I Speak of Dreams

Memorial Day 2013: Robert Service's Missis Moriarty's Boy, 1916

Image source http://war-poets.blogspot.com/2010/09/robert-service-only-boche.html

From Ballads of a Red Cross Man, dedicated to his brother Albert, killed while serving in the Canadian Army.

Missis Moriarty's Boy


Missis Moriarty called last week, and says she to me, says she:
"Sure the heart of me's broken entirely now -- it's the fortunate woman you are;
You've still got your Dinnis to cheer up your home, but me Patsy boy where is he?
Lyin' alone, cold as a stone, kilt in the weariful wahr.
Oh, I'm seein' him now as I looked on him last, wid his hair all curly and bright,
And the wonderful, tenderful heart he had, and his eyes as he wint away,
Shinin' and lookin' down on me from the pride of his proper height:
Sure I'll remember me boy like that if I live to me dyin' day."


And just as she spoke them very same words me Dinnis came in at the door,
Came in from McGonigle's ould shebeen, came in from drinkin' his pay;
And Missis Moriarty looked at him, and she didn't say anny more,
But she wrapped her head in her ould black shawl, and she quietly wint away.
And what was I thinkin', I ask ye now, as I put me Dinnis to bed,
Wid him ravin' and cursin' one half of the night, as cold by his side I sat;
Was I thinkin' the poor ould woman she was wid her Patsy slaughtered and dead?
Was I weepin' for Missis Moriarty? I'm not so sure about that.


Missis Moriarty goes about wid a shinin' look on her face;
Wid her grey hair under her ould black shawl, and the eyes of her mother-mild;
Some say she's a little bit off her head; but annyway it's the case,
Her timper's so swate that you nivver would tell she'd be losin' her only child.
And I think, as I wait up ivery night for me Dinnis to come home blind,
And I'm hearin' his stumblin' foot on the stair along about half-past three:
Sure there's many a way of breakin' a heart, and I haven't made up me mind --
Would I be Missis Moriarty, or Missis Moriarty me?

image source: http://marylinemartin.blogspot.com/2011/01/sourire-quand-meme.html

Note to Self: Duct Tape in Carry-On, Check

Evidently Maria Esther Castillo is a mean airborne drunk.  She was subdued with duct tape.

Who Is Jimmy Kimmel and Why Is Ben Affleck Sweet on Him?

I don't watch TV much.  No reason, really, other than I got out of the habit about a year ago.

So I was vaguely aware of Sarah Silverman, the comedian, but I didn't know bupkis about Jimmy Kimmel.   Well, it seems they are a couple, and Silverman and the actor Matt Damon made a  practical-joke video for Kimmel's birthday.

Well, few practical jokes go unreturned.  Jimmy Kimmel got Ben Affleck and a host of other celebrities to participate in a riposte.  I was particularly taken by Harrison Ford's performance.

The Kimmel-Affleck version is laugh-out-loud funny

I read all about it at Gene Expression. 

Eavesdropping

I'm sitting here overhearing a conversation between two other Beachcomber guests.  One guy is a bird photographer and the other (who I think is Irish) is a kite-mounted photographer.

Some kite-mounted photos sites:
Freecloud
A neat site
Kites and photography
Getting Started in ariel photos

How Things Snowball

Robin Wright writes an enlightening account of her journey from hale and hearty to disabled.

[I]t's hard for my colleagues and my friends to understand how debilitating it is, since it is an invisible pain -- without cast or sling or conspicuous impairment.

A seemingly straightforward medical problem can snowball into a crippling long-term condition. When that happens, it's harder to find help than might seem due you. ·

I saw it first chez Shrinkette.

Another Family Murder

Sarah Johnson was recently sentenced (life without parole) after being convicted of killing her parents.  The supposition was that she was in a rage because they were thwarting her desire to live with her boyfriend, Bruno Santos, who was (a) 3 years older; (b) an illegal immigrant.

Now Brian Blackwell has been convicted of killing his parents.  In England.  Even more chilling.

Just Deserts

I Park Like an Idiot But what Silicon Valley really needs is a bumper sticker: "I'm Parking My Gigantic Car Wherever I Want. Get Over It. I'm SPECIAL. My Tax Return Says So."

Welcome to the Republic of Gilead II

A new law is proposed in Virginia, which would make criminals of women who failed to report miscarriages--even very early (less than 20 weeks) miscarriages. More at Democracy for Virginia.

What is next, monthly mandatory pregnancy tests for all females from 14 to menopause?

Welcome to the Republic of Gilead

Was Margaret Atwood prescient?

Dr. James Kennedy delivers sermons at Coral Ridge which are broadcast to 3 million homes. He said he knows of no timetable for God's wrath, but wants results fast. He dismissed the concerns of people who worried about the impact of Christian conservatives on the U.S. government. "Repent," he said with a laugh. "Repent. That's what I'd say."

People who are concerned about the influence of Christianity "have never really surrendered their life to God and submitted themselves to his commandments — and if they did that they wouldn't have so much concern about some court saying again that it's wrong," he said.

Asked about the millions of Americans who are not Christian, or have a different interpretation of Christianity, Kennedy said with another laugh: "I couldn't care less. It's true." "I think that the idea that the worst sin that somebody can commit is to offend somebody is ridiculous," he said. Evangelicals say Kennedy may seem intolerant, but there's no greater love than upholding the will of God.

I'm Holding My Breath

I am waiting for Lynne Cheney to denounce Joe Glover as a bad man.