Ray's Rhetoric

2012 Phillies

2012-01-31T08:06:00.002-05:00

Here's the 2012 roster as of January 31, 2012 (from philliesnation.com):

Infield/Catchers

Ryan Howard

Chase Utley

Jimmy Rollins

Placido Polanco

Carlos Ruiz

Ty Wigginton

Jim Thome

Wilson Valdez

Brian Schndeider

Michael Martinez

Outfield

Shane Victorino

Hunter Pence

Laynce Nix

John Mayberry Jr.

Starting Pitching

Cliff Lee

Roy Halladay

Cole Hamels

Joe Blanton

Vance Worley

Relief Pitching

Jonathan Papelbon

Kyle Kendrick

Jose Contreras

Dontrelle Willis

David Herndon

Antonio Bastardo

Michael Stutes

In What Other Profession

2012-01-28T21:08:00.004-05:00

"I’m going to step out of my usual third-person writing voice for a moment. As a parent I received a letter last week from the Kansas State Board of Education, informing me that my children’s school district had been placed on “improvement” status for failing to meet “adequate yearly progress” under the No Child Left Behind law.

"I thought it ironic that our schools were judged inadequate by people who haven’t set foot in them, so I wrote a letter to my local newspaper. Predictably, my letter elicited a deluge of comments in the paper’s online forum. Many remarks came from armchair educators and anti-teacher, anti-public school evangelists quick to discredit anything I had to say under the rationale of “he’s a teacher.” What could a teacher possibly know about education?

"Countless arguments used to denigrate public school teachers begin with the phrase “in what other profession….” and conclude with practically anything the anti-teacher pundits find offensive about public education. Due process and collective bargaining are favorite targets, as are the erroneous but tightly held beliefs that teachers are under-worked, over-paid (earning million-dollar pensions), and not accountable for anything.

"In what other profession, indeed.

"In what other profession are the licensed professionals considered the LEAST knowledgeable about the job? You seldom if ever hear “that guy couldn’t possibly know a thing about law enforcement – he’s a police officer”, or “she can’t be trusted talking about fire safety – she’s a firefighter.”

"In what other profession is experience viewed as a liability rather than an asset? You won’t find a contractor advertising “choose me – I’ve never done this before”, and your doctor won’t recommend a surgeon on the basis of her “having very little experience with the procedure”.

"In what other profession is the desire for competitive salary viewed as proof of callous indifference towards the job? You won’t hear many say “that lawyer charges a lot of money, she obviously doesn’t care about her clients”, or “that coach earns millions – clearly he doesn’t care about the team.”

“But look around. You’ll find droves of armchair educators who summarily dismiss any statement about education when it comes from a teacher. Likewise, it’s easy to find politicians, pundits, and profiteers who refer to our veteran teachers as ineffective, overpriced “dead wood”. Only the rookies could possibly be any good, or worth the food-stamp-eligible starting salaries we pay them.

"And if teachers dare ask for a raise, this is taken by many as clear evidence that teachers don’t give a porcupine’s posterior about kids. In fact, some say if teachers really cared about their students they would insist on earning LESS money.

“If that entire attitude weren’t bad enough, what other profession is legally held to PERFECTION by 2014? Are police required to eliminate all crime? Are firefighters required to eliminate all fires? Are doctors required to cure all patients? Are lawyers required to win all cases? Are coaches required to win all games? Of course they aren’t.

“For no other profession do so many outsiders refuse to accept the realities of an imperfect world. Crime happens. Fire happens. Illness happens. As for lawyers and coaches, where there’s a winner there must also be a loser. People accept all these realities, until they apply to public education.

“If a poverty-stricken, drug-addled meth-cooker burns down his house, suffers third degree burns, and then goes to jail; we don’t blame the police, fire department, doctors, and defense attorneys for his predicament. But if that kid doesn’t graduate high school, it’s clearly the teacher’s fault.

“And if someone – anyone - tries to tell you otherwise; don’t listen. He must be a teacher.”

(August 27th, 2010 by David Reber from http://m.examiner.com/k-12-in-topeka/in-what-other-profession)

NaNoWriMo Link

2011-11-04T19:13:00.002-04:00

Here's a link that explains what the donations for the NaNoWriMo findraiser is for...

2011-11-02T22:51:00.000-04:00

NaNoWriMo 2011!

2011-11-01T19:00:00.002-04:00

Homeroom 107 Pep Rally

2011-09-30T12:24:00.001-04:00

Senior Year Pep Rally, Friday, September 30, 2011

Homeroom 107

2011-09-22T09:36:00.000-04:00

Homeroom 107, Fall 2011, Senior Year

Red October

2011-09-21T14:21:00.003-04:00

Jimmy "J-Roll" Rollins

Placido "Polly" Polanco

Chase "Chutley" Utley

Ryan "The Big Piece" Howard

Hunter "Let's Eat" Pence

Raul "Rauuuuul" Ibanez

Shane "The Flyin' Hawaiian" Victorino

Carlos "Chooch" Ruiz

and

Roy "Doc" Halladay or
Cliff "General" Lee or
Cole "Hollywood" Hamels or
Roy "Wizard of O's" Oswalt or
Vance "Vanimal" Worley

Eulogy: Saturday, September 10, 2011

2011-09-09T22:38:00.000-04:00

I would like to start off by welcoming friends and family: thank you for coming today to share in what isn't so much a funeral as it is a celebration, a celebration of a successful, long life (for those of you who didn't know, mom would have been 90 years-old this November).

There are lots of ways to measure success. I'll start by saying what my mom wasn't successful at: my mom wasn't so much successful from a professional point of view; she was never the ceo of a multinational corporatiton, a top level manager at a fortune 500 company, or the founder of a .com enterprise. It would be safe to say that my mom barely knew what a .com was. She wasn't so much a success with regard to finances; she was not rich, she did not live in a mansion, heck, she hadn't even worked since the mid '50s. She wasn't a writer, or a painter, or an athlete. She couldn't sing. She didn't play the piano. She didn't play the guitar. Had no idea what a USB drive was and, in fact, had only used a computer to play Wheel of Fortune.

She never successfully used a cell phone, did not know that bars were no longer called “tap” rooms , and thought that “Jersey Shore” was a place you went to on vacation.

Rita, Reet, Aunt Reet, Tia Rita, the “Bod,” grandmom, mom-mom, Mrs. Cattie, Miss Thomas. Mom. These are the titles she held, titles of respect, titles of love, titles of admiration. Titles earned by a Homemaker, a Housewife, a professional woman. People today would blanch at the title “Housewife,” or “Homemaker.” They would say, “That's not a career, that's not a profession, that's not something to be proud of.” Not so my mother, and her generation.

The Greatest Generation, as journalist Tom Brokaw called them. Those who came of age around World War II. Greatest in deed. Leonard Bernstein, JFK, LBJ, Ronald Reagan, Walter Cronkite, Julia Child, Joe DiMaggio, Billy Graham, Jack Kerouac, Nelson Mandella, Arthur Miller, Dylan Thomas, J.D. Salinger, Andrew Wyeth, Lawrence Olivier, Mother Theresa. Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said of that generation: “This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.” And indeed they did. We are who we are because they were who they were. No generation since has been able to fill the shoes of the Greatest Generation, and it's not likely any generation forward ever will.

As anyone who knew my mother knew, mom was an edacious Flyers fan, keeping records and stats of each and every game because, as she said, “They stink at keeping records.” She loved the casinos, making the trip to Atlantic City more times than I can remember, and then to the Chester waterfront when Harra's opened. She knew the people at the casinos by their first names, and they knew her. When a month would go by where she couldn't get to the casinos, they would call her to make sure everything was ok. She was on Donald Trump's Christmas card list. No, really.

There are lots of memories, as someone who lives four score and nine years will generate. You fill in the blanks with your own memories, that's why you're here, after all, because you knew and had some sort of a special relationship with her.

When mom passed earlier this week, it was 1:25am our time, but 5:25pm Heaven Time, smack in the middle of Heavenly Happy Hour. We like to think that when mom crossed over, she was met at the Gates of Heaven by St. Peter, my dad, her brothers and sisters, and all of her relatives and friends, each with a whiskey sour in their hands, toasting a life well lived.

In closing, I want to share a poem with you, written for my mom, called “Nobody Else But You:”

“Nobody else has a place in my dreams,

Nobody else could ever thrill me it seems,

No one can make a night so filled with romance,

And say the things that make my heart want to dance,

When you’re away, darling, I always miss

Your arms around me and your goodnight kiss,

No one can make me happy when

I’m feeling blue,

Nobody else but YOU.”

Signed, “For Rita Thomas, with love, from Ray Cattie, December 1945.”

We love you mom. Thank you. May your hand always be filled with trump cards.

Remembering Mom

2011-09-08T13:21:00.001-04:00

From Delaware County Daily TImes:

Rita A. Cattie

Rita A. (nee Thomas) Cattie, 89 Of Folsom, formerly of Clifton Heights Rita A. (nee Thomas) Cattie, 89, died September 5, 2011 at Mercy Fitzgerald Vitas Hospice. Mrs. Cattie was a graduate of Clifton Heights High School. She was an active member of Our Lady of Peace Church. Mrs. Cattie was an avid Flyers fan. She enjoyed the casinos and loved spending time with her family especially her grandchildren. Beloved wife of the late Raymond C. Cattie. Survivors: Loving mother of Donna M. Lowry and Raymond L. Cattie; grandmother of Michael, Matthew, William and Tory; is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews Funeral Mass: 10 AM Saturday at Our Lady of Peace Church, 208 Milmont Ave., Milmont Park, PA Visitation: 9 AM Saturday at the church Interment: Saints Peter & Paul Cemetery In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Our Lady of Peace Church at the address above. Condolences:www.williamslombardofuneralhome.com Arr: Williams-Lombardo Funeral Home

Published in The Daily Times on September 8, 2011

Magic Number 2011

2011-07-27T09:54:00.004-04:00

PHILLIES MAGIC NUMBER

click above

Congratulations Royals!

2011-06-17T13:03:00.031-04:00

Congratulations to the Royals class of 2011! You did us proud today!
As you step forward to claim your future, don't forget your past--
don't forget where you came from, and what it took to get to where
you are now. And always remember-- we're proud of you!

Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.

New-made friendships, like new wine,
Age will mellow and refine.
Friendships that have stood the test
Time and change - are surely best;
Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray,
Friendship never knows decay.

For 'mid oldfriends, tried and true,
Once more we our youth renew.
But old friends, alas! may die,
New friends must their place supply.
Cherish friendship in your breast
New is good, but old is best;
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
(New Friends and Old Friends© Joseph Parry)

fAceS

iN tHe
crOwd

Kelsey Lee Carr Ed-- Skills & Comp

(and proud mama Sue) Spring 2011

Manny-- Skills & Comp Malika & Dominique

Fall 2010 Skills & Comp, Sp. '11

Andrew-- Skills & Comp Torin-- Creative Writing

Spring 2011 Writer's Ink

...and of course...

Nitha-- Creative Writing

Writer's Ink

The Tao of Pooh

2011-06-06T10:02:00.001-04:00

"While Eeyore frets ...
... and Piglet hesitates
... and Rabbit calculates
... and Owl pontificates
...Pooh just is."

2011-06-01T09:40:00.001-04:00

Mock Interviews

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Skills & Comp

Gettysburg

2011-05-31T08:36:00.006-04:00

It being "Civil War Week" on the History Channel, I had to comment on last night's show, "Gettysburg." Directed by none other than Ridley Scott, the two hour special paid tribute to the 45,000+ casualties who were either killed, wounded, or missing in action during what was arguably the most pivotal battle in American history.

I have seen many shows on the Civil War in general and on Gettysburg in specific, I have read many books on the topic, seen many pictures, and have been there numerous times to stand in awe at the summit of Cemetery Ridge, imagining a Confederate regiment charging up the hill, only to be cut down by ghostly cannon fire from the Union defensive line at the top.

Short of actually being there, one of the more moving tributes to the fallen at Gettysburg actually came from Hollywood-- from Denzel Washington, in the movie "Remember the Titans" (A Jerry Bruckheimer Film, 2000). The scene is training camp at Gettysburg College, Coach Boone (Washington) takes the team on a pre-dawn run that leads them to a mist-enshrouded battlefield, where he makes the following speech in an attempt to unite his mixed-race team:

"Anybody know what this place is? This is Gettysburg. This is where they fought the Battle of Gettysburg. Fifty thousand men died right here on this field, fightin' the same fight that we're still fightin' amongst ourselves today. This green field right here was painted red, bubblin' with the blood of young boys, smoke and hot lead pourin' right through their bodies. Listen to their souls, men: 'I killed my brother with malice in my heart. Hatred destroyed my family.' You listen. And you take a lesson from the dead. If we don't come together, right now, on this hallowed ground, we too will be destroyed -- just like they were. I don't care if you like each other or not. But you will respect each other. And maybe -- I don't know -- maybe we'll learn to play this game like men."

Life Lessons are often interesting, and always moving.

Maslow and Motivation

2011-05-26T09:35:00.016-04:00

Exactly what is this "motivation" thing? According to "Dictionary.com," the word motivation, as a noun, is defined as, "...the state or condition of being motivated." Upon further investigation, the word "motivated" is defined as a verb, "...to provide with a motive or motives; to incite; to impel." So, to motivate would be to incite someone into doing something; the motivation behind an action is the underlying reason something is done.

In 1943, psychology professor Abraham Maslow, the founder of humanistic psychology, published a paper called "A Theory of Human Motivation," which extolled the virtues of a new theory of the hierarchical needs of humans. Maslow basically said the there were five hierarchical levels of human needs that served as motivation for human actions and interactions. these levels, from the basic to the sophisticated, include: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/

Basically, what Maslow said was that the base levels of the hierarchy (pictured above as the bottom layer (orange) of the pyramid) were the "primary" levels of need that must be met before any of the layers above on the table could be achieved.

It's pretty obvious to draw several conclusions here, and while this is not a sociological essay, one cannot help but to come to several sociological conclusions. Primarily, people who have basic needs met can focus on higher level needs; generally, this means that the poor once again get the short end of the straw, as they are in an almost incessant scramble to meet the level one needs such as food, shelter, freedom from pain, etc.

In addition, Maslow can be used quite effectively as a diagnostic tool. For example, if Johnny is having problems getting along with others at school (level three), one generally need look no further than level two, where one might identify (i.e.) the fact that the father is out of work, which in turn makes resources at Johnny's house scarce, which in turn reflects to the first layer, where Johnny might not be sleeping or eating well. You must have stability on the lower levels to be able to even pursue the upper levels.

From a language arts perspective, Maslow is critical in understanding character motivation. Just like people (no coincidence), characters must be consistent with regard to following Maslow's hierarchy. Which is why, for example, we don't see too many stories about a homeless person pursuing morality or creativity very often; too busy seeking shelter and food. They're usually alone, too, and they tend not to exhibit excessive self-esteem, either.

Maslow works on many levels, no pun intended. For the counselor trying to understand why Johnny gets into trouble every day at school, for the English student trying to comprehend literature, for the creative writer trying to accurately pen a three dimensional character, and for the everyday person just trying to understand life.

End of the World Party

2011-05-20T08:02:00.003-04:00

My homeroom:

Well, you have to admire their spunk, anyway!

Love these guys!

2011 Creative Writing Contest

2011-05-06T13:41:00.007-04:00

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Conestoga High School

Central League Creative

Writing Contest

Below are Upper Darby's participants

(left to right, back to front):

Rachel, Chris, Mr. Cattie, Igor, Michael, Torin,

Laura, Nitha, & Evan

Congratulations to Chris and Evan for their

wins! That's four years running for the Royals!

Driving Out the Darkness

2011-05-03T07:51:00.003-04:00

I find myself horrified at the apparent response of some of my fellow Americans over the shooting of Osama bin Laden. While I too was profoundly affected by the tragedy of 9/11, though I did not personally lose anyone, I cannot justify (for myself) the celebrating of death. Justice, yes. Death, no. And so this apropos quote from, of all people, Martin Luther King, Jr... it's as if it was written specifically for this occasion:

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

Post-Script:

It has since been revealed that the above quote was an "Internet hoax;" that is, it was not written by Martin Luther King, Jr. Nevertheless, whoever wrote it still wrote a very apropos thought that was quickly adopted by many...

Inchworm

2011-03-23T08:19:00.002-04:00

I found
an inchworm
that was an inch
and a half
and
it ruined my
day.

Homeroom 107

2010-09-10T08:54:00.002-04:00

Congratulations Class of 2010!

2010-06-23T04:32:00.005-04:00

Thursday, June 18, 2010, Villanova Pavillion

Congratulations Royals!

Congratulations to the Royals class of 2010! You did us proud today! As you step forward to claim your future, don't forget your past-- don't forget where you came from, and what it took to get to where you are now. And always remember-- we're proud of you and your accomplishments!

Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
New-made friendships, like new wine,
Age will mellow and refine.
Friendships that have stood the test
Time and change - are surely best;
Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray,
Friendship never knows decay.
For 'mid old friends, tried and true,
Once more we our youth renew.
But old friends, alas! may die,
New friends must their place supply.
Cherish friendship in your breast
New is good, but old is best;
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.

(New Friends and Old Friends© Joseph Parry)

The "Real" Drexel Hill Devil?

2010-06-16T08:20:00.004-04:00

Picture of room 109 at UDHS Taken yesterday,

6/15/10, at around 12:00 noon:

Here's an isolated shot

of the left side of that

same picture:

2010-05-26T13:52:00.008-04:00

END OF SOPHOMORE YEAR AND SOON TO BE JUNIORS!

2010-04-29T13:49:00.004-04:00

AP- Drexel Hill, PA

THE DREXEL HILL DEVIL

(image shown) The

Smithsonian Institute

confirmed administration’s

worst fears— the myster-

ious creature captured

in the high school court-

yard on Thursday,

April 22, 2010, was

female, and several

“nests” containing

undisclosed quantities

of eggs were found in

multiple locales both

inside and outside of

the high school. While

a locker search was

conducted over the

week-end of April 24-25,

there is no way to be

certain all of the nests

were found. In a related

story, the Center for

Disease Control has

confirmed maintenance

worker William “Billy Jack”

Jackson was bitten by the

creature and remains in a

coma at the University of

Pennsylvania Trauma Unit.

2010 Central League Creative Writing Contest

2010-03-19T10:10:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to all of the participants in the 2010 Central League Creative Writing Contest, hosted this year by Haverford High School (nice job, Lauren!). A special congratulations goes out to Upper Darby sophomore ANDREW LESAGE for winning FIRST PLACE in his grade level!

That's two in a row, and three out of the last four years!

The Wasp: More of the Shell Game

2010-03-12T13:19:00.002-05:00

He says something,

and I want to respond

like a wasp.

She says nothing,

and I want to respond

like a wasp.

They do nothing,

and I want to respond

like a wasp.

Then I remember: wasps can fly.

Senseless: More of the Shell Game

2010-03-12T07:06:00.002-05:00

I see

the future

in your bright eyes.

I hear

my own thoughts

coming out of your lips.

I smell

a profound healing of the spirit

standing close to you.

I feel

how warm tomorrow can be

when I touch you.

And yet

I taste

the salt of my own tears

As I write this.

Three New Poems: The Shell Game

2010-03-05T09:23:00.007-05:00

(yes, the Muse is definitely back,
and she's really, really inspiring)

Just a Dream

Was it just a dream, when

You said I was your dream?

It was only yesterday

(At least that’s how it seems).

Words had tumbled out, and

Affections fell like rain,

Could it be my mind, or

Is it really not the same?

I wonder at the wonder as

I look around and see,

No one’s here (again)—

I’m thinking that it’s me.

But maybe I am dreaming, or

At least imagining, that

You were once as close as that—

That we were once a Thing.

So here I am again, I’m caught

Between the real and fantasy,

Was it just a dream my love,

Or is it all just me?

Upon a Starry Night

The darkness feeds inside my head

Like birds upon the crumbs of bread…

Upon a starry night I see

Reflections of the things to be

Suspended there to my concern

Enigmas someday I will learn

I stand upon the Bearskin Neck

Perched upon a sodden deck

I balance there upon the strand

Upon a piece of granite land

The night is dark, as black as this

I ponder though I know not which

Of all the thoughts that cross my mind

Which of those to leave behind

I find upon my mind a plan

To leave behind my native land

Into the starry vault to fly

Into the deepening divide

Delving for the question there

Searching in the icy air

Changing raindrops into snow

To drift upon the sea below

Looking out I fix my gaze

Into the wond’rous starry haze

Overwhelming vistas there

Envelop me without a care

I wish upon a streaking star

And wonder how I'll mark the bar

To measure out my finest feat

Of introspection at the quay

But thoughts alone soon pass behind

I look into the darkened mind

And lose my thoughts upon the dock

They break as waves upon the rocks

The memories of times gone by

Are onerous and seldom lie

Upon my knee I bare my soul

Beneath that darkened starry bowl

…Like birds upon the crumbs of bread

The darkness feeds inside my head

Sometimes

Sometimes

when the light is just right

Something

strange happens to the night

Someone

whistles, no one hears it

Somebody

bristles, nothing fits

Somewhere

there’s a personal loss

Someplace

(always makes the breath pause)

Somehow

we saw you in the breeze

Someway

you brought us to our knees

Somewhat

shaken, laid down again

Someday

waits, for the end of rain

Forever Into Time

2010-02-23T09:47:00.003-05:00

Came across a poem I wrote in 2006 on the occasion of my Aunt Sade's funeral, the third person to pass out of my life in less than a year... with the passing of Sarah last week, yet another piece of the past vanishes forever into time:

Today

I went to my

third funeral

in eleven months.

Each person gone,

closer than

the last;

each person gone,

a little piece

of my past

vanishes

and fades

forever

into time.

Sarah

2010-02-17T11:52:00.002-05:00

From the Gloucester Daily times, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010:

GLOUCESTER — Sarah G. (George) Thomas, 83 wife of the late Louis P. Thomas, of Gloucester, died on Saturday evening, Feb. 13, 2010, at her residence surrounded by her loving family.

She was born in Gloucester on March 6, 1926, daughter of Joseph U. and Hassnie (Simon) George. Mrs. Thomas was a graduate of Gloucester High School, Class of 1944 and a graduate of Boston University, Class of 1949.

She was the founder in 1966 of Cape Ann Secretarial Service. Sarah was a former member and past president of the Gloucester Business and Professional Women's Club, a member of the Gloucester League of Women Voters, the Gloucester Civic and Garden Club and served on the St. Ann's Church Parish Council for many years.

Sarah, who was lovingly known as "Bumma," is survived by her adoring family, Laura, Sandy, Sarah-west and Alex Ritchie of Gloucester; her two sisters, Helen Alto and Rose Hindy of Gloucester; and her brother Dr. William George of Western Connecticut. She was a loving mother, grandmother, godmother, sister, aunt, friend and mentor to many.

Sarah loved spending time with her family. She enjoyed cruising down the Annisquam River on Bumma's Barge, hiking up in the green mountains of Vermont, laying on the beaches of St. John, or simply sitting on her "party-o" (patio) with friends and family. The last two weeks of her life, she enjoyed candle lit gatherings surrounded by family with her favorite songs played on the violin, piano, and guitar by her bedside. As she passed on to her next journey, an ear to ear smile appeared across her face. She was truly an amazing strong-willed woman who passed judgment on no one. Sarah was a loving, kind-hearted soul whose door and heart were always open to anyone in need.

A special thank you to the nieces and nephews and dear friends (you know who you are) whose constant presence and help during the last month made her passing a beautiful celebration in which she was the guest of honor.

She left a note saying "You have my permission to grieve, but do not drag it out! Get on with the celebration of life and live it to the hilt. Good and bad." She was a gift to all of us and will be deeply missed.

(ARRANGEMENTS: There will be a Mass held in her honor at St. Ann's Church on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial donation to one of Sarah's preferred causes: Haiti Projects Inc., 31 Leonard St., Gloucester, MA 01930 USA, or www.haitiprojects.org or VNA Care Network & Hospice u Development Office D, 5 Federal St., Danvers, MA 01923. Arrangements are being made by Greely Funeral Home, 212 Washington St., Gloucester. Online condolences may be given atwww.greelyfuneralhome.com.)

Ray's Bibliography

2010-02-17T07:01:00.006-05:00

NOVELS

Ard Righ: The Sword on the Stone (a Celtic Tale), DNA Press

“Whosoever takes the sword Caladfwlch from the Stone is the true born High King of Briton.” With those words, Myrddin, incomparable counselor to kings, has fulfilled his vow to Ambrosius, the last Emperor of the West: the great sword Caladfwlch of the Hard Lightening would next be in the hands of the King of the Summerlands. Myrddin had prophesied a child born of a dark sin, a child who would grow into manhood in the fosterage of a noble family, a child who would be forged into the King of the Summerlands: Arthur. Purchase this book now

Ard Righ: The Sword on the Stone, chronicles the early life of Arthur, the burgeoning King of Summer, following the legendary character from his much-anticipated birth, through his heroic ascension to the Sovereignty of Briton, culminating in his defense of Sovereignty itself against the treasonous renegade Lot.

The Kingdom of Summer (a Celtic Tale) publication pending

Evil is loose in the kingdom— a malevolence so thoroughly corrupt that it has sickened the very land itself. Arthur, the King of the Summer Lands, and his Knights of the Round Table are charged by God to seek out the legendary Holy Grail, the cup of Jesu the Christ, that it might once again bring its healing light into the world. The quest will take the legendary knights on a journey across Briton, across the great western sea to the land of Er-Yr, the Land of the Eagles, and back to the very heart of Arthur’s kingdom: Caerleon, the City of the Legions, where a maelstrom of lies and deceit, rage and murder, invasion and siege come together, culminating in an astonishing confrontation that will leave the reader breathless in The Kingdom of Summer’s wake.

Reign of Fire (a Celtic Tale) publication pending

Fresh off of his stay of execution from the atrocities he committed at the Siege of Caerleon, Mordred and his malevolent mother Morganna find themselves once again allied with Briton’s interminable enemies, the Saecsons. This time, the diabolical duo seek to turn the Church from their support of Arthur by accusing Arthur and Myrddin of trying to bring back the Druid schools, teaching pagan ways to the youth of Briton! Pope Gregory and native Briton Cardinal Dubrieius turn a deaf ear to their accusations when the pair pleads their case directly to the Holy Father in Rome. Mordred and Morganna storm back to their Saecson allies, who have teamed with another antagonist of Briton, the Jutes, and the combined forces square off in a battle for the ages against Arthur’s forces in what history has told us was Arthur’s final and greatest battle: the Battle of Mount Baedon, from whose field came no victor.

Shadow of the Grail (a Celtic Tale) publication pending

Cam Cennedi, “‘Grail’s” main character, is faced with the dire prospect of losing his lifelong friend, Chance McCormick, to a life-threatening virus. Concurrently, a super-strain of this disease is created and released on an unsuspecting world, pushing it to the brink of extinction. Realizing that only divine intervention can save the day, Cam and Chance embark on a quest to find the legendary Holy Grail— the Cup of Christ— and use it’s healing powers to stop the extermination of the human race. Along the way, Cam and Chance encounter such heroic figures as King Arthur and the indefensible Caladfwlch (Excalibur); Myrddin (Merlin), the Archmage of Briton; the evil sorceress Morganna; and Arthur’s bastard son and nephew, Mordred, the evil behind the release of the super virus. Held in check for over a thousand years, Arthur and Mordred once again resume their epic battle in what is now the modern day United States— a timeless battle between good and evil.

The Messiah Helix (a novel of the Custodis Veritas) publication pending

The more brightly it shines, the darker the shadow it casts. Thus it is that Thomas Brennan finds himself an unwillingly lapsed Catholic, wandering lost in the cold, dark shadows cast by the sexual deprivations of two trusted, well-respected priests who sexually abused a young Brennan on two separate occasions while he was growing up. Brennan now wrestles with his own battered spirituality, desperately trying to assuage the enormous hole in his faith, his trust, his very soul. Brennan's pursuit takes him around the world where, as an archaeologist, he sifts through history in an innate attempt for validation of his faith. When proof is uncovered that authenticates two infamous icons of Christianity: the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo, anticipation abounds, until a third piece of evidence is unearthed— the perfectly preserved, mummified body that was actually responsible for creating the images on the shroud and the sudarium— the body of Jesus Christ! Along the way, we meet the mysterious secret organization— the silent strong arm of the Church— Custodis Veritas, as well as a deeply implanted witness in the FBI's Witness Protection Program who is about to turn state's evidence on a vicious, notorious mafia caporegime known as Vincent "Mr. Delaware" DiChicario. Our story culminates in a warehouse in South Philadelphia, where Brennan meets his fate head on, bullets flying, as he attempts to rescue the woman who helped him to find love and trust again, from the clutches of the nefarious Mr. Delaware. Ironically, it is this trust— skewed by the very person who gave it back to him— that frees him in the end, for sometimes a lie can be the kindest truth of all; sometimes ignorance is truly bliss.

The Sixth Pillar (a novel of the Custodis Veritas) work in progress

SHORT STORIES

The Eraser of God (horror)
Black Bugs Bleed Red Blood (horror)
Cecelia (non-fiction)
Diver (minimalist)
Excess Baggage (minimalist)
The Hitchhiker (an Urban Legends horror story)
Hometeam (horror)
Hookman (an Urban Legends horror story)
Mannequin (horror)
Oak Hill Cemetery Dance (an Urban Legends horror story)
Rats (horror)
Spacer (science fiction)
Uninformed Consent (an Urban Legends horror story)
Zelda’s Occult Shop (suspense)
Bus Ride (suspense)

ESSAYS

Columbine: An American Tragedy
SEC: Five Years
A Philosophical Minute
I Am A Bulldog
Faith in Church Needs to be Restored
Football’s Golden Rule: The T.O. Saga
Garp Review
Adoption
Search Becomes a Journey of DiscoverySuperman: The Man of Steel
One Moral Standard
Simple Concept Says it All
Maybe America Has Abused its Freedom of Speec
Media Priority
All About Variety
Starved for Entertainment
Sewage Puzzle Must Be Solved
Terror Tuesday
It Takes a Village
Wawa Wants Pumps Out
Wetland Problem for WDD Plan

Essential Synopsis Checklist

2010-02-17T06:48:00.004-05:00

Here are the essential specs for a successful synopsis, according to Writer's Digest:

Use a 1-inch margin on all sides; justify the left margin only;
Put your name and contact information on the top left corner of the first page;
Type the novel’s genre, word count and the word “Synopsis” in the top right corner of the first page;
Don’t number the first page;
Put the novel’s title, centered and in all caps, about one-third of the way down the page;
Begin the synopsis text four lines below the title;
The text throughout the synopsis should be double-spaced (unless you plan to keep it to one or two pages, in which case single-spaced is OK);
Use all caps the first time you introduce a character;
After the first page, use a header on every page that contains your last name/your novel’s title in all caps/the word “Synopsis”:Name/TITLE/Synopsis;
After the first page, number the pages in the top right corner on the same line as the header;
The first line of text on each page after the first page should be three lines below the header,

A little thin, but otherwise sound. Here's what I would add:

• use the present tense;
• lead off with a strong hook sentence— anything that will grab the attention of your reader;
• paragraph only for broad transitions in your story;
• use no dialogue;
• quickly introduce your lead, the opposition, the romantic interest, and any other important characters, while setting up the story in terms of place and time;
• quickly state the conflict between your lead and the opposition; then state the lead’s story goal;
• stick to the high points of your lead’s main story line;
• do not include any subplots;
• move smoothly from one event to another; avoid the choppiness often seen in beginner’s synopsis— a result of having whittled down a longer synopsis without regard for smoothness of reading;
• use powerful verbs and few, if any, adverbs and adjectives;
• tell the entire story.

2,401st Generation African/African American

2010-02-16T12:05:00.008-05:00

That's right. I am from a long line of Africans/African Americans-- specifically the 2,401st generation in a lineage that spans 60,000 years. Here's how:

Last fall I participated in the ongoing genetic study being conducted by NatGeo called the "Genographic Project". When I received the results, I was surprised to find that my genes tell me that I am African American:

MY GENETIC HISTORY

My Y-chromosome results identify me as a member of haplogroup I1.

The genetic markers that define my ancestral history reach back roughly 60,000 years ( that's roughly 2,400 generations-ago) to the first common marker of all non-African men, M168, and follow my lineage to present day, ending with M253, the defining marker of haplogroup I1. Some in this lineage also carry the markers P40 and M227.

If you look at the map highlighting my ancestor's route, you will see that members of haplogroup I1 carry the following Y-chromosome markers: M168 > P143 > M89 > L15 > P123 > M170 > M253

My Ancestral Journey: What We Know Now

M168: My Earliest Ancestor

Fast Facts

Time of Emergence: Roughly 50,000 years ago
Place of Origin: Africa
Climate: Temporary retreat of Ice Age; Africa moves from drought to warmer temperatures and moister conditions
Estimated Number of Homo sapiens: Approximately 10,000
Tools and Skills: Stone tools; earliest evidence of art and advanced conceptual skills

Skeletal and archaeological evidence suggest that anatomically modern humans evolved in Africa around 200,000 years ago, and began moving out of Africa to colonize the rest of the world around 60,000 years ago.

The man who gave rise to the first genetic marker in my lineage probably lived in northeast Africa in the region of the Rift Valley, perhaps in present-day Ethiopia , Kenya, or Tanzania, some 31,000 to 79,000 years ago. Scientists put the most likely date for when he lived at around 50,000 years ago. His descendants became the only lineage to survive outside of Africa, making him the common ancestor of every non-African man living today.

But why would man have first ventured out of the familiar African hunting grounds and into unexplored lands? It is likely that a fluctuation in climate may have provided the impetus for your ancestors' exodus out of Africa.

The African ice age was characterized by drought rather than by cold. It was around 50,000 years ago that the ice sheets of northern Europe began to melt, introducing a period of warmer temperatures and moister climate in Africa. Parts of the inhospitable Sahara briefly became habitable. As the drought-ridden desert changed to a savanna, the animals hunted by your ancestors expanded their range and began moving through the newly emerging green corridor of grasslands. Your nomadic ancestors followed the good weather and the animals they hunted, although the exact route they followed remains to be determined.

In addition to a favorable change in climate, around this same time there was a great leap forward in modern humans' intellectual capacity. Many scientists believe that the emergence of language gave us a huge advantage over other early human species. Improved tools and weapons, the ability to plan ahead and cooperate with one another, and an increased capacity to exploit resources in ways we hadn't been able to earlier, all allowed modern humans to rapidly migrate to new territories, exploit new resources, and replace other hominids.

M89: Moving Through the Middle East

Fast Facts

Time of Emergence: 45,000 years ago
Place: Northern Africa or the Middle East
Climate: Middle East: Semiarid grass plains
Estimated Number of Homo sapiens: Tens of thousands
Tools and Skills: Stone, ivory, wood tools

The next male ancestor in my ancestral lineage is the man who gave rise to M89, a marker found in 90 to 95 percent of all non-Africans. This man was born around 45,000 years ago in northern Africa or the Middle East.

The first people to leave Africa likely followed a coastal route that eventually ended in Australia. Your ancestors followed the expanding grasslands and plentiful game to the Middle East and beyond, and were part of the second great wave of migration out of Africa.

Beginning about 40,000 years ago, the climate shifted once again and became colder and more arid. Drought hit Africa and the grasslands reverted to desert, and for the next 20,000 years, the Saharan Gateway was effectively closed. With the desert impassable, your ancestors had two options: remain in the Middle East, or move on. Retreat back to the home continent was not an option.

While many of the descendants of M89 remained in the Middle East, others continued to follow the great herds of buffalo, antelope, woolly mammoths, and other game through what is now modern-day Iran to the vast steppes of Central Asia.

These semiarid grass-covered plains formed an ancient "superhighway" stretching from eastern France to Korea. Your ancestors, having migrated north out of Africa into the Middle East, then traveled both east and west along this Central Asian superhighway. A smaller group continued moving north from the Middle East to Anatolia and the Balkans, trading familiar grasslands for forests and high country.

M170: Occupying the Balkans

Fast Facts

Time of Emergence: 20,000 years ago
Place of Origin: Southeastern Europe
Climate: Height of the Ice Age
Estimated Number of Homo sapiens: Hundreds of thousands
Tools and Skills: Gravettian culture of the Upper Paleolithic

My ancestors were part of the M89 Middle Eastern Clan that continued to migrate northwest into the Balkans and eventually spread into central Europe. These people may have been responsible for the expansion of the prosperous Gravettian culture, which spread through northern Europe from about 21,000 to 28,000 years ago.

The Gravettian culture represents the second technological phase to sweep through prehistoric Western Europe. It is named after a site in La Gravette, France, where a set of tools different from the preceding era (Aurignacian culture) was found. The Gravettian stone tool kit included a distinctive small pointed blade used for hunting big game.

The Gravettian culture is also known for their voluptuous carvings of big-bellied females often dubbed "Venus" figures. The small, frequently hand-sized sculptures appear to be of pregnant women—obesity not being a problem for hunter-gatherers—and may have served as fertility icons or as emblems conferring protection of some sort. Alternatively, they may have represented goddesses.

These early European ancestors of yours used communal hunting techniques, created shell jewelry, and used mammoth bones to build their homes. Recent findings suggest that the Gravettians may have discovered how to weave clothing using natural fibers as early as 25,000 years ago. Earlier estimates had placed weaving at about the same time as the emergence of agriculture, around 10,000 years ago.

Your most recent common ancestor, the man who gave rise to marker M170, was born about 20,000 years ago and was heir to this heritage. He was probably born in one of the isolated refuge areas people were forced to occupy during the last blast of the Ice Age.

It's possible that the Vikings descended from this line. The Viking raids on the British Isles might explain why the lineage can be found in populations in southern France and among some Celtic populations.

M253: Surviving the Ice Age

Fast Facts

Time of Emergence: Roughly 15,000 years ago
Place of Origin: Iberian Refugia (Spain)
Climate: Ice Free Regions, or Refugia, During the Ice Age
Estimated Number of Homo sapiens: Approximately one million.
Tools and Skills: Late Upper Paleolithic

Some 20,000 to 15,000 years ago my ancestors, like many Europeans, sought refuge from the massive sheets of ice that covered much of the continent during the last ice age. They found temperate ice-free refugia, in which they could survive, on the Iberian Peninsula.

While my ancestral lineage was geographically isolated by ice the distinctive genetic marker M253 appeared in one of its male members. As the Earth warmed and the glacial maximum passed, some 15,000 years ago, the ice finally began its slow retreat. The refugia's dwellers left the peninsula and began to repopulate other parts of Europe that had once been covered by ice. They carried with them the unique genetic marker that defines haplogroup I1.

Today this marker is still found in high frequencies throughout northwest Europe, providing a genetic map of the physical paths my ancestors walked long ago.

This is where my genetic trail, as we know it today, ends... As additional data are collected and analyzed, more will be learned about my place in the history of the men and women who first populated the Earth... updating these stories throughout the life of the project.

George Carlin on Aging

2010-02-14T18:14:00.002-05:00

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. 'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half... You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key. You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. 'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!! But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone. But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE
it to 60. You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.' Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!' May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1.Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'
2.Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3.Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4.Enjoy the simple things.
5.Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6.The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person,
who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7.Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, and hobbies, whatever. Your home is your
refuge.
8.Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it.. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9.Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10.Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. And if you don't send this to at least 8 people - who cares? But do
share this with someone. We all need to live life to its fullest each day!!

An Ironic Threat

2010-02-03T12:57:00.004-05:00

The other day I received my very first death threat concerning my writing! It was a unique experience; all of my "normal" friends were horrified, all of my "writing" friends thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. Why? Well, in the writing biz, any publicity is good publicity, quite honestly.

It happened on my website (www.raycattie.com), in the Guestbook, back on December 10th, 2009. At 2:32 pm on that bleak and otherwise un-noteworthy gray day, a mysterious surfer with the self-proclaimed pseudonym "Candy Cane" left the following ominous note for review to be published: "...if you publish that messiah helix garbage i'm going to kill you." Of course, I immediately approved it and allowed it to go into the Guestbook.

Why is this a Good Thing, you might be asking yourself? Well, because it prompted me to wonder where the comment came from, as the "Messiah Helix" has yet to be published. Apparently, Ms. (or Mr.) Cane read the synopsis on my "Writings" page. It says:

The more brightly it shines, the darker the shadow it casts. Thus it is that Thomas Brennan finds himself an unwillingly lapsed Catholic, wandering lost in the cold, dark shadows cast by the sexual deprivations of two trusted, well-respected priests who sexually abused a young Brennan on two separate occasions while he was growing up. Brennan now wrestles with his own battered spirituality, desperately trying to assuage the enormous hole in his faith, his trust, his very soul. Brennan's pursuit takes him around the world where, as an archaeologist, he sifts through history in an innate attempt for validation of his faith. When proof is uncovered that authenticates two infamous icons of Christianity: the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo, anticipation abounds, until a third piece of evidence is unearthed— the perfectly preserved, mummified body that was actually responsible for creating the images on the shroud and the sudarium— the body of Jesus Christ! Along the way, we meet the mysterious secret organization— the silent strong arm of the Church— Custodis Veritas, as well as a deeply implanted witness in the FBI's Witness Protection Program who is about to turn state's evidence on a vicious, notorious mafia caporegime known as Vincent "Mr. Delaware" DiChicario. Our story culminates in a warehouse in South Philadelphia, where Brennan meets his fate head on, bullets flying, as he attempts to rescue the woman who helped him to find love and trust again, from the clutches of the nefarious Mr. Delaware. Ironically, it is this trust— skewed by the very person who gave it back to him— that frees him in the end, for sometimes a lie can be the kindest truth of all; sometimes ignorance is truly bliss.

Not the best summary, not the worst. The key part is that it is as yet unpublished. However-- and here's the irony part-- thanks to the attention Ms. (Mr.) Cane drew to it with her (his) cantankerous comment, there are now several publishers interested in talking to me about publishing the novel.

Merry Christmas indeed, Candy Cane.

Lol.

Spare Time

2010-02-03T12:51:00.004-05:00

...this is what I do in my "spare" time...

Eagles fans can't kick the habit

2010-01-20T08:30:00.004-05:00

Gonzo: Eagles fans can't kick the habit

By John Gonzale, Inquirer Columnist

They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. And you do. So do I. We should all go see someone.

I was reading some information on MayoClinic.com the other day (what, it's not one of your regular Internet stops?) when an epiphany hit me harder than any tackle Asante Samuel has ever made. Here's the germane passage, the one that gives me pause:

RON CORTES / Staff Photographer

Donovan McNabb was chased down by the Cowboys'
Jason Hatcher in the Eagles' final game. The fans went down with him.

"You may need the drug just to feel good. As your drug use increases, you may find that it becomes increasingly difficult to go without the drug. Stopping may cause intense cravings and make you feel physically ill."

Replace drug with Eagles and ask yourself how you're feeling barely a week after the season ended and you realize that, due to the poor performance of your suppliers (the infamous Andy Reid Cartel), you'd be forced to go without a football fix for many months. Did you obsess over the Cowboys' loss? Did it make you angry? Did the most extreme cases among you perhaps swear off the Birds and, in a fit of unbridled pique, promise to quit and go cold turkey until some combination of Donovan McNabb, Joe Banner, Jeffrey Lurie, or Reid was exiled to football Siberia? Yeah, those are all signs of addiction.

These are some symptoms according to the Mayo Clinic staff:

Focusing too much time and energy on the drug.

Drastic changes in behavior.

Failing in your attempts to stop using the drug.

Sound like anyone you know?

Over the last week, I was nearly crushed under the sheer weight of our collective commiseration. Even now, several days after watching The Big Debacle in Big D (Part II - Jerry's Revenge), the e-mails continue to roll in about what's wrong with the Birds and what needs to be done to fix them.

Turn on sports-talk radio for five seconds and you'll hear more of the same unvarnished emotion. Same goes for Comcast SportsNet. I was watching recently when Michael Barkann launched into a protracted, passionate monologue about the city suffering the same fate, year after year, when it comes to the Eagles. Remarkably, he didn't break down and sob, which surprised me because he strikes me as sensitive and a bit of a crier.

Griping is cathartic, but it also masks the real issue: It's us. It's our behavior. It's that we've become enablers to the very thing that drives us mad - the way the franchise is run and the team's continued failure to supply a Lombardi Trophy to Philly.

We can complain all we want that Reid and Banner and Lurie keep selling us a weak, inferior product. But that conveniently ignores the fact that we continually scarf it down, gobbling up the hats and jerseys and season tickets and mainlining the Eagles experience like fiends.

In the end, when the Eagles are off golfing or doing whatever it is they do in the off-season, we're left alone with unhealthy thoughts and an uncomfortable, if familiar, depression. It's sad behavior, but it seems unlikely that we'll ever change our ways.

"The fans have just been unbelievable," Reid said earlier this season, shortly after securing a fat contract extension. "They're fair. If we stink, they let us know we stink. If we're doing OK, they let us know we're doing OK. But they're always there. My hat is off to them."

He said it with a straight face, which was a neat trick because the sentiment was phonier than Mark McGwire's crocodile-tear interview with Bob Costas. It's the "they're always there" and "hat is off to them" parts that should concern you. If you go to a restaurant and the food is subpar or the service is lacking, you tend not to go back. Not Eagles fans. We talk a good game, but when the season kicks off, the Linc is invariably packed.

And that's really the rub. What incentive do the Eagles have to listen to our concerns or change their ways? Lincoln Financial Field might as well be a giant mint where Lurie can greedily print his own currency. Last year, Forbes Magazine ranked the Birds seventh on its annual report of NFL franchises, listing the organization's worth at an obscene $1.1 billion. Lurie, lest you forget, bought the team for a comparably reasonable $185 million.

Incidentally, you must see the picture of Lurie that Forbes used for that piece (tinyurl.com/luriepic). Lurie has a salt-and-pepper beard and wild eyes and a giant, crazy grin. It makes him look as though he was escaping from the sanitarium or perhaps dreaming about buying a knot of small islands simply because he can. Or maybe both.

Divest yourself of any delusions. Next year will be business as usual for the Eagles. They will acknowledge you only long enough to take possession of your cash. So long as the franchise remains profitable, your frustration won't register with the front office fat cats. They will do what they do, the way they've always done it.

And we will let them. Because we're sick. Because we have a problem.

Contact columnist John Gonzalez at 215-854-2813 or gonzalez@phillynews.com.

Eagles Eulogy: Ver. '09-'10

2010-01-11T07:33:00.003-05:00

Yeah well, I never thought I would say it, but I am finished (for real) watching this sub-par team the Eagles keep trotting out onto the feel in an attempt to-- what-- fool the fans into thinking they're serious? Excuse me?? Philly fans?? Are they nuts?!

I don't know, but I do know that I have had it.

Too much time and emotion invested for the return I have gotten over the years. And good, now I have three extra hours a week that I can do something with other than scream at a losing football team.

The Eagles organization owes me (conservatively) $72,000. Here's why: 70 hours/season (not counting the off-hour agita) TIMES 34 years of loyal fandom EQUALS 2400 total hours (rounded up from 2380) TIMES $30/hour (low) EQUALS $72,000 ($108,000 if we count Sunday time as time and a half; $144,000 double-time).

There is no consolation this time... there is no getting rid of anyone, both Reid and McNabb are locked up at least through next season... so a losing effort isn't going to cost anyone their job... there's no motivation to succeed, and they're too stubborn to realize it's time to move on... the Donovan McNabb/Andy Reid era is done.

And-- for now-- so am I.

Eulogy Ver. '08-'09 (sadly, still applicable):

Raise your glass to the Iggles

All those of you bleeding green

Ten years of Reid and McNabb

Is quickly becoming obscene

Offseason comes to us early

Two weeks too soon for this town

Football has ended in Philly

Bringing us Iggles fans down

"Wait until next season!" echoes

Up and down Broad Street today

It's become more of a mantra

Really, there's nothing to say

Time to trim up this turkey

And say goodbye to some friends

Maybe we'll see them in Dallas

Landing a Superbowl win

So put away all of the jerseys

And wrap up the tailgates and such

Donovan and company blew it

They let us down in the clutch

But hey, we've still got the Phillies

Na, it ain't quite the same

Oh well, wait until next season

(remember-- it's just a game)

E-A-G-L-E-S-- ah, forget it.

A Christmas Poem

2009-12-23T10:50:00.004-05:00

A star shines tonight, at the hour of our meeting
As friends we do gather, in warm seasons greeting
With cheer we make toast, a wish of good health
Glass raised on high we rejoice in the wealth

To each heart be lightened, for this be the night
When sugar plums dance, and faeries take flight
The fondest of wishes, are wished on this eve
Good will to all men, no matter their creed

May peace be your gift, that rarest of gems
In love be you showered, a surplus of friends
And so merry Christmas, a wondrous day
I wish to you all, with love from Ray.

© Ray Cattie

Closeted Confessions

2009-12-23T10:47:00.001-05:00

I feel the time is near

We know the sky conforms

We know the life that sears

Blue impressions, closeted confessions

Painted hastily but powerfully with the tears.

Making enemies as I go

It wouldn't do to let you down, my love

Whilst admiring eyes in reflections show

The sky in stark blue impressions

I control my sight, my admiring eyes know.

To see the river

The blue river of life

As if you're here, a quiver,

As if you care (please don’t stare!)

…I shiver.

Poems From the Snow

2009-12-21T09:14:00.007-05:00

On December 19-20, 2009, the Philadelphia area had up to 24" of snow... these are two poet's perspectives, inspired by the Blizzard of 2009:

Under A Blanket of White

The snow falls,
while you sleep softly
under a blanket of white
several seconds away.
I lift a lock of hair
from your face (gently),
your breathing quickens its pace
as you smile in your sleep.
Back to the window
(that opened as a door closed)
watching the weather
whiten the world,
I smile myself as I see:
no two snowflakes are alike.
One stands out in the storm,
a perfect pentagonal
with sides that no one sees
(but that he looks),
and tries amid the cries
of an isolation
(so profound),
a desolation
(without sound),
a separation
(so unbound)
it steals the soul.
Leave the burden behind
as the door drifts shut
and clicks closed.
To the window with wonder
again I go to watch
the past
pile under the sweeping snow,
that forces a fountain of hope
from my eyes
as they follow the fading footsteps
(vanish)
under a blanket of white.

© Ray Cattie

Anytown
(a guest poem by Steele Fields)

Living mad dog mean
and dying slow
in Anytown.
Emptied out and
somehow splitting
see ms
you’re nowhere
bound
make excuses
make an exit
flick a smoke
learn to hustle.
Leave your footprints
in the sidewalk
barely smile
flex some muscle.

Toss some gravel
till you’re squinting
at a pinprick
in your rearview
while miles of
bum-hitched highways
trail your bumper
like a kite tail.

Drive fast.
Run out of gas.
Get yourself lost
in some little town
with no radio signals
--nothing
but white noise hissing
across your dial like a desert
snake you barely noticed
till it bit you.

Your mind transmits
occasional blips
no one’s receiving
and you’re staring
coyote lonely
into screaming emptiness
the barbed wire twang
from an out-of-tune six string
floating overhead
and the rusty old chord
some blue-eyed
ghost cowboy’s
still trying to suck
out of a cheap harmonica
drifting through you
faint as wood smoke.

Fling
yourself
down
beneath a stretch of black velvet
poked through with endless diamonds
and just enough light
squeezing from the holes to see
--nothing
but the face your memory
air-brushed then erased
and left you spinning and
spooning alone
inside the wheel
inside the reel
inside the real
womb that knows not
the laboring and the bearing
but only the pulling in and
the Returning.

Eastbound
To Anytown.

© Steele Fields

Rights Watch - Presumed Guilty

2009-12-17T08:20:00.006-05:00

This article is from "NEA Today Express:"

The harrowing tale of how one NEA member’s investigation of student sexting led to his own prosecution on child pornography charges.

NEA member Ting-Yi Oei (Photo by John O’Neil)

On par with child molestation, possession of child pornography is the professional death penalty for any educator. But NEA and Virginia Education Association member Ting-Yi Oei suffered that devastating accusation and—$167,000 later—lived to tell the tale.

As the media have reported, sexting, or sending sexually explicit photos electronically, is the latest teen fad. One survey last fall concluded that fully 20 percent of girls ages 13 to 19 had engaged in sexting.

Teen sexting is also a felony in virtually every state: Anyone who takes, sends, or possesses a photo depicting a nude or scantily clad minor can be charged with a child pornography crime. Conviction brings with it a life sentence on the sex offender registry.

One of the early victims of the sexting craze is Ting-Yi Oei, a 30-year educator who worked most recently as an assistant principal at Freedom High School in Loudoun County, Virginia, a Washington, D.C., suburb. Acting on a tip, he confronted a student who admitted having a photo of a partially nude girl (arms covering her breasts) on his cell.

Oei’s principal told him to preserve the evidence. This led to a titanic mistake: the student emailed the photo to Oei’s cell phone, and he never deleted it. After investigating, Oei and his principal considered the matter closed.

A few weeks later, Oei suspended the same boy for pulling down a girl’s pants in class. In a meeting with the boy’s angry mother, Oei mentioned the sexting incident. After he refused to lift the suspension, the mother shouted, “I’ll see you in court.”

True to her word, she went straight to the local sheriff. Two investigators later showed up asking about the sexting incident. Assuming they were investigating the student, Oei voluntarily turned over his cell phone. Based on the girl’s immodest photo, the police charged Oei with “failure to report suspected child abuse.” Incredibly, after those charges were dropped, Oei was indicted in August 2008 for felony possession of child pornography.

He was arrested at school, handcuffed, and escorted to jail. The story was reported by local TV stations and the Washington Post, complete with his mug shot. The district reassigned him to a job with no student contact.

After seven agonizing months of legal wrangling, stress, and sleepless nights, the nightmare finally ended when a circuit court judge threw out the charges, ruling that the photo wasn’t pornographic. Last April, Oei returned to his job at Freedom High. In an editorial, the Post lambasted the “vengeful parents and zealous prosecutors” for using the criminal justice system to terrorize an innocent man. In June, recognizing the injustice, the school board voted to pay Oei’s legal expenses ($167,000).

The problem of teen sexting is here to stay, and, hopefully, Oei’s story is an aberration, the product of a politically ambitious prosecutor. But how does one avoid a similar fate? For starters, school employees should work with their administration to create a protocol for handling sexting incidents: When is it OK to view and confiscate student cell phones? Where should the evidence be kept? When should an employee report an incident to the state agency as a case of suspected child abuse? When should law enforcement be called?

In the absence of official guidance, these are matters best left to administrators, who can consult with legal counsel. And remember Oei’s lesson: Never transfer evidence of sexting to your own cell phone.

Michael D. Simpson
NEA Office of General Counsel

COMMENTS (from the article):

12/17/09 - E.M.

I agree that phone numbers should not be given to students. He was an administrator so he should have known to take the cell phone from the student. Why did the student have the cell phone on in school in the frist place?????????? To many RIGHTS are being given to students and parents and not to educators. WE WORK HARD to educate the children, THEY are OUR FUTURE!!!

12/17/09 - Orrin

Welcome to the world of zero tolerance and lack of common sense. I know a young lady who is facing felony charges for keeping her meds in her purse. We need to vote these Liberal bleeding hearts out and elect some legislators who have at least a whit of common sense.

12/17/09 - Joe L.

I agree with the above poster, that mother should the run out of town. Because her child is acting up she tried to turn the whole situation around and accuse the teacher of something? That is ridiculous.

12/17/09 - Julie

As I read the article, "he was an administrator" so turning the phone over to an administrator was done. High School teachers face the "sexual" issues with students each day and it's a delicate situation. Many young ladies wear skirts that would barely count as "boxers" on a male. And we all know that our young males wear their pants so low that there's no doubt what those boxers look like.

12/17/09 - Beverly

He should have just confiscated the cell phone and immediately turned it over to the administrator. Child or adult the sexting is a crime and we need to report both the original picture and the transmitting of it. These things cannot be ignored! Shame we gotta constantly CYA!!

12/17/09 - Joe

Thank you for sharing this story.  Now I can work a plan with my department.

12/17/09 - Louis

I never give students my private telephone number. You shouldn't either. I'm glad he was vindicated.

12/17/09 - Clark

They should publish the name of the vindictive mother. Furthermore, legal action should be taken against people like her who abuse the justice system.

12/17/09 - Daniel

Yes, congratulations America. Humiliate and destroy the life of one of the few people who actually wants to work in this laughable and un-respected profession of teaching.

Getting You Back

2009-12-11T20:54:00.006-05:00

(a guest poem by
Steele Fields)

You never let me have the car. So one night, I stole it anyway.
Drove it piled high with my friends across the bridge to Jersey
where we drank beer and ran up the mileage and no one wore seatbelts.
I was getting you back for having weird, outdated eyewear
and a totally un-cool comb-over
we laughed at when you weren’t around.
The car was a 1960 Rambler. It had a pinkish rust primer coat for a paint job
and featured a push button transmission, reclining pleather seats
and strange, curvy tail lights resembling exotic open eyelashes
over winking red eyes
which for some reason embarrassed me-
but just not enough to keep me from wanting the car.

I was getting you back for not helping me with my homework
because you only went as far as the sixth grade
and had to learn a trade instead,
and for our faces bearing no resemblance whatsoever
while the rest of the world’s children had their parents’ faces
superimposed over their own.

I was getting you back for that too.
And for being fine with the fact that even though I appeared out of nowhere
you called me your daughter without passing anything down to me;
not one freckle, or dimple -not even a lousy allergy.
For being a mechanic and raising a poet.
And especially for keeping the rare Paul Newman diamond blue eyes all to yourself.

I was getting you back.

I was busy growing up and you were busy growing tomatoes
(much to my mother’s annoyance) in a pot on the radiator
the wonder of it being the dead of winter
a fact largely ignored by me until the day I found you
gently holding one tiny, summer- perfect miracle
that looked exactly like a cherry tomato and tasted like a grapefruit.

Rummaging through an old shoebox yesterday,
looking for ammunition among ragged edged Polaroids,
I found a few of you- they were mostly shots of you
out fishing with your brothers on some grayish dock,
hoisting up some grayish fish still hooked and heavy
and hanging perilously close to your head
with a bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbon beside your left foot
and you’re wearing an expression bordering on pride.
Then there’s the one of you and mom on your honeymoon riding horses.
Mom looks absolutely petrified and the horses look incredibly bored
and you look exactly the same as you do in the one with you and the fish.
Then I found the one where you’re cradling me with callused hands
more comfortable curled around a hammer handle;
your work-toughened fingers standing out in stark relief
against the soft grayness of the blanket.
It was our first day together and you were handing me
to Mom, (who was sitting in the Rambler)
her face a pale cathedral and yours, so amazed,
that the rare Paul Newman diamond blueness of your eyes
broke right through the gray wash
and they were holding even more of me than your hands were.

© Steele Fields

Harold Estes: Patriot?

2009-12-02T08:38:00.011-05:00

Got this email the other day:

"This venerable and much honored WW II vet is well known in Hawaii
for his seventy-plus years of service to patriotic organizations and causes
all over the country. A humble man without a political bone in his body,
he has never spoken out before about a government official, until now.
He dictated this letter to a friend, signed it and mailed it to the president:"

Dear President Obama,

My name is Harold Estes, approaching 95 on December 13 of this year. People meeting me for the first time don't believe my age because I remain wrinkle free and pretty much mentally alert.

I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1934 and served proudly before, during and after WW II retiring as a Master Chief Bos'n Mate. Now I live in a "rest home" located on the western end of Pearl Harbor, allowing me to keep alive the memories of 23 years of service to my country.

One of the benefits of my age, perhaps the only one, is to speak my mind, blunt and direct even to the head man.

So here goes.

I am amazed, angry and determined not to see my country die before I do, but you seem hell bent not to grant me that wish. I can't figure out what country you are the president of.
You fly around the world telling our friends and enemies despicable lies like:

" We're no longer a Christian nation"
" America is arrogant" - (Your wife even announced to the world,"America is mean-spirited. " Please tell her to try preaching that nonsense to 23 generations of our war dead buried all over the globe who died for no other reason than to free a whole lot of strangers from tyranny and hopelessness.)

I'd say shame on the both of you, but I don't think you like America, nor do I see an ounce of gratefulness in anything you do, for the obvious gifts this country has given you. To be without shame or gratefulness is a dangerous thing for a man sitting in the White House.

After 9/11 you said," America hasn't lived up to her ideals."

Which ones did you mean? Was it the notion of personal liberty that 11,000 farmers and shopkeepers died for to win independence from the British? Or maybe the ideal that no man should be a slave to another man, that 500,000 men died for in the Civil War? I hope you didn't mean the ideal 470,000 fathers, brothers, husbands, and a lot of fellas I knew personally died for in WWII, because we felt real strongly about not letting any nation push us around, because we stand for freedom.

I don't think you mean the ideal that says equality is better than discrimination. You know the one that a whole lot of white people understood when they helped to get you elected.

Take a little advice from a very old geezer, young man.

Shape up and start acting like an American. If you don't, I'll do what I can to see you get shipped out of that fancy rental on Pennsylvania Avenue. You were elected to lead not to bow, apologize and kiss the hands of murderers and corrupt leaders who still treat their people like slaves.

And just who do you think you are telling the American people not to jump to conclusions and condemn that Muslim major who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded dozens more. You mean you don't want us to do what you did when that white cop used force to subdue that black college professor in Massachusetts, who was putting up a fight? You don't mind offending the police calling them stupid but you don't want us to offend Muslim fanatics by calling them what they are, terrorists.

One more thing. I realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country with your life, but you're the Commander-in-Chief now, son. Do your job. When your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to complete the mission, give them to him. But if you're not in this fight to win, then get out. The life of one American soldier is not worth the best political strategy you're thinking of.

You could be our greatest president because you face the greatest challenge ever presented to any president.

You're not going to restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated economy. That's not our greatest threat. Losing the heart and soul of who we are as Americans is our big fight now.

And I sure as hell don't want to think my president is the enemy in this final battle.

Sincerely,

Harold B. Estes

No Child Left Behind Analogy

2009-11-05T08:49:00.003-05:00

Received this as an email a few years ago when the "No Child Left Behind" initiative was first implemented:

(forwarded by John S. Taylor, Superintendent of Schools, Lancaster County, PA, School District):

No Dentist Left Behind

My dentist is great! He sends me reminders so I don't forget checkups. He uses the latest techniques based on research. He never hurts me, and I've got all my teeth. When I ran into him the other day, I was eager to see if he'd heard about the new state program. I
knew he'd think it was great.

"Did you hear about the new state program to measure effectiveness of dentists with their young patients?" I said.

" No," he said. He didn't seem too thrilled. "How will they do that?"

"It's quite simple," I said. "They will just count the number of cavities each patient has a t age 10, 14, and 18 and average that to determine a dentist's rating. Dentists will be rated
as excellent, good, average, below average, and unsatisfactory. That way parents will know which are the best dentists. The plan will also encourage the less effective dentists to get better," I said. "Poor dentists who don't improve could lose their licenses to practice."

"That's terrible," he said.

"What? That's not a good attitude," I said. "Don't you think we should try to improve children's dental health in this state?"

"Sure I do," he said, "but that's not a fair way to determine who is practicing good dentistry."

”Why not?" I said. "It makes perfect sense to me."

"Well, it's so obvious," he said. "Don't you see that dentists don't all work with the same clientele, and that much depends on things we can't control? For example, I work in a rural area with a high percentage of patients from deprived homes, while some of my colleagues work in upper middle-class neighborhoods. Many of the parents I work with don't bring their children to see me until there is some kind of problem, and I don't get to do much preventive work. Also many of the parents I serve let their kids eat way
too much candy from an early age, unlike more educated parents who understand the relationship between sugar and decay. To top it all off, so many of my clients have well water, which is untreated and has no fluoride in it. Do you have any idea how much difference early use of fluoride can make?"

"It sounds like you're making excuses," I said. "I can't believe that you, my dentist, would be so defensive. After all, you do a great job, and you needn't fear a little accountability."

"I am not being defensive!" he said. "My best patients are as good as anyone's, my work is as good as anyone's, but my average cavity count is going to be higher than a lot of other dentists because I chose to work where I am needed most."

"Don't' get touchy," I said.

"Touchy?" he said. His face had turned red, and from the way he was clenching and unclenching his jaws, I was afraid he was going to damage his teeth. "Try furious! In a system like this, I will end up being rated average, below average, or worse. The few
educated patients I have who see these ratings may believe this so-called rating is an actual measure of my ability and proficiency as a dentist. They may leave me, and I'll be left with only the most needy patients. And my cavity average score will get even worse. On top of that, how will I attract good dental hygienists and other excellent dentists
to my practice if it is labeled below average?"

"I think you are overreacting," I said. "'Complaining, excuse-making and stonewalling won't improve dental health'...I am quoting from a leading member of the DOC," I noted.

"What's the DOC?" he asked.

"It's the Dental Oversight Committee," I said, "a group made up of mostly lay persons to make sure dentistry in this state gets improved."

"Spare me," he said, "I can't believe this. Reasonable people won't buy it," he said hopefully.

The program sounded reasonable to me, so I asked, "How else would you measure good dentistry?"

"Come watch me work," he said. "Observe my processes."

"That's too complicated, expensive and time-consuming, " I said. "Cavities are the bottom line, and you can't argue with the bottom line. It's an absolute measure."

"That's what I'm afraid my parents and prospective patients will think. This can't be happening," he said despairingly.

"Now, now," I said, "don't despair. The state will help you some."

"How?" he asked.

"If you receive a poor rating, they'll send a dentist who is rated excellent to help straighten you out," I said brightly.

"You mean," he said, "they'll send a dentist with a wealthy clientele to show me how to work on severe juvenile dental problems with which I have probably had much more experience? BIG HELP!"

"There you go again," I said. "You aren't acting professionally at all."

"You don't get it," he said. "Doing this would be like grading schools and teachers on an average score made on a test of children's progress with no regard to influences outside the school, the home, the community served and stuff like that. Why would they do something so unfair to dentists? No one would ever think of doing that to schools."

I just shook my head sadly, but he had brightened.

"I' m going to write my representatives and senators," he said. "I'll use the school analogy. Surely they will see the point."

He walked off with that look of hope mixed with fear and suppressed anger that I, a teacher, see in the mirror so often lately.

Phillies Pharewell

2009-11-05T07:20:00.003-05:00

Thoughts on losing the 2009 World Series to the Yankees in six games:

Well, I kinda think that they played ok, the Yankees just played better. Throughout the series, whenever the Phils took a lead, there were the Yankees to take it back; I understand you could say Ryan Howard choked, but not really... like any other power hitter, he's streaky... he got us there (through his play in the NLCS) almost single-handedly, and certainly Utley piced up his slack (as did Werth and to some extent Ibanez).

No, I blame it squarely on Cole Hammels... if we had had two ace pitchers (Lee and Hammels) like we were supposed to (we got Lee to suppliment Hammels, not replace him, for God's sake), yeah, we would've won that series in five, like Rollins predicted last February. So, It was Hammels who folded under pressure, not the whole team. If I see one more commercial with Hammels in it, I swear to God I am dropping whatever product he is pitching... he's obviously too immature to handle the pressures of being a World Series MVP, a starting pitcher, married to a model, and a pitch-man for Comcast.

Well, there's always 2036. Ugh, my friggin' head is going to explode.

Children of the Corn (Rows)

2009-09-21T08:33:00.002-04:00

The below excerpt is from an article entitled “Cop With Cornrows Pulled From Street Duty,” by Dana DiFilippo of the Philadelphia Daily News, and was downloaded from the website "philly.com" on Monday, September 21, 2009. Make of it what you will:

“…A cop who got cornrows was ordered off the street and kept on desk duty for two days until he cut his braids off, sources said. While dozens of black officers across the city wear cornrows, Officer Thomas Strain is white. So when the five-year veteran showed up for work Sept. 3 with the traditionally black hairstyle, it didn't take long for his colleagues - or his bosses - to notice…”

"…It's absolutely discriminatory," said one officer. Strain's cornrows 'do "was neat. It was above his collar. It's not like he shaved a Nazi sign or something anti-black or anti-Hispanic on his head. It's just cornrows. I don't know what the problem is." The problem, police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore said, is that Strain's superior didn't feel his cornrows were "professional…"

“…Police policy requires officers to have "clean, properly trimmed and combed hair" that doesn't prevent them from wearing their uniform hat "in a military-manner," Vanore said. The policy prohibits "unnatural" hair colors such as blue, purple or green but doesn't ban specific styles, such as cornrows, mohawks, dreadlocks, or bouffants. Vanore didn't see Strain's cornrows, but speculated that they may have kept his hat from fitting his head in the required military manner. He couldn't explain why black officers with cornrows weren't ordered to get haircuts - unless they're women, because the hair policy for female officers is slightly more permissive…”

“…As for Strain, friends describe him as a hardworking cop who hails from a family of police officers and who adores police work. The former Marine served in Iraq, where he twice survived explosions when his Hummer hit roadside bombs in 2006, co-workers said. "He's a guy that, when things go bad, you want him there," one officer said. “

Nice.

Paternal Portrait Puzzle

2009-09-17T11:15:00.004-04:00

AP- Delaware County, PA
A Delaware County man
says that a portrait
found in his attic validates
his claim that his family
can be directly tied to
the founding father,
Benjamin Franklin. “The
portrait is indisputably
familiar looking,” said
a relative of the man,
who wished to remain
anonymous. “Tough to deny
it.”

Philadelphia Historical
Society president Joe
Stalin (no relation)
said that, “While the
portrait is indeed
interesting, it bears no
weight in the real world.”

“Ridiculous,” responded
the unnamed relative.
“I’d say the same thing
if my name were Joseph
Stalin.” Stalin could not
be reached for rebuttal.

U of M Farmington Weather

2009-09-06T17:52:00.004-04:00

Paper PFA

2009-08-14T10:51:00.003-04:00

In response to the front page article in the News of Delaware County’s August 12^th edition entitled “PFAs Remain the Best Option for Abuse Victims,” by Vince Sullivan, here is the “un-edited” version of a letter written from first-hand experience in dealing with the system that doles out Protection From Abuse orders as if they were bullet-proof shields:

“Last week’s front page article entitled “PFAs Remain the Best Option for Abuse Victims,” by Vince Sullivan, was just another example of self-serving propaganda, courtesy of UD Police’s Superintendent Michael Chitwood. Either he is woefully ignorant of the misogynistic police force he is running or he really is nothing more than an opportunistic hypocrite.

“My PFA turned out to be nothing more than a worthless piece of paper. I was treated more like a perpetrator than a victim, subjected to endless phone calls and torturous paperwork that yielded no appreciable results other than the scrutiny of the chauvinistic UD police officers. From the detached and impersonal patrolmen, to the careless and disinterested detectives, right up to the callous and abrasive captain, I was subjected to a repeated gauntlet of bureaucratic abuses that bordered on obstruction of justice. I was insulted and demeaned throughout the process by the very people who are sworn to “serve and protect,” while my abuser harassed and intimidated me with impunity.

“Women, beware and be warned! Contact the Delaware County DA / County Solicitor’s office if you seek enforcement of your PFA.”

Steele Fields

It has been this writer's first-hand observations that have caused him to paint PFAs as little more than targets that abuse victims are given to pin on themselves to give their intended abusers a crisper line of site to fire at. That being said, it’s true that in a system as weak as ours, PFAs are an abuse victim’s only option, if for nothing else than to be able to validate their abuses.

Beware and be warned indeed: do not hide behind the paper shield of the PFA… make sure you have a back-up plan that includes a valid escape route.

Ray's (iPhone) Gallery

2009-07-22T22:13:00.008-04:00

...flower power...

Script to Hide the Recycle Bin

2009-06-28T22:23:00.003-04:00

This could be one of the best scripts I've ever come across for editing the registry in Windows XP... this particular script will add a line in Folder Options that allows you to turn on and off the Recycle Bin from showing on your desktop (for those who do not know, you can and always could remove everything from the desktop except the Recycle Bin (trash can):

1. create a text file, renaming it Binopt.reg;

2. right click on Binopt.reg and select Edit;

3. copy and paste the following script:

aREGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\RecycleBinOnDesktop]

"RegPath"="Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\HideDesktopIcons\\NewStartPanel"

"Text"="Show Recycle Bin icon on the desktop"

"Type"="checkbox"

"ValueName"="{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}"

"CheckedValue"=dword:00000000

"UncheckedValue"=dword:00000001

"DefaultValue"=dword:00000001

"HKeyRoot"=dword:80000001aREGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\RecycleBinOnDesktop]

"RegPath"="Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\HideDesktopIcons\\NewStartPanel"

"Text"="Show Recycle Bin icon on the desktop"

"Type"="checkbox"

"ValueName"="{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}"

"CheckedValue"=dword:00000000

"UncheckedValue"=dword:00000001

"DefaultValue"=dword:00000001

"HKeyRoot"=dword:80000001

4. save it and close, then double click on the script to run it;

5. that's it... check your folder options (My Computer/Tools/Folder Options/View) and you will see a checkbox entry down the bottom that says "show recycle bin icon on the desktop";

DISCLAIMER: This has worked for me each time I've used it... however, you create/run it at your own risk... remember... backup, backup backup!

(REF: from the article Customizing Your PC with the Windows XP Registry, by Jerry Honneycutt, published June 24, 2002, downloaded on June 28, 2009 from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/honeycutt_02september16.mspx).

Ray's (iPhone) Gallery

2009-06-27T08:56:00.008-04:00

All the Mush Rooms

Bigfoot Found

2009-06-27T08:44:00.003-04:00

AP- Delaware County, PA

The clearest picture

to date of the legendary

"Bigfoot" has been

taken-- suprisingly--

in the Delaware County

area. An amateur

photographer, who

wishes to remain

anonymous at this

time, has submitted

the following photograph

to Ray's Rhetoris:

"It almost looks

like he's posing

for the camera,"

a surprised editor

Ray Cattie said

after seeing the

startling image

for the first time.

Other members of the

'Rhetoric staff

swear the beast

"...looks familiar."

Ray's (iPhone) Gallery

2009-06-20T09:17:00.004-04:00

'Shrooooooooms

Red June?

2009-06-17T19:48:00.004-04:00

...peanut butter and chocolate, together at a red game

for the first time in over 30 years (then again, we've only

had inter-league play since 1996, and God knows the

Phils and the Red Sox NEVER reach the Fall Classic

at the same time... maybe 2009, though!)...

Jeneen and Ray at Citizen's Bank Park

Phillies vs. Red Sox, June 13, 2009

(Red Sox 11, Phils 6, with a 1.5 hour rain delay thrown in just for fun)

Congratulations Royals!

2009-06-11T15:25:00.011-04:00

Congratulations to the Royals class of 2009! You did us proud today!

As you step forward to claim your future, don't forget your past--

don't forget where you came from, and what it took to get to where

you are now. And always remember-- we're proud of you!

Make new friends, but keep the old;

Those are silver, these are gold.
New-made friendships, like new wine,
Age will mellow and refine.
Friendships that have stood the test
Time and change - are surely best;
Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray,
Friendship never knows decay.
For 'mid old friends, tried and true,
Once more we our youth renew.
But old friends, alas! may die,
New friends must their place supply.
Cherish friendship in your breast
New is good, but old is best;
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
(New Friends and Old Friends© Joseph Parry)

fAceS

iN tHe

crOwd

CARL (Creative Writing, SP09)

CATTIE

A.J. (Skills & Comp, FA08)

MLF (My Last Final)- WHEW!

2009-06-05T11:34:00.001-04:00

Last Day of Classes

2009-06-03T12:55:00.003-04:00

Block Four English 10, enjoying the last day of class...

TSDTJ (Three School Days 'Til June)

2009-05-26T14:49:00.001-04:00

...reality is starting to slip...

SSDTJ (Seven School Days 'Til June)

2009-05-19T12:50:00.007-04:00

...such a feeling of ennui at school that I've been signing out for lunch and prep lately by saying silly destinations like "taxidermist" and "Memphis." Today I got scolded for this because they couldn't tell if it was meant humorously or sarcastically.

No wonder morale is so low at the high school...

...lol ...guess they're really gonna be miffed tomorrow when I'm off to Uranus during my lunch...

NSDTJ (Nine School Days 'Til June)

2009-05-15T13:58:00.001-04:00

Mockingbird Time

2009-05-08T13:12:00.004-04:00

Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) and
Tom Robinson (Brock Peters)... now that's
the way to watch a movie at school! Yes, and that's
Boo Radley (Robert Duvall, below) walking with
Jean Louise "Scout" Finch (Mary Badham)... is
there ANY movie Robert Duvall hasn't been in?!

One Last Chance to Make it Real

2009-04-30T07:07:00.003-04:00

Springsteen at his 32nd and final
appearance at the Spectrum

Setlist from Wednesday, 4/29/09:

Badlands
The Ties That Bind
Outlaw Pete
Spirit In The Night
Workin' On A Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
Youngstown
Raise Your Hand
London Calling
Red Headed Woman
Thundercrack
Hungry Heart
Promised Land
Streets of Philadelphia
Kingdom of Days
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born To Run

Encore:
Hard Times Come Again No More
(Tribute to Harry Kalas)
Thunder Road

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

Land Of Hope And Dreams
American Land
Kitty's Back

Broken Hourglass

2009-04-28T13:12:00.005-04:00

(a guest poem by Nitha)

eternal Hourglass Broken from Reality -
a Nightmare numbs the Tangled Time,
an endless Daydream carry Shadows that Haunt.
Eyes of the Moon crush Stars -
century old Sun burns its Last Starlight Embers.
Spirits seeing the Unspoken Unforgotten secret - Immortality,
journey through a Door to Another World ~
watching a Silver Phoenix cry to a Dark Sky.
the Remains - Ashes of a Forgotten Dream.
Heaven echoes the Silent Battle of Stars,
Frozen Cosmos Struggle on the Mend -
our universe Belongs to a Nameless Kingdom.
hiding in the horizon a Stranger waits in the Stains of the Dying
Saving Puppets in the Spider’s Web.

© Nitha Viswanathan

Pass the Buck

2009-04-24T13:53:00.003-04:00

Most of my Creative Writing class (Spring 2009) playing "Pass the Buck" (each are given a starting thought, they have three minutes to add to it before they must pass it... it goes around the circle until everyone has added to the story).

Absentee Student

2009-04-22T10:39:00.001-04:00

The girl in the yellow, Cherell, was absent for our homeroom picture!

Daisy Dog

2009-04-17T14:05:00.006-04:00

Freshman Homeroom- The Journey Begins

2009-04-16T09:40:00.001-04:00

My Homeroom-- 107

Eagles 2009 Schedule

2009-04-15T14:06:00.002-04:00

...here we go again. In spite of all of our cards, letters, emails, and texts of protest, the Eagles are going to suite up this fall for another vanilla run to the NFC Championship which, as we all know, they will lose to [insert (any) team name here]. Ah, another season of underachievement...

1 Sep 13 PHI @ CAR 1:00 PM

2 Sep 20 NO @ PHI 1:00 PM

3 Sep 27 KC @ PHI 1:00 PM

4 Bye

5 Oct 11 TB @ PHI 1:00 PM

6 Oct 18 PHI @ OAK 4:05 PM

7 Oct 26 PHI @ WAS 8:30 PM

8 Nov 01 NYG @ PHI 4:15 PM

9 Nov 08 DAL @ PHI 8:20 PM

10 Nov 15 PHI @ SD 4:15 PM

11 Nov 22 PHI @ CHI 8:20 PM

12 Nov 29 WAS @ PHI 1:00 PM

13 Dec 06 PHI @ ATL 1:00 PM

14 Dec 13 PHI @ NYG 8:20 PM

15 Dec 20 SF @ PHI 1:00 PM

16 Dec 27 DEN @ PHI 1:00 PM

17 Jan 03 PHI @ DAL 1:00 PM

Young Poets of Delaware County

2009-04-15T13:55:00.004-04:00

Congratulation to NITHA VISWANATHAN
for winning FIRST PLACE for 10th graders in the Young Poets of Delaware County Poetry Competition with her poem "Daffodils!" There will be a public reading of Nitha's winning poem at 1:00pm on Sunday, April 26 at the Redwood Playhouse in Upland.

2009 Central League Creative Writing Contest

2009-04-15T13:50:00.005-04:00

Congratulations to all of the participants in the 2009 Central League Creative Writing Contest, hosted this year by Ridley High School (nice job, Theresa!). A special congratulations goes out to Upper Darby junior GENEVA WRIGHT for winning FIRST PLACE in her grade level!

Courage

2009-01-21T08:30:00.003-05:00

Courage is not measured
When Victory is assured

Courage is reckoned
With defeat at the door

Eagles Eulogy

2009-01-19T12:16:00.006-05:00

Raise your glass to the Iggles

All those of you bleeding green

Ten years of Reid and McNabb

Is quickly becoming obscene

Offseason comes to us early

Two weeks too soon for this town

Football has ended in Philly

Bringing us Iggles fans down

"Wait until next season!" echoes

Up and down Broad Street today

It's become more of a mantra

Really, there's nothing to say

Time to trim up this turkey

And say goodbye to some friends

Maybe we'll see them in Dallas

Landing a Superbowl win

So put away all of the jerseys

And wrap up the tailgates and such

Donovan and company blew it

They let us down in the clutch

But hey, we've still got the Phillies

Na, it ain't quite the same

Oh well, wait until next season

(remember-- it's just a game)

E-A-G-L-E-S-- ah, forget it.

Congratulations Creative Writing

2009-01-16T11:32:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to my fall 2008 Creative Writing class
on completing their novellas!

top: Eli, Kevin, Lillian, Mike, Vanessa
bottom: Sam, Liz, Melissa, Becca

Mock Interviews

2009-01-13T14:32:00.005-05:00

Interview Day for Skills & Comp!

Ian, Katie, and Montez

2008-12-23T08:43:00.004-05:00

Merry Christmas from (most of) my first block Skills & Comp Class

(not bad for 7:30am!)...

Merry Christmas from (most of) my fifth block Skills & Comp Class

(they ate the rest!)...

Reid Must Go

2008-12-21T22:05:00.003-05:00

"Oh sorry. Thought they were Amoroso's."

If you've followed the Eagles at all beyond the fluke three game winning streak of late, I need say no more...

Eye of the Day

2008-11-18T14:50:00.004-05:00

Eye of the Day,
you have to admit
things could be better
from your vantage point.
Legs brush your face,
your beauty and grace
are admired by all,
when noticed.
You are hardiest
of your kind,
leaving your competitors
far, far behind but
even as your pale arms stretch
to embrace the morning,
(the dark memory of
hugging yourself
to sleep returns);
that’s just not right,
but it is the life
that chose us.
Draught tolerant,
you are,
but do you know the difference
anymore
between the sun
and the rain?
The pleasure
and the pain?
The loss
and the gain?

© Ray Cattie

Unseen Intuitions

2008-11-13T12:35:00.002-05:00

The hours of his life,
of boughs bending,
of unexpected endings.
He has a view, but
no answers.
A heart of
melting lava,
churning thoughts of you.
He searches and finds you
amidst the blood and water,
refusing to fly
though wings are spread
through open windows, and
sonorous voices sing
in a copse of tangled trees.
Unseen intuitions
lessen the burden,
but not too much,
nor too well.

© Ray Cattie

For Baby (For Daisy)

2008-11-05T07:28:00.006-05:00

the thought of losing you
or having to give you up
or having to give up one single thread
from the tapestry that has become
my hopes and dreams where you are concerned,
no matter how far fetched or far away they are...
those thoughts-- snuff out part of
my very soul
like cruel wet fingers
snuffing out a candle
in the window of my heart.
I see the future in your bright eyes.
I hear my own thoughts coming out of your lips.
I smell a profound healing of the spirit standing close to you.
I feel how warm tomorrow can be when I touch you.
And yet... and yet
I taste the salt of my own tears
as I write this.

© Ray Cattie

The Curse of Billy Penn

2008-11-03T10:05:00.006-05:00

We're winner's now-- a city of winners (that's right, smartass-- I said WINNERS, not wieners)... the Curse of Billy Penn has been lifted!

For those of you who don't know about the nefarious Curse of Billy Penn, in a nutshell, here is the story: the city of Philadelphia used to have a building code that stated you could not build

any building taller than the statue of Billy Penn that sits atop City Hall. In the '80's, the city rescinded that code, and numerous skyscrapers sprang up, leaving Billy Penn in the proverbial dust.

As of today, the tallest building in Philadelphia, opened on June 8 of this year, is the Comcast Building (Comcast World Headquarters), which towers a stunning 957 feet above JFK Boulevard. It officially became the tallest building in Philadelphia last summer (June 18, 2007). When the final I-beam was raised, ironworkers of Local Union 401 attached a small figurine of Billy Penn to it in an attempt to break the "curse," once again having Billy Penn at the tallest point in the city.

Did it work? Well, later that year ('07), the Phillies, the Flyers, and the 76ers all went on to make an appearance in their respective playoffs, culminating in the Phillies winning the World Series last week, ending a 25 year championship drought.

And I promise I won't bitch about Comcast ever again. Err... well, ever is a long time. How about I won't bitch about Comcast for the rest of this year? No, not buying it huh? Ok, the rest of this month? Grrrr... how about this week? You're tough... OK, OK, OK, so I already bitched about them!

My heart was in the right place, and now Billy Penn is too!

The Fightin' Phils

2008-10-17T11:42:00.004-04:00

I'm going to say something that hasn't been heard around these parts for fifteen years: The Phillies are in the World Series! That's right fans, our Fightin' Phils are actually going to be in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1993…

…1993…remember Murderer's Row? The Krucker? Lenny Dykstra? Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams? Carter's series-busting shot? The heartbreaking loss to the Blue Jays?

Or maybe like me, your memory stretches back a little bit more: how about the 1980 Kansas City Royals? George Brett (remember- the Royal Pain in the Ass?) (ok, for those who don't remember, George Brett, the prolific .400 hitter for the Kansas City Royals, was apparently suffering from excruciating hemorrhoids throughout the 1980 season and, of course, became the butt (!) of jokes in the friendly confines of Veteran's Stadium that year). Remember "The Catch?" Pop-up by the dugout, Philly catcher Bob Boone and Philly first baseman Pete "Charlie Hustle" Rose (yes, that Pete Rose) both raced over to make the grab- Boone got their a step ahead, the ball landed in his mitt and promptly popped out, and right into the outstretched glove of Pete Rose (it was a great save, but in all honesty Booney might not have missed it if he hadn't been watching out for a collision with his first baseman). How about Steve "Lefty" Carlton, the best pitcher in Phillies history? And who can forget the Tugger, Tug McGraw, getting the final out and leaping straight into the air in joy?

We have a chance over the next week and a half to create more memories, Philly fans! Fingers crossed, though in my opinion, they won't need it... this 2008 Phillies team is a very, very good team.

Red October

2008-10-07T06:53:00.008-04:00

GO PHILLIES!
Good luck against the Dodgers in the NLCS!

GO SOX!
Good luck against the Rays in the ALCS!

Blue Oyster Cult

2008-09-28T11:20:00.006-04:00

Blue Oyster Cult

Saturday, 9/27/08

The Chameleon

Lancaster, Pa.

An Ending, A Beginning

2008-09-02T12:36:00.010-04:00

...remembering the passing

of yet another summer...

...looking forward to the new

start of the new school year...

Robstock 2008

2008-08-24T10:52:00.006-04:00

Beer Truck

Elk Creek Farms Summer Block Party

(Robstock)

August 23, 2008

Rob on the double-neck
(he's compensating for something...)

Elk Creek Farms Summer Block Party

(Robstock)

August 23, 2008

Drip, Drip, Dripping

2008-08-01T18:39:00.003-04:00

Out on the edge

Of the red red rose,

Colors fade

And the air grows

Thin.

Beyond the beat,

The larger picture

Lies waiting

For those who Have the stomach

To embrace it.

Mind-dumbing,

Body-numbing,

Emotional slumbering.

The beauty

Of two minds melding,

Two hearts beating,

One feeling growing,

Two minds knowing

That time is a drop

Of water

Drip

Dripping

With endless patience.

(and in the absence of material

fill the emptiness with the

Ethereal).

But the flowers

Wait for no man

To smell them,

Before an early

Frost takes the fragrance

Congratulations Class of 2008!

2008-06-12T07:08:00.004-04:00

Congratulations Royals!

Congratulations to the Royals class of 2008! You did us proud today! As you step forward to claim your future, don't forget your past-- don't forget where you came from, and what it took to get to where you are now. And always remember-- we're proud of you and your accomplishments!

Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
New-made friendships, like new wine,
Age will mellow and refine.
Friendships that have stood the test
Time and change - are surely best;
Brow may wrinkle, hair grow gray,
Friendship never knows decay.
For 'mid old friends, tried and true,
Once more we our youth renew.
But old friends, alas! may die,
New friends must their place supply.
Cherish friendship in your breast
New is good, but old is best;
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.

(New Friends and Old Friends© Joseph Parry)

Court of Honor Troup 63

2008-06-02T23:51:00.003-04:00

Eagle Scout Court of Honor, Troop 63, Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, Saturday, May 31, 2008, John Kidd (UDHS class of 2008) receiving his Eagle badge from his mother- congratulations, John!

Why You Always Tryin' to Play Me

2008-06-02T23:46:00.007-04:00

Two toneful teachers trying to turn a tune...
May 2008

Beer Truck: The Band

2008-05-12T06:52:00.006-04:00

Beer Truck at Domenico's on Saturday, May 10, 2008

(l-r) Bill Blessington (lead guitar), Mike Celona (bass), George Celona (drums), Jon Blessington (lead vocals), Dave Bachor (guitar).

For more info: www.beertruckband.com...

The Little Bud That Knew

2008-04-29T10:18:00.001-04:00

The days of life.
The little bud that knew
and could bear no shimmer
of hope.
White robes
guide me through,
their role be essential
and passion makes sense
in their presence.
But
when the choice is mine,
consequence and
lingering fears
rule and ruin our days.
The days of life.
The little bud that knew
and could bear no shimmer
of hope,
And so withered
and died on the vine.

© Ray Cattie

Hang in the Air Like the Smoke from a Gun

2008-04-25T19:48:00.001-04:00

What would you pay, for a silent night
What would you give, to make it all right
What would you say, to take it all back
What would you give, to gain what you lack
Who would you thank, to tell you the truth
What would you do if they showed you the proof
Why would you care if that proof lacked appeal
How would you fare if your life was surreal
Why would you go on if life was undone
Hang in the air like the smoke from a gun

© Ray Cattie

2008-04-16T18:11:00.008-04:00

2008-2009 Eagles Schedule

PRESEASEON
Friday, August 8, at Pittsburgh, (7:30 p.m)
Thursday, August 14, Carolina (8:00 p.m)
Friday, August 22, at New England (7:30 p.m)
Thursday, August 28, New York Jets (6:30 p.m)
SEPTEMBER

Sunday, September 7, St. Louis (1 p.m.)
Monday, September 15, at Dallas (8:30 p.m.)
Sunday, September 21, Pittsburgh (4:15 p.m.)
Sunday, September 28, at Chicago (8:15 p.m.)

OCTOBER

Sunday, October 5, Washington (1 p.m.)
Sunday, October 12, at San Francisco (4:15 p.m.)

Sunday, October 19, BYE
Sunday, October 26, Atlanta (1 p.m.)

NOVEMBER
Sunday, November 2, at Seattle (4:15 p.m.)
Sunday, November 9, N.Y. Giants (8:15 p.m.)
Sunday, November 16, at Cincinnati (1 p.m.)
Sunday, November 23, at Baltimore (1 p.m.)
Thursday, November 27, Arizona (8 p.m.)

DECEMBER
Sunday, December 7, at N.Y. Giants (1 p.m.)
Monday, December 15, Cleveland (8:30 p.m.)
Sunday, December 21, at Washington (1 p.m.)
Sunday, December 28, Dallas (1 p.m.)

No Trivial Thought Be Your Heart

2008-04-15T08:25:00.002-04:00

no trivial thought
be your heart,
circling the earth
full of verses
like a satellite,
immortal among
mortal care

© Ray Cattie

Passenger

2008-04-13T19:20:00.004-04:00

(a guest poem by Steele Fields)

You go where the bus takes you.
One long pull on the cord
and that soft butter gut-flutter buzz you get-
like hide and seek in the dark when you were eight or nine?
…means you’re getting off.
You love the feet-sticky floors
the backwards fold of the origami doors
the swaying in the aisle.
Even the sideways ballers and rollers
the winkers and queue-eyed blamers angling around you for bank shots:
check that hard whack clean smack bang it-
eight ball sinks right in. Warm and deep.
Corner pocket.
You like being rattled loose.
Separated
from your change.
Always a nickel short and being stared at.
You’re an uninvited fog
hanging corner-rude and heavy.
You don’t mind stripping in the dark
numb and thumbing gutter pennies.
You like the hollow bite of losing
scraping sharp against your tongue
when nothing fits and nothing matches
barefoot bottom on the rung.
And every alley is your theater
and you’re living under wheel wells
and they’re hating you and
huffing your ripe diesel. But
you’re going
where the train goes.
You’re living just to ride it.
One flip loose grip ticket-ripped and tripping;
the full tilt thud of sliding in and pulling out.
Bruising over worn tracks
strung out towns, and veins collapsing.
Scratching, smoking, chasing dragons
never getting anywhere. Still
you go
where the rain pours you
monster eyed and sunken.
You could cop another bundle
feed the wet ghost in the window
midnight framed and rocking
watching rain that looks like syrup
dripping slowly down the sides
…or you could just get off.

© Steele Fields

The Faces of Two People

2008-04-11T11:47:00.003-04:00

I watched you slinking off.
Remember: the face of two people
can afford sad stories.
Your eyes can wait until I get there,
and I recognize a strange smell-
it's fear and a sad story, waiting to be told.
Suspended in time, like a bead of water
slowing its roll down the face of an icicle.
Sharp and pointed.

© Ray Cattie

The Charades Fell Softly (A Night on the Cut)

2008-04-09T10:24:00.001-04:00

To our hearts,
the children disappear
like a picture—
one leading from here,
forever going to there.
Plead for a foul night
and the sea,
that I might not recognize
you.
Oh, the charades fell softly
from her lips,
full of the stars
they were.

© Ray Cattie