Atomictumor

Minding my business
Sittin down on a park bench
Sipping smuggled beer

A chipmunk ran up
With voice of R. Lee Ermey
Made inquiries

Well, I was perplexed.
I looked left, and I looked right
Naught but trees in sight

I held up my beer
Took a look at the label
Shook it, nothing wrong

Chipmunk cleared its throat
Hell, I decided to bolt
But my feet stood firm.

The chipmunk approached
And slowly climbed up my legs
We were eye to eye

I looked in its eye
Black faded to a small room
With a harpsichord

I was bid to play
And was tux’d up to the nines
But had no fingers

Looked at my left hand
Little pink squeaky hammer
My right was a key

“WTF,” I cried
And people started cheering
And patting my back

It didn’t bode well
Didn’t make a lick of sense
So, started swinging

But they were all gone
I found I had no body
In a field of stars

Behind me, boxes
Stretched back into infinity
Magenta and blue

They were filled with life
Large, small, happy, sad, weak, strong
I was overwhelmed

Started to panic
The Fear came up all around
There was no way out!

I opened my eyes
I opened my eyes again
Now I’m a chipmunk.

The boys are outside
Pigpens shoes are falling off
And he is shirtless

Sit in the breezeway
July winding down, away
August brings some change

My arms are tired
Stayed up late last night, party
Feels at home with friends

“I’m fixing the boat”
Says Pigpen, skateboard in arms
Still has no shirt on

MastaG’s tooth hurts
Eye tooth is loose, not ready
He bit a pretzel

This, a rainy week
Makes me full of contentment
Possibilities

I was a member of my high school marching band. I played the baritone and then the tuba. As far as high school marching bands go, we were OK. There were plenty worse and we even won an occasional competition. I can’t say that I enjoyed playing in the band. I was too worried about making a mistake to really have fun, but that’s beside the point.

I was thinking about these two guys who played saxaphone. One probably had some sense, but the other one was a real nimrod. He made it his task to school me in the ways of band from the very beginning. I bought into it for a little while, till I met some other folks and got on with my life.

What made me remember these two is the Confederate flag. They had one they liked to carry around and flourish on occasion. They usually brought it out on the bus ride home from away games when the teachers were too tired to care what was going on in the back of the bus. The zenith of their color guard was when they displayed the stars and bars from the hotel balcony in Daytona Beach where the band went for a competion. I looked up from pool side and there it flew with them right beside it.

If I didn’t know better, I’d figure that sort of flag waiving patriotism would stay in high school. I don’t get it. Sure there’s the occasional “south will rise again” bumper sticker (That sticker almost makes it seem like the South has erectile dysfunction.), but there’s something about hoisting the Rebel flag and waiving it. I don’t know. Evidently Old Miss University gave up waving the battle flag in 1983, but the state of Mississippi still flies the old battle flag.

Then there is the Warehouse Tavern here in Oak Ridge. They still fly the confederate flag. A friend of mine mentioned that he saw one flying there, but I had no idea it was on a pole, above Old Glory. Indeed.

Charles Bukowski writes that,

the only meaningful thing about

the South is that they lost

the Civil War and still can’t

accept it.

I wrote that line off to him being a crank, then I ran across the picture of the Warehouse Tavern in todays News Sentinel.

Maybe Bukowski is right.

Man, having 14 people over at the Cemestos Gardens is a party! Kids everywhere watching movies, having light saber battles, babies crying. Moms and Dads sitting, talking, pushing kids out of the way. And tacos, lots of tacos. The Missus makes a mean taco and fried rice. Then there were the donuts. We can’t forget the donuts.

Jenwright, Dusty, it was good seeing you guys and your crew. What a beautiful baby you all have.

Think I’m going to go have another taco, or maybe just a donut. Yeah.

There are only two left which just can’t be fairly split between three kids (Wing doesn’t eat donuts yet, come on.). I’m doing us all a favor. Can you imagine the fight we would have here over a couple donuts.

Oh, and they have milk in them too. The chocolate icing has milk in it for sure. The Missus shouldn’t be eating them. Poor Wing would break out all over in a rash if she went and had too much donut.

I’d better eat them both.

Donuts…

I’m temporarily breaking my tumorbattical to let you guys know that my friends (and yours) Katie Allison Granju and Knoxjon are at the hospital, about 5 weeks early, to give birth to little baby Charlotte. Most of you guys probably already know about this, but I wanted to mention here that we’re all praying or otherwise whatever it is we do, and are thinking of you, Katie and Jon.

Best of luck, and the world waits for baby Charlotte!