Changing History

"Life is the first gift, love is the second, and understanding the third.
The pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real.
Never doubt that you can change history. You already have." --Marge Piercy

Marge Piercy, a poet, sleeps with her cats. Cats will let one write poems about them, but don't expect much appreciation. I used to sleep with my two cats. Then we moved again and eventually, one of those cats, Avery, moved out. She was never very happy in the new place we lived. Changing history is easy. I have for most of my life, but it's only for my own short life.

"You are back in bed with Alex, missing him again, I see."

Only every night. He looked so sad on Sunday. He needs me and I need him. I have you, Buster, but you're not my cat. I feel responsible for Alex. I have had him for so long, since the day he was born. I was reminded of Marge Piercy today and I learned about Tom Lehrer, a song writer whose lyrics are very poetic and real.

"I like the song you played me, 'We Will All Go Together When We Go', sounds like a funny man."

I'm sure he was, he was able to write a lot of satirical prose. I wish I had that talent. My mind is too shallow to go as deep as he did. I look forward to learning more about him and his works. And when we are all gone together, so will poetry go and all those threats to poetry as well. I Love that poem too, Buster. I got to learn something new today, a new poet, Tom Lehrer. Maybe there can be no threat to poetry unless we all go together when we go. Tom may not have been out to write poetry, per se, but in the end, that's what he did. Funny how that happens sometimes.

"I get tired and bored with all of the old stuff, it feels good to learn something, from someone new."

I agree, Buster, that's what makes it all worth getting up and going on every day. I pity people who don't feel the same way, Buster, but some think they know enough to get by and that's all they want to know. Did I tell you I'm joining a writer's group here?

"No, you said you were looking at some classes at FSU."

Yes, this is a result of that. I found a writers' groups through the Osher lifelong learning program. They meet one day a month, over lunch from 10-12, so that will be good for me, unless my schedule at the mines changes. I need likeminded folks to help me stay focused and on task. I'm going to use that group to help propel me into rewriting my novel about Addie and Dr. Tisdale. We'll see how that goes.

"More of those ‘best laid plans of mice and man’..."

You got it, Buster, but it won't hurt to try. Of course, I may get my feelings hurt when I show them my work, but one never knows until he tries. I was also looking at one of the courses OLLI is offering this fall. A program on William Faulkner's short fiction. That class is in the mornings too, one day a week. But, of course, the last time I tried to do anything like that, the schedule at work did change and that was that.

"Wait and see, maybe it will work out this time. Didn't Faulkner write 'As I Lay Dying'?"

Yes, and that was what we were watching on Saturday night. That movie I borrowed from the library. James Franco adapted Faulkner’s story into a screenplay. The book was a little hard to follow until I figured out what Faulkner was up to, with his stream of consciousness narrative by fifteen different characters. The book is hard to read and the film is hard to follow, at first, but I could not let it go. I had never known the book had been adapted into a screen play, I was very surprised when I saw it in the DVD section of the public library. I picked it up and brought it home to share with you, Buster Posey. I found three we needed to see. We have seen those first two.

"Let’s watch the last one then, tonight."

It may be a little hard to watch. But, we'll try.