Rosenbush Cafe

November has been a very intense and expensive month at the Cafe and although there were moments of extreme anxiety, coupled with illness and stress, it was also a productive month.

December will be much of the same with the added distraction of holidays. I am not a holiday-oriented person, atlhough I do not condemn others who are, but as expected it adds another dimension to the stress. Since I am into inter-dimensionality, dreams, nightmares, mythology, existential nilhism and stream of consciousness I suppose I should be greatful for the ability to extrapolate from the mind whatever is needed for the physical world and in the end keep from going completely insane.

Between getting a sinus infection early in the month and the flu during the past week and expenses at the Cafe that were unavoidable (new water heater, heater repair and removing and replacing an old grease vat) I put out everything I had and ended the month today with a pocket full of change.

December highlights will include:

The SEC Championship Games pitts two 12-0 teams #1 Florida against #2 Alabama in a rematch from last year when the Gators overcame a 20-17 3rd Quarter Alabama lead to take out the Crimson Tide (then ranked #1 and undefeated with Florida #2 and they won it all in January) with a 31-20 final. The game will be televised on CBS at 4 p.m. Saturday. We’ll have a preview Friday and coverage of the game on Saturd followed by Sunday’s BSC Schedule)

I’m working on my usual style of off-world musings:

Surreal mass media mixed fruit salad and pudding (little to do with food, actually)

Yes, the Landscape (a brief excerpt from my novel-in-progress to learn that I am not just like you!)

An existentialnilhist sip of soup

Nightmares and their usefulness in daily life

and as usual, our feline fancy, movie retrospectives, poetry and plenty of surprises to keep you entertained and well fed. See you at the Cafe….

honor post vivit funera

child asleep
losing grasp
over earthly toys
play
laugh
cry
caring only
for moments of joy
never forthcoming

bathed in a cool stream of innocence
awakened unfettered by intolerant logic
and punished for daring ask Why?

tears of dust
dry as rust
fall then rise
from swollen eyes
so often cried
tear ducts dried

too young was i
to dream and scheme
of
success without failure
love denying passion
death to all purpose
fearful tyranny
of sorrow in rationality
honor without courage

ignorance devoured tolerance
prejudice negated acceptance
charity, exiled
for their
cosmic amusement
the gods
spewed forth
humans
onto shore

forevermore
staining the world
crimson discolored fields
wounded warriors
of all lost tribes
shrieked penultimate
Whys?

No race unscathed
existence scattered
to earth’s four corners
rounding their shoulders
under the weight of millstones
as testimony to portentousness

life ended at its beginning
while spiders continued spinning
webs spun into silken lies
accepted until death as true and wise

mythos defined
life preying on itself

landscapes desaturated
mountains and valleys, too
choking air emasculated
and winds now too few

atmosphere
nothing to fear
class struggles near
we all sit in the rear

world devoid of fairytales
as last drops of goodness evaporate
into dark, cold space
and
time
enough for all
squandered
selfishly

bigoted way
from their teevee tray
insulting a gay
hating each day
never loved anyway
Indian, Black or Jew
no longer many but few
deprived of the view

“Abre Los Ojos”
“Open Your Eyes”

all once welcome
in arms of desire
no longer a home
consumed by fire

awakened too soon
from my fifty year dream
resumed slumber’s tune
beneath the surface of the moon
perchance renew eagle’s swoon

to esurient for ignorance
and
the child is gone
teenager as well
one more deer, last faun
banished to hell

pack of smokes
tells sexist jokes
man laughs and rapes
and justice escapes
juries judge
self-righteous won’t budge
from antediluvian mind-set
until last quota is met

hope strangled reason
never to reach next season
a dram of conscience on fire
gladly quenched thirst of ire

unfurled rope
farewell pope
rabbi
goodbye
minister
too sinister

parents, teachers
hybrid preachers
hate excluded love
like a tight leather glove
over mouth, over eyes
another disguise
fifty years more
to awaken again
freed of sin
for we have won the war

Eternal thanks to Kalliope for her inspiration, friendship and visions of a better world for us all

POLLS and BSC Standings follow story
12.01.09

AUBURN, Ala.–Listening to commentators in the local television markets you’d think Alabama lost. From the know-it-all comments it is clear that even supporters of the 2nd ranked Crimson Tide (BSC ranking, 2) passed off the 74th Annual Iron Bowl Classic as an easy win for Alabama. It wasn’t easy and Auburn was up to the challenge leading throughout and until the last minute twenty four before falling 26-21.
(continue reading…)

Rosenbush Cafe will be closed Thursday so all employees can get over the flu. It has been a long, busy month and it figures that eventually illness would catch up with the staff. We’ll reopen when the antibiotics and chicken soup takes effect. Being someone who does not like to get sick perhaps I’ll feel better tomorrow but plan on drinking Chamomile teas and broth, catch up on superb reading materials - thanks to Kalli - and relax. The picture was taken with my cell phone camera as Tala and I headed north to see Leonard Cohen’s performance on November 1st in Asheville, North Carolina. Not often a cell catches colors so well but this is what the sky looked like on that Sunday afternoon.

#2 Alabama and cross-state rival Auburn face off on the plains Friday so I’ll have a recap. I finally went to see “The Men Who Stare at Goats” and am working on either a review of the superb film or personal reflections based on the theatrical experience. Note: I was already starting to get sick while in the theater Tuesday night but I did not want to miss any film with paranormal motifs, especially now that I am back to work on my novel. This weekend’s surreal post is guaranteed to raise eyebrows and lower hemlines:

remote viewing and the illusion of forward thinking

Cali Explores Reverse Polarity

Dedicated to Kalli, my friend and muse

eXisTenTiaLNihLisT warns profanity follows:

I have never been asked the following question, although I already have an answer: “If you are not inspired by a muse of others can it be mechanically introduced?”

Well, fuck yeah.

Monday was perfect; an example of how to turn around dark into light. I can thank Calico Guggenheim Kittery, of the Maine Kitteries, for reminding me “If your perspective is off it’s YOUR perspective that’s the problem.” As seen in her accompanying photo, Cali inverted reality, flipped into a parallel universe and altered her perception helping negate a rough day last week.

Humans are not the only life forms in need of cheerful dispositions.

Started my day with freaky nightmares Monday morning, mix in some depression about where my life is heading and whether or not it can be un-cocked up, learned a close friend was ill and received some distressingly bleak business news. You may be asking yourself how inspiration can come from such a wonderful day. For every bad riff there are people suffering worse fates and even they may see the need to consider themselves luckier than others.

It always comes down to personal reflections of what is important. I found out this weekend a former tenant and very sweet person has cancer. She is going through the bad times but was upbeat in her correspondence; this coming off the death of her ex recently. Cancer and death are far more serious circumstances than bad business news: most everyone everywhere is suffering except the ultra rich, who in the end, will suffer the worst fate of all, but more of them later.

Mustering up courage to take a shower, put on clean clothes and get the hell out of the house and handle reality outside of self is oft times difficult because “I don’ wanna.” I have written before of how I subscribe to the insane personal belief that if I can smile or laugh once a day that all will be OK. I can often make someone else smile or laugh because I am one of those people who combine eccentricity with a wish to be happy and uplifting even at the expense of displaying unconventional behavior

Let’s face it, there are irritable, disagreeable mean-spirited curmudgeonly people all around so why join their ranks when I can possibly supply a glimmer of hope in the darkness?

Sitting by the Black Warrior River this afternoon, eating my first food of the day, I finally broke the spell and manufactured humor from nothingness and laughed aloud. It took an entire day but before the sun was set I knew I’d be all right for at least another day.

I first decided that a man walking with two young children was tired of all the questions. Naturally, being about 100 feet away sitting inside my car I shouldn’t be aware of such an unlikely scenario. The little boy was pointing at the sky and I immediately began providing the dialogue:

“Yes, son. That’s the sky. What? Yes those are clouds. Why are they gray? Uh, well it’s cloudy and what, dear?” he turns to the little girl who is pointing at a bare tree. “Yes, it’s a tree. The leaves, yeah those leaves on the ground came from this tree. No, I don’t know what kind of tree it is. Look if you’re going to keep asking me questions to which I have no answer we’re going home.”

And they left.

I looked up from the moon roof wondering if the girl saw something falling from the sky and sure enough, as if I was Donnie Darko and about to be crushed by the time-leaping jet engine I saw something plummeting to earth.

CRASH.

TV News crew on scene; later that evening:

Police have identified the dead man as Henry B. Rosenbush, local eccentric real estate owner and blogger. Police say Mr. Rosenbush died in his car after a flock of frozen geese crashed through his 2006 Grand Prix and crushed him. No word yet on how the geese from or from where they came.

My obit, death by frozen geese. I kind of like it because who knows how or the manner of their death so why not pick something so off the fucking hook it makes no sense. So here’s the unknown variable: birds fly in flocks in the familiar V-shape and from time to time the lead bird will move into another position and be replaced by one of the others.

Reminds me of volleyball: each player gets to move until they have played every position. When I played, I wasn’t good at any position but respected the opportunity to prove it to myself by example. So who is to say the lead bird wasn’t particularly good at leading? He leads them so high they all freeze and since they were too close together they fall earthbound as a giant arrow head.

There is a high-rise apartment building across River Road from the park and I kept looking up and pointing, waving and smiling on the off chance someone would be looking out their window and see me.

“Wha…? He can see me?”

Why not have a little fun? Maybe the person looking down was doing the same thing; waving and acting silly and then gets a response. Curtains closed and time for an afternoon nap. With my luck, it could be some unbalanced bastard looking at me through the scope of a high-powered rifle just waiting for one more reason to pull the trigger.

Well, that was all I needed. Silly thoughts to break through the gray clouds of my day to smile down on me. May the gray clouds part for you, too, and a smile shattered the frown on your face.