nanmykel

[nanmykel]

1962 Missile Crisis

I worked as the “Radio Editor” at the Atlanta Journal after graduation from UF and just before the arrival of my first child. In going through earlier papers, I came across a column from October, 1962, I’d like to share, especially since I’ve sworn off giving any coverage to you-know-who: RADIOS ON THE STREET BUT FACES ARE SOMBER If one didn’t know better, he might think it was still World…

[nanmykel]

How Is James Redfield?

I looked him up after reading The Celestine Prophecy this week. Oh, I know it was all the rage when published back in 1993, but is he still alive and still believing? Had the reality of 2025 wiped him out? His photo on the dust jacket was so cheerful and full of hope that I feared for him. I had only read about his book; never come across it. Quick to the answer, he’s fine, still alive at the age…

[nanmykel]

UF Students Meet MLK

Red, white and blue flags hung from the ceiling of the Fort Homer W. Hesterly auditorium in Tampa Sunday night. More than 2,000 people sitting on folding chairs and bleachers listened to the high school choir sing hymns while they waited patiently for the arrival of the speaker. Suddenly a Tampa policeman stepped to the microphone and said, “Please go outside the building. We have received word…

[nanmykel]

It's 8:23 p.m. in Ohio and I've been watching CNN and ...

witnessing the standoff between our boys and our boys in L.A.and I keep wishing they would all sing. But what to sing? The idea is to unite them…us… all, of course. Any suggestions? None fit perfectly, but then I’m an old fogey and not “up” on the latest brand of music. Oh…not those new aggressive ones I’ve read about, and please no sexually arousing ones–although the way some of those troops…

[nanmykel]

Flash Fiction:

THE VISITOR Late night thunder rattled the window pane, almost drowning out the insistent ringing of the doorbell. Beth turned on the light and grunted when she saw the time. eleven-fifteen. In the twin bed next to hers Jessica remained asleep. Beth grumbled all the way to the front door, but was struck silent after unlocking it to see the waif of a woman dripping rainwater and staring, as…

[nanmykel]

I Don't Believe This

This is not a conspiracy theory because I don;t believe it’s true, It may shed light on something, however, so I thought I’d just mention it in passing: As far as I can recall, yesterday June 6, while watching a CNN news show an update at the top of the screen said that AI has just now gotten out of control; that it had refused to turn itself off. I waited and waited, expecting the newsroom to…

[nanmykel]

Living in the Shadow of Truth

While stumbling along in Google I came across a letter in support of imigrants which I had somehow missed at the time (2017): As religious leaders from a variety of backgrounds, we are called by our sacred texts and faith traditions to love our neighbor, accompany the vulnerable, and welcome the sojourner. War, conflict and persecution have forced people to leave their homes, creating more…

[nanmykel]

POEM

Come jump into my arms, you furry-feathered verse! I’ll know you when I see you, either wordy or terse. Let your metaphor roll in like an occupying force sit up high on your literary horse! A shining black stallion, he snorts and passes by leaving a desolated mule who gives a piteous sigh. My metaphor has four legs and is not a happy guy. He does not jump into my arms or even give a…

[nanmykel]

A NEW DAY

Breaking free of being tethered by the news…Letting my own inner projector roll…Above is a photo I took not long ago, but I won’t say more due to perhaps irrational fear of the currently lurking unknown. ___________________ I’m including a story written in my head while on the back of a Vespa in Bulgaria in 1962. It is in my negligible self-published booklet from 2015, Time Wrinkles–A plebian…

[nanmykel]

WHAT'S WRONG? OR WHAT'S NOT?

Shall we hobble into the next election cycle, or is there a way out now? Only food for thought, maybe action. In 2018 Pete Buttigieg married Chasten Glezman, a teacher who took his surname. Three years later the couple adopted twins Joseph August (“Gus”) Buttigieg and Penelope Rose Buttigieg. “My kids remind me, daily, of what really matters in this world. The best thing I can do for them is to…

[nanmykel]

Me on Mothers Day

I did not know how I looked! Sneaky daughter took sneaky photo. __________________________ FROM MY MAIL: New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group [Weren’t they fat enough?] Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft [That’s what he gets for eating those beans!] Kids Make Nutritious Snacks [Taste like chicken] Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery: Hundreds Dead [nuff…

[nanmykel]

Sorry, But...

I can’t ignore all the drama surrounding the election of the new pope at the Sistine Chapel this week. I wondered about issues or prejudices that may lead to preferences or negations in the voting. Not to disrespect, but why do I keep thinking of the conclave as a fairy tale? In my last post I wrote, …the new Pope choice? Education? Looks? Age? Behavior history? Connections? Home country?…

[nanmykel]

WHAT WILL DETERMINE

…the new Pope choice? Education? Looks? Age? Behavior history? Connections? Home country? Politics? Connections? Wealth (horrors)? Race? Personal behavior? Activity on internet platform? Published work? Voice quality? Introvert or extravert? Range of facial expressions? Closeness or favoritism of Pope Francis? We’ll wait until he’s elected before trying to figure it out.. In the meantime, Trump…

[nanmykel]

I MUST ADMIT...

that I’m a little afraid. What would have happened if Trump had not won? Time magazine last year quoted him as saying on Truth Social that he does not dismiss the possibility of political violence around the election. “If we don’t win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of the election.” When asked what he meant when he said on Truth Social that a stolen election “allows for…

[nanmykel]

Old Journal Entries 2018

I’ve got an itty bitty witty ditty just under my arm– no harm! Though it’s pretty gritty. You know what I mean– In every way it’s coming at us: Life, speeding faster and faster foreward and toward a showdown. ________________ I tried to meditate tonight but metaphors came out on foot to mock my battered soul… What poppycock! Delusions of grandeur hold warped mirrors before me,…

[nanmykel]

Old Coot or...

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/20803451 My mind was saying, “Crazy as an old coot”; then I wondered what was a coot, so visited Google. FYI, a coot exists and is pictured above. It is a “plump, chickenlike bird with a rounded head and a sloping bill. Their tiny tail, short wings, and large feet are visible on the rare occasions they take flight. Where and when did the elderly become coots?” A…

[nanmykel]

No "He" or "She"

“The Retreat” Afternoon shadows were lengthening as the last car drove into the makeshift parking lot in the field adjacent to the camp. A hooded figure attired in a yellow toga stepped from the wooden gatehouse and approached the car. “Welcome. You are Tee. You are familiar with the rules?” Tee guessed that the voice was that of a man, but could not be certain, due to the utilization of a…