There once was an old Marine who was getting ready to retire with 30 years in the Corps. It was decided that as most Marines have poor table manners and many times ask for certain things, like butter, to be passed in a manner inappropriate for open, mixed society that a training program be instituted to help with that issue. So, the Marine was told to go to this class on appropriate behavior when invited to someone’s home.
The instructor for the class made a great attempt at getting everyone in the class to understand that there are just certain things you don’t do and she turned to see the Marine was sound asleep. So, she walked over to where he was and woke him by saying loudly, “Sergeant Major, how do you enter a room.”
Well, the old Sergeant Major jumped and said, “What?”
“How do you enter a room,” the woman asked again.
“Oh, simple,” he began. “You toss in a grenade, count to five, then go in shooting.”
I would hope that anyone who reads my poetry understands that I write what comes to my mind and it doesn't mean I'm the reality of the words. I mean that just because I write about alcoholism does not mean I am the character in the poems. I write about those I've known and those I know and a very wide grouping that is of sinners and saints, those who know who and where they are going and those who are completely lost. I am empathic. I write in the first person because I feel the reality of what I am writing about. Like Dean Martin pretending to be drunk while performing I am not what it may seem. Just a thought as I know some out there who read what I write see the words and not the art or the understanding of the problem I am commenting on, nor do they understand that the comment is for the purpose of illustration and not my own personal reality.
Married to a wonderful woman who is my best friend. Ronald Reagan Conservative Republican. Masters of Accounting-Taxation, United States Marine, taught for 10 years at the University of South Florida, held the following professional certifications: CPA, CVA, CFA. Published author, currently writing three novels and a ton of poems.
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