Tuesday, July 24, 2007

I was thinkin' (and 'no', it didn't hurt)







It seems to me many people are caught up in the trappings of things - expensive cars, clothes, fine food and drink, vacations they can ill afford; stuff like that. So be it. I wouldn't trade one sunset on my front porch for all of it. At least when I go to bed at night it is with a clear conscience. I don't count my treasures in sparkly trinkets or Italian suits. I count them in peace of mind and the ability to learn and study. Knowledge is my wealth and I try to horde as much of it as I can.

I suppose a lot of people would call me a bit strange, even eccentric to a degree, because of my outlook on things. It fascinates and amuses me to no end when people in their pompous demeaner claim to have "discovered" this or that. Truth is, they didn't discover anything, they merely stumbled onto the essence of what was always there. The greatest chemist and physicist in the universe invented it all, and all we meager humans can hope to do is uncover the nature of it. But He discovered it at the beginning of time. Hell, He invented it out of nothing! And then people parade about with their heads reared back and their frail little chests stuck out like they have really done something when they learn of the essence of things. It is just a hoot to me.

Take this global warming thingie. What a crock! The truth is, that when Mt. St. Helen's erupted in Washington State several years back, more pollution and greenhouse gasses were released in that one event than man has done cumulatively since the beginning of time. We really have a way of building up our self importance in things! I am not saying we should run amuck of it all, but there is not much we can do that is going to have a long term "make or break" effect on it.

But we, as humans, feel the need to be in 'control' of everything. It is an illusion we trick ourselves with. In fact, we are in control of little or nothing really, just our responses to situations as they arise and that is about it. Mother Nature (God, if you will) is ultimately in charge of it all and His Will, will be done. It is the only constant in the universe. Where we as humans run afoul of it, is that we try to change His will to suit our desires (not needs) and that just ain't gonna happen. The true test is to change ourselves to meet His will, not the other way around.

Universal laws are also universal truths and they cannot be changed. People flail around and falter trying to break these laws, but the truth of the matter is that they cannot and will not be broken. What inevitably happens is that we (humans) only succeed in breaking ourselves against the laws, not the other way around.

Everything is relative to the paradigm from which we view our surroundings. More times than not, our positions won't allow us to see the whole picture. We need to shift our frame of reference to get a handle on it. Take for instance a story told by Frank Koch in "Prodeedings", the magazine for the Naval Institute:

-----

Two battleships assigned to a training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visability was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on activities.

Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing of the bridge reported, "Light. Bearing on the starboard bow."
"Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out.
The lookout replied, "Steady captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.
The captain then called for his signalman, "Signal that ship: We are on a collision course, advise you change your course 20 degrees."
Back came a signal, "Advisable for you to change course 20 degrees."
The captain said, "Send: I am a captain, change course 20 degrees!"
"I'm a seaman second class," came the reply. "You had better change course 20 degrees."
By that time, the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send: I'm a battleship. Change course 20 degrees!"
Back came the flashing light, "I am a lighthouse."
We changed course!
-----

Everything is relative to the position we view it from. More times than not, we need to make a shift in our paradigm to get a more accurate view of things. When we do this, it allows us to see the truth of the lighthouse and not our minds illusion of another ship.
So, I seek knowledge and wisdom as my treasures. They are the only things of this world that you will carry with you to the next.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Secrets...


No one who knows either one of us, knows where we are this morning. They don’t have a clue. We have planned this little getaway for almost a year now. Finally, here we are. As I stare out across the ocean, my mind drifts back to last night… the smell of her hair, the soft warmth of her skin, the fire of desire in her eyes. With a gentle kiss on the cheek, I left her in bed sleeping this morning and walked barefoot to beach below.

Standing there now, I feel the breeze blowing in my face; tender breaths of cool, salty air. The sun is not up yet, but the sky is beginning to brighten in the east in an array of color that was the thunderstorm that passed through last night. It turns the waters in front of me red and orange and yellows, a fiery rainbow that ripples and changes with the rise and fall of the waves. The pulsing beat of the ocean pushes little, warm tongues of water around my feet and quickly withdraws them back down the beach to the safety of their mother.

Down the beach, I hear the muffled roar of larger waves as they crash against the rocks there in an age-old struggle for superiority. She always wins in the end, I think, but what do rocks know of such things. I stand silent, in the growing light, hands buried in my pockets, mesmerized by it all… I don’t hear her approach, feather-like on the sands behind me.

She gently slides her hands around my waist and locks them together across my belly, as her chin finds its place on my shoulder and nuzzles there. A gentle kiss on the side of my neck and then we are still, frozen at this moment in this moment. Two sets of eyes peer out at the sea before us as one and for that brief instant, we are one. Making a memory that will live forever…


Copyright © 2007 Mike Lawson

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Luckenbach Moon...



I am all about learning new things and broadening my horizons. I have and do read about anything and everything. Any of you who have had the misfortune of suffering through some of my poetry may wonder, “Now where the hell did that come from?” I often find inspiration for my work in the works of others. You will often see their influences in my pieces.

A writer I think a lot of and hope you come to like as well is John Russell ‘Hondo’ Crouch. A rancher, philosopher and Texan folk hero, Crouch bought the deserted town of Luckenbach, Texas back in the 80’s and turned it into a Texas music Mecca. He was the self-proclaimed Mayor of Luckenbach and coined “Everybody is Somebody, in Luckenbach” as the town motto. He was in turn given the title of Grand Imagineer. Hope you like this poem of Hondo's and its vivid imagery.


THE LUCKENBACH MOON
Hondo Crouch

Nuthin’ much happened in Luckenbach this month,
‘Cept the potato chip man came by.
Then there was the moon.
We try to tell folks who come by here to look at our town
What a big, mean moon we have
But nobody’ll believe it.
And last night it showed off.
The greatest ever.It just hung there, darin’ you to look at it,
Makin’ silhouettes into things and things came alive.
It even shined plumb to the bottom of the canyon,
Under bluffs and plopped dark doughnuts ’round the bottom of trees on top of the mountain.
A kind of moon that makes haunted houses uglier
And ugly girls prettier.
And little animals see farther and feel closer together.
Brave weeds even rose up to look ’round for lawn mowers.
Grandpa sat up in bed and said, “What’s that?”
And the hair on Grandma’s legs stood on end, he said.
On moonbrite nites like this, big eyed deer
Tiptoe into larger openings and they can dance better
’cause they can see where the rocks are at.
Their prancin’ gets fancier and freer because they know mans not there to darnpen the dance.
This kind of moonshine makes you crazy if you sleep in it, they say,
But I think you’re crazy not to try it.
Momma even slept with the baby to protect it and I
Flounced in bed even in a thick rock house.
And when I went outside to see what was the matter
Somethin’ scared cold chills up my back.
Everything was standin’ at attention over new shadows.
Then what was that that moved?
Probably just a Nuthin’.
You know, a big full moon like ours is kinda like a person:
It needs help to show off, and last nite
All the clouds stayed home on purpose to create a great solo.
We can’t stand an encore!
It takes too much out of you.
Those who saw the moon said they could smell it.
One said it tasted like sin.
The quietness at the parkside road was deafenin’
And the little single couple sittin’ there touched the backs of their hands together.
"Scare Me !"
We’ve been tellin’ strangers who come to Luckenbach
'Bout our Moon,
But I know they won’t believe that
We have such a big moon
For such a small town.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

July 27th, 2006 - Remembered...

(Brought forward from my old Word Press blog)

Remember when the days were long.
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky?
Didn’t have a care in the world,
With mommy and daddy standing by.
When happily ever after fails,
And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales…

O beautiful, for spacious skies,
But now those skies are threatening.
They’re beating plowshares into swords,
For this tired old man that we elected king.
Armchair warriors often fail,
And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales…

Who knows how long this will last,
Now we’ve come so far, so fast.
But, somewhere back there in the dust,
That same small town in each of us.I need to remember this,
So baby give me just one kiss.
And let me take a long last look,
Before we say good bye.

Just lay your head back on the ground,
And let your hair fall all around me.
Offer up your best defense,
But this is the end,
This is the end of the innocence.

“The End of the Innocence”, Don Henley-native Texan


LUBBOCK, Texas

For the second time in as many years, a light green sedan with US Government plates pulled into the drive at the Velez home in Lubbock, Texas. For the second time in as many years, an Army chaplain and survivor benefits officer knocked on the door there. For the second time in as many years, the hearts of the Velez home were broken in two as they were told they had lost yet another son to this war.

Roy Velez listened, I’m sure, over the wails of his wife as the specifics of the death were reported to him. His youngest son, Army Specialist Andrew Velez, 22, was killed in Afghanistan while there to search for Bin Laden. His oldest son, Army Corporal Jose Velez, 23, was killed in Fallujah, Iraq in November 2004. Mr. Velez had this to say, “I can’t be angry. I feel like my heart’s been pulled out. We’ve done what the Lord allowed us to do for our country.'’

The family lost its only sons; there is one daughter.
  • He was scheduled to return for 10 days of leave during the last week of August.
  • After his death, Jose Velez was awarded two Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star and a Silver Star.
  • Andrew Velez is survived by his parents, his wife, Veronica Velez; a daughter, Jasmine Jade, 5; and two sons, Jordan Davis, 3, and Jacob Andrew, 2.


My thoughts and prayers go out to these people. You can’t be any more American than they are. I pray too, that this mess over there is done before the two grandsons of Mr. Velez are given the opportunity to die for their country as well. How much more can be expected of one family than the price already paid here.


Plowboy

February 6, 2007

(Just bringing this forward from my old Word Press blog to get things kicked off here)

It has been a pretty eventful week here in Hooterville. The markets for corn and soybeans are back up again and we (the farm I work on) have been hauling grain to the grain elevators. I talked to my boss yesterday and it looks like we may get to move more in the upcoming weeks, if the prices hold. Sure hope so. The Power Company and Telephone Company love it when I get to haul grain. I am, after all, out here working for them by proxy. Right about now they ain’t real happy with me but they can get glad in the same shoes they got mad in, it’s been a tough winter all around. It ain’t a crime being poor but it sure is inconvenient.

We got a newer tractor and a brand new trailer to haul with this year. It has over 400hp and pulls 1k bushels of grain like you were pulling a boat trailer. No more huffin’ and puffin’ to make the hills between here and there. It’s a real nice rig. Power everything and air-ride all around.
There is a cell phone gonna be put in it this week and that will be good to have. Anyone that knows me much at all knows my opinion about cell phones. For the most part I wish their inventor had every one of them up his hind-end and all ringin’ at once. But I broke down twice last year and had to walk a pretty good piece for a payphone (if you can even find one these days) so it will be nice to have in the event of a breakdown or something. Outside of that, I doubt I ever pick it up to even look at it.


I liked the old truck we had too, but she was about worn out and starting to need therapy a lot. I feel safer in this new one. You can see out of it much better and it rides quieter. Not only that, but you get a respectful nod from the other truckers out on the road as they pass you, instead of that scowl that says, “Get that ol’ rust bucket out of the way, Vern.” Of course, me being me, their looks were always met with a glare of my own that said, “Kiss my Irish ass.” Fact of the matter is they pay no more or less at the elevator regardless of what you bring it in.

I still have about 100 sticks of tobacco to strip yet and need to get on that soon before the market closes. It was hit with a little frost before I could get it in the barn and had a hard time curing the green out of the leaves. Be that as it may, talk of this year’s crop has already begun easing into conversations and will soon appear on daily work schedules. It is my intentions to turn the ground for my tobacco and corn during the first little warm spell we have when the ground is dry enough to work. Seems it works up better at planting if it has been turned and allowed to freeze and thaw several times to soften it up.

Time too, to start prepping the tobacco float bed and getting it in order for this season. I plan on seeding mine by the first of April, but will buy enough plants from work for an acre. That will allow me to spread the work out a little. First setting early May, second late May-early June. Puts the harvest about a month apart too. Two acres on one man is a stretch of capacity.

I also plan on putting out a pretty good size garden this year and may order some baby chicks to raise too. I have not had chickens here for a year or so now and kind of miss them around the place. I think something caught my last old rooster I had here, I ain’t seen him or heard a sound from him in a week or two now. Have some fencing that needs repair and the driveway graded. Just no end to it. Seems this place eats better than I do. Just hope I get enough work this Spring to bank roll it all.

I bought 10 bred cows back in December and three have already had calves; the last day before yesterday. One was born the 22nd of December and another on New Year’s Day. It is not the best time of year for it, but you take what you get sometimes. If they make it they will just weigh more this Fall when I sell them to pay the Notes around here. I check on them 2-3 times a day and so far they are fine. Better if they are born in Mar-Apr though. I will breed them back to be synchronized a little better for next year. This gives me 12 cows total and that is enough for now, ’til I get them straightened out and poppin’ and snappin’. 12 are about the limit for the pasture I have to raise really good calves without having to supply feed too. I didn’t want to have a Spring and a Fall calving herd but it looks like that is what I have until I can adjust it.

I have been doing what freelance writing work I can and working on getting these three Internet businesses up and running in the background of the farm and work. Anyway, as you can see, I have it in front of me to do. Lol And on that note…I’m outta here.

Plowboy

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Welcome!!!

Welcome one and all to my blog, Plowboy's Porch. If you are interested in what I have done, am doing or am about to get into, you can track it here. lol

Right now, I am covered up with farm work, so in that light, I would offer you my other two blogs to review until I can start posting here regularily.

Kentucky Farmer

and

Appalachian Writers

Thanks for the visit and I hope to be up and running hard shortly.

Plowboy