Lessons from the Secret Service scandal;
A Birthday Poem for My 90 Year-Old Great Aunt

Undercover Betrayal
Lessons from the Secret Service scandal

The Secret Service secret lives
(kept secret from their trusting wives)
have been revealed for all to see.
And we should be enraged!

Those Presidential bodyguards
weren’t guarded at that bawdy bar
as Latin women of the night
exposed what makes us blush.

Our national security
was compromised (it seems to me).
For who’s to say what’s said between
two people ‘neath the sheets?

This undercover escapade
meant more than that for which they paid.
Obama’s agents had betrayed
their boss’s confidence.

Beware! All you who choose to cheat.
A broken vow is love’s defeat.
And what is worse, the trust that’s lost
is rarely ever found.

A Birthday Poem for My 90 Year-Old Great Aunt
Reflections in the rearview mirror of life

At ninety there’s no need to slow.
Forget the signs. Just go, go, go!
You’ve earned the right to break the law
and go fast as you can.

On autobahn or interstate,
today’s a day to celebrate.
While glancing at the rearview mirror
you see the hand of God.

In looking back the road of life’s
been marked by mishaps, pain and strife.
Those breakdowns, flats and accidents
gave you much cause to fret.

You lost your mate and found new fears
and in the process cried some tears.
But roadside service soon appeared
to help you journey on.

The Lord was there to rescue you
and tow you so to get you through
those times when you could not go on.
How faithful He has been!

And yes, our Lord will faithful be.
On straightaways and curves, you’ll see.
He’ll guide you to your journey’s end
and lead you safely home.

The above poem is dedicated to my great aunt Betty Watland (who married my maternal grandmother’s brother).