James Bethel James Bethel

Tonight: Chickens . . .

Saturday, September 27, 2025.

It's the Satyr's day . . . Given an exception of upper 80's, the weatherfeather Xeroxed in the forecasts for TulseyTown today: lots o'sun, easy breezes.

I believe every tree remembers every Buddha who has slept beneath her arms.

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring was published on this day in 1962.

The Tonight Show made its premier this evening in 1954 with Steve Allen as its host. He was the funniest man in the world to my teenage brain. Equal to if perhaps exceeded by Johnny Carson (jus'sayin').

Kay Ryan is 80 today. The 16th U.S. Poet Laureate (2008-2010) was born in 1945 San Jose, California.

Home to Roost

The chickens

are circling and

blotting out the

day. The sun is

bright, but the

chickens are in

the way. Yes,

the sky is dark

with chickens,

dense with them.

They turn and

then they turn

again. These

are the chickens

you let loose

one at a time

and small—

various breeds.

Now they have

come home

to roost—all

the same kind

at the same speed.

– Kay Ryan, “Home To Roost,” from The Niagara River. Grove Press. 2005.

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James Bethel James Bethel

Burning down the house . . .

Friday, September 26, 2025. It's Freya's (Frigg's) day . . . and a bright, sunny, mid 80's Fall day is at hand for TulseyTown. Easy breezes will aid the leaf fall which has begun.

A finger points to the moon. Having seen reality as it is,there is neither moon nor finger. We can say “God,” we can say “dhamma,” we can say Source, Creator, Creation—but if we are trapped in the symbol, the word, the sound, we will never enter into relationship with what the symbol points to.

Apologies if we missed each other yesterday. I took a poetry morning.

Speaking of which … The poet, literary critic, dramatist, editor, publisher and Nobel Prize laureate T.S.Eliot was born today in 1888 Saint Louis, Missouri.

In case you missed this yesterday (I did), Ryan Walters has resigned from his position as perhaps the worse State Superintendent of Public Education ever. The Stitt-Walters era has been an embarrassment to our state. Stitt used to say he would make us Top Ten, but after seven years test scores and reading proficiency are at historic lows and we are ranked 50th in education.

A midweek check-in on the state of the Republic. – Joyce Vance, in Civil Discourse.

To you and your loved ones, a warning: Actions now being taken by Trump and his regime may seem far-removed from your daily life or the lives of people you care about. But they’re not. None of us is safe when Trump acts as judge and jury which is what his present actions fortell. – Robert Reich, A Warning, posted 9.25.25 online.

We have a vampire problem. – L.A. Paul, in Maria Popova's Marginalian, 9.23.25

All this can be stopped. But, it requires looking at the “this” straight on and in its entirety with the understanding that it is ongoing until it is stopped. – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American.

Burnt Norton

Footfalls echo in the memory

Down the passage which we did not take

Towards the door we never opened ...

human kind Cannot bear very much reality.

Time past and time future

What might have been and what has been

Point to one end, which is always present.

– T.S. Eliott, from “Burnt Norton,” (the first of) The Four Quartets, Faber and Faber. 1940.

Burning down the house.

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James Bethel James Bethel

Speakeasy pointers . . .

Wednesday, September 24, 2025. It's Odin's day . . . Moderate Northerlies are in the forecasts, bringing much cooler temps in the mid 70's. The morning cloud cover is to yield to some clearing by afternoon. The weatherfeather indicates sun and 80's for the coming ten days starting tomorrow. The autumnal equinox moved through TulseyTown Monday. Keep your eys on the trees and the leaf turn. Fall is soon fully falling.

A finger points to the moon. Having seen reality as it is,there is neither moon nor finger. We can say “God,” we can say “dhamma,” we can say Source, Creator, Creation—but if we are trapped in the symbol, the word, the sound, we will never enter into relationship with what the symbol points to.

Jimmy Kimmel returned to ABC last night … but not in Tulsa. KTUL TV (Channel 8, ota) is owned by Sinclair. I tried Channel 8 website and telephone … neither were successful pathways for me to register my opinions. At least KOTV (channel 6 ota) has given some coverage to the Kimmel affair.

Trump is in full distraction mode. Remember the Epstein files? – Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse.

Trump's “stark, raving mad” speech at the U.N. yesterday. – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American.

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on this day in 1896 St. Paul, Minnesota.

Since Constantine, Christianity has repeatedly claimed a legitimate right to do violence to its members [and others] to protect its interests and conserve its supremacy. It has sought far-reaching and sometimes almost limitless control over the behavior and minds of its subjects. At times, it has behaved like a totalitarian power, suppressing dissent and claiming divine and absolute authority, capable of absolute corruption. – Brian McLaren, Meditations, The Center for Action and Contemplation.

When you are possessed by a thought and that thought turns into a poem and you’re not sure at all what its about:

It’s 4 a.m. and Nasruddin leaves the tavern

and walks the town aimlessly.

A policeman stops him.

‘Why are you out wandering the streets

in the middle of the night?’

“Sir,” replies Nasruddin,

“if I knew the answer to that question,

I would have been home hours ago.” ” – Rumi

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