Jet Blue’s red-faced ex-employee;
A Requiem to the Murdered Aid Workers in Afghanistan

Going Postal on a Plane
Jet Blue’s red-faced ex-employee

That flight attendant for Jet Blue
is really in an awful stew.
White-knuckled as he faces jail,
he is a bit red-faced.

When Stephen Slater lost his cool,
he acted like a mindless fool.
The guy went postal on a plane
parked at the waiting gate.

He grabbed the PA system mike
and swore before he took a hike.
With beer in hand, he chuted down
the ‘vacuation slide.

And yet in spite of Steven’s rage,
there is a special Facebook page
devoted to this employee
who’d finally had enough.

He is a kind of patron saint
to those who feel they’re peeling paint
who do their job with little thanks
and then get criticized.

Me thinks there is a lesson here.
If Steven’s actions prompt a cheer,
more people than we realize
must want a chance to vent.

They want to tell their critics off
suggesting where they can get off
or take control by losing it
though that might cost their job.

A Requiem to the Murdered Aid Workers in Afghanistan
Compassion was their only crime

It was humanitarian relief
based on a deeply-held belief
that those in need throughout the world
deserve the chance to thrive.

They didn’t force faith down their throats
but helped those hurting Afghans cope.
Compassion was the only crime
those ten were guilty of.

Not true of those called “Taliban”
who terrorize Afghanistan,
who shed the blood of innocents
and arrogantly boast.

The Kabul stone streets stained in red
(from both the wounded and the dead)
bear witness to the reason why
our troops are needed still.

The evil that yet stalks a land
of mountain caves and blowing sand
must be decried and fought against
or those ten died in vain.

Lord, comfort loved ones who now grieve.
Please validate what they believe.
Convince them You’ve a plan for good
to rid the world of bad.