People's Poet

The idea of the People's Poet was such a great thing. A poet who traveled around from town to town and wrote about the times he lived in and the people he met. People got to know the poet on a personal level and for only a few dollars that his books cost.
So what put an end to the People's Poet was more and more people using and getting their information from the Internet, Facebook and Blogspots. People in this day and age seem to prefer to deal with people on a more impersonal level. Maybe they don't like to see the naked body or the ass or anything else in the flesh and human. Who knows.
Just as in the age of the arm chair politician who spent all his time in the bars talking about all his great ideas so now we have arm chair writers. They spend all their time in a chair spending hours writing about all the things that only relate to themselves. As the People's Poet disappears all we are left with is a sick society that has lost all contact with reality.

Town Fool

I love Halloween, it's one of my favourite times of the year although it seems to be far too commercial in the city of Nanaimo where I live. It seems to be more about selling it, than it actually happening. Value Village was selling Halloween costumes since the end of August which works for me as I tend to think every day is like Halloween. People always wearing different masks as they go through life, who they see themselves as or who they want other people to see them as.

I like the freedom there is on Halloween and I can dress up as who ever I want to be and carry on with whatever day to day duties I have as a writer and poet. This year I decided to dress up as a pirate wearing black jacket, black pants and shirt; had the brown pirates hat with orange tassel with the fake black pirates mustache and beard. I walked to a bus stop as school kids were being let out with some of them dressed in costumes,,people would drive by and smile as they looked at me.

I got on the bus, the driver asked me how I was doing and I got off at the mall downtown with some shopping to do. I had to go into London Drugs to buy some toilet paper and more cough medicine..I was the only one dressed for Halloween in the store and in the mall from what I could see. I walked from there to the Library , I saw one woman dressed as a cat woman and I guess I was trying to look like one of the popular former mayors of Nanaimo, Frank Ney.

I was truly surprised how many people in this city were not in the spirit of Halloween on a Friday at that.
Surprised at how few people choose freedom in life and would rather go through life looking the same way every day doing the same old routine they always do. There are some towns like Powell River where half the town gets dressed up for Halloween especially when it falls on a Friday or Saturday. People who are going to work and have jobs on this day and it sure helps to break up the routine. So shame on Nanaimo, no-one wants to look like a fool, but they do have a town fool.

My Father's Cup

This is a poem for my father
Who died a long time ago;
I'm glad I got to meet him,
Even though it was sad
He never saw me grow up.

There was always a piece
In the puzzle that was missing,
Now I know he loved me a lot.

He was a simple man who
Was a school bus driver and
Got used to the laughter and
Screaming of kids for years

He used to read my older brother's
Text books from college and had
Some wisdom to hand down to me
When we got together for a drink

This morning I slept in, so had
To rush to catch the bus to school
And carried my father's clay cup,
To drink coffee along the way

On that cup there is a goden tuba
Painted on it and words, "There's
Still a lot of oomph in the old papa"

June Bug

So I always seem to get the June Bug when June rolls around, so here's my latest stand-up comedy joke.
"What kind of jacket does someone who is nuts wear?" "A straight jacket, I have to wear one every time I go in to a store to do some shopping,, I always get too excited."
So I'm in this big box store one time and I noticed the people working in the store were wearing a nice blue uniform.
After I had made my purchase and I was walking out of the store there was a greeter at the front entrance. He was wearing the blue uniform and I told him, "You know I really like the blue you are wearing, it's my favourite colour, you should wear that all the time." So the man said to me, "Do you want to see my underwear?" and I replied "Are they blue?"

May Days

In Vancouver in the Gay Community traditionally in March an Empress and Emperor are chosen and celebrations used to be held at the Commodore Ballroom on Granville Street.
Mayor Sam Sullivan is one of the first mayors in a long time to attend this event; looks good on him.

It is now the Victoria Day weekend, May 16, 17, 18 and 19th this year. Nanaimo, B.C. is the community that has held celebrations the longest in Canada and a May Queen in chosen. This is some fair maiden from an elementary school. This is a tradition that maybe goes back to the days when Aztecs offered children to their gods.

Herbert Gold wrote the book Bohemia 'Where Art, Angst, Love and Strong Coffee Meet.' In this book he states that the sole job of 'The Emperer' in Hippie society is to be naked in society. It can be a tough job in this Rat Race we live in, yet I try.

Safe Injection Site

I have sent a message to the government of Canada in support of the Safe Injection Site in Vancouver, B.C. I watch the news and what is going on in my part of the country and IV use of drugs in smaller communities and cities is on the increase, not the decrease. Safe Injection sites help tremendously in the prevention of spreading of Hep C and Aids and needless deaths.
Instead of just looking at the problem, it is important to look at the causes such as the lack of low income housing which the government doesn't provide any more. The government spends a lot of money on the war in Afghanistan and yet does not take care of our own people. It seems we do not learn anything from history with a similar situation as this in Viet Nam years ago and the Americans had to eventually just pull out.
The closing of the Safe Injection site in Vancouver and other cities in Canada is a violation of our constitutional rights to heath, happiness and freedom in this country. If Ottawa continues with their plans to do this, we are doomed.

Earth Day in Nanaimo, B.C.

Earth Day in Nanaimo, B.C. was held on April 26th in Bowen Park and we got the best weather of all the days Earth Day was celebrated in communities this month. There was a long line-up of excellent Island musicians, and the Mudgirls from Lasquiti Island, a costumed ensemble playing brass and drums. One woman in a black bird outfit and on stilts was quite impressive.
There were various groups with tables there; The Green Party, NALT, including one by Nanaimo Foodshare and Community Gardens Society where plants were sold. Several M.P."s were present including Leanard Krog, NDP in Nanaimo and Carol James , NDP leader in Victoria.
With the beautiful back drop of the Nanaimo River it was definitely a day for celebrating Nature and dancing in underwear with a big green E painted on my body.