In Memoriam - Senator John S. McCain III

 

With the passing of a patriot like John McCain

My hopes for the country that he loved went down the drain.

No one else has shown the courage he showed 'til the end;

Few have tried to reach across the aisle and make a friend.

(My dad shared a room at the Academy with John

And the stories of the escapades those two went on

Kept us entertained and made me love John even more...)

Would have made a better President than Bush or Gore.

Sixty years of service to the country he adored;

I'm sure heaven has already welcomed him aboard.

He was an example to us all throughout his life.

Praying for his friends and family and lovely wife.

Goodbye Adam

 (The McCarthy Middle School talent contest version, Adam in a kilt, was better.)

I spent this year's Mother's Day at Adam Gregoire's wake.

It felt like a nightmare and I thought my heart would break

At the pictures of the boy who used to hang around...

Ate and slept here.  Yet, today, they'll lay him in the ground.

He was such a lovely boy; so funny but so sweet.

Taught our son to play guitar and how to keep a beat.

I can still remember them - in triumph on the stage.

Such a talent gone from us at far too young an age.

Both my sons attended with me and they made me proud

As we stood in line and waited with the massive crowd

Come to say goodbye and offer useless sympathy

And, like all but Adam's mom, thank God she wasn't me.

In Memoriam... Robin Williams

Robin Williams (July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014)

"Robin Williams killed himself today," my youngest said.

I was sure that I'd misheard him.  Robin Williams? Dead?

Those words shouldn't go together; he's just 63...

Not someone so full of life.  Please, no! It couldn't be.

I have been a fan of his for nearly 40 years.

He could make me laugh until my eyes were streaming tears.

Robin Williams was a comic genius.  That's a fact.

With Good Morning, Vietnam he proved that he could act.

After Good Will Hunting, with an Oscar to his name,

Like some genie granted him a wish for wealth and fame,

I'd have thought the man was happy.  Sadly, he was not.

Now old clips of Robin are the only things we've got.

(With apologies to Walt Whitman)

O Captain! My Captain! Our jester's no more...

Journeyed beyond to a far distant shore.
May the depression he suffered from cease.
No matter What Dreams May Come, grant him peace.

Tata Madiba's Memorial Service

Mourners at Nelson Mandela's Memorial service. (Photo/Huffington Post)

Probably the strangest funeral I've ever seen.

Mourners' faces painted black, white, yellow, red and green;

Singing in their thousands as the rain poured down in sheets...

Many of them clapping hands and dancing on their seats.

They all booed their President; Obama got a cheer.

Had a fake interpreter for people who can't hear.

I thought Irish wakes were rowdy...  Little did I know.

People of South Africa just put on quite a show.

In Memoriam... Nelson Mandela

President Mandela of South Africa has died

And, although not unexpected, even so - I cried.

Started life a warrior; his nation's righteous spear.

Faced the gallows on Apartheid without trace of fear.

Sentenced him to Robben Island; said he'd serve for life.

After they imprisoned him they, then, harassed his wife.

Twenty-seven long and lonely years 'til his release

Yet, somehow, he managed to emerge a man of peace.

Spoke of Reconciliation as a way to heal;

Fought to make his vision of a Rainbow Nation real.

When he came to Boston - up and dancing on the stage -

Thanked us for divestment, I felt we had turned a page...

Put our ugly, racist past behind us; cleaned the slate.

It felt like Mandela's benediction of my state.

Many countries' flags will fly at half-staff when unfurled

For the father of his country...  Hero to the world.

JFK Conspiracy Solved... It Was Us.

50 years ago today John Kennedy was shot.

Many still believe in an assassination plot:

L.B.J., the CIA, or Castro, or the mob.

Presidents could not be killed by one pathetic slob.

Looking back we all remember it as Camelot;

Dreaming of our glory days, but maybe we forgot

We were simply not a most congenial spot back then.

My mom is a Northerner who lived down South and when

She was at the Commissary they announced the news;

People started cheering and expressing racist views.

Toxic atmospheres build up and then some loser acts.

Let's not try to kid ourselves; we have to face the facts...

No one fled the grassy knoll; Lee Oswald was alone.

He was not the patsy here.  He acted on his own.

But the ugly politics and scandals of the day

Also had a passive, but important, part to play.

Maybe we should think about that as we're looking back

From our current, constant state of partisan attack.

This new generation of Americans must change...

Who knows which new lunatic is at the target range.

In Memoriam - Hugo Chavez (1954 - 2013)

Hugo Chavez died and Venezuela's blaming us.

Their new, acting-President is kicking up a fuss;

Said we gave him cancer - that we wanted him to die...

'though he was theatrical, I kinda liked the guy.

I'm in Massachusetts where we call on Joe-4-Oil.

Hugo Chavez, with the help of Venezuelan's toil,

Sent the people here (who can't afford to pay for gas)

Oil for free - which tells me he's not such a horse's ass.

Sadly, he has left his nation with a growing mess.

Government of 1 won't work when you're that person less.

Cult of personality is not the way to rule...

One thing I will say for him; he was nobody's tool.

'though I did not like the leaders he considered friends

I cannot forget the oil supplies he always sends.

Nothing's ever black or white, but every shade of gray.

So, for Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, let us pray.

The Boston Red Sox - In Memoriam: Johnny Pesky

Johnny Pesky (1919-2012) Photo credit: The Boston Herald

Very saddened by the news that Johnny Pesky's died.

One could not have asked for a more charming native guide.

Pesky was a Red Sox legend...  Stories by the score

Shared with younger players about glory days of yore.

Over 7 decades now that Johnny's been the heart;

Known as Mister Red Sox, he will always be a part

Of the park that was his life - the fabled Pesky Pole;

Obstacle which home-run hitters' hopes so often stole.

Never made the Hall of Fame - the war got in the way -

Though he hit .300, behind Williams, in his day.

Played 10 years but never left.  He managed for awhile

(Pesky was well noted for his ever present smile)

Was a coach, announced a bit, as manager - rehired.

Johnny Pesky lived to see his number get retired.

Not as if his death's a shock...  The man was 92.

Even so, I find the news has left me feeling blue.

Seems like something vital - a connection to the dream -

Gone, like Johnny Pesky.  'though the current Red Sox team

Needs a shot of something that is missing from before.

Now that God's called Pesky home, please - someone - get  Bob Doerr.

In Memoriam - Donna Summer

Donna Summer (1948 - 2012)

Still the spinning disco-balls and bring up All the Lights.

Donna Summer, voice behind so many Boogie Nights,

Died at only 63 - that's much too young an age -

Joined the growing list of those who've exited the stage.

People who I danced to in a, mostly, misspent youth.

WoMan in the Mirror's getting longer in the tooth.

If I tried those dance moves now, I'd need to use a crutch.

Last Dance? Maybe. Last chance? No... though, romance - not so much.

Working Hard for Money so I haven't danced in years;

Don't play disco here at home - my hard-rock husband sneers.

But, I Loved to Love You Baby, back when I got down.

Thank you for the music of my wild nights on the town.

This Week in Boston Sports

Perhaps we were a (trifle) too cocky?

Summing up this week in Boston sports is not much fun.

Only good news to report is that the Celtics won;

Beat Atlanta's Hawks to make it to the second round.

They're the only Ray of light, in Boston, to be found.

Carl Beane - he's the Voice of Fenway - died; a heart attack.

Matt Light just retired; Brady's sure to feel his lack.

Seau's dead.  The Red Sox are imploding.  Holy crap!

Watched the news the other night and saw Josh Beckett snap.

He is taking lots of heat for playing golf when he

Should have been recovering from recent injury.

Fenway's Faithful booed him off the field and he was mad.

Can't say that I blame him; stuff like that makes me feel bad.

No team out there wants to lose.  Let's give the guys a break.

Not dissect their every foible, error, and mistake.

Give them time to work it out; watch basketball instead...

Thank God for the Celtics and the fact that you're not dead.

Carl Beane; the Voice of Fenway for the last 10 years, dead at age 59.

In Memoriam - Maurice Sendak

Maurice Sendak (1928 - 2012)

Rolled my eyes and gnashed my teeth and voiced a saddened roar

Hearing Maurice Sendak isn't with us anymore.

Although other Maxs will command the rumpus "Start!"

Losing such a gifted man has kinda broke my heart.

In an interview I heard on WBUR

Terry Gross paid tribute as I listened in my car.

Sendak had released a book about a year ago

And the things he said to her made my eyes overflow.

Maurice was then 82 and he'd just lost a friend;

Spoke about the knowledge that his life was near its end.

In the light of recent news I'd recommend that you

Take the time to listen to this brilliant interview.

The New England Patriots - In Memoriam; Junior Seau

Junior Seau (1969 -2012) in happier times.  Photo credit: Reuters

Chargers, Dolphins, Patriots (the team for which I cheer)

Mourn the loss of Junior Seau; loved when he played here.

At the age of 43 - with 20 as a pro -

Seau's not the first to take his life this way, you know.

Football fans around the world, when told how Seau died,

Saddened - but not really shocked - to learn by suicide

(Junior, not too long ago, had driven off a cliff)

Faced the truth that penalties for players are too stiff.

Seau must have thought so too; he left his skull intact.

Pretty sure the autopsy will show that it's a fact

After one has played the game as long and hard as he

Almost every tackle does the brain an injury.

Don't know how we fix this; only know it must be done

Before other players blow their chests out with a gun.

I love football just as much as any other fan

But we have to change the game...  We owe it to the man.

In Memoriam - Mike Wallace

excerpted from an
Article first published as In Memorium: Mike Wallace on Technorati.

Article first published as In Memorium: Mike Wallace on Technorati.

Mike Wallace (1918 - 2012) Photo credit:  CBS.com

At the age of 93, Mike Wallace passed away.
He's the man who pioneered techniques still used today.
Master of surprise attacks, Mike Wallace once struck fear
Into hearts of those he interviewed from year to year.

He could be abrasive; sometimes, questions made me wince
But we've never seen his like again - before or since.
Famous for his courage; put Depression on the map.
Told the world about the time Westmoreland made him snap.

Rest in peace now, sir. Your legacy is safe and sound.
Even though you've gone from us, your style is still around.
When you get to heaven (for I'm sure that's where you'll be)
Don't tick off the Lord; tell Andy Rooney "Hi" for me.