Lancing Armstrong’s boil of deceit; Goodbye Abby!

Pop! Goes the Weasel
Lancing Armstrong’s Boil of Deceit

A big boil of deception
has been lanced and as it drains
the stench of overt lying fouls the air.
Deceit has robbed the public
of a trust they proudly held
in a champion whose records were quite rare.

When we choose not to be honest
and mislead those we inspire,
the dreams that shatter cannot be restored.
They are shards too small for gluing.
All the fragments that remain
are but promises now broken on the floor.

Is forgiveness sought expected?
Is the seeker quite sincere?
Or is such a strong-arm tactic to save face?
Coming clean (confessing failure)
is a worthy act indeed,
but the motive must be pure to bathe in grace.

Goodbye Abby!
A final letter to a dear lady

News of your death has filled me with a bittersweet feeling.
I’m glad you’ve been released from the bandit of dementia
that mercilessly robbed you of your memories and joie de vivre.
Nonetheless, I’m sad just the same.
Our world is less bright without your brilliant smile.

Thank you for a lifetime of advice giving
all the while taking the risk of being misunderstood.
You must have known from the start that speaking your mind
with the hope of touching another’s heart has a price tag.

I started reading your column when I was just a kid.
As I recall, it’s what got me started reading the newspaper to begin with.
I didn’t always agree with you, but your concise and candid replies
were fun to read and taught me about responsibility and relationships.

Your columns modeled how to reach out to those who reach out to you.
With humor and insight, you found a way to benefit countless readers
while personally relating to a single individual.
Your winsome writing inspired me to do the same.

And so I keep trying.
Writing and reaching with the hope of helping others
while encouraging them to listen to their heart and do the right thing.
With fingers on the home row of my keyboard,
I peck away hunting to find the success that marked your life.

Rest in peace, Pauline Phillips.
You were a dear, indeed!
Goodbye Abby!

Signed,
A grateful reader.

Glen Campbell’s memory is no longer gentle on his mind

By the time he gets to Phoenix on his tour,
Glen will not recall the places he has been.
But his fingers still will fly across his Gibson
as he with pride displays his boyish grin.

That’s the way it is with those who have dementia
what they learned as kids they still remember well.
Short-term memory leaves them like a cheating lover
and their empty stares become a living hell.

Now the rivers of his mem’ry are diverted
by forgotten words and bonds he once could rhyme.
He’s shackled by the Alzheimer’s that haunts him
and keeps what once was gentle from his mind.
Won’t you pray for Glen? He’s been like a friend.

* The above lyrics can be sung to the tune of “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.”

** http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/music-legend-glen-campbell-reveals-alzheimers/story?id=13906837

The heart of God revealed; This World is Your World

Heaven’s Valentine
The heart of God revealed

To those so loved, God gave His heart.
A homemade, hand-drawn kind.
It was the hallmark of His love.
‘Twas Heaven’s Valentine.

A heart of kindness, pure and sweet.
A tender heart of hope.
A heart that chooses last-ones-picked
who find it hard to cope.

A heart of mercy toward the wrong
that gives a second chance.
A heart that overlooks the proud,
but gives the weak a glance.

A heart that hurts with those who grieve
and aches for those abused.
A heart that welcomes everyone
society’s refused.

A heart delivered long ago
enveloped in our skin
assures a world so-loved by God
it can be freed from sin.

A heart that beat within the hay
and broke upon a cross
is Heaven’s priceless Valentine
God’s given each of us.

This World is Your World
New lyrics to an American folksong

We can be certain the Green Bay Packers
are celebrating up in Wisconsin.
Those cheesehead wedges are being worn with pride.
But in the world-at-large there’s pain.

We can’t be certain about the outcome
in Cairo, Egypt where outcries call for
Mubarak’s ouster and a new government.
Lord, help us know just how to pray.

But in the meantime in our fair cities
we can be grateful for God’s provisions,
for food and shelter, for peace within our land.
Lord, help us learn to be content.

* the above can be sung to the tune for “This Land is Your Land”

Saluting George Beverly Shea’s 100th birthday

A masculine name, a feminine one,
a New York baseball stadium
recall a legend of our time
who sang from second base.

“I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold,”
George Beverly Shea sang out loudly and bold.
For one hundred years this remarkable man
has called us to “rather Him” too.

He’s earned a nod from Willard Scott.
From Billy Graham he’s owned a slot.
“How Great Thou Art” would grease the skids
before his good friend spoke.

Like John the Baptist, Mr. Shea
prepared the masses to obey
the one who followed and who gave
the very words of God.

One hundred candles celebrate
a life for whom the bus will wait
to chauffer Bev (just as he is)
when times like these shall cease.

* George Beverly Shea was born February 1, 1909 in Winchester, Ontario, Canada. Originally an radio announcer at WMBI radio in Chicago, “Bev” Shea became a member of Billy Graham’s Evangelistic Association some sixty years ago. At each crusade service (often held in sports stadiums), he sang immediately before Mr. Graham stood up to preach. The signature songs associated with the Graham Crusades and Mr. Shea are “How Great Thou Art,” “In Times Like These,” “Just As I Am,” and the gospel song composed by”Bev” Shea… “I’d Rather Have Jesus.”

New lyrics to “America the Beautiful”

O God forbid that smoggy skies
should choke the whooping crane.
May our misuse of fossil fuels
give way to fields of grain.
May green become as popular
as are red, white and blue.
Let the resources we enjoy
be those that can renew.

America the Beautiful.
May those three words again
be sung in schools and county fairs
and baseball stadiums.
But first let beauty be restored
by keeping roadways clean
through putting litter in its place
and joining Medved’s team.