“Plastic Christmas”

Hi. from David

In mid-September of “97” a Christmas display in a local mega-store; complete with trees, lights, and toys; led me to rewrite the lyrics on a medley of popular Christmas songs with the thought of illustrating modern day Christmas themes.

The songs are

“JINGLE BELLS”, “DECK THE HALLS”, “WHITE CHRISTMAS”, and “JINGLE BELL ROCK”.

I call this work “Plastic Christmas” in reference to the plastic trees, toys, and; of course; the mighty Credit Card.Hope you enjoy reading it. I had a lot of fun writing it.

” PLASTIC CHRISTMAS “

 

David

Oct, 1997

 

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
how we love to laugh and sing as we play this Christmas day.
Oh, ring the bells, hear the bells, listen to them chime.
For it’s time to do what’s fine with a merry Christmas rhyme.

 

 

 

 

 

Dashing through the snow in our fancy Sunday best.
To the church we go laughing with our guests.
Sharing what we bring so all in joy take part, the spirit of this special time uplifting heavy hearts.

 

 

 

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.
How we love to laugh and sing as we play this Christmas day.
Oh, ring the bells, hear the bells, listen to them chime.
For it’s time to do what’s fine with a merry Christmas rhyme.

 

 

 

BUT NOW; (as the Industrial Revolution has taken on a
“Commercial Evolution”) Christmas time has turned to…

 

Jingles here, jingles there, jingles everywhere.
Once again it’s time to get those commercials “on the air”.
Yes! Advertise, merchandise, make that sale tonight.
Get it priced to sell on sight, gotta make the season right.

 

Dashing through the snow with a credit card in hand.
To the stores we go charging all we can.
Watch those totals ring, bringing such delight,
with such a hustle-bustle it’s a merry Christmas sight.
Oh, Jingles here, jingles there, jingles everywhere.
Oh what fun it is to see those commercials “on the air”,
Yes! Advertise, merchandise, hang those Yuletide signs,
tis the time, the sales are fine, gotta make that profit line.

 

…Yet somehow…
I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones of long ago
where the starlight glistens and children listen to hear much more than can be told.
I’m dreaming of a warm Christmas, a love and peace for all to see.
Is there something else we might need? something more than what this shopping brings.

 

Deck the halls with season’s greetings, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Don’t forget the scenes appealing, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Don the tree with gay apparel, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Set the mood and play those carols, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Come enjoy the tinseled trappings, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Celebrate with gifts and wrappings, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Watch the football game that’s playing, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.
Hear successful merchants saying, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.

 

For it’s…
Holiday, holiday, holiday hop, get in the car you’d better go shop.
Wrap Santa’s presents while kids are in school, better go get grandma too.
Pick-it-up, clean-it-up, swing with your mop, dance with the beat, don’t stop.
Need to start cooking for more than a few. Its the holidays, so busy you would say, “join in the Holiday Hop!”

 

…Yet surely…
I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, a yuletide spirit to behold,
where the warmest memories with cozy families delight in stories from the old.
I’m dreaming of a warm Christmas, a love and peace we long to see,
it’s a dream of how we can be, as we gather around the Christmas Tree.

For more the the case for world unity see http://onenessbecomesus.com.

 

 

 

 

“Cycles Within Cycles”: A series of Haiku poems

 

Here is a set of Haiku poems. Haiku is a Japanese poetic style. Each stanza contains three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables each.

Fall

Clouds come rolling in;
as the sky begins to dim,
north winds bring a chill.

Leaves rise in the sky;
whirls of color flying by,
restless winds of change.

Trees bare branches stark;
frost condensing in the dark,
crystals of beauty.

Snow flies from the north;
as the length of day is waning
birds fly to the south.

Winter

Winter wonderland;
moonlit snow, aurora’s glow;
crisp cold of silence.

Cold, clear as starlight;
glinting crystals, twinkling lights,
catching full moonlight.

Timber wolves howling;
harmonies of ancient song,
rising yet falling.

Spring

Icy grip softens;
snow is sagging wet with slush,
melting streamlets rush.

Promise of sunlight;
rippling. melting signs of spring,
warm, longer daylight.

Thawing warmth quickens;
life rhythms corresponding
ancient cycles flowing.

Summer

Long warm hazy days,
shouting children run and play.
“Let’s go to the fair”.

Come look, there’s a snake,
evolution at its best.
No, its not a pest.

Graceful, masterful
swallow in perfected flight.
We watch in delight.

Metamorphosis

Chrysalis breaking;
a new form overtaking,
freed from confinement.

Metamorphosis:
Winged wonder soon will depart;
showing what it is.

Unsustainability

Dozers dueling earth;
plowing under, asunder
overturned plunder

Unsustainable:
weathered carcass of topsoil.
Irreclaimable.

Spirituality

A dawning new day;
multi-hued new morning light:
A changing of ways.

Philosophy

Potential Being;
pre-existent what could be,
brings forth existence.

Birth, death, cycles change;
elemental force being
everywhere the same.

Pre-destined free will,
potential is essential;
Existence becomes.

For more the the case for world unity see  http://onenessbecomesus.com. 

Monarch Butterfly Complete Metamorphosis Life Cycle Caterpillar, Larva, Chrysalis, Pupa Slide Show

 

This post is a little different than the normal writing blog. The main focus here is pictures. You know the old saying,”a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, in this case in particular, it is very true. Below are links to pictures showing in detail the transformation of a caterpillar to a chrysalis, and then, a chrysalis into a butterfly.

I have had a deep fascination with insects, especially Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) literally since kindergarten. Instead of playing “Cowboys and Indians” with the neighbor kids I was out in a nearby field poking around at all sorts of critters. However, it was always the mystery of the beauty and flight of the butterflies that deeply absorbed my attention.

It really was an all consuming passion. Early grade school years saw me collecting butterflies and then going to the college library to classify them. When it was possible to travel a little south of northern Minnesota it was challenging to see if I could find hybrids of white banded and red spotted purples. I thought about things like,” Female white morph sulpher butterflies are so common; why can’t I find any white males?” and so on.

One outcome of this rather eccentric childhood is the photos presented below.

Here are two sets of pictures of a monarch butterfly complete metamorphosis life cycle.

In the first set the entire metamorphosis, including the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis, was captured however, the slides are not the crisp quality of the set of digital images. They do a good job of getting the point across. Link here to a set showing metamorphosis taken with 35mm slides about forty years ago in Bemidji, Minnesota.

The digital photos show a nice sequence of the caterpillar to chrysalis transformation as well as showing the developing colors of the butterfly within the chrysalis prior to emergence. Sadly, I missed the actual butterfly emergence this time around. Click on the link to see the digital photos taken August 2007 in Richmond Kentucky.

For more on metamorphosis and a few facts about butterflies and other invertebrates go to http://lifecycle.onenessbecomesus.com There are more pictures, facts, and links to other related sites you should enjoy

A Different Viewpoint: Investigating The Case For World Unity.

Recent discoveries in astronomy and cosmology bring to light inescapable conclusions and profound awareness. Ancient beliefs are being deprovincialized; our home is no longer seen as the center of it all. As the telescope shows, our world orbits a common ordinary main sequence star in an out-of-the-way corner of a galaxy containing billions of stars within a universe of galaxies beyond measure. From a cosmological perspective our home is but a seemingly insignificant speck of dust within a matrix of time and space forever beyond our ability to truly grasp. Physics wrestles with realms beyond the ordinary such as quasars, black holes, cosmic evolution, subatomic particles, quantum theory and beyond. Knowledge, thinking and world-views must deal with accepting realities in which everyday experience and logic no longer apply.

Yet, just the fact humanity is capable of accomplishing these feats proves that through our intellect, vision and capacities of the heart, mind and soul humanity is endowed with the gifts of reason and discernment. Our species is able to study, theorize (and in wonder) look upon the world he dwells upon with a unique level of understanding. In a real sense we are the eyes of the universe beginning to open in perception of itself.

The science of ecology, the study of the interrelationships of plants and animals and how they adapt to different environments, illustrates to the perceptive eye we are but a part of an interwoven web of creation that is marvelous to behold. Within this web of life individuals occupy niches and perform functions (jobs), which help the ecosystem (community) to function. As more is understood it becomes self-evident a diverse community is a healthy one. It is much harder for calamity such as storm, draught or disease to wipe out a complex population containing many checks and balances than say a crowded population of only one species such as found on a man-made artificially cultivated field of corn.

Take a walk outside. Don’t just hike down a trail to get to the end but rather be aware. look at the different shapes, habits, diets, colors, textures and hues of the myriad kinds of organisms observing the many roles they play within the natural ecosystem. Now try to think of what it would be like if all forms of life were the same. Of course this is impossible! For without diversity there would be no ecosystem. Little life, except perhaps the extreme simplest forms, could live.

Now lets apply this principle to humanity. Would it not be rather uninteresting, dull and not much of a challenge if all people were the same? As a matter of fact, if everyone had the same experiences, talents, understanding and opinion civilization would cease to function- there would be no social civilizing “ecosystem” for us to thrive in. Homo sapiens would be nothing more than a group of ape-like instinct driven robots all carrying out functions from an identical program. There would be little art, music, creativity, achievement and certainly no individuality.

 

Medicine teaches the individual body needs all of its organs to function properly and in harmony for good health. Also it is beneficial for sensory receptors such as eyes, ears, feeling, and smell etc. to be in good working order. In the same way, it is apparent that without trained craftsmen and professionals in specialized fields of service to the whole of humankind, civilization will cease to progress. The “ecosystem” of the human race must provide many niches or jobs that allow unique talents to be developed and expressed. Again, the natural working model shows us that diversity equals stability.

 

Now, expand this process to include all the people around the world; the Africans, Asians, Europeans, Innuit, North American Indians, Polynesians etc. Now add the different cultures and religions to the mix. What do you think of when you hear about Baptist, Catholic or say Russian Orthodox Christian sects? How about the Iroquois “Law Of The Longhouse” (a governmental matriarchal system from which it is likely our own US Constitution is possibly based) or the “Eightfold Path” of Buddhism? The name “Allah”: is this a reference to the God of Abraham and Moses or something else?

In a world knit together by the modern marvels of instant world wide communication there is no place for terrorist activities abusing religious creeds or doctrines in defense of the right to attack, torture and mutilate those following a different path. It is evident humanity must evolve and rise above these decadent divisive deeds done in the “name” of the One Creator of us all- be it God, Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah, Vishnu, Amitabha, Ahura Mazda, etc. Instead, let us not focus and dwell on differences of sect and interpretative traditions but, more appropriately, turn to the original scriptures of these diverse yet valid faiths and, with an open mind, see if Hindu (Lord Krishna), Buddhist (Gautama), Christian (Jesus), Islam (Muhammed), Iroquois (Dekanawida), the Baha’i Faith (Baha’u’llah) etc. do indeed address the same essential truths.

 

Remember- we need what the entire worldwide “ecosystem” has to offer. We must open our hearts and minds to accept and learn from peoples of diverse races, cultures and creeds if we, as a global interrelated human family are to reap the most benefit and stability from one another.

For more on this kind of thinking and “serving the case for world unity” go to http://onenessbecomesus.com