Global War on Terror

When history repeats itself...

2005 - I wept for parents who lost their children in Iraq or Afghanistan. 

2026 - Repeat...

Joyful

Not in the crimson rising or setting sun
Not in the shiny red Spanish plums
Not in her lush vegetable garden
Not in the jumpy fish so fresh
Not in the blinding whiteness
Of sea salt brimming in storage
Not in the scent of fresh firewood
Not in the sight of the water buffalo.

Grandma’s joy she draws from deep within
Every warm breath for a new day again
Every Bible verse and hymn
Her growing granddaughter
Her first words: “Nanay,” “Lolo,” “Auntie”
Her voice as her first prayer she utters.

Grandma’s joy she draws from deep within
As the crickets sing. The chickens cluck and coo.
And her little girl’s tiny limbs around her.
MLJ28022026

Light Bulb

 “I think that… teachers fall in love with is like that light bulb, watching someone get something that you understand, that you’re giving to them, then it clicks... Never underestimate the power and the impact that teachers can have in your life.” – Josh Johnson -

"...it's more profitable to be a bastard... No money is enough... You can't get higher than space... The man has been to space. There's nowhere else to go 'cause he's not going to heaven... We need to get back in stores the way that it used to be. One of the problems is that Amazon's too powerful. They wouldn't be too powerful if we start shopping again at the stores that we that we shopped at before Amazon." - JJ -

Josh Johnson

Income Inequality

 

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

S: Ms J., I watched your video on the Paper Bag Princess!

T: Oh! I've forgotten about that. It's been many years ago.
S: Yes! Seven years ago. When I was one year old.
T: Yeah, right. I made it for my Kindergarten class during COVID years. But I can't make videos anymore...
S: It's okay. I subscribed though. Maybe you'll make more next time...

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

BBC Honors David Attenborough with Centennial Celebration

 100th

Rev. Jesse Jackson

 

Like a shot of vodka: I woke up at 8:33 AM. Zzz...

 

A NEW HOLE IN THE WALL

Teacher had a gut feeling that morning
What it was, of course, there was no telling
Until her second grader
To the bathroom went
And thought it’d be best
To challenge another
Whose legs were shorter.

By chance, Teacher opened the door
To find her wide-eyed speeding boy
Slipping, hitting his head on the wall
Making a hole fit for a golf ball.

I swear she could’ve fainted
As the bloody head was raised
So to the Office they both sped
As she prayed for God’s Grace.

Soon her great speedy boy
Will be back to school
Sporting staples or stitches
He’d probably hide like hickies.

Now Teacher thinks it’d be a bore
If she would patch the new hole
And terminate tales of follies
Such as reckless hall races.
MLJ06022026OnCompetitiveBoys

What to Do When I'm Gone by Hallie Bateman et al.

 

Slavery: Was and Is Still Here

 

RETIREMENT 103

Unbleached flour on sale?
Pancakes for breakfast it is.
Cocoa powder not on sale?
Then settle for burnt rice tea
Or plain cleansing hot water.

Russet potatoes on sale?
Mashed they are, for lunch.
Gravy from scratch.
Cheese not on sale?
Then just imagine it’s there.
MLJ31012026

RETIREMENT 102

Walk to the grocery store.
Anything on sale?
Not a thing?
Turn around and want nothing.
MLJ/28/08/2024

RETIREMENT 101

Alarm goes. Say a prayer.
Exercise. Take a hot shower.
Oatmeal and hot chocolate drink,
Or fried rice and corned beef.
Put on your wide-brimmed hat
And who-cares-what-I-wear getup.

Hear mass, work, give back, volunteer.
See the woods, watch the birds and the bees.
Wait for sunset. Enjoy a blueberry muffin.
Pray. In your peaceful sleep, you’re taken.
MLJ/28/08/2024

Thank you for the laughter, Catherine O"Hara

 "Why God gave us humour... to be able to exist amidst the sadness." - COH -

Catherine O'Hara (1954-2026): A Conversation You've Never Seen | Dini Petty 1998

Happy retirement, Denyce Graves!

"We are more alike than unalike." - D.G. -  

From DC Roots to Opera Icon

Make E-Books Count

 Especially for seniors who are losing their vision...

As Cold as Ice

Tails tucked between our legs
At the mere scent of the yellow head
And his armed gang members.

We’ve turned a blind eye
To his every yap, bark, growl, bite
Our hearts as cold as ice.
We’ve looked the other way
As he smothers a weakling a day
Saving our own skin
Until he looks our way…
MLJ30012026Minnesota

Streets of Minneapolis

Thank you for the laughter...

 

Save the children

 

On our way home…

Ashes to ashes.

Nobody warned us
We’d be so incomplete
With all our losses
Vision, hearing, memory, bones…
Glad we didn’t sell our souls
So we’d still deserve our home.

Dust to dust.
MLJ26012026EyeTrouble

Enjoy reading!

 

I just wanna be…

A YouTuber
A TickToker
An influencer
A gamer, a gambler
I just wanna be famous.
Just wanna be a billionaire.

When everything’s empty
Empty governments
Empty laboratories
Empty pharmacies
Empty hospitals
Empty schools
What do I care?
AI will give me answers.

I have a self-driving car
A self-cleaning house
Robots at my bidding
No Amazon River?
Dried up by data centers
No boreal forest?
Burned up by global warming
What do I care?

Trillionaires have colonized the moon
Enslaving aging scientists and engineers
Refining robots that’ll replace them.
Wish I could follow later
But I’m no Jeff nor Elon yet
No Gautam nor Jensen
Oh, well…
MLJ24O12026EnlightenTheChildren

Fave junk food

Can't afford?
Pass.

Dry January: Anyone?

 

Mississippi Mesala (1991)

 Mississippi Mesala (1991)

Did we know? The British brought laborers from British India to build the Uganda Railway (1896-1901), and workers later settled there. Under Idi Amin in 1972, the Asians were expelled from Uganda. A familiar story? Canada hired Chinese laborers to build the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to connect Eastern Canada with the Pacific (1881-1885). Most of them settled in Canada and built Chinatowns in major cities, but further immigration was stopped with the Chinese Exclusion Act (1923-1947)… Fast forward to present North America where most industries move with the brains and muscles of migrant workers. From Silicon Valley to the farms of Ontario, how are they faring? MLJ/31122025