A tribute to Frank Gifford

On Sunday night
I learned
that a man
who made 
Monday nights
come alive for me
had died.

From the press boxes
of the great football stadiums of America
he entered into our homes
every week for decades.
We thought of him like a friend!

Let me be frank!…
Gifford was a good guy!
A good husband!
A good father!
A good athlete!
A good broadcaster!
A good and decent guy!
Good, not perfect!
Flawed, but forgiven!
Accepted by God!
Loved by his family.
Honored by his peers
and mourned by friends (like me)
whom he’d never met.

Peace to his memory!

The horse race toward the White House has begun

It’s a horse race among elephants.
They’re lining up to run.
It won’t be fast or pretty as we’ll see.
Those lumbering contenders
who will jockey for the lead
will find the track too narrow to run free. 

The Dumbo ride at Disneyland
seems less a circus act
than all these elephants within the gate.
The Grand Old Party carny ride
must make Ms. Clinton smile.
This is the part of politics I hate.

I really wish the means by which
we choose each party’s choice
was not the beauty pageant that it is.
The 18 months before we vote
is such an ugly grind,
the champagne toast (once poured) won’t have much fizz.

Why I am baffled by his standing in the polls

Will Donald trump the others
who are playing cards for keeps
as Republican contenders show their hands?
Though Trump towers over rivals
who make jokes about his hair,
it is much too soon to bow at his command.

Watch “The Donald” duck his critics
who take aim at what he says.
He’s a moving bullseye everywhere he goes.
It’s unthinkable to think that he
could be our President.
He’s an arrogant brash know-it-all, you know.

Well, “The Apprentice” is no longer.
NBC said “Trump, you’re fired!”
Though he’s smart the things he says are often dumb.
Donald acts like a dictator
rather than someone who hears.
I suspect his wealth has left his heart quite numb.

And I guess that is my problem
with a candidate that rich.
Those with billions in the bank do as they choose.
They’re accountable to no one
without thought for compromise.
And they do the darnedest things to make the news.

Beware of the hazards and traps of life

At Old St. Andrews hazards breed
as bunkers line the way.
The wind and cold will test golf’s greatest ones.
The links where this grand game began
is not an easy course.
It is a battlefield for Hogan’s sons.

Trials and temptations are
the norm for those who play.
Add to this mix the ego’s appetite.
The risks of greed that fame invites
give way to traps that wait.
The game of golf’s a test to do what’s right.

So too the Game of Life, me thinks.
There’re trials, traps and tests.
There’s much that seeks to lure us out of bounds.
The target we are aiming at
is fraught with challenges.
Temptations have the means to take us down.

Much like in golf, we stay the course.
When tempted to give up
we seek God’s help to navigate life’s trials.
When in the rough, our Caddy helps us
put the ball in play.
And in the end our tears have morphed to smiles.

Unlike a claret jug, our prize
is far more valuable.
A crown awaits within our life to come.
Come that sweet day our trials here
will seem to be worthwhile
while hearing God the Father say “Well done!”

An anniversary tribute to Disneyland

Some sixty years ago this week
the mouse that Disney taught to speak
was given room to run around.
Walt called it Disneyland!

It was a park for more than mice.
Both kids and parents were enticed
to fly on Dumbo, ride teacups
and climb Swiss Family’s tree.

The happiest place on earth was there!
No trash or litter anywhere.
This land that Disney brought to life
was grand beyond compare.

It pictured Heaven (in a way).
Where animals and people play.
Where old and young feel like they’re home.
Where fantasies come true.

It’s time to don our Mickey ears
just like Walt’s kids, the Mouseketeers.
This Magic Kingdom milestone
invites our childlike praise.