Rozey Thorn Trees

The Journey of a Stolen Quotation: 1. As [name of source] once said.... 2. As someone once said.... 3. As I once said.... 4. As I always say.... (I heard a pastor say this in a sermon years ago, but I forgot who and when...)

Every Lady in this Land Hath 20 Nails on each Hand; Five & Twenty on Hands and Feet; And this is true, without deceit. (Every lady in this land has twenty nails. On each hand, five; and twenty on hands and feet.)

"If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail." —Abraham Maslow

Eurovision is an annual European song contest that my wife and I and about 100 to 600 million other viewers watch each year. The back story: Tomorrow is the anniversary of me meeting Laura in Cambridge!... About a week after we met, I invited her to come to my place for a Eurovision party, but she had to decline because she already had plans to visit her grandmother. She's made up for it by watching Eurovision with me nearly every year. (I should add that we especially like to make fun of the show because, suspiciously, England never wins!)

Keep walking. Straight ahead. Don't look. Act natural. It's not you. It can't be you. What did you do? Nothing. Keep walking. Almost there. Stay calm. Not so stiff. Four more steps. Around the corner. Now run! Run. Run. Hide. Be still. Breathe. Now look. What do you see? Nothing. Keep breathing. They can't find you. They won't. It wasn't you. You didn't do it. They can't prove it. Remember that. They can't prove it. Believe that. You didn't do it. Believe that. And maybe, Just maybe Someday You'll be free.

Suddenly, loudly. Boom-chicka-boom! A bright streak of red metal flashes Past my window, Fills my lazy room With hellish smoke and Michellin stench, Then roars with laughter Pealing, squealing, Off into the painted distance. I turn over in bed and sputter, "There should be laws against that!"

I make them laugh. I love to make them laugh. Not at me, not with me-- Because of me. Sudden-like they laugh Aloud From the gut In tears Until it hurts. Sudden-like they hurt. Not at me, not with me-- Because of me. I love to make them hurt. It makes me laugh.

Safely enconched Within my shapeless blue boat Surrounded by Alternating shockwaves, Left and right, My eyes brightly reflect A timeless, shameless universe Where lust and hatred abound In slow and raging motion, Sounds and sights Flickering, rippling, thundering, By my control Remotely For the next hour or so.

When I was a child I wanted, I fought I played, I thought As a child. When I became a man I did not depart From my childish thoughts, My childish ways. Now that I am old I will not depart From my ways, my thoughts. Perhaps not 'til the grave Will I go In the way I should go.

Here's a transcript I recently uncovered and typed up of an interview with my mother talking about growing up in the Amazon jungle. It's a wonderful memory for me to find a quarter of a century later, especially the parts about wild jungle animals :) (9/3/2014): Mark Rozeboom Mrs. Yeazel Speech Class 10 October 1988 Mark: Okay. My first question is, “Where were you born and describe the type of environment you were brought up in geographically.” Mom: I was born in the jungle, close to the Amazon River in Peru. There is a city, the name is Iquitos, a major city by the Amazon River. From Iquitos you have to go about ten miles down the river to the place where I was born. About three miles inland from the river, Papa Oscar had a sugar cane farm. The house was right in the center with a lake with hills around it and not too many trees. The rest of the property that was not used for the sugar cane was all jungle. Only the Indians lived in that area. Lots of tropical jun...