Sunday, June 11, 2023

What All Schoolchildren Learn

“I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return.”
--- W.H. Auden, “September 1, 1939”
*
His mother thought her young son
Might be autistic. At age 11,
When he was in the fifth grade, his
IQ was 167.
She must have hoped his intellectual
Gifts would bring him notoriety.
However, he profoundly lacked any
Skills of the social variety.
*
He went off to college at 16. He
Didn’t fit in: how could he?
He had absolutely no idea that
From early on he would be
Subjected to severe psychological
Tests and was unaware
How wrong it was to have these done
While strapped in a chair.
Connected to electrodes attached to
Machines on a shelf,
This project brutalized his already
Fragile sense of self.
He must’ve assumed this was appropriate
Also done to his peers.
Incredibly, this awful treatment continued
On for several years.
*
His spree started in ’78, lasted a decade:
The press went gaga
Over this sinister & mysterious package
Bomb mayhem saga.
It’s odd that he didn’t pursue the man
Who’d destroyed his composure.
Going after him for what he had done
Could have brought some closure.
*
This benignly named “personality study”
Which transformed this unbalanced teen
Into a psychopath took place at Harvard:
The best word for this is … obscene.
Sponsored by the CIA, Dr. Henry Murray
Was in charge & knew how to dodge
Questions about his curious tests with a
Necessary amount of camouflage.
Ted Kaczynski a.k.a. The Unabomber should’ve
Stayed in prison --- I know the gravity
Of what he did but Murray (now dead) should
Have gone on trial for his depravity.
Murray’s research was responsible for the likes
Of damaged Kaczynski to act out ---
When you next see redacted secret files, this is
The kind of stuff that gets blacked out.

Sunday, June 19, 2022

William Miller

We know Charles Ponzi struck it rich
And made more than plenty
Of hustled money back in the day ---
This peaked around 1920.
But two decades earlier, this other guy
Was making all of these killer
Profits which later would inspire Ponzi:
His name was William F. Miller.
Miller had big plans, however, along the way,
He seems to have had perhaps a little bit
Of doubts about using his name, so he grandly
Called his office the “Franklin Syndicate.”
A 520 percent rate of return? That’s the
Promise which he used to bedevil
Potential suckers too excited to suspect
That this claim wasn’t on the level.
Based in Brooklyn, Miller very soon
Conned countless schmucks
And defrauded many investors out
Of around a million bucks.
Miller went to jail for ten years --- no
Longer did customers file in
To his office. He later wound up with
A new gig out on Long Island
Where I’d bet he often and politely
Said, “Yes Ma’am, no Sir”
As he adjusted to his career change
Of being a full-time grocer.
Reporters asked Miller about Ponzi ---
Miller said he had to wonder
How he made so much money. Shortly
Thereafter, Ponzi went under.

Sunday, August 23, 2020

What The Tennis Legend Said

 

Ken Rosewall was playing at a tournament at UCLA.
He sat in the stands during a break. I headed his way
To ask him about his backhand. I hoped he’d hold court
And reveal the secret of his shot --- the best in the sport.
Rosewall kindly went into great detail --- I happily thrived
On each remark he made until his next opponent arrived.
*
I didn’t ever wind up competing in a professional tennis event:
At twelve, I had managed never to hear an Australian accent.
In this chat, I was so focused but that dialect was formidable:
I hung on every word without understanding a single syllable.
I learned about language then, not tennis. To be candid, one
Should also add that this assessment isn’t a backhanded one.
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Sunday, May 10, 2020

Pandemic Postcards (Vol. 2)

Yeah, We All Now Have Bigger Fish To Fry

This took place in a very crowded Ralphs parking lot
With a rather alarming amount of haste.
An old white guy's BMW was an awful shade of blue
Suggesting he had more money than taste.

Three young Asian guys got in their crappy Smart Car
Right beside it and before
They knew what happened, they dented the Beemer
On opening up their door.

The old white guy glared, the kids panicked, this could
Escalate into a nasty buffet of f-yous
But the old white guy shrugged and said "No worries"
A line he borrowed from his nephews.

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Posting This Today Because It's His Birthday


The Main Reason I’d Like To Get A Time Machine

I want to go to Neptune, New Jersey around
1944. A young boy planned to participate in
His grammar school’s variety show. The song
He chose was “Managua Nicaragua.” Freddie
Martin’s orchestra recorded the first version
Of this and it went all the way to number one
On the Billboard pop charts. The boy belted this
Out while wearing a red and gold paper crepe
Cape and he had a bellboy’s sort of monkey hat
On, too. Forty some-odd years later, he grinned
During an interview and recalled, “It was rather
Flamboyant, I would say, for a seven-year-old.”
*
Why am I so eager to travel back in time to see
This? After all, the boy didn’t go on to have a
Career as a singer. However, he did become
An actor, the best of his generation. My God,
What a thrill it would be to see the cheeky first
Performance by Jack Nicholson.

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Disorders & Deities




My autistic son who often
Is at a loss himself
Pasued while taking a bath
And seemed to cross himelf

Did I misinterpret that
Hand gesture a smidgen
Or has Jeremy somehow found
A way to get religion?

His access to godlike things
Would have certain gaps.
My wife and I don’t attend services
And are devoutly lapsed.

But maybe some bit of belief
Sang to Jeremy like wishes
Perhaps the prestidigitation
Of those loaves into fishes.

The sight of an actual crucifix
Might be a bit too real for him
He doesn’t drink wine but communion
Wafers might appeal to him.

Maybe this is something I imagined
Maybe it’s a serious phase
Or just proof that autism and the Lord
Work in mysterious ways.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Thoughts Years Ago After Seeing Clive James On TV


Some turn to God and a church to join ---
Others worship Chance, the flip of a coin.

Religion and gambling? The breaking news
Is how each one has their own set of pews.

One trusts that life is just how He planned it,
The other has faith in the one-armed bandit.

Where does your spare change go of late:
In a slot machine or on a collection plate?