Holding Hands

When I was just a little boy,
my father held my hand.
That always made me feel so grand.

He worked so hard for many years,
I was provided for.
Something I was oft to ignore.

As years went on and I grew up,
I thought I knew it all.
Must've been like talking to a wall.

He always told me what to do,
tried to correct my way
I tried hard not to disobey.

Later, I moved out on my own,
continued with my life.
I had a job and then a wife.

Now I had children of my own.
When they weren't acting nice,
I often asked dad for his advice.

When I had an other problem,
I knew just who to see.
Whatever he told me, I would agree.

And then we were just hanging out,
to watch a Packer game.
Good friends is what we became.

My family then received the news,
my dad was getting sick.
His health declined then, very quick.

No longer did he have his strength,
I wished he'd be all right.
But slowly he did lose his fight.

I cried the day he passed away,
I'm sure you'll understand.
But I was there to hold his hand.

J.A.Scott

Walk On By

Standing here with such good news,
Why would anyone dare refuse?
Just because we try to preach,
you scoff and resent what we teach.
I see you as you walk on by,
looking down or into the sky.
You ignore us as you walk away,
averting eyes from the display.
Some may wish that we were dead,
but other Witnesses would be here instead.
We try to show a better life,
be a better child, husband or wife.
Yes, all of us are badly flawed,
So read the council from Jehovah God.
You would learn if you took a look,
what's really taught in each bible book.
If with this worlds pain you disagree,
then go on, take one. Yes, they're free.
You can learn to, on God rely.
Or will you simply, walk on by?

J.A.Scott

Pride of Madeira

I think when next I take a trip.

Outside my land.

I'd like to see an island strip.

Madeira is so lovely.

Travel and see,

an amazing shrub of beauty

With purple flowers in a cone;

I find this grand.

Yet some feel it is over-grown.

Australia thinks it's just a weed.

Perish the thought.

A viewpoint I shall not concede.

It's loved by every bird and bee,

butterflies too.

Adored and loved, of course, by me.

J.A.Scott

Thank you Rachel for the use of your photo.

Disconnected

R.a.n.t. of week 04/27/14

Before I begin my r.a.n.t. for the week, let me check the date.

Yep, just as I remembered. The year is 2014, not 1984. I just wonder if all of my friends are aware of this. I've always followed along with technology. To be honest, I'd be lost without it. Does that make me a techno-nerd? Or just trying to remain connected? With all the sophisticated technology available, I'm surprised certain people don't wish to take advantage of it. Recently, one of my friends was irritated (and rightly so) when he was not informed about an event taking place to which many others were aware of.

Was the event posted to twitter, Instagram, Facebook or G+? No, it was not. Well, I may have actually said something about it on Facebook, but the "official" invite wasn't posted there. For the record, I do try to understand when a person doesn't want to get involved in various social media sites such as Facebook. Their worries may be well-founded, information posted there may one day be used against them, especially if they are ever hacked. But, in most cases, you only get 'out' of something, what you put 'in'. If you are not sharing personal photos, phone numbers and addresses, what's the harm? The benefit I see is keeping in contact with as many of your friends as possible. But I digress.

Back to my friend, we were talking about him not being informed of an event. As for the 'official' plans, they were 'group texted' to everyone. However, my friend doesn't even do text messages. As odd as that is, I have another friend who doesn't even use email. If the person isn't personally called or talked to face to face, they will have no idea what is going on. Granted, I can see the appeal of receiving a person phone call, or a visit from a friend when they have news To be honest, I love when friends stop over or call, it just doesn't happen often. But the downside of a personal phone call or visit is it takes time. If I have a party I'm planning and I know everyone receives texts, are on Facebook or has an email account, I'm more prone to going that route than going the following way:

dial 555-1516 - Hi this is John, leave a message.
2 minutes later
dial 555-4815 - "Jack, I'm calling to.... what? Yea, I heard about your trip......
35 minutes later
dial 867-5309 - "Jenny, I'm having a party. We're going to have a good time, so I thought I'd give you a call. The date is....
6 minutes later
dial 555-4223 - "May I speak with Charlie please?........ Hey, how you doing? I'm calling to invite......
21 minutes later......

So an hour has elapsed and I've reached only three of my friends and left a phone message with one. Should I call that one person back later to make sure they got the message? Yea, probably. I supposed if I want to get fancy about it and still take a lot of time, I can write out party invitations and request r.s.v.p's so they will be responsible for letting me know. Or, maybe I could do this.

Text (John) 555-1516, (Jack) 555-4815, (Jenny) 867-5309, (Charlie) 555-4223, (Kate) 555-1542, (Ben) 555-1648, (Michael) 555-8423 "Hey all, having a party on the 23rd, you're all invited. Let me know if you can make it.
5 minutes later
DONE

No, I'm not saying everyone MUST or SHOULD get involved in social media. Neither am I saying everyone NEEDS to have text messages equipped. I understand why people might not want to do that. All I'm saying is, it's so much faster and fun. So, even though I won't hold this against someone, I may still r.a.n.t. about it a little bit.

Robert Machim

Machim left the regal tower,
his love for Anne was all the buzz.
More beautiful than Echium flower
their romance. Tragic, though it was.

He; honourable and debonair,
a man of war, an English knight.
She; a royal, lady fair.
Their love for each, forbade outright.

No one would ever steal their dream,
the resolute lovers had a hope.
So Machim whispered her his scheme
and from Bristol they did elope.

They took to flight into the sea,
but then the clouds began to form.
The voyage ended with tragedy,
he lost his lovely in the storm.

The gale was violent, thunders roared,
he realized now he was marooned.
He lost the cherished he adored,
twas greatest of his many wound.

Through the night he called her name
He searched till he could move no more.
At daybreak finally, Anne came,
she washed up gently on the shore

The sudden grief he felt was grave,
his weakened heart, shattered through.
His one true love he couldn't save,
Nothing more in life would he pursue.

J.A.Scott

Super Man

If I could travel very fast,

I'd quickly finish all my chores.

Then help my friends, or those who've asked.

And still have time to spend outdoors.

If I were blessed and very strong.

In addition to my speed.

I'd help, I'm sure, if things were wrong.

For whoever had the need.

And when I wanted to relax,

I'd take to flight into the sky.

Just my tights, I'd drop my slacks.

Though many people wonder why.

* * * * *

Every citizen, every crook,

glancing upward, take a look!

Oh my word!

Is it a bird?!!

Let me explain,

It's a Plane!!

Not so Stan,

It's Superman!

Let's watch him smash right through the door.

What were those first two excited for?

J.A.Scott

Psychrolutes Marcidus

My favourite fish looks like a blob.

Perfect mascot for a human slob.

He asked a girl out on a date,

she replied, 'You're over-weight.

And then she added, very cruel,

'You're an ugly, stupid, silly fool'.

'Loving you would be so funny,'

'Unless, of course, you've lots of money'.

She swam into the murky dark,

when suddenly appeared an evil shark.

Despite the hurtful taunts she gave,

he went to help 'cause he was brave.

The shark put up a terrible fight,

but in the end succumbed to fright.

The girl, I'm sure, was most confused,

our hero pummelled, badly bruised.

He asked again, though on the mend.

She laughed harder still.

The End.

J.A.Scott