Two Poems

I recently wrote two poems and thought I would put them out for others to read. Let me know what you think. The first one is primarily about my father who is slowly dying from Alzheimer's. The second has to do more with my reconnection with God and how helpful that has been for me.

Dead Before Your Time

You died long ago,

though you still breath air,

a long lived life

does not always end fair.

Caged in confusion,

you are a child at best

hoping for some comfort

before being laid to rest.

Increasingly frail,

and riddled with guilt,

she visits you daily

and watches you wilt.

Ignoring her needs

in place of your own,

she leaves in tears

and drives home alone.

Memories once shared

are now locked in a vault,

"Who do you blame

when there is no one at fault?"

Try as you may

to come out of your shell,

the sea turtles swim

while you're locked in a cell.

Awakening

I see more clearly

now that I have been awakened

to all that is before me,

blinded for so long,

it's hard to fathom

how I negotiated my journey;

but you were with me

during my darkness,

patiently standing by,

knowing, some day,

love and peace of mind

would replace my angry cry.

Still, there must have been times

you could have left me

to wallow in my pain,

but you chose to wait me out,

knowing, some day,

I would seek shelter from the rain.

And there you were,

arms wide open,

and willing to wrap me in your loving embrace --

unconditional acceptance

of a long lost soul

in search of your grace;

and now that there is clarity,

I see in you

all that I am meant to be,

and I embrace others

with undying faith

the way you embrace me.

America's Terrorists

Americans are growing weary of our involvement in a war it believes it can not win in Iraq. After all, how do you win a war against an enemy that hides in caves or does not wear a uniform to distinguish itself as "the enemy"? This war on terrorism misses the mark in several ways, but one major way goes unnoticed by the general population.
While billions of dollars are spent on an enemy we can never eradicate in the middle east, we fail to label groups inside our country as terrorists despite their actions that strike fear into our lives or hold us hostage to their desires.
It's easy to label someone a terrorist when he straps explosives to his chest and walks into a crowded mall and detonates himself and in the process, kills scores of innocent people. And when this person practices a religion we do not fully understand or embrace, demonizing all who practice the religion becomes easy to do.
However, how is such an act any different than when a right wing Christian group takes credit for blowing up a women's health clinic because they are opposed to abortion? Both acts are done by religious zealots who are blind to any other way of thinking and both are convinced they are doing God's work.
America's terrorists do not stop here. What better word describes people who in the dark of night dress in hooded robes and burn crosses as a way to intimidate and drive out black families from their southern neighborhoods? To make someone, anyone, live in fear of their life is terrorism and the people who do this are terrorists.
When a dark SUV filled with angry young men slowly drives through a neighborhood with guns in full view, they can only be described as terrorists. And when they do not succeed in intimidating others and resort to spraying a home with bullets fired from their automatic weapons, killing people inside, it can only be described as an act of terrorism.
The twenty-five year old drug dealer who recruits eight, ten, and twelve year old boys to run his drugs for him under the threat of ,"Do it or I will hurt your family," is a terrorist. So are the young teenagers who beat up the same kid every day after school until he gets tired of it and agrees to join their gang.
Our government employs many fine law enforcement officers to hunt these criminals down and prosecutors to see to it they go to jail for their crimes, but still terrorists thrive inside our country. It's a major reason why today, one out of every one hundred citizens are in prison and we can not build new prisons fast enough to house our growing prison population.
But these are not our only terrorists. CEOs of major energy corporations are also terrorists. While they continue to rake in record profits while we pay close to $4.00 a gallon for gas, these people control our politicians and their political futures. No one of significance can get elected if they do not vote in favor of the energy corporate lobbyists because they know their campaign funds will dry up faster than the drought plagued southwest. It is a major reason why we, as a nation, are still tied to the use of fossil fuels rather than cleaner and cheaper energy sources like the wind and the sun.
It might surprise you, but our education leaders are also terrorists. They force our children into a narrow minded approach to learning, place them under undue stress as they work to achieve certain test scores and then they fail to provide them with affordable college tuition when they graduate from high school. An entire generation of standardized test takers will not be able to afford the cost of college and be forced into entering low paying and unfulfilling professions rather than be able to pursue the American dream.
So, the next time you look at someone of middle eastern decent or who practices Islam, do not be so quick to label him a terrorist. We have terrorists in every town in our country. It may not be comforting to think of them as terrorists, but when you analyze their actions, there is no other word that describes them better than terrorists.

Neil Young And The 2008 Election

Recently, I turned on my stereo in my garage prior to a workout and heard Neil Young singing, "Keep on Rocking In The Free World." This is a great song that I have loved since I first heard it in the late 1980's. Young sings about the problems we seem to ignore while enjoying life in a free world. He covers issues like homeless people, drug addicted mothers whose children have no hope of making it in this world, Styrofoam burning holes in the ozone, and much more.
It is an angry song that chastises not only our leaders, but also a society willing to turn its back on what it does not want to be reminded of.
As I listened to the song, I got to thinking about how true the lyrics are today, twenty years later. Not much has changed the last two decades. While we may have ushered in the age of the internet, cell phones, and ipods, our leadership is essentially the same. Many of our top political leaders today were already entrenched in Washington D.C. when Young first released this song.
Over the past two decades, we have seen the rise of Senator John McCain's political star as he has worked his way up the political ladder to become the Republican Party's next choice for the presidency. We have also seen the rise of Hillary Clinton from first lady to first victim and now as Senator from New York with eyes for the white house.
Both candidates would like us to believe they have played a significant roll in making our country better and should become our next president. However, they are nothing more than examples of leaders who have, like many Americans, continually closed their eyes and turned deaf ears to real problems that continue to exist.
While they may have plans to handle the war, deal with a failing economy, and convince us they are the best qualified person to lead our country, they have failed to ebb the tide of homelessness, rid the country of drug abuse, or close the hole in the ozone. In fact, the problems of our nation twenty years ago are now generally accepted as a way of life thanks to their inactivity.
Both senators McCain and Clinton represent a generation of leaders who failed to provide us with any leadership. You see, while climbing the political ladder, both were too busy looking out for their own future to accomplish anything to ensure the future of Americans for generations to come.
Our children will end up better test takers than any prior generation but in all likelihood will end up unable to afford a college education and will probably have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Social Security and Medicare are still in danger of collapsing but this has little affect on our wealthy leaders even though it greatly impacts the millions of average Americans who have trusted leaders like McCain and Clinton to make sure it is there for them. And the middle class continues to be reduced while being expected to pay the tax burden of the nation while the wealthy lobby for loopholes that let them off the hook.
Before you blame them, remember, senators McCain and Clinton are no different than George Bush, John Kerry, or Al Gore, who came before them and are part of the same generation of leaders.
Worse, now that a leader from a younger generation has emerged on the national stage with a message of hope and leadership that leads from a higher ground, Barack Obama, McCain and Clinton resort to the politics of their generation's style; negative politics. It is what has allowed Senator Clinton to climb back into the race for the Democratic Party's nomination and it has allowed Senator McCain to take the lead recently in national polls.
When will our country wake up and realize if we always vote for the candidate who is best at smearing his opponent or instilling fear into our minds, we end up with leaders who have few accomplishments to hang their hats on but plenty of negative adds to run against their opponents?
If you want the status quo, leadership that expects little to nothing from the people while promising them little in return, you have a tough choice between McCain and Clinton. Both seem well qualified in this regard.
However, if you want a new leader, one who recognizes our problems and articulates them in a clear and calm manner; one who offers us hope while admitting we have challenging times ahead; one who can not be blamed for the problems Neil Young sang about twenty years ago but appears willing to tackle them; then Barack Obama should be someone you can feel good about voting for. I know I do.

It Pays The Same

I used to work with someone who once had an epiphany. He came to the Hemet Unified School District after being recruited from Nebraska. He was under the impression Hemet was in the heart of southern California with something to offer everyone. I laughed when he said the recruiters showed him pictures of our Mall and included photos of stores and restaurants that did not exist.
Despite earning a degree and teaching credential from a distinguished university in the mid-west, he quickly learned he had to go back to school and earn a California teaching credential. Upon earning his MA, he was told he had to receive schooling in order to teach non-English speaking students. It also did not take long for him to realize PE classes in California carried up to 60 kids in a class while the classroom teacher was carrying thirty to thirty-five.
Lesson plans that worked in Nebraska with twenty to thirty students in a class did not work in Hemet's large PE classes. On top of this, facilities were lacking and financial support was non-existent.
To make matters worse, he was expected to coach after school and serve on all of the same committees the classroom teachers were serving on.
Unlike many other mid-west recruits, my friend stuck around. We used to laugh whenever a new recruit would pack up and leave town and return home in the middle of the school year. The pay out here may be better than many other states but it often times is not enough to make up for the lack of support new teachers receive.
Then, one day, it hit him like a bolt of lightning.. "It pays the same whether I do all of this extra stuff or not," he proclaimed. "Why am I doing all of this for a district that does not care about me or the subject I teach," he finished.
Sadly, there is a lot of truth to his words. Teachers, all teachers, no matter the grade level or subject they teach, are highly trained professionals. Why is it a school district like ours refuses to compensate them for the extra work they do? I am not talking about grading papers, planning lessons, or phoning parents. That's part of the job. However, this insistence on getting teachers to do "extra duty" assignments at little or no pay has to change.
Some say, "Well, you should have thought about that before becoming a teacher." Perhaps, but I say, "You get what you pay for."
If a school district wants quality extra curricular programs, then the people running them should be justly compensated. If you think we are, check the stipends teachers receive for their coaching, advising, or leadership positions. They are a joke compared to what the work entails.
A few years back, I made the decision I was no longer going to coach after school sports for our district. The $800.00 I received to coach football was not worth the time it took to do a quality job. Especially given the lack of administrative support I received. Instead, I volunteered my time at the recreation department and coached football for them. Despite not getting paid, I found better organization, more available equipment, and plenty of supportive parents.I no longer had to track my players academic or behavior progress or deal with parents angry at me for cutting their kid.
Everyone who teaches knows there is more to a child's education than what goes on inside the classroom. As it is, teachers are paid to teach and I think, in my case, my district does a good job of paying me for those services. However, that does not mean I owe it to them, or as they love to say, "Do it for the kids," to donate my time for extra curricular programs that all too often are under funded and receive no administrative support.
If the Hemet Unified School District, and I suspect most others in the state, want quality extra curricular programs for their kids, they need to step up to the plate and pay for them. They certainly had no trouble finding the money to build their plush new district offices at a time when district wide programs were losing funding. They either need to pay to fund quality extra curricular programs or be prepared to hear others say, "It pays the same whether I do all of this extra stuff or not."

Keep An Open Mind

Welcome to my first entry. If this finds anyone out there in cyber world, please let me know.
Why a blog? Well, for starters, I have plenty of time on my hands these days. I am getting paid to stay home from work which is something I will write about at a later date. This blog will allow me to speak my mind without the editorial constraints of the local newspapers or one of my bosses telling me to shut up. It will hopefully allow me to reach people beyond the Hemet/San Jacinto Valley while maybe serving to encourage colleagues to do the same.
Having spent the last twenty-four years of life working as a teacher, I have to admit I am fed up with the education system in this (take your pick) district, state, and nation. So yes, I will write about education issues that bug me. However, since my blog is a form of self expression, I plan to write about more than what I feel is a screwed up education system.
I love the news, sports, politics, and current events so I plan to write about these as well. I will throw in the occasional line from a favorite song, quote from someone well known, and comment from someone I talked to.
I love hearing opinions from others and really do not care whether or no they agree with me. Heck, lots of times I don't agree with me.
So, if you do not like what I write, feel free to let me know. Just keep it civil and I will too. Like the saying goes, "Keep an open mind, you never know what might drop into it."