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Twenty-Five Days of December

Twenty-Five Days of December -- Day One

Twenty-five days of memorable performances, stories and real-life encounters. So, we'll start with something to wake you old Grinches up! Let this brief real-life encounter defrost your jaded holiday cynicism. Let it re-awaken the dormant spirit you’ve suppressed for far too long   A birthday girl's pinata https://youtube.com/shorts/okJA_jhECM4?si=dM2DL5Dpke2z9rCf  
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It'd better die

. I. No one has a right to a broken heart, They'll try and tell us, Cuz this age of Internet and A.I. Only loves a wedge.   A heart that feels, right about now's, not smart, And ain't tough enough To force a way through when it'd better die Than admit it cares.         II.
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masetto

Masetto, July 12th 2010~March 7th 2021

. I guess with death, a father’s wish is a simple one – To believe it’s an easy, painless one, because What is a father to do with the lifelong memory Of hearing the shrieks, the cries and pleading Begging in tones to “Take it away”; to “Make it stop”; To “Help me; help me; help me…”   And so, for a father to live through the death of a son And have these thoughts his constant companion To his own end is too cruel to imagine, and, naturally,
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Three Poems for Colin

. for Colin   Sonnet No. 1   Your fingers inch along my shoulder blades, Caressing, releasing, gripping and spread Like dripping flame to drench me in cascades Where every part of me your hands are led.  Soothing exploration is what I feel, A student under a master's care, Whose object is loving and meant to heal, Though silent and extremely aware. But the fire in me which your caress stokes Is o
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gilding roses

Tanka: May rain falls upon Roses already in bloom – When Nature dictates Gilding Iilies, all is fair For hearts then at war with love.  
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Night Blooms

. Night Blooms Haibun   Early the other morning, I couldn’t sleep anymore from all the memory-filled dreams I was having, so I took the dog outside. Standing in the garden, all the world peaceful and sweet, I saw a truly Mid-western moon – the type I grew up. Placid and nearly full, and yet hidden within the glory of its own eerie light. Moons like this remind me I have no home anymore, not with my parents now gone from the world.   5 AM, the moon playing night
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Thanksgiving and the Adhesion Among Men

. Thanksgiving and the Adhesion Among Men     @Parker Owens brought a certain song to my attention yesterday. I did a little digging on The Vacant Chair and learned a thing or two. Although the lyrics portray a Civil War family mourning the loss of a beloved son, the poem was actually written in tribute to love. Henry Stevenson Washburn was 48 years old when he met and watched 18-year-old John William Grout lead a charge and die in the Battle of Ball’s Bluff. The young lieute
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Essays

Gay Song Seven – “You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see”

. Gay Song Seven – “You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see”   Note: for this series of postings, the term 'Gay Song' refers to music written to/for/by or about Gay men or women. A second category also deals with music identified as Gay because it speaks to the heart of the Gay Experience. So to make this easier, I will call them Gay in the 1st Degree (to/for/by/about), or Gay in the 2nd Degree (like Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow).   ---  
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The Desolate

Here's a poem and my translation of it.   El Desdichado de Gérard Labrunie, ou Gérard de Nerval   Je suis le Ténébreux – le Veuf – l’Inconsolé, Le Prince d’Aquitaine à la Tour abolie: Ma seule Etoile est morte – et mon luth constellé Porte le Soleil noir de la Mélancolie.   Dans la nuit du Tombeau, Toi qui m’as consolé, Rends-moi le Pausilippe et la mer d’Italie, La fleur qui plaisait tant à mon coeur désolé, Et la treille où le Pampre à la Rose s’a
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More Altitude of Love

...for a special someone...     Sonnet   … no rights have I to feel a certain way, … no claim not pleading in pentameter, … no earthly grip or hope my words will sway, or trace the scope of their parameter. Like a lawyer, skirting nine tenths of the law to avoid thoughts of what I don’t possess, my sad voice still reaches out to draw belief in your heart for the love I confess. … although no claim I have to your control, … alt
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A Full-Stop

Ode to the caesura. It brings our thoughts to a stop. It laps at our minds like a sop. And halts coloratura.         How glad the many millions      of notions are prevented       from finding full expression       in the boundless words of the world,      for then, once spilled on paper,      how might we ever gather them up again;       how might the bottle be re-plugged;      how might the heart be re-assembled,      if fancy-fr
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Gay Song Six – Kissing Her Brother Paul

Gay Song Six – Kissing her brother Paul   Note: for this series of postings, the term 'Gay Song' refers to music written to/for/by or about Gay men or women. A second category also deals with music identified as Gay because it speaks to the heart of the Gay Experience.   So to make this easier, I will call them Gay in the 1st Degree (to/for/by/about), or Gay in the 2nd Degree (like Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow).   ---   This youtube creator has made a really cool video
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Gay Song Five – Bing Crosby Goes ' Gay For Pay '

Gay Song Five – Bing Crosby goes 'Gay for Pay'   Note: for this series of postings, the term 'Gay Song' refers to music written to/for/by or about Gay men or women. A second category also deals with music identified as Gay because it speaks to the heart of the Gay Experience.   So to make this easier, I will call them Gay in the 1st Degree (to/for/by/about), or Gay in the 2nd Degree (like Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow).   ---   Gay in the 2nd degree is Bing Crosby's glo
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Gay Song Four – Rolling Stones

Gay Song Four – Rolling Stones   Note: for this series of postings, the term 'Gay Song' refers to music written to/for/by or about Gay men or women. A second category also deals with music identified as Gay because it speaks to the heart of the Gay Experience.   So to make this easier, I will call them Gay in the 1st Degree (to/for/by/about), or Gay in the 2nd Degree (like Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow).   ---   "I'm a lonesome schoolboy, and I just came into town" is h
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Gay Song Three – Love Betrayed

Gay Song Three – love betrayed   Note: for this series of postings, the term 'Gay Song' refers to music written to/for/by or about Gay men or women. A second category also deals with music identified as Gay because it speaks to the heart of the Gay Experience.   So to make this easier, I will call them Gay in the 1st Degree (to/for/by/about), or Gay in the 2nd Degree (like Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow).   ---   Will Young won the first ever Pop Idol television show in
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Gay Song Two …oh Daddy…

Gay Song Two …oh daddy…   Note: for this series of postings, the term 'Gay Song' refers to music written to/for/by or about Gay men or women. A second category also deals with music identified as Gay because it speaks to the heart of the Gay Experience.   So to make this easier, I will call them Gay in the 1st Degree (to/for/by/about), or Gay in the 2nd Degree (like Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow).   --- Ed Sheeran's phenomenal live performa
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Gay Song One – Quelle Tragédie, Lol

Gay Song One – quelle tragédie   Note: for this series of postings, the term 'Gay Song' refers to music written to/for/by or about Gay men or women. A second category also deals with music identified as Gay because it speaks to the heart of the Gay Experience.   So to make this easier, I will call them Gay in the 1st Degree (to/for/by/about), or Gay in the 2nd Degree (like Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow).   ---   My first selection is definitely Gay in the 1st Degree! We
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Excerpt - Stave Three

"Touch my robe."   Scrooge did as he was told, and held it fast.   Holly, mistletoe, red berries, ivy, turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, meat, pigs, sausages, oysters, pies, puddings, fruit, and punch, all vanished instantly. So did the room, the fire, the ruddy glow, the hour of night, and they stood in the city streets on Christmas morning, where (for the weather was severe) the people made a rough, but brisk and not unpleasant kind of music, in scraping the snow from the pavement in f
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The Amazing And Wonderful Famous-Barr

The Amazing and Wonderful Famous-Barr   As I begin posting my series of Christmas short stories and novellas set in this department store, I am struck by how paltry and sad the Wikipedia entry is for this amazing company. In an effort to improve that article, I have created this short summary, which I hope to tweak and eventually add to wiki.   My information comes from first-hand sources, primarily documents made by the company, such as employee newsletters and handbooks, an
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The Last Word

The Last Word   sometimes a song says more than a heartbeat, sometimes a glance through a windshield shows the longest goodbyes – but mostly it's the words in our hearts and the view in our mind that says it best those I love yous speak the loudest over time.
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The Altitude Of Love

The Altitude of Love   maybe it's something more than faith... beyond mere heartbeats and belief... maybe this love is an absolute. I want it to be.   I feel you so near to me all the time I can see how it's already a conclusion and not a supposition. I need it to be.   those are the things I mean when I say "I love you."
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Excerpt Four From Becoming Real

Excerpt Four from Becoming Real:   Hello, all! The book club this month is featuring my collection of coming out stories, Becoming Real. I will be live to chat today, 7 to 9 PM, but for those of you who may not know what to expect from the work, I think I will post a few sample excepts. These are a personal sampling, and just meant to give you the flavor of the seven short stories through the lens of some of my favorite moments.   Please enjoy, and please leave comments if you have any.  
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Excerpt Three From Becoming Real

Excerpt Three from Becoming Real:   Hello, all! The book club this month is featuring my collection of coming out stories, Becoming Real. I will be live to chat on the 31st, but for those of you who may not know what to expect from the work, I think I will post a few sample excepts. These are a personal sampling, and just meant to give you the flavor of the seven short stories through the lens of some of my favorite moments.   Please enjoy, and please leave comments if you have any.   Than
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Excerpt Two From Becoming Real

Excerpt Two from Becoming Real:   Hello, all! The book club this month is featuring my collection of coming out stories, Becoming Real. I will be live to chat on the 31st, but for those of you who may not know what to expect from the work, I think I will post a few sample excepts. These are a personal sampling, and just meant to give you the flavor of the seven short stories through the lens of some of my favorite moments.   Please enjoy, and please leave comments if you have any.   Thanks
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Excerpt One From Becoming Real

Excerpt One from Becoming Real:   Hello, all! The book club this month is featuring my collection of coming out stories, Becoming Real. I will be live to chat on the 31st, but for those of you who may not know what to expect from the work, I think I will post a few sample excerpts. These are a personal sampling, and just meant to give you the flavor of the seven short stories through the lens of some of my favorite moments.   Please enjoy, and please leave comments if you have any.   Thank
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