Whither? or Whence?

....

What if.......................
upon confrontation of self's bête noire; one see into the mirrors of others?


...................

Peace

Reading For The Day


World Peace..............
Live the Art that creates it.

.............to be continued............................

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Happy Daze,
the Captain

Linda and Susie

Surprise Package Reading for August 2, 2010


The flash and glow of friendship creates light on paths of unspeakable mirth..............  treasures of incalculable worth.....and, in the case of my Chicago Basilica Bosom Buddies ~~  ~~ epiphanic insight:

There are no ordinary moments...........only decisions on how to exist in moments.

Thank you, Linda Sue and Susie for the inspiration in the fully engaged spirits of your being.

.............to be continued............................

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Happy Daze,
the Captain

Between The Graces

Reading for July 4, 2010


To what measure is given the size of a person's greatest fear, may be that  for one's courage.

Must it not, then, take a great courage to make fear a friend?

To wit, such a great source of courage, then.......... be friendship.


.............to be continued............................

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the Captain

Eulogy Petite'

Special Edition
Reading for June 23, 2010

A modern day, Everyman, I found, upon reflection, my Uncle and Godfather to be.  It is thus upon his death, Sunday, June 20, 2010 - I humbly proffer this today.  His name is Edwin Cisinski, I called him most often by his popular nickname "Ork"

My Godfather

As one would cast a grain of sand upon endless shore..........

I submit a drop of wonder to ocean of awe ~~

for if not Ed's soul continues.........................

where does joy be?

…..............that joy of his smile................a smile that has soothed, centered, and given me energy.

Inspiriting ^^^^^ Impassioned ~~~~~~~~~ Competitor................

That psycho-metaphysical question of NOW …...the eternal question from the ancient Religions and Philosophers ….........................I am convinced no one who could better answer ~~^^~~

My Uncle Ork.....................no-nonsense, nuts and bolts guy.......he's just always in now...

….... maybe because he loved so much...............

Actively engaging wholly with others

….......... he lived so much

“I was afraid” he said when he told me about the large crates of machine parts which fell near him....near him, as he tried to sleep on a metal floor...................close enough to a wall, through which came the terrifying constant calculations being made by the officers trying to keep the Queen Mary [luxury liner/now war transport ship] seconds ahead of a German Submarine's torpedo firing solution..............

“I loved the early summer mornings” he said when he told me about the times getting up before high school classes started …................ bicycling through his great city …. as it began its work day...........to ride the wooden velodrome at Humboldt Park.

…....................his always-to-the-event fashion - perfect - humility cloaked regal persona charming all........... the complex rascal............. eyes that danced the Polka passionately....... ….....yet radiated calm. ….............

In total, when all is said and done............. nothing could better describe his soul's energy than whom he called “my baby”...........she who was the love of loves.................for his entire life...........the vision he saw as a Polish Girl Scout walking …...­in a parade through his favorite park................to whom he devotedly wed ..and cherished .......Stella.

His light was not a split second blinding flash, but a life-long glow.............. everyday shadows brought to light.......... clouds moved gently aside.................

….the constancy of joy..................................assured..................

most respectfully, in admiration , and with loving gratitude, Henry Jude Karwowski

Godson and Nephew This Twenty Third day of June, 2010

Summer Flash Storm

ALERT Reading for June 20, 2010

A flash brain storm has brought the following:

Neuronal niagara's pause pools mellow ^^^ ~~~~ ** ~~~^^^

I don't need to understand everyone in the world..............just myself.

.............to be continued............................

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the Captain

Pulsed Parabolic Frequencies

Reading for June 13, 2010

The Captain is off for Summer Break..........................

.....until next time, hoping that you have everything you need, want, like, and desire.........and, in a word:
Health,     heA lTh...........  HEAlth ~~*^^* oR,  Health  {[^^=+ ad infiitum plus one step beyond..............+=^^]}


............to be continued............................

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Happy Daze,
the Captain

"IT" is Revealed

Reading for June 6, 2010


So it is upon looking about this planet.................
for people................
wanting to engage each other in a most excellent way [in order to form a more perfect union] ....
do things fairly [establish justice] ................
in calm [insure domestic tranquility] ..............
while maintaining sanctuary [provide for the common defense] .......
nurturing health and well being [ promote the general Welfare] .................
and finally to share it generously, one and all [secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity]........


I found it: [do ordain and establish this............................]

.............to be continued............................

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the Captain

Golden Door Welcome

Reading for May 29, 2010

This is the third of four issues re-phrasing, paraphrasing, and revisiting  IT.  Next week the actual IT will be posted for identification. 
Comments made thus far on IT

To start with, very curiously, this exact remark was made by two different people:

"It appears to be the reader's life".

..........the others:

"The last sentence in the paragraph is uninterpretable to me."

"I think 'it' is compassion."

"I was frequently confused."

"Life? Sex? Pleasure in general?"

"Sounds like a neighborhood agreement"


"I don't know"


"I am overwhelmed with current situation."

"What do you mean?  I just don't get IT.  I mean, IT doesn't seem to make any sense.  IT is about time that something makes sense on this planet, but I just don't see IT happening.  IT truly IS a mystery."

                 *********************************************************

END OF COMMENTS

My first thoughts upon awakening this morning, and what re-confirmed the original IT as the best thing on earth at present, was pure Utopian. Heck, I wondered, how many people thought Orville and Wilbur Wright's ideas about "airplanes" were impossibilities..................so I continued imagining.
I thought of a perfect world with people healthy, happy, and enjoying each other.  Practical and mundane matters were joyful.  Challenges that produced discord were harmonized.  Property, business, food, water, energy, social structures, religion, and all became concinnous.   Then ideas about energy brought about something.
Something which glowed with conceptualization that I wanted to put into words.
The words are: pulsed parabolic frequencies.
Anyone know what that means?

hmmmmmmmmmm...........

Or .........any thoughts on inverse beam curves or sync freq locks?

.............to be continued............................

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Happy Daze,
the Captain

Comin' Home

 Reading for May 23, 2010

Thanks to to all who have shared ideas about last Sunday's Offlection.


Here is Part II of To Say It Another Way 

Historical - Time - Space perspective/note:
Whatever may or may not have been the origin of our species, the story of creation, the birth of the universe, we are all here on earth now.  
Were we to engage the reality that we are all here now.....in the spirit and deed of health (something to the effect of a sense of well being spiritually, physically, mentally, in the context of both the individual and society) - for everyone, how could we do that ~~ practically, simply, and immediately?
Okay, how about this - a considerable part of humankind agrees to a plan for the implementation of something very much like the above mentioned - and makes it welcoming to people all.
Individual conscious acts of will create it.  

IT the paraphrasing of the above and has already happened.


For those who are following the quest for identifying, having, and living, etc., IT - here is a variation of the paraphrasing. 

IT: Okay, since a good portion of us here on earth,  [as individuals having engaged reality with the right and power to believe, express and act in a manner of our own choosing] have decided to get together for the best possible life, lets live it with respect and fairness to each other, being calm in the provision of sanctuary.   Additionally, let us nurture this sacred gift of health in individuals and families and share it generously in the future, as well as now.

Now, Welcoming posts and comments...........

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Happy Daze,
the Captain

To Say It Another Way........

Reading for May 16, 2010


To Say It Another Way- Let's get together for the best possible life for everyone on earth. Live it with respect and fairness to each other - and let us all be calm in the provision of sanctuary. Nurture, we, health and share it generously, one and all.

And It is????............. to be continued.....[{*^^ or shall be....^^*}]


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Happy Daze,
the Captain

Meet and Greet the Snakes

So it was then, in lands of the Akwapim, Akyem, Kwahu, Krobo and Guans...........that I set off to meet and greet the snakes...........or, was it in Logan Square?.................
Using the time co-ordinates of this blog site for bob ^^~^^ i.e. chronology from past to future ~~^~~ would make it Logan Square, of course..or would it?
It may~would have been then, in the Avondale neighborhood.........and probably in that great domed place of worship where I saw it underfoot and defeated.
Why was the serpent/snake chosen to represent evil on such walls that those from whom I came that ensconced soul's Ikigai/raison d'être?
Walking on marble floor, the questions began............"What is evil?"........."To Whom is What evil?"........"In how many ways do snakes manifest beneficence?" "Is this the way to One Step Further?".......................

THE END of Book One

Brain Stem Center Stage

Reading for May 9, 2010

My students, having run through the campus and into town telling everyone that Mr. Hank looked a Black Cobra in the eye, I sauntered back home, the raining tree placing a dollop of water on my face.  I reflected on the day that had given so much.  

The caw and mirror conjunctly played on brain stage. 

My memory set upon that moment of dual leakings, and I could not but laugh of awe.  Snakes and sunlight overflowing from places God and someone had gone beyond.  I recalled that moment at the base of the escarpment when I hit the brakes on the motorcycle and shot a quick picture of the leaking sky.  

I decided I would take inspiration.

View #5 is the ~ Un-Retouched ~  picture 

View #5

 But is this a leak in the sky or a leak in the camera?  In either case, I was inspired to learn about snakes from the snakes themselves.    
One point to ponder though, is that if light leaks come in parallel to the spindle whereon the film is wound (as this is, especially when the camera tilt is taken into account per seawall and structure lines) the over-exposed beam lines diverge.  In this picture, in both cases of light leak source {~* top and bottom *~} the lines converge. See view #6 for superimposed divergent beam and green axis rotation to level camera tilt orientation for bottom camera source -

View #6

View #7 is picture w arrows to show convergence where there should be divergence:

View #7

View #8 is the case if the camera light leak were to have come from the top of the camera.
View #8

So it was then, in lands of the Akwapim, Akyem, Kwahu, Krobo and Guans...........that I set off to meet and greet the snakes...........or was it in Logan Square?................. to be continued.........


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the Captain

...oooh, Too Late

Reading for May 2, 2010


For the artist, scientist, nurse, teacher, artisan, child, parent, and philosopher in us , there are just times when musing: infinities, dreams, levels of consciousness, callings and the essence of our very souls - just has to get in line and wait – like everybody else's entrancement – while overriding priorities arise...................like survival.

Eyeball to Eyeball.   

We were locked into  each other........................ It was freak at first sight. 

As a child and through high school and university, every single picture of a cobra showed its head shaped like a cupped hand.  Adding to that, the Dell Golden Guide Book about Poisonous Whatstheirspecies, that I had just studied, showed cobras with a cupped-hand shaped head, most probably.  

No prior  experience (or knowledge) required..........................in an instant:  hundreds of students disappeared, inter-species communication reached a new high................and I dropped the snake back into
the drum, wedged the cover back in place, and was on my way, bounding to find the students - any student, to continue my lecture on snakes.   I wanted to tell them what I had picked up on......that,  I had simply confused a harmless, non-poisonous snake with one of the world's most deadly.  

But................it was too late.

My students had run through the campus and into town telling everyone that Mr. Hank looked a Black Cobra in the eye.

The tale took, and remained.  One day, several years after I had completed my service, I received a fabulous jolt of nostalgia with a letter traced from Ghana to Canada, to England, to The United States, to a friend of a friend of a friend.  During a cab ride in Accra, Ghana's capital city, the driver discovered that the passenger was an American. Immediately, the taxi-driver whipped out one of the many copies of the passport pictures we Peace Corps teachers had given our students.  It was my photo, and along with it was the excited query......you know Snakeman?
Hal Vick, one of the people I worked with in Portland Oregon ~ almost a decade later ~ was urged by another colleague to ask me about the Cobra story. His query was amusing. In the old Wilcox Women's Hospital - breaking a few minutes from his studying for Board Certification as an OB/GYN - I heard: "Henry, how do you look a Black Cobra in the eye,  accidentally?"

to be continued...............

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the Captain

 

Then......Our Eyes Met...........

Reading for April 25, 2010


...............festive singing of my family name: Karwowski........the wow was melodiously lifted to song for several seconds.   As it hung in the air, my students charged it pure joy. It was this gleeful electricity into which I entered.................completely unaware how close I was to what had killed many before me.

I led the way with élan , yet followed ^~~^ captured......... and.... enclouded ~~^~^ ......  

Two worlds had reached collision speed and were about to vie for a spot in the universe that would allow but one - the contest was seconds away, as I stood in front of the fifty gallon oil drum.  The great black metal cylinder then became crowned, with a semi-circle of  the entire student body.

Upon the top of the drum was a single sheet of loose-leaf paper.

The opening move in prime forested  combat-drama had been made.   Socio-cultural mind sets jostled for position on the multi-dimensional stage as potent neuro toxins seethed, conditioned behavior urged pause, insouciant naivete' blasted forward, and the ridiculous ridiculorum called for a quorum.

The four words on the loose leaf paper read:..................

............... SNAKE FOR MR HANK

The clash was of epic proportions.

The students'  life-or-death training for instantaneous response, at bay while the drum's cover was securely wedged shut, vaporized with my my casual pull-toss of the protective top.  Incalculable ignorance stoking flaming illusions of invincibility, I jack-knifed the upper half of my body right into the drum.    With the weight of my brain helping propel my skull towards the serpent, I said in a loud voice: "....oh. its a back-fanged tree snake....".   I thus continued the discourse as knowledge welled up from  my recent studies at the Guide..............."it is non-poisonous, and uses a sawing  motion with its head to cut through its prey....".  My discourse finished, I lifted myself and the reptile out of the barrel to witness what remained after the big one had been dropped.  .................everything gone................total annihilation.
I was shocked to see nothing.... not one student was in sight.........yet, that nothing was less than nothing compared to what happened next.


Our eyes met.  

We were locked into  each other.  It was freak at first sight.  Well shit, every image I ever saw, without exception, had the cobra pictured with it hood extended.  Nonetheless, the creature with whom I was locked in gaze with, popped a hood from the side of it neck.  So whether it was a King Cobra, Black Cobra, or Egyptian Cobra ~~~^^~~~ didn't matter *#%#$!*^ ..... the fact was:  it was not a harmless back fanged tree snake, but a friggin' Cobra...................and............

to be continued...............

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Happy Daze,


Captain Flip Side


with a special smile for Bug girl ~~ Steph

A Tool Sacred Perhaps?

April  19, 2010 ~^~ Special Edition in honor of, and thanks to ..................


the first oubliette of a lover -

the last chance for a gambler -

the recourse of poverty -

change in an ordered path -

a crime in a totalitarian state -

a sin in soulless religions -

.........................................................

How Close - Beauty and Danger?

Reading for April 18, 2010


Zig-zagging my way up the escarpment, the Accra Plains and the Gulf of Guinea gave up their grasslands and  salt sea air to dense prime forest.  As pitched sharp curves demanded my attention, the altitude and temperature changes stimulated another attempt to link my sub-brain with  my higher faculties.  I was soon passing the mango tree.  As I gunned the engine of the motorcycle to make the climb I realized the tree fork I had rested in, had been nothing less than a crown-seat. 
There had to be only one explanation.
A very large bird was nested below those limbs which held the perfect yellow mangoes.  I will never know if there were eggs, or hatch-lings in that aviary loft; but. I do know, that as that winged creature took to flight, it made a sound.
As neither of us were aware of the other........... intimately ~ ~  we communed in the aerial sanctuary silent
Our physical closeness allowed a sync to my lower brain when issuance of its primordial sound became present in my highest level of lowest consciousness.
What I did not realize, was that as I raced to get back to school before the students broke formal classes for the day, I was racing to mortal danger.

One who would dwell in Aburi, would also dwell within me.

I intended to drive to my house, park the bike, and walk the quarter-kilometre to the school compound.  That short walk was never ordinary. Even when alone on that path, I would exclaim wonder and joy with being rained upon beneath a cloudless sky under the water-dripping tree; or being transported by scent of newly oped flower, the likes of which I had never before known. Yet, this was not to be, for a flurry of waving hands atop jumping students drew the engined-horse to its beckon.
 Twi, and Ewe, the two most common first languages of the students I taught, were both tonal languages.  With their pure enthusiasm of youth, they fired up a chorus which never failed to make my heart dance.  It also healed it.  My dear father had passed away just a few months earlier; and, in this culture of ever present reverence for ancestors, no more nurturing a balm could be had, than to hear festive singing of my family name: Karwowski. The wow was melodiously lifted to song for several seconds, hanging it in air, and charging it with pure joy. It was this gleeful electricity into which I entered.................completely unaware how close I was to what had killed many before me................to be continued.....

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Captain Flip Side

Tax Day Eve

Special edition for  Tax Day Eve, April 14, 2010
with end notations


People who read The Sunday Offlection, also enjoy the following, which may or may not exist. 

"YOU won"  ~ now what?"   A practical guide if you wake up one morning as the president of a country.  Chapters include step-by-step instructions for things like: how to dress in private as well as at state functions; phrases to use with military commanders; and the current edition includes a DVD which takes a look at some of the more important laws of the country you now run, as well as a reference to various interpretations of actions taken in response to  treaties signed.  If you haven't started World War III, after six months in office, you become eligible to enter a lottery wherein the winner gets a code-key to access the junior grade level for national secret intelligence, and a 30 minute shopping spree at a Wal-Mart of choice.

"Getting the most from your tax dollar"  When the United States Department of Defense, Internal Revenue, White House, or Under-Secretary of Fun, visits your website/publishes your book, you and your family, friends, and the entire earthling population become entitled to vacations and party event/get-togethers.  These are just more of the "plums" of the tree of knowledge in the Rose Garden of Paradise blooming in Washington D.C.  Revised referencing and cross-referencing makes it easier to  find pastoral, bucolic, and scenic locations you can pick from for your festivities.  The current edition includes a kit to diagram and trace what you spend through your government that nurtures the planet's health and well being - all inclusive. 

Join Captain Flip Side every Sunday for his true life adventures,


note:

This special edition is written in dual honor: First, to my Godfather, Ed Cisinski - and, secondly, to a system that is of the people, by the people, and for the people....which promotes the General Welfare, and wherein all are equal and entitled to life liberty and pursuit of happiness ...................

This special edition has been inspired by the concept of taxation, and the visit of the Department of Defense - http://www.nic.mil/  - to my website.

Happiest of daze,
the C a  pT  a     i   n



  

Who Leaked What?

Reading for April 11 2010

I approached the last patch of ground at sea level with a broad grin, to get fresh fruit. From this little stand, I would drive high up the escarpment, and back to school. The artistically piled produce was beautiful, contrasting deep colors with the sky. I downed one orange, and put another in my pack. With my mind soaked in herpetology knowledge, I cranked the motorcycle to life. Throwing a parting glance at the ocean, I mused: ...cool!  How lucky can a person get! In just under an hour, I filled my head with so much information about snakes, they were coming out of my ears! …. my skull was leaking...............and that wasn't the only thing that was leaking.

As I gave the bike full throttle, I saw the sky leaking – hit the brakes and snapped a picture.

View #5 is that very picture ~ Un-Retouched ~ and will be in one of the next Sunday Offlections....
to be continued................. 

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happy daze,

the Captain

Primal netcom

FOR APRIL 4, 2010

….......no longer would I delay. I had delighted in fancies of the land of milk and honey and had my fill for now. Being an Earthling of American of Polish descent, my first language was English, so to expedite my education on the animals who would be showing up at my zoo, I headed for the library in the United States Information Service building.

But first, I had to snag a Sovexportfilm flier.

VIEW # 4

Having returned to the tracks I had derailed myself from, I shot right to the mother lode.

I could not believe my luck. I had in my very hands ~ the source of all knowledge in the world that had anything to do with the animal I expected. You see, the other teachers at school, upon learning that I had approved a zoo as my class's choice for the year's science project, were kind enough to point out one stunning statistic.  Our school was located in the middle of Sub-Saharan Africa's greatest concentration of snakes.  The Dell Golden Guide Book in my very hands was all about snakes.
Well, a  lot of the book was about snakes.......and venomous reptiles and such.
Anyway, I flipped through the picture filled book, managed to read a good deal of the words and phrases ~ as well as several complete sentences {not diagnosed with ADD until some 4 decades later} and amply stuffed my mind with herpetology acumen.

............to be continued.....

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the Captain

.......... written with a special heartbeat to Caroline

...on brain time

Reading for March 28, 2010

Never before, and................. not ever since....... had my reptilian brain surfaced and taken over. An alertness was summoned. I stayed completely still, however, in my suspension - pulse and respiration rates down . A primal sound….......anechoic and pure .........opened the air as might a sword unsheathed by lover's final breath.

Then a form caressed my vision and dropped below my sight.

I initiated an efficient and rapid transfer of my body out of the mango tree, and onto my motorcycle. Ironically, though, before I could even start to understand ~~* in my homo-sapiens-brain *~~ what had just happened - I was distracted by the intent of my mission: getting the information about starting a zoo. 

So there I was, at the mirroring beacons of socio-economic enlightenment before I began to really understand what had happened.

In a neuronal trailblazing frolic, wildfire images of the Promised Land played off each other as political sense started to make nonsense.  Vamping consciousness still easing my Mango Tree Event into full awareness, and, unaware of the danger I would face before nightfall ~ unless I made a drastic turn ~ I indulged in invitations to utopia – both of them. Both referring to the duo, that, were/was actually, very close to schizoid mirrors for each other.

On one side of the street, was the United States Information Service [a government agency that no longer exists] and on the other side of the street, was the Soviet Union Information Service [a socialist state that no longer exists]. The large front window of each building had posters with pictures of happy, smiling people – all ages, urban and rural inhabitants. A few brief sentences dotted the constructs. Again, almost word for word, each place said the same thing: this is the best way people can live. The US posters were in English - the Soviet's in Russian and English.
Hmmmm... I looked back and forth.......... yep! The posters could be switched without any one of those rosy-cheeked, well fed, well dressed, folks knowing the difference. Neither place had crime, poverty, or homelessness. 
As I gazed at the faces of the people in the Soviet pictures, I couldn't find any one who looked like they had wanted to bomb my second grade class.

….................to be continued

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happy daze,

the Captain

Reading for March 21, 2010

Intoxicated from unrestrained yellow, I seeped into a sublime state where governance forbade such inquiries as: “How secure is the mango tree's hold on the bluff?” - “What is the distance from the jutting limb to the ground below?" - and, “What was it they said in training about fatal reactions relating to mangoes .....oh, what was it?...the leaves, the sap, the fruit itself?.........or was it only near-fatal reactions?”

View #1 is a quick sketch of what might be a view of where I sat in the mango tree, out over the cliff above the land stretching to Accra, Ghana.

…........okay, its my first illustration as a published author ~*~ so here's View #2: a picture of me pointing to the spot........circa 1970

For View # 3. I'm going out on a limb to sketch what I remember of the view from the roost itself.

In that state of seepage, the vibrancy of the mango's color was a doorway to the mulch-dimensional space of nature. I haven't been the same since. A commune perfect with all that exists independently of human activities was made. To re-tool a great point made by one who traveled by tornado which dropped a house on the sister of one of my exes. I wasn't in Illinois, anymore.

But, in that Aburi outcrop, it was neither peril of deadly allergen, nor fatal fall, that presented an intimate threat experience. Mortal danger would, however, face me before the sun set on the African plains below.

….........to be continued...........

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happy daze,

the Captain

Point, or Thin Line?

Reading for 3-14-2010

“There's a fine line between genius and insanity”...........I have heard it said ~ I know not by whom ~ but have become convinced that there is a fine line between anything and everything else. Furthermore, it is the very place ^^ ~~ wondered about in my childhood at that Lawndale tree ~~^^ where one step beyond could be made with God. I call it the point, and am humbled, while elevated; alone, while with everyone; anxious, while serene; saddened, while blissful........... when there. The more I let go of what my parents were fond of identifying as “me, myself, my shadow and I” - the more I am there........and the more souls inspire, invite, and invigorate.

For the artist, scientist, nurse, teacher, artisan, child, parent, and philosopher in us , there are just times when musing: infinities, dreams, levels of consciousness, callings and the essence of our very souls - just has to get in line and wait – like everybody else's entrancement – while overriding priorities arise...................like survival.

And so it was, that day in the Fall of 1970, “upcountry” from Aburi, that such a priority arose.

I reference Aburi because it was about halfway between the town - where I taught – Koforidua................ and the capital city - where I sped to get information for the project that the high school class had chosen. Aburi, also had the best roasted chicken in Sub-Saharan Africa; and, was a stone's throw from a view across some 40 kilometres of the Accra plains to the Gulf of Guinea.

From Aburi, the rapid, steep descent to sea level necessitated a switch-back road. On that route, high up from the waters of the the Atlantic ocean and the diagonal line of underwater volcanoes in its equatorial gulf, there was a hair-pin curve. At the outermost point of that sharp turn, its roots grasping the rock wall and its outstretched branches in prayerful supplication for sunlight, was a mango tree. Its trunk stretched over the cliff, into the  warm, moist tropical air.
 
Eight feet or so from solid ground, the tree had made its first branching.

Any sense of my class project, along with the everything of - books, dream interpretations, physics, and metaphysics, were vaporized – for I had paused my charge down the escarpment, climbed the tree, and fell into repose..................... in palm of hand Divine.

There, the mangoes were of such a perfect yellow, that the color itself, was alive.

…...........to be continued........................

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happy daze,

the Captain

A ZOO, of course

The hypnotic chorus of “......he must have lost a book” continued repeating ~ until it tired, and gave its final breath as a silence that naked trees danced to..... in still motion.

It was to those trees I awoke from that dream.

In varying degrees, dreams, which conjure themselves from rich memories mixed in secret laboratories of the mind, become part of everyday life.

I found that in pursuing the most fantastic of dreams, it is of greatest importance to cover my butt.

D r I f t

As a short-term goal – something we can accomplish by the end of this school year, what would be your dream idea for our class project. I asked my seniors at Koforidua Secondary School in the Fall of 1970. I was quickly overwhelmed with enthusiastic suggestions. In no time at all, however, a fever pitched winner evolved in a unanimous uproar: a ZOO. Instantaneously, I roared back approval – a Zoo, it shall be.

From where would any possible hesitancy come?

That I had lacked the background, training, education, experience in such matters didn't give me any pause........... whatsoever.

I did get my only “D” in seven or so years of college in Zoology, but that was a passing grade. Adding to that, my family had a Cocker-spaniel when I was growing up (that just disappeared one day, and another Terrier-type dog appeared as our new dog – and I never thought about that until now) …....and.............I had (more or less) over a hundred ant killings to my curricula vitae.

**apologies to my dear friend, Steph – actually, Steph, it would be best if you did not read the next paragraph

Then there were untallied scores of fly smashings, spider smearings {under a foot well protected by shoe} and cockroach crunching [unfortunately, I am unable to certify the events just south of Mobile, Alabama, in which I torched an old boat cushion full of those orthopterous pests single handed]

Thus, with those sterling credentials, I boldly said “.....if you find any animals, just bring them to me – and tell everyone that”.

…............................everyone..........................

to be continued...

Join Captain Flip Side in his true life adventures, every Sunday!

Happy daze,

The Captain

 

I think, I do.....I think

By outre' grace I have managed, at least up to now, to keep my fascination with the point where every bit of energy in the universe exists, balanced with the activities of every day living.

Having enjoyed an American meal of ________ descent by putting one's metaphysics where one's mouth is – the question presents itself: How does the average person put their metaphysics where their reality is?

Personally, I draw on my classic education when the question constantly arises. Father Kent, at Weber high school, actually provided a formula for living the well balanced life.

Father Peters, a professor at St Procopius college, told of the commonality we all share in this regard. He referred to the example of Albert Einstein and Charles Richter. So involved in discussing the theory of earthquakes, while walking through the Cal tech campus, the pair were oblivious to an earthquake occurring underfoot.

So for one renewable energy resource, in our three dimensional universe, I go with conviction for the locale where aplomb, adventure, and absurdity intersect.

Of course, there are shadowy events in life that contribute to the harmony of health and the life well mirthed.

D r I f t

time: unknown

My mind's memory was an efficient librarian fetching stored prints depicting

Chiaroscuro in the frescoes of the Italian High Renaissance.

...............

The repeating word “Correggio”, “Correggio”… hauntingly filled the air......…………….

Books, books............... all around...........I was sitting in the sun on 23^rd street in Portland, Oregon.................

or maybe it was Erat Kilo in Addis Ababa – book vendors, people, milling about.

I went to check out a place that specialized in the works of St Hyacinth and the Vatican. Just before I was leaving with my find, an official had me sign a statement ( that they would copy and email to me) certifying that I had a very old book – one with no available rated value because it was so old. I took it and left. As I was descending the store's huge marble steps, I saw a child of five or six that looked very much like the student nurse, Samantha, I was with that afternoon. My companion was out of sight. The youngster was alone, and partially covered with spaghetti. I came over to her to see if everything was okay, but in doing so left the old book behind by a tree. Gathering up some napkins on my way, I saw the little one's parents approaching – they seemed somehow familiar. My friend returned. The child's parents were grateful for my concern, thanked us both and departed.........but in their departure, and the arrival of my companion, there was a blur of energy – something like heat.

I went to find the old bk, and it was gone..........the tree replaced by little stalls of wares rich with the aroma of kabobs cooking over open fires. I wasn't sure which was more intriguing - the sudden appearance of the kiosks or the specter of those parents I had just left as a couple meeting, marrying, and birthing that very child some years into the future. My thoughts on this curious series of events were teased away from logic by the scents of the market and the sound of people echoing each other with a hypnotic chorus of “he must have lost a book.”

So.......

....to be continued...................

Join Captain Flip Side in his true life adventures every Sunday!

Happy daze,

The Captain

...you're what?

From that childhood quest to get positioned, for going one step beyond the known universe with God, the core of my life has been continuously ignited by the point.
The point, per se, intriguingly obscure to me still today, does ease into a conscious sweet reality, however, as............. stew of the Great Melting Pot.
For traversing the everyday life, my parents constantly tended a path of beautiful harmony. One of my earliest comprehensions was what I was.
To ensure the spirit had all the necessary provisions for my journey, at the age of five, outside the walls of my home and into the remote areas across Diversey Avenue, they drilled me on primary questioning: “What are you?”
They created an integration of their love of the Polish culture, with the love of the American Spirit, while  being non-judgmental of all other peoples. The axiom upon which this passionate and compassionate outlook was based is being American of Polish descent. This was an absolutely crucial element in their identity.
In having the good fortune to be in a country that had brilliantly established a doctrine of "separation of church and state" my parents were free to be "American" without restraint, and still be totally devoted to their faith. Whatever came to bear, their national identity and religion were exclusive.
I cannot tell you the number of times my Father and Mother preached to me how exactly to identify myself in this regard.
For me to say I was: "Polish" - "Polish American" – or - "American" - simply was wrong and unacceptable; it was American of Polish descent and nothing else was accurate. America was the country they were citizens of, and they were extremely proud of that, often expressing it with unabashed emotions. As fully engaged Americans they were determined to have their children live out the American Dream to its fullest. The entirely undiminished honor present in their Polish heritage mandated the recognition of one fundamental underlying truth: the vitality of their contributions to America as a nation was inherent in them being of "Polish descent". As grammar school kid, I gleefully saw this as "having my cake and eating it". Only as I grew older did I realize the absolute beauty of execution in a harmonious blend of totalities sovereign in psyche and emotion. There were some everyday practical applications as well, for example, with more than my share of pimples, ill-timed erections, and hormone storm craziness to deal with, I was free, thank you Dad and Mom, from adolescent ethnic embroilment.

And thanks for the continuing joy in the American cuisine, of infinite ethnic descents.
Just recently in my childhood neighborhood, I relished, with old friends, a sumptuous home made tamale one day ~ and savory home made kielbasa the next.

We had great fun partaking in this duo of American meals – one of Hispanic descent and one of Polish descent ~~ Hence the self-talk: “.............. put your mouth where your metaphysics is”.

Join Captain Flip Side in his True life adventures
Every Sunday
Happy Daze,
The Captain

Cinque

Reading for February 14, 2010

What prevailed on that zany Sunday in the early 19560s was guilt.

Guilt, then, fused with conscience.

The Holy Family Nuns and the Resurrectionist Fathers introduced this duo to the Fear of God, and complete my psycho-spiritual trinity. This trinity would be forged by, and with, two other operatives to become my cinque.

One of these operatives was passion.

As long as I can remember, people, things, ideas......... had wonderful energy that enthused me. I am most thankful to my parents, for not only validating my zest, but having nurtured my sense of self as one that could employ this vivacity as an important tool of life.

My Father and Mother were lovingly dedicated parents. They made an extraordinary effort to build my self-esteem by paving a road of positiveness.

There were miracles, but no magic.

I had the ability to do anything ~ but not something anyone else couldn't do.

Miracles, impossibilities possible, and hopes fulfilled were part of the Karwowski way of life. Occasionally, enlightened encouragement would come in remarks. as my dad or mom would effortlessly point out examples of successes, if they sensed the slightest self-doubt in me. “If your stupid cousin __________, could do it, you certainly can” - or “so and so just made up their mind to do it and did it”

.

Ardor and passion were simply part of my family. They were critical ingredients in the crucible of alchemy that yielded the fuel necessary to turn dreams into reality.

Sometimes there was a dramatic scene or an unfolding adventure that highlighted things getting done by determination as in the family history. Mom's rise from depths of poverty and dad's becoming the first family professional, were just two of a family constellation which included Grandfather Paul's journey through Ellis Island with $25.00 and the clothes on his back.

With my brothers, there was the uphill climb, over high school teachers declarations of ridiculous fantasy for a kid from your patch of the city, of Bob to graduate as a mining engineer.

There's brightness in the future, as Jerry continues to generate new dreams as the old ones, like carrying the Olympic torch, come true; and ingenuity from Eagle Scout Thad who paddled a disabled boat safely to harbor with only a hockey stick.

Through my entire basic training, I was given a rock solid foundation from parents who deeply loved.

To ensure the spirit had all the necessary provisions for my journey outside the walls of my home and into the remote areas across Diversey Avenue, they drilled me on the answer to primary questioning: “What are you?”

…..........to be continued.................................

Join Captain Flip Side in his True life adventures
Every Sunday
Happy Daze,
The Captain

The Big Game

Reading for February 7, 2010

Every human being is in. This is it. 

Stakes are high as the teams line up against each other. Drills in the essentials continue over and over – as every player knows that there can never be too much attention given to whats really important. For when the going gets tough, its going to come down to the basics. The fundamentals of old plays and all available knowledge will have to be weighed, in an instant, with what needs to be done at the moment the opposition is brutally bearing down. There may some bad calls from the referees, and sheer luck as from a Hail Mary play; but success will come from a 100% team effort. Only then, with our entire line up, casting off bad habits, respecting each others abilities, pulling together, and athletically combining the sacred of the known and unknown, will that dazzling victory be seized.

The clock is running. 

We have the ball ...................... its the earth.

Join Captain Flip Side in his true life adventures every Sunday!

Happy daze,

The Captain

magic Cape

Reading for January 31, 2010

Last Sunday left Charlie and I in St. Hyacinth's version of the Bermuda Triangle.

Possessed by idiocy, with no exorcist on the premises, we only regained our senses as the mass ended and church let out. Well, not quite all our senses, but enough to know - as we hit the courtyard – that the shit was hitting the fan.

Whatever murkiness of the triangle's depth that remained was removed as soon as I met up with my dad in the schoolyard. Man, was my father red in the face.

While I was totally oblivious to the rest of the people in church ~ neither they, nor my Father, were unaware of my antics. Antics that ~ I soon learned ~ were so outrageously disruptive, they earned me the one and only strapping of my life.

Frantically, self survival instincts scrambled to draw my Dad's attention to my innocent as a lamb essence.

“I can't wait to say the rosary tonight with you, mom, Bob and Jerry!”..........” I'm never, ever again, going to hide anything sharp under the seat cushion for Bob to sit on!”.....”I'll always eat everything on my plate and won't ever feed the dog under the table anymore!”

The light of a minor infraction at the end of the tunnel of easy pardon went off as I observed my father’s neck veins bulging.

“Go change your clothes, you’re going to bed without dinner” I was ordered.

While burning with guilt, I was called, from my adjacent bedroom, into the kitchen where my Father was explaining, with uncharacteristic drama - to my mother - what I had done. Upon entering the kitchen dressed in my t-shirt, shorts, and a bathroom, I discovered that it wasn’t the kitchen at all. It was the Roman Coliseum arena, and it reeked of carnage yet to come. Oh shit!

With a manner I have never before seen, nor thankfully, ever seen again, my Father took off his belt, commanded me to turn around and began his one and only ever whipping of me.

In the terrible intensity of a moment gone all wrong, came a surprising escape. The belt that my dad was using to give me a “strapping” as was the term, found itself hitting my bathrobe and not me. This was possible because, as the bathrobe hung straight down, I instinctively arched my butt away from the swinging belt, and space was created between my robe and my bottom. This miraculous guardian angel space was just large enough to absorb the strap, and small enough to be unseen. It actually took a few seconds for me to realize this as I awaited the painful contact that never came. Once that dawned on me, I gave an award performance hollering, yelping, and bawling. Fortunately for me as well, my Father’s strapping was over before I had to improvise further acting techniques such as throwing myself onto the floor and faking a seizure or the like.

I gladly hastened to bed to be free of the whole mess, the real pain remaining as the emotional anguish in having caused such discomfort and disappointment for my Dad.

Whatever angel/good-luck/magic/spirit/saint that intervened, thankfully continued late into the afternoon. Just as I was resigning myself to the fact that there would be no trip to the toy wonderland, I glowed with restrained delight as my parents announced we could make it to the warehouse for the last hour if we hurried. If I didn't exceed light speed then, well........ all the laws of physics were proved sound.

Join Captain Flip Side in his true life adventures every Sunday!

Happy daze,

The Captain