I saw this VW Bug as I was waiting at a red light. Someone had done a beautiful restoration. Took me all the way back to college days. Good memories of a cute little car that did the job for many. Amazing engineering!
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Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Old Songs
Notes cling to the chambers of my brain
Hanging there stretched across my mind
The first three notes…………
Drawing me like a moth to a flame
Snagging me with silky smooth harmonies
Wrapping me tightly in a cocoon of pleasure
Lost in dusty webs of the past fifty years
Sucked in and stored away for evermore
Eight-legged bands are now long gone
Leaving me stuck in the recesses of history
In an egg sac // hatching out tunes of my own
Running here and there stringing new webs
Never forgetting how great it was
To be caught up in the old song’s web
Notes branded on my brain for ever
Creating an identity of who I am today!
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Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Some people think the country today is divided like never before, but the reality is there has always been a divide in political thinking. When I went to college back in the 1960’s there was just as much conflict as there is today. The Civil Rights movement was changing the social fabric of the country. The Viet Nam War was moving into full swing. Protesters marched on Washington, DC in record numbers protesting the war. Everything changes over time and will continue to do so. This poem is a tribute to the changing times I grew up in a couple of generations ago.
The Time They Are a Changing
I came of age in the 1960’s innocent and naïve
It was a time of turmoil, hate, and strife
Yet I never knew I couldn’t believe
When I was in eleventh grade
The news came over the PA
President Kennedy was shot today
They said it was Oswald from some distance away
Bobby, Martin, and John all fell by the gun
Hate reigned supreme under white hooded strangers
I never knew the divisions there were
In my isolated corner of the world
With signs of injustice, bigotry, and division
Blacks only whites only I could not imagine
I had friends of both shades
Separation never entered my mind.
They were in my class every grade down the line
People were marching crying for change
Facing dogs and fire hose every step of the way
Then one day I heard something new
With sweet harmonies and Folk Music the peace marches grew
A tidal wave of change throughout the land
Words that spoke volumes and rang true against the Klan
“How many roads must a man walk down
Before you can call him a man?”
“If I had a hammer
I’d the hammer out Justice, ring the bell of freedom
And sing a song about love between my brothers and sisters
All over this land
Seeger, Dillon, Paxton and Biaz
Peter Paul and Mary were the best in my eyes
Bringing hope and change to a weary land.
Prophets Simon and Garfunkle were really grand
With sounds of silence and Homeward Bound
Bridge over Troubled Waters making their stand
Dark clouds gathered as we entered Viet Nam
Protests and marches throughout the land
As the sixties closed the marches continued
It would be a long while till the country blended
But change can happen when we love each other
Working hand in hand to help our brother
This song sums it up in a few short lines
They’ll know we are Christians by our Love by our Love
They will know we are Christians by our Love
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Album cover: web image
A post last week reminded me of days long gone at the local drive-in ice cream shop on Rt. 21 near my home in Pennsylvania. It was a place to take your date for pizza or a twist cone which his were the Twin Kiss got its name. My sister would bring me left over pizza from here when she came back form her dates. It was a time of innocence and coming of age that will always have a sweet place in my mind
Twin Kiss
Sweet twist vanilla and chocolate
Teasing taste buds fries on the plate
Buddy Morgan kept them coming
Burgers pizza and milkshakes running
Mugs of root beer ice on the glass
Drinking it down a very easy task
Chevys Fords and a 58 Mercury
Parked in rows no one in a hurry
Guys with ducktails Girls without worry
Bobby sox and poodle skirts cute as a button
Sitting tight by their guy teasing and cuttin’
Days long gone the Twin Kiss too
I remember those old days
How about you?
