The county fair campaigning has begun; Obama’s Big Black Bus

And They’re Off!
The county fair campaigning has begun

Back in Iowa they’re running
and much like an old sack race,
they are clumsy and off-balance.
Each one falls flat on his face.

It’s a dirty, bloody contest
as they scrap to take the lead
with the campaign soon approaching
and tea party-ers to heed.

Yes, the White House run is brutal
as the candidates well know.
County fairs aren’t 4-H friendly
where they judge the “best-of-show.”

It’s an up-for-grabs beginning
and there’re twelve more months to gauge
who’ll survive and still be standing
having shown they’ve come of age.

Obama’s Big Black Bus
What’s wrong with this picture?

So have you heard about “the bus?”
I call it Ground Farce One.
It is Barack’s Campaign Trail-ways.
It’s really kinda dumb.

Obama’s big dark bus might hint
that Johnny Cash is back.
A country band would love his “ride.”
The White House man in black.

This Presidential Greyhound is
a hearse-like waste of funds.
Why is our President on tour?
Is his debt homework all done?

His re-election chances might
pick up and start to grow
if he stayed home to find some jobs
instead of hit the road.

Are we on the road to recovery?; A Hatfield Who was the Real McCoy

There’s a Detour on Wall Street
Are we on the road to recovery?

As we lose our credit rating
finding countless warning signs
and the roadwork back on Wall Street slows us down,
we’d do well to brace for potholes
and the blowouts yet to come
as we reconsider where it is we’re bound.

Detours loom when there’s construction.
Wall Street will be closed to some.
Will it be the road less taken in the end?
Or will Main Street claim more traffic?
Will we shift what drives our aims?
Will we change the fuels in which we’ve put our stock?

Realignment’s in our future.
What we’ve always done won’t work.
We Americans must tweak our age-old dream.
Owning homes and grand vacations
aren’t a given anymore.
The fatted calf we kill will be quite lean.
 

A Hatfield Who was the Real McCoy
Remembering an Oregon Senator

Mark Hatfield was the real McCoy.
Since I was but a little boy,
I watched this Oregonian
display integrity.
 
Between a rock and a hard place,
he found a way to make his case
in spite of pressures to conform
or take the easy road.
 
Professor and then Governor
and then a U. S. Senator,
he left his mark in every place
his God led him to serve.
 
A moderate Republican
he crossed the aisle (unlike some)
and let his dove-like ways be known
when hawks would win the day.
 
And through it all Mark helped us see
that compromise and decency
can bring about what you believe
our nation truly needs.
 
Where are the Hatfields of our day
who read God’s Word and daily pray,
but will not use their faith to judge
their colleagues on The Hill?

Is raising the debt ceiling the best solution?; Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Uncle Sam’s Spending Problem
Is raising the debt ceiling the best solution?

Our Uncle tends to overspend
because of those who freely lend
beyond what is responsible.
He owes more than he knows.

And now his VISA’s fully maxed.
The pressure finds him feeling taxed
and worried that he might default
and lose his credit score.

“Just get a Mastercard!” some say.
“Forget about your urge to pay.
Bequeath your nieces (nephews too)
whatever debt remains.”

“Oh, no!” my Uncle contradicts.
“My spending craze has left me sick.
I must repent and borrow less
and live within my means.”

But since Sam has no discipline
(because he’s driven by his whims),
all talk of changing is just talk.
His credit card is king!

Happy Birthday, Mr. President
What were you doing when Obama was born?

Barack Obama’s fifty. Wow!
I was nine when he was born.
John Kennedy was president.
My breakfast flakes were corn.

The race in space had just begun.
The Berlin wall grew tall.
The Cold War started heating up
Our laundry soap was All.

Back then the only residents
the White House claimed were whites.
To talk of a black president
could land you in a fight.

How times have changed. We have progressed.
We’re nearly color blind.
And yet we have a ways to go
to treat each other kind.

Best wishes, Mr. President!
On this your special day,
I pray God grants you health and help
to guide us in His way!

Pondering framed pictures in the hallway of my heart

When I think about my daughter getting married on her day,
so many precious memories crowd my head.
I think about her big blue eyes that closed each night at eight
as I said a prayer while kneeling by her bed.

I can see her with her Barbies as together we would play
make-believing on the floor pretending life.
I could tell as I observed my little princess talk to dolls
that she’d grow up to become a loving wife.

I remember her in soccer with a ponytail that bobbed
as she raced down field with dreams of kicking goals.
She epitomized persistence and uncanny discipline.
She attempted all she did with heart and soul.

In my mind I hear her oboe and the haunting notes she played
as she practiced after dinner in the den.
I can still recall her primping in the bathroom for a date
and the panic when a zit camped on her chin.

On the day she left for college, I could not hold back my tears.
She looked all grown up exuding confidence.
But I knew behind her smile was a nervous little kid
hoping desperately the campus would make sense.

I have memories of boyfriends and her search for Mr. Right
and the lessons that she learned along the way.
How she sought the Lord for guidance and found joy in what He said
and the lasting peace that comes when we obey.

Yes, the memories are many as I contemplate her life
and the speed at which the years have raced-on by.
But I’m grateful for the “pictures” in the hallway of my heart
that will call to mind my princess till I die.

* The following article appeared in The Mercer Island REPORTER this week about my daughter’s upcoming big day:

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/mir/lifestyle/125781418.html