Piece of Paper tacked on the inside of a stall in the Ladies Room

"Bitch"
Carolyn Kizer – 1984

Now, when he and I meet, after all these years,
I say to the bitch inside me, don't start growling.
He isn't a trespasser anymore,
Just an old acquaintance tipping his hat.
My voice says, "Nice to see you,"
As the bitch starts to bark hysterically.
He isn't my enemy now,
Where are your manners, I say, as I say,
"How are the children? They must be growing up."
At a kind word from him, a look like the old days,
The bitch changes her tone: she begins to whimper.
She wants to snuggle up to him, to cringe.
Down, girl! Keep your distance
Or I'll give you a taste of the choke-chain.
"Fine, I'm just fine," I tell him.
She slobbers and grovels.
After all, I am her mistress. She is basically loyal.
It's just that she remembers how she came running
Each evening, when she heard his step;
How she lay at his feet and looked up adoringly
Though he was absorbed in his paper;
Or, bored with her devotion, ordered her to the kitchen
Until he was ready to play.
But the small careless kindnesses
When he'd had a good day, or a couple of drinks,
Come back to her now, seem more important
Than the casual cruelties, the ultimate dismissal.
"It's nice to know you are doing so well," I say.
He couldn't have taken you with him;
You were too demonstrative, too clumsy,
Not like the well-groomed pets of his new friends.
"Give my regards to your wife," I say. You gag
As I drag you off by the scruff,
Saying, "Goodbye! Goodbye! Nice to have seen you again."





The Barista brings this sheet of paper containing this poem to Verble and tells him where she found it, and as he finishes reading it, she asks him, "Why would someone put that up in the women's stall?"

"To remind them of what men can do to them," he says, "What they can do to their hearts."
Verble pauses for a second, "But she did it wrong . . . she should have put it in the men's room. Women already know this."

With that, Verble opens a drawer under the counter, searching for a roll of Scotch tape, and then walks off toward the men's room.

Overheard in Booth 5

Man: and don't go down to any of the Texas border towns, they're killing everybody down there.

Woman: I heard that Juarez was bad . . .

Man: Laredo, Juarez, all of them, just don't go there. They're even killing whites now, too. Ain't no reason to go. If you ever wanna go anywhere in Mexico just get a plane out of Dallas going to Cancun, but other than that, just forget it.

Woman: I hadn't ever really wanted to go to Mexico anyway.

Man: Well, Cancun's nice, but nowhere else, especially in Texas.

Woman: Belize, I might like to go to Belize.

Man: Belize is great, that's only an hour and a half from Bush Intercontinental in Houston . . .

King Strut and Other Stories

I pointed to one framed picture on the wall, and Verble told me,

"Yeah, definitely not the most inspired album cover of all time, although the guy could pass for one of my nephews, the bohemian who's now forty-five and never really had a job, but you really gotta hear the album itself, it's a fantastic little fantasy collection of great songs, from the title track, which I suppose isn't really acoustic, but then you launch into 'Gold' a stark little song where the guitar chords themselves reflect these people dying in the cold while following a pipe dream - and 'Northern Lights' - great song, quick rhythm which simply displays the anxious desire to see something of such incredible beauty, and knowing you'll never quite make it. Should be the anthem for the Aurora Borealis - captures the elusiveness perfectly.

"Great album. Up on the wall it stays."

John on Acoustic

John Lennon should have written more acoustic songs than he did - still, he left us with a great cauldron of 'em, the most popular (and rightly so) being "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)'' "Dear Prudence" and "Across the Universe"

Seems strange that the general consensus always ascribes McCartney as the acoustic one and Lennon as the rocker, (I know, I know, you'll pull out "Blackbird" "Yesterday" etc - but remember 'twas Paul who wrote "Back in the USSR'' and "Helter Skelter")

Still, back to John - he had a subtle presence and his acoustic tunes were intricate without being overly flashy, each note flowed into the other - I think of his acoustic songs like a stream, a brook, whereas Paul's were more like leaves on treelimbs

and yes, I just realized how overly saccharine that just sounded.

I'll just leave you with a picture of Mr. Lennon, on his Gibson acoustic. Is that a J500? Somebody let me know.

At the Counter: The Difference (Then and Now)

One of the neat things about Then and Now is the compare/contrast, and Verble thinks it's good for the emotional health of the culture at large to be apprised of when certain odious segments of society appropriate time-honored traditions to further their personal, yet unethical, aims.

Let's review:

THIS IS A MINUTEMAN



He fought to kick out an oppressive government who wanted us to work for THEM.

















This is a RACIST

He's fighting to kick out foreign people who want to come and work for US.













Part Two:
THIS IS A TEA PARTY




They were NOT fighting against taxes - they were angry about a tax being imposed by the taxOR without the taxEE having a voice in the government.



THESE PEOPLE ARE RABBLE ROUSERS

They have representation. It's just that their representation has told them to go out and scream at the top of their lungs rather than lobby (and vote) for positive change.









Let's go over that again . . . the original Tea Party was not against taxes - it was against the people not having a say in the taxes.

We have a say in the taxes. Again, what did I just say? WE HAVE A SAY - WE HAVE REPRESENTATION

We just need to vote better, become a more informed electorate, and READ READ READ READ READ READ READ everything that we can get our hands on, instead of just mindlessly following the vitriol of hate radio and Fox News.

Now, finally, if anybody wants to have a have a REAL Tea Party, one that honors our tradition instead of stomping on it, then I say let's have a Tea Party like:

























Ah! Now that's Verble's idea of a Tea Party!

Overheard at Table 3

Clayton is telling Dean, "Coburn from Oklahoma did what Bunning tried to do last month, but chickened out."

Dean: "What was that? Denying the poor their benefits?"

Earl: Hey, if you don't have the money to pay it, you can't pay it.

Dean: We're talking about the unemployed here - we're talking about their medical insurance.

Clayton: I'm with Earl - we've got to have more fiscal responsibility - we can't just let these Dems keep spending all the money that we don't have.

Dean: But you guys are missing the point: We don't have the money because the Republicans let the banks piss away our money. So the money's gone and people are out of work and now the Republicans, who caused this to happen, aren't taking care of the people who got hurt because of it?

Clayton: You know, I think it's time to shut your mouth, you LIBERAL!

Earl: Freakin scumsucking socialist Chavez-lovin' traitor!

Hands out/grab shirt/and

Verble is standing by the table: calm, imposing, ancient.

Verble: I'm sorry, sons, but you realize that there is really to be no fighting in the Zen and Tao Acoustic Café, don't you?

Clayton: Oh, don't worry, we're not gonna beat him up in here.

Earl: We're gonna drag him down to the VFW and let some octogenarians whup on him with some pool cues for awhile.

Clayton: 'Till he comes to his senses, you know!

Overheard at Booth 2

James: What would you name a cat with two tails?

J0hn: Canterbury, of course!