Twisty, Curvy Roads

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. When I was a child, I was taught that my mother's best friend was my "Aunt" Kate.  There was no blood relationship, it was just a polite way for a child to address an adult who, although not a family member, had a close relationship to the child. "Aunt" and "Uncle" were words used to express an honorary or affectionate relationship. In antebellum times, "house servants" often cared for the children. It would only be natural that there would be an affectionate bond between the child and the caregiver. It was polite and acceptable to use "Aunt" and "Uncle" when referring to these servants. The words were meant as an honor, but that does not change the fact that the "Aunt" or "Uncle" were often slaves! To me, the words "aunt" and "uncle" are words that conno

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. Although voter fraud has, for the most part, been a minuscule concern in the recent past, that can change quickly. "Who gets to vote?" is a basic question that is at the heart of our system of government. Do we limit suffrage to only "property owners"? How about only men? Should we allow only "educated" voters? What about "only people who think the same as I do should be allowed to vote!"? In any case, I seriously doubt that anyone can show a positive correlation between more open suffrage and a better quality of elected officials. Regardless, we have continually moved toward more open suffrage standards. That has created some problems, but on the whole, we have adjusted and most localities have a fair voting system. that, although not bullet-proof, is relatively secure. My belief is that the current push for "ma

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. Here is a poem about a girl I once met. It is a short poem, ... but she was a short girl!   She had rings on her fingers And rings on her toes There was one through her navel And two through her nose From her ears they dangled And as you can suppose There were rings other places That I cannot disclose - Jim Ivy,  May 2020   

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. "Science can be dirty. Science is wonderful. Science is what we have." - Unknown "Science" is the magic de jure. "Science" is a religion who's priests dress in white laboratory garb instead of black frocks. "Science" is the calming balm dispensed to the pseudo-sophisticated so they can confirm their self-sanctity. "Science" is a logical misstep that equivocates the scientific method with "science". It is a misstep that leads backward into superstition and paucity of conception that is the very antithesis of that what the worshipers of "science" desire. "Science" professes to offer certainty, and in so doing it circumscribes reality. "Science" locks truth into narrow, ordained channels. "Science" snickers at the Hegelian ungrund, the  abyss of ete

Listen to this poem read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. Even after all of these years She will s ometimes visit my dreams And I awake with a sad longing That I would deny if I could.