance.”
“Then you weren’t briefed properly,” she laughed. “You are in the land of the blind and walking dead, my friend.”
“This malt really is good.”
“Told you.”
“So there’s nothing I can do?”
“Nope. There never was. Everything has been leading up to this point. It’s just playing out. A kind of, get what we deserve moment.”
“So, how am I alive?” he said, sucking on his straw.
“Maybe an alien species came here and dug up our bones, or dusted them off, and you were cloned from the the DNA inside those bones. Or,” she said, getting into the subject, “a couple of us may have survived, and we started over, OR, you just think you’re alive, but you’re really just a hologram of some sort. Or…”
“I’m not from earth,” he said.
“You might think you aren’t, but you seem like one of us.”
“I don’t want to be one of you.”
She shrugged. “I can’t blame you, but that’s not really up to either one of us, at the moment.. You are what you are. If you’re one of us, you will certainly do this whole thing again, here, or somewhere else. It’s what we are. The Destroyers. We need t-shirts with that on the front.”
“You scare me.”
“Why?”
“I’m not sure. You seem to…”
“To, what?”
“Ignore reality.”
She started laughing. “Oh, Sweetie, this IS reality.”
“I should probably get back.”
“Okay. Nice meeting you.”
“You too,” he said. “I’m sorry that you’re all idiots.”
“So am I,” she sighed. “It’s just how we were made and conditioned..”
“I guess,” he said. “I’m glad you can laugh about it.”
“Crying is stupid and it doesn’t change anything.. But thanks for stopping by.”
He nodded. “Thanks for the malt.”
“Any time,” she said. “But if you want another one, don’t stay away too long, or we might be gone.”
He made a small groaning noise, and disappeared.
“Who was that guy?” asked Markie. “He seemed a little over the edge.”
“He was just talking about the end of the world.”
“Oh, that. Hey, you want to catch a movie later?”
“Sure, why not,” she said. “In the movies, the humans always win.”
4149. Gloucester Road — Natural adventures
The side wall of Bishopston Tiles has been a bit of a honeypot recently with several fabulous stencils by John D’oh, all with an environmental theme, something that the artist obviously cares about deeply. This sensational tiger stencil must have taken forever to cut and prepare. There are at least four layers that I can […]
4149. Gloucester Road — Natural adventures
Ghosts of Christmas Past: It’s a Wonderful Life – Georgiann Carlson — Brave & Reckless
Jimmy you look tired worn out I liked you better when your friend was an invisible rabbit or when you were being seduced by Kim Novak surrounded by magic but maybe that’s why you think life is wonderful you’ve had different experiences than we have you’ve met angels been able to see your life backward […]
Ghosts of Christmas Past: It’s a Wonderful Life – Georgiann Carlson — Brave & Reckless
Rethinking Life 
Written
on December 31, 2021