“Better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Overread at the Counter: Children of One Faith
I love you my brother whoever you are
Whether you worship in your church, kneel in your temple
Or pray in your mosque.
You and I
Are children of one faith
Fingers of the loving hand of one supreme being
A hand extended to all.
- Khalil Gilbran
Whether you worship in your church, kneel in your temple
Or pray in your mosque.
You and I
Are children of one faith
Fingers of the loving hand of one supreme being
A hand extended to all.
- Khalil Gilbran
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Overread at Table 1: Bread and Stones
The fifteen year old watches his sister
spend her college money on a fake suntan,
get prescription contact lenses,
buy a dress for the prom.
He asks her if she's finished her FAFSA.
She slaps him with a vulgarity and tells him
to mind his own business
or he'll be walking to school.
The fifteen year old watches his mother
wither in the evenings, after returning home,
numb from months of shouts that filled the house,
ending with threats to leave.
He asks his dad "Why don't you make her stop?"
His dad just shrugs, and asks the mom if he
can bring her some tea, and she says,
"You would understand if you were their bio-dad!"
The fifteen year old looks at his dad,
wonders why, if the man is supposed to bring the bread,
why then, in this house
has he allowed so many stones?
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
At the Counter: Discussing Lyle Lovett's "Baltimore"
At the
Counter
Discussing
Lyle Lovett’s Baltimore
Baltimore
Lyle Lovett
I know I've seen this place before
Lord can't you hear me screaming
As a young man long ago
When I was twenty-one
And I know I've seen this house before
With people all around it
With my baby cousin on the floor
And Mama in the kitchen
And a woman lies upon the bed
I think she must be dying
And I recall the words she said
As she began to cry
She begged son please don't go to Baltimore
And leave me where I'm lying
For you will son but I no more
Walk among the living
And if you go to Baltimore
Then I'll see you in heaven
And as you breathe I'll breathe no more
And I will surely die
Well you know I went to Baltimore
So confident and wise
And as I breathed she breathed no more
And she did surely die
And now as I lie upon my bed
I pray I must be dreaming
With faces all around my head
And strangers at my door
And a woman's voice calls out to me
Bring unto you your children
And let them see these things you see
And hear the words you say
Beg them to go to Baltimore
And leave you where you're lying
Just like you did one time before
When you were twenty-one
And if they go to Baltimore
Then I'll see you in heaven
And as they breathe you'll breathe no more
And you will surely die
And I know I've seen this place before
Lord can't you hear me screaming
And if I should awaken Lord
Then answer me my plea
What makes the sun set in the west
And birds fly in the sky
And what makes a woman beat her breast
When her children start to cry
And what makes those little ones grow old
To find eternity
And what takes the wise
And leaves behind
A foolish one like me
Lord can't you hear me screaming
As a young man long ago
When I was twenty-one
And I know I've seen this house before
With people all around it
With my baby cousin on the floor
And Mama in the kitchen
And a woman lies upon the bed
I think she must be dying
And I recall the words she said
As she began to cry
She begged son please don't go to Baltimore
And leave me where I'm lying
For you will son but I no more
Walk among the living
And if you go to Baltimore
Then I'll see you in heaven
And as you breathe I'll breathe no more
And I will surely die
Well you know I went to Baltimore
So confident and wise
And as I breathed she breathed no more
And she did surely die
And now as I lie upon my bed
I pray I must be dreaming
With faces all around my head
And strangers at my door
And a woman's voice calls out to me
Bring unto you your children
And let them see these things you see
And hear the words you say
Beg them to go to Baltimore
And leave you where you're lying
Just like you did one time before
When you were twenty-one
And if they go to Baltimore
Then I'll see you in heaven
And as they breathe you'll breathe no more
And you will surely die
And I know I've seen this place before
Lord can't you hear me screaming
And if I should awaken Lord
Then answer me my plea
What makes the sun set in the west
And birds fly in the sky
And what makes a woman beat her breast
When her children start to cry
And what makes those little ones grow old
To find eternity
And what takes the wise
And leaves behind
A foolish one like me
Verble says:
Hearing
about what’s happening in Baltimore shed a new light on this song by Lyle
Lovett for me. The song, as written, is
lyrically in the style of old British and Irish ballads that recount lovers or
sons moving away, usually to seek a life in a new world across the sea. At this time, with these incidents of
violence, especially blamed upon rioters who have come from out of town, the
narrator of this song seems like it could be one of those instigators of
violence, who is heading to Baltimore to cause violence, leaving behind his
dying mother.
In the second
half of the song, the narrator, later in life, reflects on the choice he made
and all about how the cycle repeats itself.
Again, the original song reflected on the loneliness which we leave our
loved ones is the same loneliness in which they will leave us, but in the new
rendition, it speaks to how violence is a never ending cycle, and we are left
to wonder, decades from now, in what city will these fires burn again?
…
My friend,
MR, has penned this little poem and left it on the counter here at the Z&T:
The
Streets of Baltimore
The streets
of Baltimore are quiet tonight.
The curfew is
holding.
The shop
windows that were shattered
stand patched
with slabs of chipwood.
The streets
of Baltimore are quiet tonight,
a hushed
moment,
stilled with
the people all holding their breath.
MR
2015-0429
Monday, April 27, 2015
Overheard at Booth 3: Texas Education
"Our kids are graduating without being able to form a coherent sentence. My son can't frikkin' read! And this is considered the BEST school system in the Houston area! I have no idea what's happening here. All I know is that of the top ten academic graduates of every year, NINE of them were born and raised in either China or India. There's always like ONE token white guy. Doesn't THAT tell you something about who is REALLY being educated?"
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Note left at Booth 5
Jules,
all these years Ive been with you and the girls and never once have you ever taken my thoughts into account for being their Dad. That's D-A-D. DAD. Always, 'ur just the stepfather' - that's all I am to you. Ive been with them since they were 3 and 5 and now when the chips are down and one wants to run away and the other just wants to quit school and suddenly you want to take out a second mortgage to pay for Jamie's dorm and for Holly's whateveritis total-body-makeover or some shit, when what they really need a good reality check that theyve had a home all these years and two parents - TWO - who love them and provided for them and got their eyes checked and made sure they always had food and got braces and everything they needed, suddenly IM the loser because I don't make $100k/yr.
yes we both work and yes we have stressful jobs and yes our girls are young adults and yes they want to grow up and move out and YES its easier on me than you but NO that doesnt give you the right to think that Im some sort of loser just because I dont make enough money to send one off to college that she'll probly quit in 6 months anyway and pay for stupid plastic surgery that our alreadybeautiful daughter DOESN'T NEED!
all this makes me wanna just park the car in the garage, close the door, and leave it running.
all these years Ive been with you and the girls and never once have you ever taken my thoughts into account for being their Dad. That's D-A-D. DAD. Always, 'ur just the stepfather' - that's all I am to you. Ive been with them since they were 3 and 5 and now when the chips are down and one wants to run away and the other just wants to quit school and suddenly you want to take out a second mortgage to pay for Jamie's dorm and for Holly's whateveritis total-body-makeover or some shit, when what they really need a good reality check that theyve had a home all these years and two parents - TWO - who love them and provided for them and got their eyes checked and made sure they always had food and got braces and everything they needed, suddenly IM the loser because I don't make $100k/yr.
yes we both work and yes we have stressful jobs and yes our girls are young adults and yes they want to grow up and move out and YES its easier on me than you but NO that doesnt give you the right to think that Im some sort of loser just because I dont make enough money to send one off to college that she'll probly quit in 6 months anyway and pay for stupid plastic surgery that our alreadybeautiful daughter DOESN'T NEED!
all this makes me wanna just park the car in the garage, close the door, and leave it running.
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