For Shadow - My Aqualung

"Sitting on a park bench --
Eyeing little girls with bad intent.
Snot running down his nose --
Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes.
Drying in the cold sun --
Watching as the frilly panties run.
Feeling like a dead duck --
Spitting out pieces of his broken luck.

Sun streaking cold --
An old man wandering lonely.
Taking time
The only way he knows.
Leg hurting bad,
As he bends to pick a dog-end --
He goes down to the bog
And warms his feet.

Feeling alone --
The Army's up the road
Salvation ala mode and
A cup of tea.

Aqualung my friend --
Don't you start away uneasy
You poor old sot, you see, its only me.

Do you still remember
December's foggy freeze --
When the ice that
Clings on to your beard is
Screaming agony?
And you snatch your rattling last breaths
With deep-sea-diver sounds,
And the flowers bloom like
Madness in the spring.

Feeling alone --
The Army's up the road
Salvation ala mode and
A cup of tea.

Aqualung my friend --
Don't you start away uneasy
You poor old sot, you see, its only me."

AQUALUNG, by Jethro Tull

Rest in peace, my friend. I'm sorry for speaking harshly to you last week. I'm sorry I never took you to your home after Karing Kitchen after you found the trailer out on the west side of town. I'm sorry for the hard, hard life you lived. I want you to know that many people did love you, even when we didn't show it well enough, and, more importantly that God's love is eternal and constant. I hope we were able to offer you at least "salvation ala mode and a cup of tea". Rest in peace, my friend.




Man Killed When Trailer Crashes Into Bus Stop.



A man was killed and another injured Friday afternoon when a trailer loaded with a truck and bulldozer broke away from a tow truck and slammed into the bus stop.

The deceased is Clayton Allen, 47 of Tyler, police said. Bruce Williams, 46, of Tyler, was transported to Mother Frances Hospital. Williams is expected to recover, said information from Sgt. Darrin Grissom.

Williams was treated in the emergency room and discharged, a nursing supervisor at the hospital said.

Both men were waiting at the city of Tyler bus stop located on Texas Highway 110 just south of Loop 323 just after 5 p.m., police said.

A northbound tow truck was pulling a goose-neck trailer loaded with a truck and bulldozer when the trailer got loose and careened out of control smashing into the nearby bus stop during afternoon rush-hour traffic, police said.

No others were in the bus stop at the time and no other vehicles were involved, police said.

Allen was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Traffic was blocked for several hours.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation. No charges had been filed Friday night in connection with the accident.

Health Care Debate

I don't know what anyone else thinks about the current debate on health care reform in the USAmerica, but I'm intrigued by the 10:10Challenge issued by the United Methodists.

Their stated goal "for a justice-filled system of health-care that is:

* INCLUSIVE
* AVAILABLE
* ACCESSIBLE
* ACCOUNTABLE"

sounds right to me. With due respect to my friends in the medical community, I know the current system is in desperate need of change. Even though the current system is working for many, as a whole, overall health studies and mortality rates show that this country is not getting sufficient value for the amount of funds being spent. American businesses and the poor are especially hard-hit by the high cost of health care.

So, I do not understand the fierceness of the debate from those who are trying to protect the insurance companies and the status quo. As someone with an aging family member, I do not understand the mistrust of a "public option" patterned after Medicare, which clearly "works" for our seniors. When doctors tell me they are eager for themselves or their spouses to reach age 65 so they are eligible for Medicare, that tells me more about what they think of that system than the rants and complaints being voiced publicly. As a dues-paying member, I do not understand the AARP who loudly demands protection of the Medicare system while fighting against a similar system for the rest of us, including the millions of uninsured.

As an upper-50's semi-retired couple in pretty good health, we are paying over $25,000 per year in premiums for a private medical insurance plan through a professional society group for a high-deductible, bare-bones plan (that is, no coverage for prescription drugs, dental, vision, preventive care, disability, etc)- with the premiums going up 10-15% per year! If we had no insurance, an option which is looking more and more likely, the doctors and hospitals would charge us 2-3 times the rates for their services as the insurance companies are charged (check your latest billing to confirm this). No wonder the nation's emergency rooms are choked with non-paying customers.

I recognize that there are major issues with the cost of a new "public option" and that the insurance companies feel threatened by the concept, but at some point the "greater good" needs to win out. As I prepare to join the millions of uninsured, I suggest it is time for a change! This issue is personal to all of us, but I also see it as a matter of justice. Peace to all!