Wednesday, November 9, 2016

The Glass Ceiling, Damn It, Remains In Place


I’m still horrified, My dark mood seems
Distinctly unable to lift
But what doesn’t surprise me is how a
Pendulum tends to shift.


Reagan came after Carter and
Clinton came after 41
Dubya came after Clinton, then
Obama’s time had come.

Did Bernie Bros. promise to come on board
And to no longer malign
Hillary or was that lip service and did they
Vote for Johnson or Stein?

Whatever. The only thing that matters now
Is Trump will get cocky (plenty)
And do things to demand the pendulum to
Shift away from him in 2020.

This is an historic moment where so many
People are feeling numb --- there
Is a reason to think of 9-11 but the damage
Isn’t on New York but from there.






 

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Sunday, November 6, 2016

The World Series Champs' Connection To This Year's Election


I recently posted the Chicago Cubs anthem --- “Go, Cubs, Go” --- being boisterously sung as an encore by the Windy City’s current cast of “Hamilton.”

It is one of the most joyful things I’ve seen in years, a tonic in particular to all of the toxicity generated by this year’s election.

The song is a staple at Cubs games but was never a chart hit.

*

Days later, I still couldn’t get it out of my head and wondered who wrote this catchy tune.

That would be folk legend Steve Goodman, who died at 36 in 1984. In his short life, he managed to write one of those rare songs (that did chart) that will always be sung and never be forgotten. It won a Grammy and is as timeless as any Stephen Foster composition --- “The City of New Orleans.” When something you wrote is sung by the likes of Arlo Guthrie, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, you are rewarded with a bit of immortality.

Goodman graduated from Maine East High School in Ridge Park, Illinois, a school that has notable alumni (as Wikipedia likes to call them) like Harrison Ford.

Oh, and there was that other classmate.

Born a year before Goodman was, she was already known as a capable and ambitious student politcian. Like me, you probably haven’t met her but many of us will be voting her for on Tuesday.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Goodman