Monthly Archives: September 2019

Seattle Sounders – A New Flag To Fly

Seattle Sounders have enthusiastic backers, known for flying Sounders supporters flags, especially in the Emerald City Supporters’ (ECS) section. I’ve been to dozens of games at the Seattle stadium (CLink or whatever it might be called) and with ECS in Salt Lake City, Philly, New York City, Los Angeles and elsewhere. #EBFG #SoundersTilIDie.

Recently, there has been a big discussion about if the “Iron Front” flag, from the Weimar Republic (pre-World War II) era in Germany, can be waved during the Sounders’ game. Although some say it is a symbol of anti-fascism, others — including Major League Soccer and the Seattle Sounders front office — are trying to keep politics and sport separated. When an ECS member flew the Iron Front flag recently in the general admission section at a Sounders’ game — in definance of MLS and the Seattle Sounders — they were asked to take it down. When the person responsible didn’t comply, they were removed from the game. As a show of solidarity, hundreds of ECS members left the game. Www.WeAreECS.com has a discussion about the event on their website.

You can read a conservative view of it from Jason Rantz, a Seattle-area radio talk show host and #SoundersFan. Yesterday, I wrote and posted a sonnet expressing my feelings about the flags I fly at my house.

As you can read, MLS and the Sounders basically gave in to demands and are letting the #IronFront flag fly at Sounders games. It will be interesting to see if everyone can now fly political flags. For example, #RSL (Real Salt Lake) supporters recently had to take down a “Betsy Ross” (13 Stars Revolutionary War) flag. #PortlandTimbers fans had to take down a “Trump 2020” banner. But if the Iron Front flag can fly, can’t those?

I’ve said all along that Seattle Sounders fans are among the most creative in the #MLS, and that they certainly can find other ways to say “Anti-Fascist. Anti-Racist. Always Seattle.” (Which I think is a great slogan.) Personally, I think they should stick 100% to supporting the #SeattleSounders #SSFC.

Trump Minnesota non-political Seattle Sounders banner.
Double Trump: Beat Minnesota Oct. 6th, secure 2nd place.

With that in mind, I created a new slogan and banner that combines a winning (All In) poker hand with the admonition to beat the opponent, and is 100% Non-Political!
(Note: The bottom part of the banner can be changed, depending on the opponent.)

#ComeOnSeattle #EBFG #NoPoliticsInSoccer #SoundersTilIDie #CFCOwner

Come On, Seattle! TRUMP your opponent!
Non-Political Seattle Sounders Banner #EBFG

The Flags We Fly: Patriotic Sonnet

Our household flys a few flags
outside of our doors.
Often just one or two.
Sometimes a few more.

In season there’s Packers, Badgers,
Brewers and Sounders flags, too.
Sometimes there’s an M’s or a “12” banner.
But there’s always the Red, White and Blue.

Old Glory waves proudly
from the dawn’s early light
and on through the sunset and dark,
when we shine her up with spotlights.

No matter what sport we might be cheering or involved in,
our house wants folks to know how much we love our great Nation.

My wife is so patriotic she wrote a book about freedom. Find out about “Restoring Liberty” here. 

Where My Creative Passion Goes: Free Verse

Each day
I read,
get aroused
or excited
or perplexed
or disgusted
or saddened,
and I write.

I shout
out
to the wind,
to the sun,
to the moon,
stars,
planets.

I scream
out
to the woods
and fields
and lakes
and creeks.

I think
outloud,
and express it,
as though my words
and thoughts
might actually
be read,
might actually
make a difference.

Who am I fooling?

Social media
is not my pulpit.
It is not my op-ed page.
It is a place
for me to respond,
react,
rant,
and write
drivel.

It is a waste of my time,
my talent,
what I’m blessed with.

I need to change.

Her Keyboard Versus Mine: Free Verse

How I wish my fingers
in the evening flowed
like the creek,
like wind through the trees,
like a late summer’s gentle rain,
like the deepening orange-red sunset,
like the darkening eastern sky,
like her fingers dancing
across the 88 black-and-white keys,
like the music she creates
swirling and ebbing and dancing
out her door,
across the porch,
through the grass and leaves.

Instead, my fingers
bang bang clickety-clackety
across black keys
with white symbols,
creating not beautiful sounds
but only words
I hope will ebb and flow
and move.

If they are read.

Otherwise, that obnoxious
clickety-clackety noise
is the only sound
the peaceful evening will get
from my flying fingertips.

#NotaContest

Taking Baby Giant Steps: I Write

We all take steps.

Take Steps: A baby taking her first steps reminds us to take steps
Some make powerful,
strong,
baby steps.
 
As my granddaughter
took her first shaky steps,
my son voiced for her,
(shaky home video,)
her force and determination.
“I’m a walker now.
I walk.”
 
I watched those steps.
Suddenly,
through his voice,
I heard
and realized
my own truth.
 
“I’m a writer now.
 I write.”
 
Some make powerful,
strong,
life-changing steps.
 
We all take steps.

What He Told Me: IMproVerse Haiku

If He hath told me/
who I am; what to do, who/
am I to argue?

OR
who I am and what to do,/
why should I argue?

OR
why do I argue?

Individual Eco-Activism By Degrees: IMprov Haiku

A friend of mine is a great example of individual eco-activism. She takes personal responsibility for the environment. During the past year, at great inconvenience (and, often, expense) to herself, she has avoided any plastic packaging (including food). Knowing how much recycling of plastic my family does, I can only imagine how hard this is. Yet, because she is into practical, invididual eco-activism, committed to the environment, that’s what she and her daughters do!

The other day she posted on Facebook about how her sister had joined her, and how they were finding uses for glass jars of yogurt. Her sister wrote about it in her blog. In stark contrast to people calling for corporate and government actions, and yet doing little individually, this woman is into individual eco-activism, doing something personally — which I believe is much more powerful than sitting in the middle of a busy city street intersection, or speaking at the UN, to protest climate change. I wrote this on her Facebook:

You can’t change the earth’s/
degrees, but by degrees you /
are changing our world.

OR

I can’t change planet/
degrees, but I can change by/
degrees my own world.

My wife made this FrontPorchSense.com video about personal responsibility and individual, practical environmental activism. It fits in nicely with her logical view of not waiting for the government to fix things you can take care of yourself.

https://frontporchsense.com/2019/09/practical-environmentalism

Environmental Activism Means Personal Responsibility

I wrote this blog post in NaturesGuy.com about the difference between being an Environmental Protester and an Environmental ACTivist with personal responsibility.

Fix the Environment Ourselves: Nature’s Guy Prose

I’m seeing a lot of news stories and videos about environmentalists striking and protesting about climate change. A 16-year-old woman took a boat from Sweden to New York City, skipping out of school along with millions of other of her classmates, to take to the streets and rally and protest and complain about climate change. Everyone wants someone to fix the environment.

All this environmental awareness reminds me of when I was a little bit younger than this woman, maybe about 13, and some Senator from Wisconsin organized the first Earth Day. Funny thing is, I don’t remember huge numbers of strikes or rallies or taking to the streets in massive protests. What I do remember is a bunch of concerned people wading waist-deep out into the extremely-polluted Milwaukee River and pulling garbage out and making a difference. A place where carp could barely survive and trash abounded, now sees salmon spawning. I guess what I’m saying is that I’d like to see a lot more people doing something instead of just saying something. Like with the #cleanCatoosa2019, or the #LDSEarthStewardship projects. These mean I have to get my butt off this rocking chair and go do something. Like rip out more of my lawn to plant it to wildflowers.

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/…/jb_modern_earthday_1.html

PS: When you listen to all these so-called environmental activists, like this woman (#Greta) from Sweden, all I hear them saying is “we (nations of the world) have to reduce emissions by X percent, we have to stop doing this thing by X percent.” They come up with these massive requirements that nobody can fathom and thus no individual can do. These activists are pushing the responsibility onto governments, on the climate change agreements in Kobe and elsewhere.

And that won’t fix the environment.

I don’t recall any of them ever standing up and saying “Will everybody please just stop using plastic for a year?” (Like my friend Cindy A is doing.) “Will everybody please just walk to school or to church or to work or take mass transit?” “Will everybody please just pick up one or two items of litter a day?” “Will everybody please just recycle?” Those are immediate, personal actions that will help fix the environment.

When we change the projects of “Fix the Environment” into the large percentage solutions and push those projects onto the government, we abdicate our individual responsibility. My personal call is this: This week, will you plant a flower, a tree or shrub? Will you pick up a piece of litter or two a day? Will you walk to your neighbor’s or your siblings or your friends a quarter of a mile or a half a mile or to school or work instead of driving?

I will. Because that attitude, and those actions, are what is going to fix the environment. I’m going to start tomorrow by ripping up some of my lawn and planting it to wildflowers for the bees, and transplanting some trees to where they will grow faster and add more CO2. Because I believe in doing instead of not doing, making changes individually instead of protesting and expecting the government to fix the environment.

Because individual actions change attitudes. And many changed attitudes, doing something, will change the world and fix the environment.