Remember...

I wrote this a while back, and I thought it was appropriate for today:   So proud, our Stars and Stripes   Flag waving Flutters in the breeze   Flames licking Fire burning holes Fountains searing through Fizzing, popping   Feirsome groans of pain Flailing corpses Falling, collapsing Forgotten in the wind   Frigid stares of sorrow Flag still waves Fighting to the end  Freedom never dies ____________________________ Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum, Paul A. Myers

Ditty

He who has himself for a teacher, has a fool for a student.   I hope you are amused by this little ditty, attribute to my increasingly, or do I mean decreasingly?, skilled trumpet sessions with yours truly.   Trumpet Practice   Oh great elephant in the swamp, You gurgle and splutter and stomp, A desperate cry, To anyone nigh, And even the deaf will cover their ears and run screaming because the terrible screeching sound is so freaking annoying and the incessant rumble won't go away and it just keeps getting louder and louder and faster until you can't take it anymore!  ____________________________ Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum, Paul A. Myers

Haiku

A Haiku, inspired by the plant on my windowsill:   Stand tall forever   Green rubbery leaves Stare down endless desert sand  Under scorching sun ____________________________ Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum, Paul A. Myers

Limerick

A good ole' fashioned Limerick in the rich tradition of such wonders as, "There once was a man from Nantuckit…":   I Need a Bigger Fishtank!   I went to the store for a guppy My fumbling speech was hiccuppy The manager laughed Declared I was daft  And sent me away with a puppy ____________________________ Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum, Paul A. Myers

Children of Men

The Children of Men by P.D.James Review                   Imagine a world where no one is bearing children anymore, and I mean no one.  This goes on for twenty-five years and there is no end in sight.  Medical science cannot even understand why it is happening.  This is the premise of The Children of Men by author P.D. James.  It is quite an interesting concept, a very thought provoking scenario, and I am looking at using something similar as part of the backstory for my fantasy novel.                 I enjoyed the tone of this book, the style, the vocabulary, as I usually do when reading books by British authors.  There is just something interesting about British culture.  Perhaps it is because they are so similar to us Americans and yet so different at the same time.                 While the book delves into such a grand, and potentially epic, subject matter, it stays very personal and character focused.  Rather than tell the story from multiple points of view and with a broad scope, James chooses to follow one man, Dr. Theodore Faron, an Oxford Professor and the cousin of the Warden of England.  Theo, because of his relationship to the Warden and his one time capacity as advisor to the Warden's council, he is befriended by a small movement of dissidents.  He is reluctant to help them, not because he entirely disagrees, but out of a general sense of apathy and hopelessness.  Most of the book is written in third person, but there are scattered first person sections in the form of journal entries.  The character is well drawn and complex.  I found myself, more so than I even wondered what would happen next, wondering where his mind would go next.  His fascinating thought processes also served to make the other characters come to life.                 I quite enjoyed this story, but be aware that it is much more interesting than it is exciting.  Don't expect to be on the edge of your proverbial seat.  Rather, you should expect to be drawn into a portrait, of a man, of a world, and an idea.                 I only had a couple of complaints about The Children of Men.  The ending seemed rather abrupt.  There was barely any denouement at all.  In some stories I don't mind this, and depending on your personal taste, you might not mind here either.  But in a story based on such a deep and complex premise, I wanted to see an Epilogue explaining how everything turned out.  My other issue is with one of James's speculations about a world with no procreation.  In the book, no one really wants to have sex anymore.  The government has even set up pornography shops to encourage people to keep having sex, just in case.  I don't buy this at all.  The sex drive doesn't go away with the knowledge that it is separated from the function of procreation.  It seems that there is ample evidence of this in our own society.  My speculation is that in the world that James has created, there should be an increase of sexual activity and general promiscuity, not the opposite.                 Aside from these minor gripes, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I have no qualms about recommending it if this sounds like your cup of tea.  ____________________________ Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum, Paul A. Myers

Hint Fiction

This is my first piece of Hint Fiction, the criteria of which is less than 25 words that doesn't tell a complete story but speaks of one:   At last                   Scarlet necktie: choking.  The knife: polished, glassy.  His reflection: hollow.  His eyes: ocean blue.  The rag: bloody.                 "Never usin' this blade again.  Breathin's easy now."     ____________________________ Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum, Paul A. Myers

Kite Runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Review                   A lot has happened in Afghanistan over the past fifty years.  It has changed hands several times.  A King, The Soviets.  The Talliban.  And others in-between.  This is not that story.  It is the story of a boy growing up and becoming a man during this time and with the political landscape of Afghanistan in the background.                 Amir is a Pashtun, the favored clan in Afghanistan, and his father is quite wealthy.  They employ a servant and his son who are Hazaras, the often mistreated cultural minority.  The various takeovers of Afghanistan play a role in triggering events, but the story is really about Amir, about his relationship with his father, and primarily his relationship with Hassan, the Hazara boy who lives with them because his father is their servant.                  It is a very character driven story, a story of humanity in all of its sinfulness.  But most of all it is a story of redemption.  "There is a way to be good again."  One of the characters says to Amir.  And that is what Amir must do.  As a boy, he didn't always treat Hassan very well, and a particularly tragic incident in which Amir betrayed Hassan led to a strain in their friendship, and Amir conspiring to get him and his father kicked out of their house.  Many years later, Amir, who is living in America now, must return to Afghanistan to find a way to redeem himself for everything he did.                 The book is written in first person, and at times it felt like reading someone's autobiography.  It felt very real, like it could be a true story.  It was only those times, necessary in fiction, when a strange coincidence or contrived event doesn't seem so because it was properly set up and foreshadowed, that it didn't seem like a true story.                 One thing I was impressed by was the fact that the author weaves historical and cultural information about Afghanistan into the narrative without being heavy handed.  Although it contains a plethora of information about Afghanistan, it is all relevant to the characters, the story, and the particular scenes in which it is disseminated.                 There was one plot device that the author employed that I wasn't sure about.  In some of the most intense scenes right before the intense action is about to happen, the author would present memories, flashbacks to events that the point of view character found relevant to what is currently happening.  You can decide for yourself, but in this case I think it actually worked.  Rather than detract from the impact of the scene, I think it increased it.                 Another thing I'm on the fence on is the fact that the point of view character is a writer.  My first impulse is to declare this a cop out, to accuse the author of making his protagonist a writer because that is what he knows and it will be easy.  But in this case, again, I think it works.  His occupation is woven into the narrative so well that if it was changed, it would be a completely different story.                 If you enjoy first person drama, if you like stories of fall and redemption, and if you want to learn a few things about a country where  thousands of American troops are fighting right now, then you should read this book. ____________________________ Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum, Paul A. Myers