poppies

"If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields".--John McCrae, poet from Guelph, Ontario, Lieutenant Colonel, died from wounds, 1918

I believe that our cultural values include--or should include--that we do not torture in the name of "law and order". I believe that when too many eggs are broken, the result is not an omelette. I believe that those who cloak themselves in the veil of divine mission ought to avoid at least the more banal of the sins. I believe that troops are supported with sufficient numbers and equipment to do their work, veterans' and survivors' benefits, and planning towards a goal more than they are supported by tax cuts. I believe that the war on terrorism, and the culture wars in this country, are fought each day in the hearts and minds of each witness to what has happened. I believe that we live in a time when we make history daily, but perhaps could learn lessons from the history that precedes us.

my lunchtime in garland

The drive to Colter's BBQ. Big sign blown away by last year's wind has been replaced.
A Dallas Observer alternative paper, released on Thursdays. The short line, cafeteria style. "Turkey plate, no sauce". Green beans, corn on the cob.
A Diet Coke in a big tumbler. No ice. A roll. No butter. Never butter, never margarine. Yeast.

Seat by the window, away from people. Cover story on Kristy Kruger, folk chanteuse, a myspace friend,whom I do not know at all, even in the loose form of myspace terms. I just liked her songs. The music critic writes about how three years ago, at the tender age of 21, he was intimidated to meet local celebrities among the rock and folk bands.

It reminds me of being 10, being impressed by the six a.m. agricultural reporter
outside an animal barn at the actual Arkansas state fair, a thing almost as cool as the cool blue of Future Farmers of America jackets, which I never owned.

I idly wonder about Friday night-- a Kristy Kruger CD release party. The alternative paper says Kristy used to live in LA,as I did, but she went to study the music business. I was there for something to do with reinsurance and insurance company insolvency. I eat my corn, my green beans, my turkey, my roll. I go back to my office.