Last R-E-S-P-E-C-T-s and Half-(m)ast Efforts

The recent deaths of two notable Americans has the Savant thinking about their legacies in these divisive times and the sharp contrast of their lives with that of the current resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. One of these celebrated individuals performed much of the soundtrack of the Savant’s youth and had a significant effect on the advances of the 60’s civil rights movement. The other, a Viet Nam war hero and Republican Senator, had views widely divergent from the Savant but a basic integrity and patriotism that one can admire. Both were esteemed in their fields and remarkable for the desire and the ability to bring people of differing views together for a greater purpose. It is that loss that Limerick laments the most. Here then are two elegies on what that loss "means to me" and what seems to be missing from the White House this week and probably in general.

Aretha, you taught us to see

What a beautiful world this might be

When we sing with one voice

And make the right choice.

And that spells RESPECT to a “T.”

His dis of McCain, now complete,

The cowardly Trump sent a tweet

On the patriots end;

But he’ll ne’er comprehend

How a hero can conquer defeat.

Lessons of 1984

Innovation awakened the mobs.
Cupertino, can you hear our sobs?
Though an Apple a day
Could keep drabness away,
In the end, it could not save our Jobs.


The Limerick Savant


Apple’s Visionary Redefined Digital Age
STEVEN P. JOBS, 1955-2011
By John Markoff, The New York Times, 10/5/11

You were there

He needn't rely on some buzz.
He was Cronkite! We watched him because.
When New Media rules
While forgetting the tools,
We'll remember the way that it was.

It seems fitting to honor this man on the anniversary of the moon landing. How can we forget the shared mix of excitement and relief we felt when "Uncle Walter" took off his glasses and said "Whew! Boy!"

Cronkite -- that's the way he was
Colleague Daniel Schorr says that legendary newsman
Walter Cronkite represented something deep
in the psyche of America, embodied in the word trust.
By Daniel Schorr, Los Angeles Times, 7/20/09

But wait, there's more

What a week! Along with Michael Jackson's untimely death, Farrah Fawcett earned her angel's wings after a long battle with cancer, and Ed McMahon may team up again with Johnny Carson in the afterlife. But as I think about who had the most profound effect on my life, with his ready-made solutions to all of life's problems, sometimes one's I didn't even know I had...

As I ponder, comparatively,
Who I'll miss to the highest degree;
Amid choice upon choice,
Sounds his singular voice:
"Billy Mays here!" "as seen on TV."

Billy Mays dies at 50; boisterous TV pitchman
By Richard Fausset , Los Angeles Times, 6/29/09

Bad news

The news of his death seemed a killer
Like a 510 lb. gorilla.
In his own Neverland,
Michael seldom was bland;
And we'll likely not see such a thriller.

Michael Jackson's death catches
entertainment journalists unprepared
By Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times, 6/27/09

4K? Not OK!

It’s exactly five years, 1st of May,
I recall hearing Dubbaya say
That our mission was done
With the war shortly won.
Now we’re mourning the loss of 4K.

So it isn’t the billions we pay,
Lack of victory, or the delay;
But the breach of our trust.
When a war is unjust
Even one death is never OK.

U.S. toll in Iraq reaches 4,000
By Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times, 3/24/08

In Memorium

Eileen G. Culler
January 3, 1919 - February 27, 2008

You're never 2 Down, we're assured;
4 Across 80 years you've endured
With a clear optimism
That defies cynicism
And truly transcends the cross word.

The above limerick was written in honor of Eileen's 80th birthday. She was no celebrity, but just a remarkably kind and loving woman who inspired the Savant's love of words and worplay.

So it ends and begins

Those who seek to be leaders of state
Often meet with a violent fate.
Now, as proof of that fear,
The beloved Benazir
Fell victim to militant hate.

Two Benazir Bhuttos
By Anne Applebaum, The Washington Post, 1/1/2008

A feline for those in need

Not intending to be, at all, witty,
I suggest that it's really a pity
That we can't get Osama
To finish the drama
And curl up tonight with this kitty!

Reports of an Italian director's ten minute You Tube of Oscar, just staring; or accounts of the cat's recent chess match with a Swedish auteur appear to be greatly exaggerated.

Does Feline Have a Feeling That Death Is Near?
NPR Morning Edition, 7/26/07

We mourn once more

The question on campus depends less
On what left the students defenseless
Than on answering why
We now mourn VPI
And must try to make sense of the senseless.

33 dead in Virginia Tech shootings
In the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history,
30 are slain in classrooms before gunman kills himself.
Angry students ask why the campus wasn't closed
after two earlier killings in a dorm.
By David Zucchino, Maura Reynolds and Stephen Braun
The Los Angeles Times, 4/17/07

So it goes

Kurt Vonnegut’s writing defined
A phase that expanded my mind.
Thus, I owe him a debt
And, so, cannot forget
That "God damn it, you’ve got to be kind."

"Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies — 'God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.'"
-------Mr. Rosewater in Vonnegut's
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine

Kurt Vonnegut, Novelist Who Caught the
Imagination of His Age, Is Dead at 84
By Dinitia Smith, The New York Times, 4/12/07

Remembering the cost

It’s a year, and one tear can revive
All the grief for a parent deprived
Of the life of a son.
That war’s never done
For survivors of 3/25.

In Ohio, Marines' Deaths Still Felt
Joe Milicia, The Wahington Post, 8/3/06

All you need is...

Today we're remembering John.
It's twenty-five years since he's gone,
But the legend won't cease.
By imagining Peace,
We insure the idea lives on.

Is Lennon still an icon to the young?
By Stephen Dowling , BBC News, 12/8/05

From her seat, she stood tall

When her heavenly transit embarks,
At the forefront will sit Rosa Parks.
For her one simple act
Will forever impact
And teach us from whence Freedom sparks.

Civil Rights Icon Rosa Parks Dies
NPR, 10/25/05

A Russell of Fall leaves

It makes the Savant a bit tipsy
To recall all the comical quips he
Delivered in rhyme.
A man of his time;
There's a chill in the air without Nipsey.

"The opposite of pro is con
that fact is clearly seen
if progress means move forward
then what does Congress mean?"
- Nipsey Russell

Rhyming Funnyman Nipsey Russell Dies
By Joe Holley, Washington Post, 10/4/05