Tuning into KTMH 89.9 Light Praise Radio

 

Christian Democracy

Capt. B can see heshe was raised on the Christian 

story. Found Ramadan a whole lot like Lenten 

fasts pre-easter. Before the palm leaf & alleluias 

Ask herhim, "So who's God?" & heshe'll say

A great big bearded Old Man who knows it-key all

Infallible as il Papa, the Pope, according to the

Bible of the Vatican (never vacant) Holy Roman

Empire Church where all too often itki was  

the clergy (even some of the Redhats) who're 

first in communion & last out of confession

Capt. B can't see red for blue, or even green

unadulterated. To herhim  itki's the Radical

mess of the Middle where itki's best

to bend a knee

Vernal Equinox

 

Morning Crustbusting

My snowshoes don't sink

Aren't lead weights dragging my glide

down into the subsurface melt zone

No  deep step break trail

plod of tracks into sinkholes

of afternoon sun slush

Poles flash like outriggers as I sail

across a night freeze snowpack

tacking to the storm's light flakes

Pausing for just a moment to  swig

a canteen & lay a hand blessing

on my favorite pine

Snowshoeing

 

Perception

Putting on the gloves & turning 

southwest to my poles

I catch a blast of gold mahogany 

on the Utah horizon

A knock-out break in the dusk's 

concrete gray overcast

Light peltings of snow crystals 

melt on my parka

The coda of the clouds chases me 

down Oak Hill's slopes

where, on the ropes, I can see 

through the storm's 

weakening punches. A peek of blue 

sky east towards 

the Wilsons. Mist rising from 

the ring of Wrights Mesa

I snow-walk my tracks back 

to Thunder Trails Road

where my patient bot-mobile waits 

for me & life's key

McRedeye sez

 "I'm no determinist like Einstein

WISIWYCM.  WISIWYCM

What I See Is What You Call the Multiverse

I call itki me"

Reinventing Politics

Democracy demands compromise

RADICAL MIDDLE ... There was a younger time in my life when I was an activist. A radical. I was proud of trying to get to the root of issues and finding solutions ... However, as viable solutions continued to evade my grasp or anyone’s handle, I began to discover my elder self, as ecophilosopher Donna Haraway would say, “staying with the trouble.” Housing. Transportation. Cost of living. The issues haven’t changed much in the 40+ years I’ve lived in San Miguel County ... Once a devotee of Dave Foreman, I refused to compromise and stood firm for what I felt was right. But for the last couple decades, as a county commissioner (emeritus now), I found myself listening to all my constituents, even the ones I fervently disagreed with. And in the process came to realize political solutions have to come from balanced, understandable, out-of-the-box thinking (radical) that a majority can support (middle), not the agendas of the right or left fringes ... Here’s a couple examples of journalists who eschew Fake News and take us into the thickets of issues, raising uncomfortable questions that need resolving before political action can be appropriately taken ... As we’ve learned from the national embarrassment of Rep. George Santos, media (local newspapers in particular) are our first line of defense against lies, deceptions, mis- and dis-information. And, best of all, they can educate the public about complex issues, so citizens can come to a reasonable understanding and take informed action, as needed.

FOUR CORNERS FREE PRESS ... Dr. Janneli Miller did a masterful job educating the regional public about the pros and cons of solar power in general, and in their specific applications being proposed for Montezuma County in the February issue on the newsstands now in Cortez and Dolores. There are tradeoffs, unwelcome impacts and essential mitigations for all our industrialized power systems, solar included. We shouldn’t shy away from addressing them. And we should resist becoming mere boosters for what seems to be the right thing to do without doing the deep research before making complex political decisions.

GUNNISON COUNTRY TIMES ... Publisher Alan Wartes runs my favorite small-town paper on the Western Slope ... The majority of the state’s citizens passed a recent wolf re-introduction ballot measure. The Gunnison region is one of the targets for this year for a program that Colorado Parks & Wildlife is developing, and ranching community there is very concerned ... Whatever your ideological position for or against, they are the ones on the ground who will bear a hefty barrel of impacts to their already close-to-the-bone operations ... Editor Bella Biondini has been doing extensive coverage of the local hearings. But she also penned an op-ed piece, “The debate isn’t just about the science,” describing her strong environmental leanings and support for the gray wolf’s reintroduction, but chronicles her concerns with holes in the CPW’s draft plan for reintroduction in Gunnison country and “the incredible challenge at hand.” She calls for the state agency to listen carefully to the people who will be most impacted by this action ... And to sure the community understood the issue, the Country Times published a strong column by respected rancher/environmentalist Ken Spann outlining the problems the Gunnison County Stockgrowers Association have with the state process. To find out more of this perspective, go HERE.

ALONG THE SAN MIGUEL ... Delighted that former Norwood Post editor Reagan Tuttle has bought Roger Culver’s San Miguel Basin Forum. Once a primary news source for Telluride and the West End, not just Nucla and Naturita, itki’s nice to see a see a Forum newsstand in front of the San Miguel County courthouse again like I used to see 40 some years ago ... Former local Forest Service staffer Bob McKeever leads a free Old West/New West wide-ranging storytelling & discussion group at the Lone Cone Library in Norwood once a week on Wednesdays from 1 to 3 pm. Open to all. Librarian Rhonda Oliver provides coffee, tea, hot chocolate and cookies. 

Janice Gould

TALKING GOURD ... Colorado Springs professor and poet friend Janice Gould passed away in 2019 but has left us many wonderful poems. Here’s an excerpt from The Force of Gratitude (Headmistress Press, Sequim, WA, 2017). Highly recommended.

What Dawn Brings

A solitary raven wings from the piñón

as sky lightens to azure.

Sun warms the kitchen counter and a few ants

venture forth, exploring.

I watch, sipping coffee, intrigued by their industry,

their single-minded purpose.

I wander from room to room, stare out the glass doors,

write a few lines – feeling my way

through stone and mud like the root of a tree,

the smallest tendril

scratching millimeter by millimeter to secure

a place in the world.

-Janice Gould

New Performance Poetry Troupe

Photo by Trish Hopkinson

Telluwriters 

& the Passing of the Gourd

San Miguel County has a new poetry/storytelling ensemble making the rounds.

It's a shifting cast of players depending on who's available. Three of us performed to a full house for a live show at the Lithic Bookstore in Fruita Feb. 17th -- Daiva Chesonis, Elle Metrick and moi. And four of us made it to the Bluecorn Candle Factory & Cafe in Montrose -- our first three players plus Joanna Spindler. 

We chose the name Telluwriters even though none of us actually live in the town limits. Telluride, however, is the economic & artistic heart of the region. We all work and play there and perform there as well. Daiva, Craig, Elle and I live in Norwood -- or most accurately outside Norwood on Wrights Mesa. 

Photo by Trish Hopkinson

Peter hails from Trout Lake, Rosemerry  from Placerville, Joanna from Hastings Mesa & The Electric Angel from Lawson Hill.

Depending on who comes, we like to do round robin readings so as to shine the spotlight on a medley of voices. 

We often end with what David Feela of Cortez calls "a shark attack" -- a rapid-fire series of short poems read back-to-back as a kind of finale. 

The Passing of the Gourd is a "playground" (aka workshop) that we do after our performances. 

Photo by Jennifer Hancock

If we can, we like to we form a circle and pass the gourd around the gathering. We  encourage folks to read a poem of their own (or someone they like), tell a story, sing a song, make a quick comment -- or just nod silently and pass the gourd on to the next person. 

Gourd Circles have been a feature of Talking Gourds poetry events for going on 20 years here on the Western Slope. They sprang from the work of the late eco-philosopher Dolores LaChapelle and her Silverton-based Way of the Mountain Center.

This is a different way of sharing poetry than the standard walk up to the stage “open mic” kind of thing. Gourd Circles involve deep listening as well as performing, as there’s no cross talk (although twinkling or "jazz hands" are welcome). The person with the gourd has the floor.

Tellwriters have upcoming gigs in Cortez, Naturita, Durango and Grand Junction.

Currently the Talking Gourds Poetry Program is administered by the Telluride Institute and can be found on their website: tellurideinstitute.org/talking-gourds

Here is the poem that Daiva wrote and read in Lithuanian, while Elle and I took turns doing the English at our first Telluwriters show in Fruita back in February:

Poetiniai Ryšiai

Poetic Relations 

Gavau pranešimą apie federalinius mokesčius 

I got my federal tax notice 

Taigi aš perskaičiau Tony Hoglando

So I read some Tony Hoagland

Aš verkiau pamačiusi trapų upės jauniklį 

I cried at the sight of a frail river fawn 

Taigi perskaičiau Marija Oliver

So I read some Mary Oliver

Netekau draugės, kuri buvo nuostabi mama 

I lost a friend who was a fabulous mom 

Taigi aš perskaičiau Ada Limon

So I read some Ada Limon

Numatiau karštą sekso naktį 

I predicted a hot night of sex 

Taigi aš perskaičiau Pablo Nerudo

So I read some Pablo Neruda

Mačiau neteisybę ant gimtosios žemės dėmės 

I witnessed injustice on a smear of native land 

Taigi perskaičiau šiek tiek Joy Harjo 

So I read some Joy Harjo

Man reikėjo pertraukos nuo pilnametystės kančių 

I needed a break from the harangue of adulting 

Taigi perskaičiau šiek tiek Šel Silversteino

So I read some Shel Silverstein

Išgėriau per daug ir gailėjaus dėl vėlyvos nakties žinutės 

I drank too much and regretted a late-night text 

Taigi perskaičiau šiek tiek Bukauskio (ir žinoma, Jack Muellerio)

So I read some Bukowski (and of course, Jack Mueller)

Akmenys kaba iš medžio ir procese, 

vėl tapam žmogumi. 

Stones hang from the tree and in the process, 

a fine balance.