A mailman in Boston's Back Bay

Monday was the busiest mailing day of the year for the United States Postal Service, which expected to process 611 million cards, letters and packages — an average of almost two pieces of mail for every American.

from the New York Times

A mailman in Boston's Back Bay

delivered so much in one day

he put out of whack

his encumbered back

and took to his bed right away. 

Light the World #19

  . . . because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

1 John 2:8

The darkness is past, the light bursting bright
now brings us relief and fearless delight.
The truth of the Savior is shining at last
and Satan's regime is not fated to last.
O what can I give Him for these blessed rays?
Only my life and my love all my days! 

Rogue One’ gave us Darth Vader’s greatest movie moment

There was a young woman named Gert
who hated the spoiler alert.
When someone revealed
a movie plot sealed
her light saber she would insert. 

The Electoral College is Dead

President Obama on Friday described the Electoral College — originally a compromise between those who wanted Congress to choose the president and those who favored a popular vote — as a “ vestige.”

from the New York Times

The 'Electrical College' is dead.
For most folk tis over their head.
It can't be explained
or even retrained;
it hangs by an overripe thread. 

Light the World #17

. . .  we wait for light, but behold obscurity . . . 

Isaiah 59:9

Walking in obscurity without the grateful light,
I toil with hope diminishing late into doleful night.
My sight is dim, the muffled murk delays the start of day;
O save me, Lord, from mists of darkness on my halting way! 
How much longer must I wait for light and glory's gain?
"My son, delay will teach you faith -- it never is in vain."
"Whether you can see or not, the future's plain to me,
and I will guide you through it all into eternity."

Pakistani birds caught up in international intrigue

About the same time, Indian authorities in Kashmir said that they had also discovered 150 dehydrated pigeons stuffed into a car and that they suspected that the birds were smuggled for purposes of espionage. An official was quoted as saying that the pigeons had suspicious multicolored rings attached to their feet. All were turned over to an animal welfare agency while police investigated the case. 

from the Washington Post 


Perfidious pigeons, indeed!
Suspicious, like all of their breed;
No doubt they appear
as spies in Kashmir -- 
provoking them all to secede! 

As Trump era nears, is the media ready for the challenge?

Journalism, more and more, is concentrated in New York City, Washington and California . . . 

from the Washington Post

The newspapers of the Midwest
their writers have had to divest.
They get all their scoops
from various groups
tied up to a Special Int'rest. 

Elderhood

A pickpocket is Time to me;
sneaking up so gradually.
Taking hearing, sight, and smell;
making stairs a living hell.

Yes, I've lived past sixty-three
and I've seen some history.
I've become a bard, a rhymer,
sitting in my soft recliner.

When I start my long recital,
it's not treated like it's vital;
my kids have their fish to fry
and don't care if I speechify.

And so I mark the passing term,
slowing down to food for worm.
Sage advice I have but little:
Don't open cans marked 'Peanut Brittle'.

Here’s why they will most likely return your gifts

“One out of every three gift recipients in the U.S. returned at least one gift item during the 2013 holiday season with the total dollars of returned gifts estimated at $262.4 billion (not including fraudulent returns),” Cohn writes. “This figure does not include unwanted gifts that are not returned but kept in a closet, regifted, sold, donated or thrown away.”

from the Washington Post 

When giving me a gift, don't try

to please me with a silk necktie. 

I never wear 'em, 'cept to church

(then hang 'em on the backyard birch).

A book on diet will be tossed

outside into the cold, cold frost;

yes, I know I'm overweight -- 

but you're a drunk, so cease to prate.

You think I'll like that cheap tick-tock?

It only shows you know your schlock.

Your box of candy is so stale

it's only fit for garbage pail.

No sweater, socks, or fountain pen

will ever make you my dear friend.

And gadgets for my laptop? Nix!

I'd rather have a muffin mix.

And if you try a fruitcake, mate,

you better wear a thick breastplate

because I'll throw it back so fast

you'll think it was a cannon blast.

A thoughtful gift would be so rare

that it would make me stop and stare.

Yet shopping for me isn't hard -- 

cuz all I want's a damn gift card!  

No-religion 'Nativity' display gets OK for Iowa Capitol

The centerpiece of the secular display will be a Bill of Rights "nativity," foundation officials said. The cutout depicts founding fathers Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, along with the Statue of Liberty, gazing in adoration at a "baby" Bill of Rights.

from the Des Moines Register 


An atheist in bland Des Moines
wanted goodwill to purloin;
he got very fresh
when it came to a creche,
so he 'roasted' one like tenderloin.