Gracias Drago and welcome MisKim Again, I dont want to say that Bush was ALL bad...just incredibly consistently bad and it takes alot to make a relative moderate independent such as myself to finally go...."C'mon, this is a joke right? He's looking for WMD's behind the curtains now? We did WHAT?"...on and on....until the present day, or yesterday to be precise. Humor is our only antidote. Well, that and strong bleach tend to get most difficult stains out...well, except for the one on the blue dress in Monica's Closet. BTW, wouldn't that be a good name for a consignment store in Georgetown?

It seems so strange how 8 years of utter failure can end so quietly and abruptly....Hmmm...reminds me of my marriage, but that was more like 14 years, and I never had the gall to land on an aircraft carrier. Still, seems appropriate to allow people to post random thoughts and wordplay as a kind of "farewell" to the Bush era. I seeketh not merely to bash the man, but to commemorate. I thought I would start off with a brief email I wrote my young idealistic,19 year old son who braved the throngs of onlookers to attend a horribly organized (but well meaning) youth leadership conference as part of the inauguration.

Ben, I heard that the traffic was so bad last night that the bus driver just walked off the bus. Did u guys ever make it to your Young Scholars "gala" or did people get gangbanged in their tuxes by rival DC street gangs, stuffed in car trunks and forced to be obama "*****es" in some crack house like 3 blocks from the White House?.....All while Bush gets helicoptered back to his freakin ranch in Texas...leaving the country in complete ruin ......and yet somehow he is still capable of thinking, "Job well done....Mission accomplished!!".....Meanwhile, some revelers in the Capitol probably managed to wheelchair- jack Cheney and push his twisted demented self into the freezing ice water of the Tidal Basins made famous by Wilbur Mills generations ago...Cheney, like all cold blooded mammals, emerged unscathed and unaffected...feeling even refreshed and looking forward to planning a right wing coup de' tat in the event Obama fails to follow his suggestion to "nuke California and North Korea"........Let me know if you make it out of there alive.....Dad

Example of lighthearted correspondence with Inauguration attending youngest son:

Ben, I heard that the traffic was so bad last night that the bus driver just walked off the bus. Did u guys ever make it to your freakin Young Scholars "gala" or did people get gangbanged in their tuxes by rival DC street gangs, stuffed in car trunks and forced to be obama "*****es" in some crack house like 3 blocks from the White House?.....All while Bush gets helicoptered back to his freakin ranch in Texas...leaving the country in complete ruin ......and yet somehow still is capable of thinking, "Job well done....mission accomplished!!".....Meanwhile, some revelers in the Capitol probably managed to wheelchair- jack Cheney and pushed his twisted demented self into the freezing ice water of the Tidal Basins made famous by Wilbur Mills generations ago...Cheney, like all cold blooded mammals, emerged unscathed and unaffected...feeling even refreshed and looking forward to planning a right wing coup de' tat in the event Obama fails to follow his suggestion to "nuke California and North Korea"........Dad

I have three sons, and the love they have for their now almost ten years deceased Philymom (via Santa Monica via San Francisco via Atlanta) has never wavered over time,over space,or the many ups and downs in their lives. They are soul connected to her in a way I can only watch with admiration and awe. The word bond doesnt even do it justice. I'm always thinking of u, even when i dont say so.... captcliff

nice....i can relate...as usual.

well, this gives away part of Ms Wiz's special delivery b-day package, but 1)this is a poetry forum 2) i am unassailable about my respect and admiration for the birthday girl and dont mind if everyone knows it and 3) I still suck as a poet, so at least its good for some yucks..

Once Upon a Time
A Poet Quite Faire
Showed Remarkable Courage
Laid Herself Nearly Bare

Not On a White Steed
Did She Ride
In the Nude

On Websites She Wrote
Honest Feelings,Darkest Mood

Bloodletting She Called It
But her Friend, CaptCliff
Heard Her Words
Like Good Jazz
Shouted to the World,
"Man She Can Riff!!"

Hold on to your britches, the Capt is going to be serious for a second...First, I dont remember ever seeing a poem written by two or more people, except for maybe the Bible (so they say). Second, unlike the Bible, it is seamless, and u cant tell who helped who where..which is impressive..especially for two entities/creators as different as a male and a female. My favorite part...the whole thing. Public confession: I am inspired to write something to acknowledge how my "projection" of my ideal mate has stifled past relationships, and put cardboard cutouts over my rose colored glasses..until I tripped and broke my self, and my silly glasses into a million pieces. (hanging head)

Babe, you've come to the right place...I have been practicing my catering to skills since birth. I bow, i scrape, i pontificate...but most of all...I know my place (in the universe). The real problem is that it's a dark universe, so I often get lost (like in a movie theater) on the way back to my place/seat after getting the popcorn and drinks (and Snickers).

Isn't this just puuuurfect....I always fantasized having my own harem...and now I'm actually in one...Now all we need is the Imperial Eunach...where's a good eunach when ya need one?? I dont know..I'm really not into these saltpeter popsicles. Does Good Humor deliver?

Finally cracking under the pressure...."I said no salt on my Margarita dammit!" This tastes like the Dead Sea!" His eyes dart to the side and in perfect William Shatner voice shouts,"There's something on the wing!~"

Yeah, and you're about to live it again dude..except this time with a case of cottonmouth u would not believe and, for some reason, a spa menu consisting of an all salt diet....Allen and I are bloated like pregnant women and there is a guy with dumbells who cant spell worth s--t, which is a personal pet peeve..worse than water torture...actually..i could really go for the water torture around now...

ok, the dumbell with the dumbbells deserved it but, "Leave Britney..err I mean Tuck alone!!!"..i sense he is sincere in his admittedly sophomoric prose...and plus I like his cool oversized manwatch. I have first dibs on it!!! Damn these popsicles just make me want more, not to mention pee like a racehorse for some reason...Artgurl, u pandering wizardress in waiting,could u go to the store and pick us up some more popsicles, popcorn, 54 lotto tickets, umm...oh,hey did someone mention Snickers?? I love Snickers!!

It's depressing to see spelling that poor..er..poer. Allen, wake up from your dream state..popsicle sticks into makeshift key? I held my nose I took a drink...love potion #9....actually was catchy tune.......As for male species and inherent weakness: batting eyelashes+ cherry popsicle+ popcorn= deep state of hypersuggestibility (and strong desire for Margarita). I beg u NOT to put on cellblock speakers and play Macarena.....cant bear to see these guys getting into it. Of the lake...great line...welcome to virtual Alcatraz.

Is anyone going to warn Romeo or...even that is pointless at this juncture in the theater of the absurd. Ok, sorry Allen, u areabsolutely right, we must consolidate our male energies to get out of this....plus my request for a mini-fridge in my cell was denied. Wait, u resent the Brokeback reference but not the thing about the smell of sheep? Riiiiight....

Yeah, I have an idea the cowboy been spending too much time up on Brokeback Mountain eatin' fancy shmancy 'sicles and not enough time usin' his lasso to get us outa here...now we have another mouth to feed and somethin smells like sheep. I dont suppose my press credentials and academic pedigree wouldn't at least grant me a private room with a mini-fridge, would it? ..and why is this experiment/exercise bringing out the Thurston Howell III persona in me? I thought I was a pure Professor type...well, and maybe a little dab of Skipper too.....

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "What's going on?" the Devil says. "Open the door and let me out--this isn't funny."

from short story: "Lull" by Kelly Link, in the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, 16th Annual Collection

OG, not the batting of the eyes..anything but that. I am defenseless against such a powerful weapon of masterful seduction (WOMS)...and that's not even counting the waving of the cherry popsicle. I surrender. CaptainCliff to Wizardress: Are u Circe? Has anyone seen my crew? Is this Calypso or Gilligan's Island?

OMG Artgurl, tattletale much??? yeah,nice going KC, stroked the vanity, stoked the woodburning oven...where's that softspoken oft apologizing cowboy looking dude Allen? Stop apologizing and get us out of here!!

looking down from ceiling perch eating popsicle and watching interesting reprisal of Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment, this time using formerly pacifist poets and artist types...Preliminary results clearly replicate earlier findings of sadomasochistic tendencies increasing over time as roles of authority and power are...oh ****..my popsicle dripped...I hope she didnt see..........it.

wow...the good humor man must have gone into a fugue state...i missed most of your orders...cherry popsicles aplenty, a cluster of hershey kisses....hmmm..with almonds? u got a note from your mother that u are almond allergy free? My liability insurance covers most things, but not death by almond allergy anaphylaxis. Agreed? What is that incessant tapping noise?