mcradloff Poetry (529)

What if I had eaten fruit and vegetables?
Instead of cheese and chips
What if I had worked out every day?
Instead of watching too much tv
What if I had applied myself when I was teaching?
Instead of lying on my bed buried under a thousand harsh words?
What if I had a good sense of humor?
Instead of going over and over an insult I had received
What if I had learned to play an instrument?
Instead of looking for excuses to not even try
What if I had gotten married?
Instead of waking up each morning feeling the sting of lonliness
What if I had had children?
Instead of worrying about the work and material cost
What if everyone would just accept people who are different?
Instead of judging them and excluding them
What if all people were free from fear of harm?
Instead of worrying about landmines and evil leaders
What if we could make this a better world?
Instead of just writing about it
What if

It's #7 of the commandments
Stealing is really bad
It comes in many forms
I see at work in our lost benefit that cost five people their jobs
I see it in my family as my mom waits to be put in a home
Her home stolen from her by her favorite grandson
Six years of not working and taking for every dime she had left
I see it with my friend who has estranged himself from his family
From years of taking with no intention of paying it back
I see it in our national debt that steals interest on our saved money
And a future of possible financial meltdown
I see it in our devalued money where 13 dollars in 1979
Would be worth over 44 dollars today
I see it in our wages
High interest loans that have made more money than gambling as of late
I experience it every day as the covid 19 response has stolen freedom
Freedom to go see a ballgame, freedom to gather together, and jobs from people
Theft
It's not what I want in my life

Oscar
Before Schindler's List
I thought of Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street
Oscar, the award for good movies, actors, and the worker behind the cameras
On February 4, 1994 I got another famous Oscar
Oscar Schindler saved 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust
Moses led two million Jews out of slavery in Egypt
I remember going to a Wedding of a Christian woman and a Jewish man
It was the first time I had lamb chops
It was the first time I had a braided bread called challah bread
Both were great
I also remember the huge wheel of Brie and crackers
And all the free mixed drinks you could drink
There were pumpkins and fresh snow on the ground
Two days before Halloween in 2011
My favorite Jew other than Oscar Schindler would have to be Adam Sandler
He has had me laughing for 30 years

Mike's Commandments

1. Thou shall work hard to support my lazy a**

2. Thou shall be faithful to me

3. Thou shall not judge me

4. Thou shall not yell at me

5. Thou shall leave me the @#$% alone when I want

6. God shall give me good health

7. God shall give to me the numbers to win the lottery

8. God shall give me good friends and family to support me

9. God shall let me go to heaven

10. God shall forgive me and make no consequences for my actions

Ruff
Squirt
Brandee
You were the dogs that I had
I should have spent more time with you
For that
I feel bad
You were always happy to see me
You just wanted to play
Those days are long gone now as you must be in heaven
It's been a long time since 2007

Fish is what I eat now on Fridays
I went to the bowling alley and ate some fish, waffle fries, coleslaw and
Macaroni and cheese
I have eaten out at various fast food places since I could drive
Taco John's being my first from 1986 to around 1990
Then it was Burger King
I have since broadened my choices to include McDonald's
Hardee's(which I worked at from 1988-1993)
Sonic, KFC(formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken before 1991)
Dunkin Donuts, Subway, and China Buffet
The healthiest has to be China Buffet
I don't really rank any of them as good paying as I made 3.35 to 4.65
At Hardee's
I guess it's kind of like playing video games
I know it's bad for me, but it makes me feel good

When I was growing up Nancy Reagan had an infomercial
"Just say no"
I believed that was the answer
Just say no
But
Her husband was giving lots of reasons to say yes
Like job losses
Helping people from other countries take jobs either here
Or take those jobs to the people over there
No help in making the minimum wage better
No help with medical bills
I have seen the effects of drug use
I see it in my pocket
The check I had to write to help pay for my Dad's funeral
Because the money he had saved for 35 years was gone
Stolen by their grandson to fuel his drug habit
I wonder with the pandemic if drug use it way up
Probably

You freak me out!
You have no idea how hard it is to be around you
You told me how you punched your boyfriend in the face
Another girl talks gossip nonstop
This guy is taking weed and hails from Chicago
This other guy look like he just entered this country illegally
Why do you have a purple mowhawk?
You have tattoos all over your arms
What do they all mean?
I'm afraid to ask
I'm afraid you'll yell at me
I can't think
I can't breathe
I'm shell shocked
When will this work shift end so I can be away from all of you
Where I can be at peace
Where I can be safe
Some are nice
But they leave too soon
They are too few
I wish I didn't feel this way
I really do
But here I stand
Waiting for the bell to ring
It is 3:00 P.M.
Yeah!

I work
As I'm sure many people do
I have the day off to celebrate nine years of work at this company
My first question I had to ask myself
Were they nice to me?
Overall
I'm sick at the bad treatment I have recieved
But I could have said that at any time during my life
Except for the time I spent away from work from 2009 till early 2013
I did work at a ski resort for 24 days from November 2010 to February 2011
I did like it except I got paid an average of 1.25 when you figure in my expenses
10 dollars in gas a day, socks, boots, 7.00/hour taken out of my unemployment
I got to hug really pretty women when they need help off the lift
I got to eat anything I wanted to during my shift and drink free pop and hot cocoa
I was comfortable by myself sitting in a chair
I am thankful for the money, especially during the pandemic
I don't appreciate the masks which don't seem to be going away any time soon
I have over two years to go to beat my longest job, panwashing for 11.5 years

Backstabber got me bumped to the Weil
That word makes me feel like someone cut out my soul with a spoon
It never gets better
I just am resigned to a simple fact
People are mean
And they really enjoy screwing with you
I am certainly not alone
I have another I work with who is getting it too
She wouldn't even be working if not for her husband losing his job
He used to make over 150 grand a year till he was replaced by an Indian
The new employee would only need 70 grand
I don't know if the covid crisis was manufactured out of just meanness
Did China decide to ruin us?
Or did the governments of the world decide to wage a world war
A war against everybody
Everybody, that is that isn't a billionaire

Hi
I'm Talking Tina
And I Love You Very Much
I would love you even more if you buy me a Ken Doll
And also buy me a pink Volkswagon Beetle
Buy me lots of accessories
Like a pink guitar
Clothes, shoes, a pink house
There was a guy who wasn't nice to me
And you know what happened to him
I'm Talking Tina
And You Better Be Nice to Me!

You died two days ago
I started listening to you in 1993
When Bill Clinton was our president
You made a lot of sense
Even though I had voted for him
Thinking that he was better than Bush
I should have voted for Ross Perot
You made fun of him too
I bought both of your books
The Way Things Ought To Be and See I Told You So
I have a collection of your early parody songs
My favorite bit is on the Rodney King story
Instead of Denny's, it's Reginald Denny's
He was the truck driver that pulled out of his truck during the LA riots
"We love Reginald Denny's, the kid's think it's a riot!
Yeah, I really enjoy the(sound of a gunshot)
At Reginald Denny's we take the eggs, rip them out of their shells
And beat them for you
And at Reginald Denny's we take out the yolks and beat only the whites