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.

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.

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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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.

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.

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.

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?