The Barefoot Boy

by John Greenleaf Whittier

Blessings on thee, little man,
Barefoot boy, with cheek of tan!
With thy turned-up pantaloons,
And thy merry whistled tunes;
With thy red lip, redder still
Kissed by strawberries on the hill;
With the sunshine on thy face,
Through thy torn brim's jaunty grace:
From my heart I give thee joy—
I was once a barefoot boy!

O, for boyhood's painless play,
Sleep that wakes in laughing day,
Health that mocks the doctor's rules,
Knowledge never learned of schools,

O, for boyhood's time of June,
Crowding years in one brief moon,
When all things I heard or saw
Me, their master, waited for.
I was rich in flowers and trees,
Humming-birds and honey bees;
Mine the sand-rimmed pickerel pond,
Mine the walnut slopes beyond,
Mine, on bending orchard trees,
Apples of Hesperides!

Cheerily, then, my little man,
Live and laugh, as boyhood can!
Though the flinty slopes be hard,
Stubble-speared the new-mown sward,
Every morn shall lead thee through
Fresh baptisms of the dew;
Every evening from thy feet
Shall the cool wind kiss the heat:
All too soon these feet must hide
In the prison cells of pride,
Lose the freedom of the sod,
Like a colt's for work be shod,
Ah! that thou couldst know thy joy,
Ere it passes, barefoot boy!

Deep Dish

We had friends from out-of-town last night. They had never been to Chicago and so, quite naturally, came seeking true chicago style pizza. We took them to our personal favorite, Gino's East (they have the sauciest sauces and killer cornmeal crust).

Here a description, straight from Wikipedia (because it's Sunday night and I'm at my laziest), of how Chicago style pizza is made.

"The pizza begins with a simple, thick layer of dough (made with olive oil and cornmeal) that is laid into a deep round pan and pulled up the sides, then parbaked before the toppings are added to give it greater spring; the pan is generally oiled heavily in order to create a fried effect on the outside of the crust. The crust is covered with cheese (generally sliced mozarella) and covered with meats and/or vegetables such as Italian sausage (a Chicago staple), onions, and bell peppers. A sauce, usually uncooked, of crushed or pureed tomatoes is then added. Typically this is finished with a grated cheese blend. On the usual pizza, about a pound of cheese is used.[citation needed] Deep-dish pizza is usually eaten with a knife and fork, since its thick gooeyness makes a slice of pizza larger than eight or ten inches messy to eat with the fingers."

40 Miles

Critical Mass happened last night. The night was lovely. Several new views of Chicago. Eric and I have swollen chests after figuring out this morning that we put 40 miles on our biker's legs last night.

I am so cracked up right now...

Of course I forgot my camera this morning, but while walking Max this morning I saw these stickers stuck all over that said "Reptilian Body Snatchers" and had the image of the pyramid and the eye from the back of the dollar bill. I figured it was a band or something, and maybe it is, but when I came home and googled, I found a wonderful conspiracy theory that basically claims that the world is run by reptile aliens. Everyone is in on it, George Bush, Hilary Clinton, the Queen of England, Johnny Depp. Apparently there is a must-read book on the topic calledThe Body Snatchers and I got such a side ache from laughing that I must share the book description with you all. Does anyone else get the feeling that Brian is probably the ex of a very jaded girlfriend?

From the Introduction

This is a book about an alien race and how they are taking over the planet. This alien race is known as the reptilians; actually they are called the Draconians. The biblical term is the Nephilim or fallen angels and obviously Satan. David Icke talks a lot about them in his books9. Capt Bill Robertson whose books I have just discovered described them as Marcabians, an alien race operating to take over the planet who are able to take over adult bodies. Bill Robertson died prematurely of a brain tumour in his fifties! I think maybe they killed him for his knowledge.

Andrew Hennessy provides evidence that they are in fact dragons and I myself get a mental image of a wide jaw with sharp teeth roaring in a blood curdling way, -- a bit like a dragon This occurs when the reptilian host that I have been targeted by tried to harm me. It may be that they are in fact dragons that do not fire breath. I was targeted because I was doing a higher consciousness course called "Awakening your light body" by Luminescence and the reptilians wanted to know more about it so they could stop it.

I AM VERY CONCERNED FOR THIS ORGANISATION'S SAFETY.

I want to warn any one else working at higher consciousness about what the reptilians are doing, exposing it may stop it. I had become involved with a reptilian who had taken over a human spirit and body who I will call Brian, he had been body snatched. They are doing this a lot now, hiding behind a human body, convincing us that this human is still only human when its not. Brian was reptilian through and through bar his emotions.

What human could be as evil as he? He is cruel to a tee, relishing pain; telepathic with extraordinary mental abilities, I have seen him as a reptilian although at the time I didn't know this is what he was. I am absolutely convinced and have lots of evidence. Not only that but there were two reptilian spirits, his guides, attached to me for three years since getting involved with him, now they have gone.

They had been seen and identified by twenty entity removers.

Here are my personal experiences of a man who is actually a reptilian.

Publisher's Note:

This book has been a year in production. It is not your usual literary fair, nor is it your usual metaphysical research material. It contains the experiences of the author with a Draconian Reptilian entity. It is blow by blow, word by word.

It will be difficult for most of us to relate to, since we have never encountered or at least not 'knowingly' been invaded by a an alien spirit or entity.

It would be easy to discount such experiences as those of a lunatic. However, such experiences have been related since the beginning of human knowledge. Such experiences are referred to biblically.

At the same time, knowing or being aware that such things are possible, will make us more aware of unseen principalities and powers.

Read it with the intent to broaden or open your mind to the possibilities, and in this author's mind the 'realities'.

Go Cubs Go

I don't know the names of any of the players, I don't have a Cubs t-shirt, and before last night, I didn't even know that the team was in first place this season. But I sure do love to spend at least one Chicago summer night at Wrigley Field, the second oldest ballpark in the US. It was the perfect weather and the perfect seat to watch the Cubs spank the Orioles and to eat my weight in peanuts. For dessert, a chocolate malt cup that comes with a tongue depressor/utensil that makes the whole thing taste like wood. And, naturally, at some point, I had heart-burn-on-a-bun because that's what it's all about. The food, the quiet sinking into the crowd, listening to the men behind you go from co-workers to soul mates between beers three and four, dodging foul balls, the people watching, cheering when they do, and singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game like you love the Cubbies as much as your mom.

Bootlegging

Back in the 1920s, when this building that we live in was shiny and new, it was north of the city and in the middle of nowhere. This made it a most excellent spot for Al Capone and company to smuggle liquor right off the lake into the tunnels below the building. And so they did. The passageways underneath the building are now creepy storage spaces where we keep life jackets, coolers, and luggage. I couldn't really get myself to stick around down there long enough to get a good photo today (It was a dark and stormy day...). But as I'm sure you know, Capone had to smuggle the booze rather than buy it at the store due to Prohibition. Of course Prohibition created a new and fabulous section of the Chicago underworld and though gambling and prostitution were right up there with Al's favorite enterprises, his biggest profit came from the sale of the sippy-sips. And most certainly these funds allowed Capone the tightest of grips on Chicago police forces and politics. Kinda amazing.

So amazing that Chicago has worked hard ever since then to erase all things tied to Capone. Most of the hot spots (hotels, restaurants, etc.) have been demolished -including the Al Capone Museum which was a big animatronics show in-the-round with each of the favorite gangsters featured in (jerky) motion. I can happily say that I partook in the show during a visit to Chicago in high school. I was so moved that I bought dice from the gift shop.

Still thinking of the weekend drive...

Farmhouses, Iowa
by Baron Wormser
Invariably, a family in each one
And someone opening the fridge to fetch
A carton of milk, someone sitting in
A chair and shelling peas, someone looking

Out a window at a barn, two willow trees.
Solitude broods like a pursuing shadow;
A radio fades in and out -the voice
Eager yet eerie. Three ages anchor

The oaken dinner table: Mom and Dad
Up-before-dawn weary, Grandma perturbed
About half-thawed rolls, the children recounting
School stories, then silent. In the parlor
A whiskey tumbler rests beside a Bible.
The old collie whimpers when a car goes by.