I don’t write in a journal everyday, but I have accumulated many entries over the past 50+ years beginning in 1966. Some items evolved into longer works. Among the leftovers little pieces survived. I thought a collection of these with a piece culled from the same date in a past year would make an interesting yearbook. The consistencies and inconsistencies of mind, skipping back and forth across time, provide varied perspectives. It is difficult to remember the context of the past we’ve lived; we also make suppositions about times that predate ourselves.

The few alterations from original drafts were to improve clarity. The worst of my work is not included. There remains enough mediocrity and immaturity to make me feel humble and you feel smart. There are also moments of accidental insight and incidental humor.

Author Stephen Crane referred to his little pieces as pills…apparently they were small and somewhat hard to swallow, but good for you.


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Friday, December 21, 2018

I remember when Disneyland was fun


December 21, 2012  (I was 68)

I remember when Disneyland was fun
a time when you would notice everyone
who was there and what did they wear
and where did they want to go first
I sat on a bench on a porch on Main Street
as if I were a resident of the town
Neighbors strolled by whom I would greet
with a nod or a smile and they would slow down
to respond before traveling to another land
And I was there again yesterday I think
along with everyone and their kitchen sink
The population explosion happened right there
much more crowded than ever in Times Square
To keep people moving took a squad of Marines
No Little Mermaids just Tiny Tot sardines
squeezed from no place to no place to go
Out the gate it finally felt great to forget
you had been taken

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