On Hold

The old man went to enroll at the local university. He's figures he missed something the first time through college. And classes are free to seniors - that's old man to you and me.

Talk  about a dog and pony show. The old man has to call for permission to go to class and then is put on hold. It is hard for an old man to learn a new trick.





On Hold 

Are you on hold? 
Told, one minute … 
Please 
A phone stuck to your ear 
With music that you hate 
Played incessantly

Uneasy, 
Pass the time 
Drum your fingers 
Tap your toes 
Fuss and fidget 
All you want

It matters not 
Who or what you are 

Those bastards forgot you’re there

Why did Violetta Parra commit suicide?

The old man's son pointed out in an email, that Chilean Violetta Parra committed suicide a year after writing Gracias a la vida. The song was released in the album Las Últimas Composiciones (1966). The question naturally arises, why suicide?

The implied answer in Wikipedia is her break-up with Swiss flautist Gilbert Favre. Others blame the lack of public recognition in Chile for her music and her work. One can blame the political climate in Chile in 1967, leftest and conservatives camps were at odds. Caught in the middle was Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Montalva, who, nder the slogan "Revolution in Liberty", attempted unsuccessful economic programs.

The real reason will never be known. Violetta kept that reason to herself. But she did say to a reporter shortly before her death,“Something is missing in me, I don’t know what it is. I look for it and I never find it. Surely I will never come upon it.”

This is Chile.

Apparel

The old man has learned much in many years. One is that change comes slowly. We are, after all, creatures of habit, comfortable in our old shoes and clothes, happy in our attitudes, stuck in our ways. Still, change comes as does the rising sun, and we must grow to meet new challenges.

One hundred years ago, Canadian born, Santa Barbara, California poet, Marguerite O.B. Wilkinson wrote this short poem for Gustav Stickley's The Craftsman Magazine. It seems a fitting New Year's message.

Apparel

While old traditions fit thee, keep them on
And wear them graciously, with sweet content.
As an old temple wears an ivy gown, 
When from thy sides in tatters they hang down,
Burst by a strength that life has never meant
For bonds, a raiment fresh as springtime don.

Marguerite  O. B. Wilkinson
The Craftsman Magazine, January 2014

A poetic way of saying -

"Throw out the old and bring in the new, for the old clothes just don't fit any longer."