Tag Archives: humor

What I’m working on at the moment

I edit, write, design, edit, even do some the photography for a neighborhood newsletter for the historic neighborhood in which I live. Below is what I am working as part of the newsletter. I did not take the photos, but have cropped and processed them. They were color. They are now black and white, because the newsletter is printed in black and white.

Some of my neighbors went on rafting trip a couple of months back and the photos are from that day trip. The poem, “The Captain said,” is mine.

Neighbors Lauren Rider (left) and Pete Creel (right) heading into some rough waters.

Neighbors Lauren Rider (left) and Pete Creel (right) head into some rough waters.

The Captain said

The boat is fine, the captain said;
he said it to our face.
The boat is fine, the captain said,
the river sets the pace.

The boat is fine, the captain said,
and then he said no more.
The boat is fine, the captain said
as we sailed away from shore.

The boat is fine, the captain said,
as the river tossed us about.
The boat is fine, the captain said,
as some of us wanted out.

The boat is fine, the captain said,
steering for the roughest part.
The boat is fine, the captain said;
he’d said it from the start.

The boat is fine, the captain said
as the waves thumped into the boat
The boat is fine, the captain said
as some of us tried to float.

The boat is fine, the captain said,
Come back again next year.
The boat is fine, the captain said —
but captain, I hope you’re not here.

Pete Creel taking an unplanned dip in the river.

Pete Creel takes an unplanned dip in the river.

Pete said the best place to sit on the raft was in the center, but two people had quickly seized those seats before he and Lauren could get in. He said he also felt that at times the captain / person steering the raft, aimed for the roughest patches of water to make sure he and the other members of the crew got their money’s worth in experience.

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Freeform Friday: “And they call the wind Oh-My-Oh”

Cartoon of Angry White Guy

Superstorm Sandy was not the only ill wind to blow ashore this recent election season.

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The blathering idiot and The Pro-Accordion Party, part 10, the image

The blathering idiot had not done well in the one debate held on a public access channel in North Dakota. It had gone so poorly that nobody, even among the few Pro-Accordion Party supports in North Dakota remembered seeing him on the stage. Even the green Party candidate received more recognition.

The most notable thing that anybody could remember about the blathering idiot’s performance was that he had vowed to have accordion jazz music played at his inauguration. But even the one reporter covering the debate could not remember that it was him, the blathering idiot, who had said it. Only that somebody had said it and that it was the funniest line of the entire debate.

The blathering idiot had not intended for it to be funny.

But even Lydia had said it sounded funny to her, at least the way he had said it. Xenia said she had laughed out loud, time and time again, when she watched that clip of the debate on YouTube. That part of the debated was about t go viral, she said.

The blathering idiot did not think viral sounded good. He was pretty sure that meant terrible, but he was too afraid to ask. He was afraid that it would mean that his off-again, on-again girlfriend, Zoey, was right – that he would never amount to much.

That thought was still running through his head when the consultant walked into his motel room. He walked right up to the blathering idiot and said, “I have the answer.”

Lydia looked excited. Even Xenia looked a little excited. The blathering idiot did not feel excited.

“We don’t have much time, so we have to strike out in a new direction so we can stand out. You have to have a whole new image. Something that says: rugged, ready, pro-gun, pro-self-defense, professional in everything you do, which will appeal to the men, but also something that says, ‘I’m a man’s man.’ Chiseled features, rugged good looks. Something that will appeal to the ladies. And after all, they are the ones you really need to impress to get elected to the highest office in the land.”

The blathering idiot glanced at Lydia who nodded slightly. He glanced at Xenia who shrugged her shoulders as if to say all this boy-girl stuff was boring her.

The blathering idiot swallowed and said, “Okay. What do you have in mind?”

“A complete makeover.”

“Complete?”

“Exactly.”

“What will I look like when you’re done?”

“We’re done,” the consultant said. “You have to believe in this, too, or it won’t work.”

“Okay. What will I look like?”

“Do you believe in this?”

“I guess.”

“Do you believe in this?” The consultant’s voice was louder.

“Yes.”

“Say it again.”

“Yes,” the blathering idiot said.

“Louder.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, I believe!” the consultant shouted.

“Yes, I believe!” the blathering idiot shouted.

“Here, then,” the consultant said, “is what you will look like as a candidate after I … I mean … we complete your makeover.”

He slapped a photo in the blathering idiot’s lad.

For a second, the blathering idiot was afraid to look, but then slowly he tilted his head down and looked at the photo. What he saw in his lap surprised him, shocked him, and then sent a shiver down his spine.

He closed his eyes and hoped he would awaken in Oz or even Kansas.

Sean Connery in Zardoz

The blathering idiot’s new image.

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Sunday Silliness: limerick: “Ohio”

There once was a woman ill from Ohio
whose love life was in complete spiral.
She took to her bed,
pulled the pillows over her head:
her boyfriend had voted across the aisle.

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Freeform Friday: “At home with a good book”

I wanna go home
where the buffalo roam
all about the loam,
and the troll and the gnome
eat crumpets from a comb
and the strumpets of Rome
read erotica from a tome
and wait for you at home
where the fun’s allowed to roam
wild as strumpets on a comb
and crumpets on the loam
and buffalo with a tome
thundering about the streets of Rome.
I wanna go home.

Book of erotic poetry

“…strumpets read erotica from a tome….”

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cARtOONSdAY: “Blown about”

Two guys in the wind

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.

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Monday morning writing joke: “Smarts”

Writer, no respect

Getting less for more. Sometimes its hard to please any reader.

While at a book signing the other day, I overheard one person say to the other as they walked by my table: “He makes me wish I had a lower IQ so I could enjoy his book.”

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The blathering idiot and the Pro-Accordion Party, part 9, fund raising

The blathering idiot stood outside, behind a table with a few bumper stickers, buttons, and other items, including some holiday decorations. It was cool autumn morning. Leaves were falling. He could almost hear them. He turned toward Lydia at the table next to his. All three tables together formed a shallow U.

“Is this how it’s done?” he asked.

She smiled at him. “We are a small party with only a small name recognition. Until we become more well known, we won’t get the big money donors like the other parties have.”

The blathering idiot turned and looked at Xenia, his young assistant and the daughter of his off again, on again girlfriend. She was standing at a shorter table to his right. This was the fourth such event they had both been a part of this week. At none of the events did they seem to have much success.

She smiled at him, and then shrugged her shoulders. There were a few things on her table. She was actually selling more than he was.

He looked back at Lydia. “How much money do we have to raise today?”

“More than yesterday.”

“And how much did we raise yesterday?”

“Not enough.”

“That’s what you said yesterday when I asked about the day before.”

“And it was true then and it’s true now. These days, with outside groups being able to buy and run all kinds of ads on their own, campaigns need a lot of money just to get going, and to keep them going requires even more.”

“Like a corporate sponsor?” the blathering idiot asked.

“Not quite,” Lydia said.

“Like maybe we could get a sponsor to put their logo on the side of the campaign truck? ‘This campaign sponsored by Deep Fried Fritters,’” Xenia said. “’Deep fried fritters, just the thing to warm you up on a cool fall morning.’”

Xenia did her best to put an announcer’s voice into her mock advertisement.

“I don’t think that would fit on the side of the truck,” the blathering idiot said.

“And that’s not what this is about.” Lydia scowled at Xenia.
“Then what is this about?” the blathering idiot asked.

“It’s about name recognition,” Lydia said

“Then maybe we should sponsor something.”

“But we don’t have the money.”

“And that’s why we’re out here.”

“Yes.”

“And that’s why we’ve been doing this for four days?”

“Yes.”

“And how many more days will we be outside like this?” Xenia asked.

“Until we raise enough money,” Lydia said.

“To sponsor something?” the blathering idiot asked.

Lydia scowled at him. “The Pro-Accordion Party is already sponsoring you. This yard sale and all the other ones is about raising money to get you elected to the highest office in the land. Pro-Accordion members donated all this junk so you might get elected!”

Just then two people came through the gate into the yard. They heard the word junk, looked disappointed and even a little angry (The blathering idiot thought he saw a scowl forming on the man’s face.), immediately turned around and left.

“I guess he won’t be sponsoring us,” Xenia said.

This time Lydia glared at her.

Sale sign

Sometimes it’s hard to get the people who are selling to buy into what you are selling.

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Freeform Friday: limerick. “The chairs”

There once was a man from Bengal
who met a woman through a business phone call.
They arranged to meet;
she was soon sitting on his seat
because his chairs had been part of her recall.

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cARtOONSdAY: lIFE, uNIVERSITY oF

UNIVERSITY OF LIFE

Crash courses available.

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