Haiku Friday August 29, 2025
A climate of fear:
We all knew it was coming.
Revenge Tour Two Five.
Max Q
True test of friendship
Giving and receiving of
Squash in peak season
Laurel
Pride Parade Sunday
Hard won gains still under fire
So I'm out marching
Bill
Losing interest
Drama spins itself in knots
Carefree country day
Rikosan
Drumming truth and mirth
Strikes fear in those who create
The cult’s ding dong din
Maeve
In a row they gather gather gather oh so tight
They think they know, that they’re best and feel the slightest slight
The garden queens, the chosen ones, they don’t know when to stop
The only clown who makes them smile is comic Carrot Top
Pick and pluck turn the nut and twist it oh so tight
The carrots won’t leave the ground without an awful fight
They look so clean and oh so bright and never ever soiled
Commerce takes too long, I want to see them all get boiled
They tell us all to wait. they’ll turn real sweet once it gets cold
When all of us have been all picked and some are growing mold
Carrot cake and carrot juice and carrot raisin salad
They’ll hate me and my rhyme because its not a ballad
My Name’s Nick the Beet, I am real neat. That is what I said
Some clowns call me Beet Down. But I’m Detroit Dark Red
I don’t try hard, I’m a genius bard - hang with me for a while
My face is scarred, and like swiss chard - I compost upon a pile
But, there is truth. And sometimes this truth is right in your face. The Spokane River is dry, or near dry, in sections. That is a truth. I believe government is afraid to address this danger aggressively. I worked in a job that made government address the truth of danger and destruction head on. Maybe this is why I am concerned about government's avoidance on this issue. I believe that, today, many of our elected officials' only goal is to retain power. It is becoming pretty obvious that they believe the best way to do this is to spread lies which bolster people's false beliefs or to shield people from harsh truths which would require that they change their behavior. In either case it's to keep people comfortable in their chosen ignorance, so they will continue to vote for them because it will keep them comfortable. There is a rude awakening coming. Government, at all levels, should know that there are a lot of us who have retained our honor, value truth and will act nobly and selflessly when we are asked to do so.
For the individual, for families, for our nation and for our region this cowardly avoidance of truth is a recipe for disaster. The river is talking to us right now. If there comes a time when citizens turn on their faucets and no water comes out, you can rest assured that "Conservatives" will not blame themselves and their behavior for the catastrophe. There will be the usual list of scapegoats lined up for them to trot out.
Oh yeah, I also played some river-related music! If you missed the show, here's a link - https://archive.kyrs.org/mp3/kyrs_250826_160000b.mp3
Tune into Out and About every Tuesday at 4 pm on KYRS at 88.1 and 92.3 fm. Also streaming at KYRS.org. You can also subscribe to it as a podcast. Thanks for listening! Maeve
Worked on Nick the Beet yesterday and am writing some beet poetry now. I am hoping to team up with @greenwarriorsband to do some spoken word with them. Luckily when you write beet poetry it doesn’t have to rhyme because only so many things rhyme with powdery mildew.
The orchids withered,
Killed by an August heat wave.
Harbingers they are.
Max Q
rate of change growing
and people living longer
a collision course
Bill
Silence the chatter
Blaring with its pants on fire
Listen to the land
Rikosan
Bad horror flick or
Laughable science fiction
Dumb evil triumphs
Maeve
Here's the graphic from Bill -
The garden is full-throttle right now. As the flowers begin to fade, the vegetables pop.
People stop to take pictures of the garden. Usually, they are on foot. Sometimes they stop in cars. I have walked out to work in the garden to find groups of people just stopped on the sidewalk, staring. Once, there were two women fighting back tears, telling me how much the garden means to them every year. I didn’t know what else to say except “thank you.” I often stand in the garden giving out thank-yous to passersby complimenting work which is not mine. Sarah is the perennial perennial flower architect and maintainer. It really is her vision that people enjoy. I am strictly vegetables and annuals. I know people like those too.
One year, I put googly eyes on a zucchini perched near the sidewalk. I also drew a mouth on it, but it needed something a little more - I crocheted a nice hat. I came back from a run to find two women (not the same two previously mentioned) standing over the zucchini.
One of them said, “Your zucchini has eyes.”
“Yeah, I know.”
The other one asked, "Why does your zucchini have a hat?”
“Because it’s cold in the morning.” I walked into my backyard leaving them standing there, puzzled and entranced by the zucchini wearing a hat.
The next year I made a talking zucchini. I did it again the following year. This turned out to be a mistake. It became a second job running the zucchini, talking to people through a hidden speaker and trying to make out what they were saying via a hidden microphone. People still ask, “Is ZuZu coming back again this year?”
I hate to break it to you, ZuZu is never coming back.
An interview with ZuZu -
I planted corn in front of a place I like to sit in the garden. I am hidden behind the corn, usually drinking a cup of coffee. People can enjoy the garden without having to talk to me. This is fantastic.
Yesterday, there was a letter in the mailbox. It had a postage stamp on the envelope. I couldn’t make out the postmark, where it was from. It was simply addressed “The Gardener.” Junk mail? An invitation to subscribe to Animatronic Urban Vegetable Gardening? No. It was a beautiful card with a typewritten poem on it. I could think of it as being addressed to either Sarah or me, but truthfully, after 34 years of marriage, three kids, four grandkids, lots of careers, lots of world traveling, and even a gender transition thrown in for good measure, we are, together “The Gardener.” Here’s the poem -
That's nice, right?
If I could have planted the vegetable garden in the backyard, I would have. But the front yard has the most sun. I had no choice. I don’t have a ton of socialization in my life since I retired, and I can’t hear very well even with my hearing aids. I suppose it is a good thing that people stop to talk to me. The garden means something to them. Usually, the walkers are headed up to Cannon Hill Park or back down from it. Maybe they are in the right frame of mind to appreciate something like this. I am glad for that. But, if I were to buy one of those endless pool swim spas, I would tear out the garden and place it right where the beans and delicata squash used to be. I would put up a fence so people couldn’t watch me swim and maybe plant some corn along its perimeter for good measure.
Yesterday on Out and About, I talked with Christopher Armitage and Dan Brown. Chris has written many books over the last couple years, and for the latest, he partnered up with Dan Brown. Dan is a retired school psychologist and political activist.The book is Conservatism: America's Personality Disorder. It's available on Amazon.
The subject of empathy fascinates me. We talked about how this virtue has now become a vice among self-labeled “compassionate” Conservatives and the awful destination these anti-Christ ersatz “christians” are ruddering our country toward. I learned a lot and they both gave me facts I am still thinking about.
If you missed the show - here’s a link - https://archive.kyrs.org/mp3/kyrs_250819_160000b.mp3
Tune into Out and About every Tuesday at 4 pm on KYRS at 88.1 and 92.3 fm. Also streaming at KYRS.org. Additionally, you can subscribe to it as a podcast. Thanks for listening! Maeve
Today on Out and About, I will be talking with Christopher Armitage. Chris has written a lot of books over the last couple years and the latest is called Conservatism: America's Empathy Disorder. He is also making a documentary film around the same issue. The subject of empathy fascinates me. How did this virtue become a vice for the self-labeled “compassionate” Conservatives? What is the awful destination that the anti-Christ ersatz “christians” have in mind for America?
Tune into Out and About every Tuesday at 4 pm on KYRS at 88.1 and 92.3 fm. Also streaming at KYRS.org. You can also subscribe to it as a podcast. Thanks for listening! Maeve
A chance encounter:
Not quite what we expected.
“Still crazy,” he sings.
Max Q
Touched by Sasquatch
Keep letting your beautiful light
shine on this messy world!
Lora Lea
A purple flower
The imperial color
A royal forest
Bill
Having second thoughts?
You can’t wash this off your hands
It penetrates deep
Rikosan
Numerology
Alphabetizing our dread
Makes no sense at all
Maeve
Yesterday, I talked with Matt Danielson, Executive Director of Spokane Pride. We talked about the festivities this Saturday - Garland Pride. The weather is going to be great and there are so many fun things planned including the band - Green Warriors.
We also talked about the Spokane Pride event, which may be the biggest single day event in Spokane now, with an estimated 60,000 people showing up. What went well and what might be different next year? And what about Selkirk the Pride Parade Cat? How could one feline create such controversy?
Matt has also been leading the charge in hosting small Pride festivals all around the region. Did you know there was a Pride festival in Bonners Ferry? Matt has an interesting and lovely vision for what Spokane Pride might mean for everyone in our town. As always, I have such a wonderful time talking with Matt!
The Garland Neighborhood is such a gem. Great shops, restaurants and breweries, and, of course, the wonderful Garland Theater. Check it all out this Saturday!
If you missed the show - here’s a link - https://archive.kyrs.org/mp3/kyrs_250812_160000b.mp3
Tune into Out and About every Tuesday at 4 pm on KYRS at 88.1 and 92.3 fm. Also streaming at KYRS.org. You can also subscribe to it as a podcast. Thanks for listening! Maeve
This Saturday it's Garland Pride! It is going to be a great time! I will be talking with Matt Danielson, Executive Director of Spokane Pride. The weather is going to be great and there are so many festivities planned including the band - Green Warriors.
The Garland Neighborhood is such a gem. Great shops, restaurants and breweries, and, of course, the wonderful Garland Theater. Get the lowdown on what will be going down.
Tune into Out and About every Tuesday at 4 pm on KYRS at 88.1 and 92.3 fm. Also streaming at KYRS.org. You can also subscribe to it as a podcast. Thanks for listening! Maeve
