Sunday, April 17, 2011

Expendable James would've turned 40 on April 18

Posted by Mickey Z on 04/17 at 06:51 PM

  2. Hi Mickey and all…

    Great photos - both of them. I happen to have a special appreciation for photos that show the back of a person’s head rather than the face....leaves something to the imagination.

    About James - I think of him often - especially when hearing about a labor or a work-place issue.  What a loss for all of us!

    captcha says ‘another’. There will never be another James.

    Posted by RMJ from Ward Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts  on  04/18  at  10:36 AM

  3. Hi Mickey and Rosemarie, and thanks for reminding us of Expendable James, Cool Observer.

    And I like the photo, too!

    All best from down under.

    Posted by Helga from Daylesford, Australia  on  04/18  at  10:46 AM

  4. Hi Helga…

    Mickey...nice poem. I guess I will never be a good organizer but I like the poem. It reminded me of the view from the window when I was a kid. I could see - not exactly clearcutting- but a huge mountain top strip mine. Back then, surrounded by strip mines and culm banks, we all thought that it was normal. One mountainous culm bank was a fixture in the town. It burned for generations. It could be seen for miles - probably from the moon. It was a monument to man’s lack of understanding about the planet.  That being said, I have to admit that I still have admiration for the men who went down in the mines. My 2 grandfathers included.  They worked hard. Lived in constant danger. When a miner was killed in the mine - the mine owners loaded the body in a horse drawn wagon and dropped the body off in the widow’s yard. And then there was the company store…

    Back to clear cutting - now I live where it is OK to clear cut for the ski industry but not OK to put wind mills on ridge lines.  It’s all about fat cats and money$$$$$$$$$$$$

    Posted by RMJ from Ward Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts  on  04/18  at  02:10 PM

  5. Hey all, James too.
    I had some good news, been accepted as a mature student to study Conservation and Forest Ecosystems at Bangor university in North Wales. So, you know, sticking plasters maybe, but it might be a career I can live with.

    Posted by Mew from england  on  04/18  at  06:38 PM

  6. James’s presence is missed on here.

    Posted by Charles from Jersey City, NJ  on  04/18  at  09:17 PM

  7. Thanks, all. It’s important to remember. So important.

    Congrats on the gig, Mew. Nice to “see” you.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  04/19  at  04:34 AM

  8. ¡Prescindible James presente!

    Great news, Mew. Tell us about it as you progress.

    Posted by Zen Prole from Pac NW  on  04/19  at  12:21 PM

  9. Congratulations, Mew!!!

    Hi Mickey, Zen, Charles, and all......

    Off topic...I wonder if I am the only one who is noticing that with all of the talk about the cost of health care in the USA, no one asks why medical procedures cost much more here. Instead the focus is on rearranging the deck chairs and worse yet - blaming the victim - the citizens. If an MRI, a heart transplant, a root canal, etc cost 5 or 10 times more in the US, someone should notice that. Oh well - thanks for letting me vent.

    Posted by RMJ from Ward Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts  on  04/19  at  01:23 PM

  10. James comes up on my Facebook every once and while for some reason or another and it always feels like a punch to the gut.  He was a very sensitive, caring guy.

    I wonder if he played stoop ball at all growing up...I know I loved it.  Home Run champion of all time (at least I claimed as much), PS 84 circa 1984 or there abouts.

    Posted by JOS from Chicago  on  04/19  at  01:27 PM

  11. James would have enjoyed our Eagle sighting this morning.

    Two males gliding in circles just above the tree tops, very easy, beautiful to watch.

    RMJ, health and dental care in the u.s. should be such an embarrassment to everyone including the wack jobs who cut for dollars and ego.

    JOS 9, My claim to fame in baseball was while in little league. I once struck out the first 9 batters on 28 pitches, I once went 3 for 3 with 3 homeruns, for my greatest feat I might be the only little league player in history to ‘almost’ get my team disqualified for using an illegal size bat. I started revolting long before my little league days...(<;

    Posted by Joe of Maine from The Window  on  04/19  at  01:58 PM

  12. JOS...How have you been???

    joe...In Vermont health care is likely to get even worse because the politicians have succeeded in fooling the citizens into believing that ‘they’ had a plan to make things better. Many Vermonters fell for the propaganda and started to call the new plan ‘Single Payer’.  Guess they didn’t read the fine print.

    Posted by RMJ from Ward Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts  on  04/19  at  02:15 PM

  13. The stupid, corrupt ‘deciders’ could simply name all their plans, screw anyone with no authority.

    Confused deciders don’t see or think clearly, yet they want to make decisions for others. Absurd!

    Then their decisions are degenerate, maintaining the same cycles of insanity with complete disregard for any life, the environment, the planet.

    How can these pin-striped morons talk about single payer, blah, healthcare, blah while these decision makers are bombing the crap out of the planet, destruction, radiation, torture, slaughter..., and these stupid critters are debated health? Now that’s insanity, what’s worse is americans don’t object to anything. When will we need to buy tickets for the box cars taking us to the gas chambers. And will americans look forward to the scenic ride without question?

    Posted by Joe of Maine from The Window  on  04/19  at  02:38 PM

  14. Thanks Zen, Rosemary and Mickey - it’s nice to be seen Mickey smile

    RMJ’s righteous rant forces me to bring up much worse news - my dad may well have stomach cancer. Or he may not, tests have been inconclusive. Thing is, living in the UK, the only cost we have to worry about is the cost of potentially losing our dad - enough for anyone to be getting on with. I can’t imagine the stress of dealing with insurance companies, bureaucracy and bank managers at a time like this. We can just get on with looking after dad.

    Posted by Mew from england  on  04/19  at  02:45 PM

  15. doing pretty good, RMJ, hope all is well with you and everyone else.

    Joe, those are some impressive feats...I used to have to hit the ball into the woods to get a homerun when I played baseball in high school...it was the only way I could get enough time to get around the bases.

    Posted by JOS from Chicago  on  04/19  at  04:27 PM

  16. Thanks again, everyone. Great to see JOS and Mew stop by.

    A new post is now up...some good news for a change.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  04/20  at  12:18 PM

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