RISING

The oft-recited prayer deliver us from evil,
Desiderata's go placidly,
even Kristofferson's help me make it through the night,
we clutch at phrases like these for comfort,
hoping all bad things will just go away,
knowing that evil, like rust, never sleeps,
eating away at hearts and souls.

We whisper mantras and light candles,
wade upstream in a never-ending tidal-rush
of 24/7 demons doing what they do,
making every effort to drown good spirits,
spirits that might be wounded or suffocated,
but never extinguished. Never extinguished.

Spirits that respond to sweet kisses of life,
always ready for triumph, revival, for a rising.

THEY SAY

They say deal with loss.
They say time will heal.
They say things happen for a reason.
They say forgive and forget
They say there, there, sorry for your loss.
They say what's done is done.
They say draw a line.
They say move on.

Words, like plasters on wounds,
blood seeping through the fabric,
eventually the weeping stops
but not the remembering.

ON A TRAIN IN JAPAN

I have an appetite for politeness,

Old school, I know, out of fashion, lost cause.

And what brought on this hunger pang? A bow,

Effortless, graceful, a moment, a pause

To widen the eyes and drop the jaw.

A uniformed attendant on a train

Walked the carriage to a connecting door.

She turned to face us, warm smile on her lips,

Bowed her head, more than a nod, but no more,

Turned again and carried on her duties.

It was as brief and effective as that,

An indicator that complicating

Humanity and human goodness

Is what we’ve become, subordinating

The purity of natural kindness.

60 YEARS ON FROM A SCHOOL PROJECT, I'M ON THE STREETS OF TOKYO

I am happy to receive commissions from editors 

on any aspect of this trip.

joecushnan@aol.com

When I was a boy of six, our teacher, Mr Sadler, told the class at St. Teresa's Primary School, Glen Road, Belfast, that we were going to work on a project. We were going to find out as much as we could about Japan from books, holiday brochures and whatever else we came up with. I remember it was an exciting project because there seemed to be nothing more distant or exotic as Japan.

In a matter of weeks, the classroom walls were covered with photographs, paintings, newspaper and magazine cuttings, and all manner of things. I have never forgotten that project.

Fast forward almost 60 years and there I was recently walking the streets of Tokyo and visiting places like Yokohama, Toba, Himeji, Kochi, Yokkaichi, with a wee detour on one day to Busan, South Korea. It was all fascinating and mind-blowing.

I am now writing up the trip for a short memoir - working title, 'Postcards from the East'. I might pitch it or parts of it to editors, but as a last resort I'll blog a few pieces or even self-publish just for the family record.

So many moments, especially one that blew me away, and so many stories.

LOCAL ELECTIONS - ANOTHER LEAFLET

Following on from the previous post...........


It is local election time and political campaigning leaflets are outnumbering takeaway menus at the moment. The blurb on them is, by and large, airy-fairy claptrap, of course. I often say that on the morning after ballot boxes have closed, that mighty din of whirring is the sound of manifestos, promises and pledges being shredded en masse.

Here's another leaflet that was posted through my door. I will not identify the contender.

'Dear Residents, We are not going to make you any false promises in a bid to secure your vote in these local elections.......'

And then, a list of pledges:

'We will freeze your council tax for two years.

We will protect our rural communities from over development.

We will scrap town centre Saturday parking charges.

We will invest in our town centres.

We will be tough on fly-tipping.

We will protect fortnightly bin collections.

We will build council houses.

We will re-open public toilets.

We will have a zero tolerance to all types of anti-social behaviour.

We will always put the needs of local residents before party politics.

We will make our district cleaner, safer and better place in which to work and live.'

All very noble stuff. And based on just about every past local election, the realist in me screams that there is not a cat in hell's chance of much of this list actually being delivered.

For example, town centres have been dying for years and reports and recommendations have blethered on and on about what should be done. And what happens? NOTHING.

Vote wisely but vote on the basis that your only choice is picking the least worst candidates. 

LOCAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS - BRING ON THE EXCLAMATION MARKS

It is local election time and political campaigning leaflets are outnumbering takeaway menus at the moment. The blurb on them is, by and large, airy-fairy claptrap, of course. I often say that on the morning after ballot boxes have closed, that mighty din of whirring is the sound of manifestos, promises and pledges being shredded en masse.

Here's a leaflet that was posted through my door. I will not identify the contender but I was intrigued by something - the use of exclamation marks and other emphases. I have edited out a few bits.

"Do we want more of the same, are we all fed up of all the broken promises, the ineptitude or do we want CHALLENGE and CHANGE??"

I will deliver CHALLENGE and CHANGE: using my core values of Openness, Transparency, Fairness, Integrity, Passion, Innovation and Accountability!!

I will drive change via those core values, my track record over the past 16 years is a successful one! 

I will make a difference for my ward, for local people, for the sake of our children, grand-children and their children!!!"

This is non-specific nonsense and it seems to me the writer knows this because of the need to use capital letters, 2 question marks at the beginning and 6 exclamation marks throughout. Emphasising nothing of substance is emphasising nothing.

Brainstorming a lot of words and calling them "core values" is a typical political tactic. They all sound fine and noble but nothing else. There is no commitment here. Nothing.

So, always be wary, folks, of lazy words, meaningless sentences and over-exuberant use of punctuation from political contenders.

Now, I will DELIVER this waste of paper to the bin forthwith!!!!!!

FREELANCE FEATURE OPPORTUNITIES MAY 2019

I am happy to receive commissions to write about any of the events below

joecushnan@aol.com or Direct Message on Twitter @JoeCushnan

MAY

1 Batman first appeared in comic form 80 years ago

1 Formula One’s Ayrton Senna died at 34 at San Marino 25 years ago

2 Leonardo Da Vinci died at 67 500 years ago

2 The Folies Bergere cabaret opened in Paris 150 years ago

2 The QE2 passenger liner set off on her maiden voyage 50 years ago

2 Oliver Reed died at 61 20 years ago

3 Folk singer Pete Seeger was born 100 years ago. Died at 94 in 2014

3 Margaret Thatcher became the UK’s first female Prime Minister 40 years ago

4 Audrey Hepburn was born 90 years ago. Died at 63 in 1993

6 Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under four minutes 65 years ago

6 Channel Tunnel crossing between England and France was officially opened 25 years ago

6 The final episode of TV’s Friends was broadcast 15 years ago

8 Dirk Bogarde died at 78 20 years ago

10 Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president 25 years ago

10 Fred Astaire was born 120 years ago. Died at 88 in 1987

11 The Monty Python team formed 50 years ago

14 Henry J. Heinz, founder of Heinz food company, died at 74 100 years ago

16 Liberace was born 100 years ago. Died at 67 in 1987

16 The first Academy Awards were presented 90 years ago

19 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died 25 years ago

20 Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets was released 65 years ago

22 Arthur Conan Doyle was born 160 years ago. Died at 71 in 1930

24 Queen Victoria was born 200 years ago. Died at 81 in 1901

26 Michael Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley 25 years ago