Monday, September 7, 2009

A Few More Thoughts About The Kennedy Boys

My friend Billy sent me an email today. It was a kind and gentle reminder that I've been neglecting my blogging. He's right of course, I haven't posted recently. His email and the fact that someone even bothered to notice my absence was perhaps just the inspiration and motivation I needed.
"Haven’t heard from you in days!", Billy wrote, "You haven’t updated your Ted Kennedy blog yet. His death was a real blow, even though it was expected, it really was the end of an era, an empire, an age of optimism and naïveté."

- Yes indeed it was Billy, indeed it really was. The end of an era and the loss of innocence. Or did we still have innocence left to lose?


Forgive me please, but once again - I do feel so inclined
to express some thoughts in meter and of course, in rhyme.

Was our Innocence ours to lose, or was it long since gone
way back when we first lost Bobby and Dear Brother John?

I don't know why it is and I don't know how to explain,
but ever since then, nothing seems to be quite the same.

Have I just gotten cynical, grouchy, cantankerous and old,
or is something palpable happening, that really needs to be told.

It was to a hopeful generation that the torch had been passed,
but what happened to our optimism? - Why didn't it last?

The "Edmundian" Forensics were my High School Forté,
when I wrote and delivered speeches that I remember 'til this day.

The competition was fierce - Oratory and Debate.
My pinnacle achievement - First Place in New York State.

"The Prospects For My Generation" is what I then spoke of,
So full of Piss and Vinegar; and Peace and Hope and Love!

Is it just my imagination and fond memories that persuade,
or were the sixties truly special and a uniquely confident decade.

We went to the Moon on July 20th, nineteen sixty nine,
but it wasn't Alice Kramden's foot that stepped out so sublime.





An Astronaut named Armstrong, fulfilled the Kennedy Pledge,
and it was his "Giant Leap for Mankind" that then gave us the edge.


Anything seemed possible and perhaps it truly was,
we seemed to work together and have a common cause.

Yes we had some hard times and we often disagreed
but we cared about each other and one another's needs.
So we created Medicare and then even Medicaid
it truly was remarkable, a benevolent decade.
The Kennedy's believed that health care was Not a privilege but a right,

so Ted diligently pursued this - working hard both day and night.





Now that they've all left us, does not their legacy implore,
that we find a way to do this - and give a little more.



Limbaugh, Beck and O'Reilly would surely disagree




but Limbaugh, Beck and Bill O' don't care about you and me.





Greed has taken over, you see it everywhere
let's all look out for # 1 and never, ever share.

You say that it's the deficit and we simply can't afford
but one way or another - we can always afford a War.

Maybe it's time we got our priorities in order people.
Just Thinking...

Please feel free to comment below or you can email me at eddieoreilly@hotmail.com and your comment will be posted.

Thanks For Reading!


9 comments:

  1. Just loved this one. Your best poem to date!!!

    Love, Lori

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  2. Damn, these poems you write are so good. Keep it up!

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  3. Eddie,
    I love the Kennedy poem. You are really good, good, good!!!!!!!!!! I didn’t know you won a NY state prize in debate when you were in high school but it doesn’t surprise me. . ( High school is when I used to see you the most. Remember you used to babysit sometimes)?

    I was very sad about Kennedy too. And I am horrified about how Obama is being treated by those stupid people in town meetings and by the three media people you mentioned. Don’t they realize he was elected.

    Please keep writing and especially writing poetry. There is a lot of meaning in your words and they are put so beautifully. You expressed my feelings and I’m sure many other people’s too.
    Thanks for writing.
    Love,
    Dot

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  4. Thanks sooo much for your very kind words.
    I really do appreciate the support!

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  5. Extraordinary, I enjoyed this very much. The writing is brilliant and the references and your choice of pictures and how you used them, very well done.

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  6. LOVE IT.. "TO THE MOON ALICE!" took me a second to get that. I tried to respond to the comments in the blog as I do have a gmail acct but I don't know the password... DUH

    And what's this about Billy, yeah, believe it or not? Were you that impressed that I should have any knowledge of more innocent times? I'll have you know that I remember that era very well. CIgarettes were much cheaper and we didn't yet have Boones Farm wine, we had to drink Ripple.

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  7. "Those Were The Days" my friend, those were the days.

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  8. Hi!

    About your latest blog posts---don't always agree with the contents, but you do write very well. You could do very well copywriting in an ad agency, writing the reading notes for the news commentators on a news station
    or free -lancing in a newspaper or magazine.

    P.S. Don't especially care for the thinking or the ways of Rush, Sean , Bill or the new guy on the block, but care less for Chris, Keith, Rachael or their new kid on their block.

    Love and Listening,
    Apple

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  9. Hi Apple Annie,
    even if you don't always agree with my content I always Love hearing from my Tia Anna. Especially when she takes the time to compliment me. I am a Leo after-all, and as you well know, we Leo's tend to enjoy having our egos stroked now and then. ;)

    I don't know that my writing is all that good though, but thanks for believing in me. :)

    As far as my content is concerned, I know I lean more to the Left than you do but I'm honestly more of a moderate than you might think, and I find it hard to take any of those Loudmouth Commentators seriously. That's why with the recent passing of Walter Cronkite, I found myself pining for a more bygone era when journalists had ethics, and news was more Substance than Sensation.

    Rush, Sean and Bill are "Extreme Right Wingers" who will sometimes make things up as a convenient way to make a point. I also find them to be Bullies and Extremely Intolerant, Especially Bill! As for the new guy Beck I just think he is completely out to lunch.

    Keith, Rachel and the new guy Ed are "Extreme Left Wingers" who are similarly prone to playing with the truth. Reporting half facts and avoiding details that might not be favorable to their point of view.

    Both groups are highly controversial zealots, with very fixed opinions and are not at all receptive to opposing points of view or enlightened debate. They also engage in the rather unsavory practice of publicly ridiculing and humiliating one another. This it seems to me is a blatant attempt to attract attention, boost their ratings and line their own pockets. In reality they are all, much more "Show than Substance". That's why I say it's all about Greed. Greed, Greed, and more Greed. As Michael Douglas said in the 1980's Film Wall Street "Greed Is Good". Apparently too many people took that movie seriously.

    One of my favorite news sources is still NPR - National Public Radio. I know some people say they are elite and erudite and therefore leftest, but I don't think so. I find them to be very down to earth, fair minded and non-judgemental. They cover all the major issues with in depth analysis, knowledge and insight. All points of view are aired, freely acknowledged and given equal time. They never rush to judgement, deal in verifiable facts not fiction, are non-commercial and at least make an attempt at some objectivity.

    In your area, NPR is available on WNYC New York AM 820 or FM 93.9. You should give it a try and let me know what you think. Now, bear in mind, not all NPR affiliates carry exactly the same shows, and the programs I tend to like are the nationally syndicated programs and not the local ones which can vary widely in both quality and content.

    Our station here in Miami (WLRN - FM 91.3) has what I consider to be an excellent mix of News & Information, but I'm not real fond of the locally produced stuff.

    Some news/talk shows I enjoy on NPR weekdays include...
    "Morning Edition", "The Diane Rehm Show", "Fresh Air", "Talk of the Nation", "The World", and "All Things Considered".

    My favorite weekend programs, in addition to the morning news, include some shows just for fun and entertainment, like...
    "Wait Wait...Don't Tell ME!", "Car Talk", "This American Life", and of course "A Prairie Home Companion" with Garrison Keillor.

    BTW - No firm dates yet, but I'm planing on coming up in October for my Mom's birthday and I hope to see everyone soon.

    Love Always, Eddie

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