What Will You Do For Memorial Day?

[Lightning Rod]

On Memorial Day I'm going to honor the fallen. I will honor the dead by sleeping all day in my coffin under an American Flag. I respect the debt that we owe to those that sacrificed in the Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, The Mexican-American War, The Spanish-American War, WWI and WWII. Also our more recent extemporaneous wars Korea, Vietnam, IraqI, IraqII, Grenada, Panama yada yada.

I'm also going to honor the fallen in the War on Drugs. It's the most hypocritical and preposterous war that we have ever joined, I know, but many of the brave have fallen there, both from hostile and friendly fire. Many deaths, many lives destroyed. Much as the Iraq war has increased terrorism, the War on Drugs has increased the misery that it was launched to curtail.

Besides the poor grunts that were poisoned by illegal drugs and the gang-bangers who have died as a result of the illegal drug trade, we have about a million prisoners of that war locked in our jails and penitentiaries at great expense to the taxpayers as well as to the families of those residents of the gulag.

So, for Memorial Day I'm going to lie in my flag draped coffin and smoke a joint and watch that hypocrite George Bush go lay a wreath in Arlington Cemetery.

[e_dog]

Protest American imperialism.



(s[h]ame as awlwayz.)

[Doreen Peri]

I'm going swimming.

[mtmynd]

cheers! i survived 4 years of military service, once.

[mnaz]

Breathe, or something like that. And memorialize, maybe.

[Doreen Peri]

Cecil... I didn't know you were in the military. What branch? Did you go to vietnam?

.....

To have a day set aside to honor those who have fought in the wars is admirable.

My only problem with it is that I have a hard time thinking about it because I hate war so much.

[sooZen]

...

[mtmynd]

...

[Lightning Rod]

Here is the grave of my friend O.P
he died in the War on Drugs
he was under heavy fire
I watched him draw his last breath
(not counting the ones the paramedics forced from him)



and here is the eulogy that I wrote for him:


VOWS IN WASTED SUNSHINE


IN MEMORY OF DAVID DAWSON
(BUDDAHDOUGHBOY, O.P., BEELZEBUBBA)

1947-1991


THERE ARE ALLIANCES
MORE INTIMATE BY FAR
THAN MERE LOVERS
FRIENDSHIP IS A PALE
ARRANGEMENT AND
MARRIAGE A MEAGER UNION
WHEN VIEWED ON THE BACKDROP
OF THIS ASSOCIATION
THIS MONADIC CONFIGURATION
OF WELDED EFFORT CALLED CONSPIRACY
BUT BETTER KNOWN AS
PARTNERS IN CRIME.

ME AND THE O. MAN WERE AS SUCH
TANGLED IN THAT MINUET OF GESTURES
BUT MORE TO THE POINT WE WERE
MUTUALLY SOLUBLE IN ONE ANOTHER
THAT IS WE EXEMPLIFIED YOUR
CLASSIC CASE OF BRAIDED KARMA
WHICH YOU MAY PREFER TO CALL
TANGLED DESTINY
TUMBLING LIKE TWO DARK STOCKINGS
IN THE CLOTHES DRYER
SOFTLY TREADING EVER SOFTLY TREADING WOOLEN BUTTERFLIES
JOGGING TOWARD ETERNITY
NOT FOLLOWING BUT INVENTING PATHS
WITH OUR FOOTPRINTS
SIAMESE QUESTION MARKS JOINED AT
THE CURIOSITY
WE WERE TRANSFORMED, EACH BY THE OTHER'S
PRESENCE TO A THIRD DISCREET COMPOUND
OUR ELEMENTS LOCKED BY CO-VALENT BOND
SWAP ORBITING OBSCURE ELECTRONS
WE BECAME OUR OWN RAGTAG REGIMENT
OF INTREPID SLEUTHS PROBING THE ARCANE
STAN & OLLIE DOING THEIR VERSION OF
HOLMES AND WATSON OR MORE TO THE POINT
SUB-SONIC SIBLINGS OUR TONES HUMMING ALONG
IN UNISON

NOTHING'S HARD
AS LOSING YOUR COMPLIMENT THIS WAY
LIKE YOU FEEL WHEN A PLAYMATE
CALLS IT QUITS WITH YOU ON THE HIGH END OF
THE SEE-SAW: THE HOLLOW
BELLIED SCREAM: THE PANIC SO LIKE A THRILL
OH YES, IT'S THE CLEANEST METAPHOR ON
THE PLAYGROUND THAT SEE-SAW
A PERFECT PHYSICAL EMBODIMENT OF
PURE ABSTRACTS LIKE: TEAMWORK, TRUST AND BETRAYAL,
YIN YANG OPERATIONAL PHENOMENA
(PUSHME-PULLYOUOCITY)
AND NEWTON'S THIRD LAW.

AMONG OUR SHARED HOBBIES AND OBSESSIONS
HAS ALWAYS BEEN GRAZING ON IDEAS OR PERHAPS SNACKING ON
INFORMATION AND TAKE SUCH PRIMARY GLEE IN
THE FUNDAMENTAL ACCOMPLISHMENT OF GRASPING A CONCEPT
LEARNING IS A JOYOUS PASTIME AND TOO SECURE TO REQUIRE
AN END OR GOAL BUT ITS OWN REWARD
I ALWAYS THOUGHT OUR JAB AT SCIENCE WAS A
BALANCED AFFAIR
WITH YOUR PURE AND MY APPLIED
AND WHILE I SUSPECTED THAT YOU COULD BE
SEDUCED BY A THEORY
I ALWAYS KNEW SOMEHOW THAT YOU WERE TOO SMART TO
BELIEVE IN YOUR OWN AGNOSTICISM.

O.P.
O PERIOD P PERIOD AS IN INITIALS
BEING DISTINCT FROM OPIE THE KID ON ANDY GRIFFITH
O.P. AS IN "OTHER PEOPLES" AS IT WAS ONCE
EXPLAINED TO ME
BY ONE OF HIS ASPIRING DETRACTORS OF WHICH
THERE WERE A FEW
OUTLAW POET IS MORE TO THE POINT I THINK
OH, PSHAW COULD APPLY
ODD PHILOSOPHY
OUTRIGHT PAGAN
OPPOSITE POINT OF VIEW
ONWARD TO THE PARTY
OVER PRICED
OFTEN PLASTERED
OUTCAST PUNK
ORGY PISTON
OVAL PEDAGOGUE
ONLY PEOPLE
OR ACRONYM FOR OPERATOR, OPINIONATED
OUT TO PLEASE
OLD PAL
obvious paternity
oh, phuck, o.p.
whydja go?
dammit
ya got me so I can't even remember if we decided
that the one who got the eulogy won or lost
either way you get the honors on this one, ole pal
you took the big peek, took it first and as usual you
have me wondering
wondering not where you are...hell, I know that
you're right here with me in my heart and in the
hearts of all those that love you
but I wonder if wherever you are...
DO YOU KNOW EVERYTHING YET?

[Doreen Peri]

Lightning Rod

Your friend died of an overdose... That's not dying from the war on drugs. It's dying of addiction and accidentally overdosing..... (or maybe it was on purpose, I don't know). The so-called "war on drugs" had nothing to do with his death.

Whoever did the artwork to alter the tombstone to read "Damn That Was a Good Shot" is just well.... how do I say it? It's not only not funny, it is totally and completely disrespectful.

Your tribute poem to your friend was well written. I'm sorry or your loss.

.......

will be back to comment to cecil and sooZ in a bit

[Lightning Rod]

Lightning Rod

Your friend died of an overdose... That's not dying from the war on drugs.

It's dying of addiction and accidentally overdosing..... (or maybe it was on purpose, I don't know).

The so-called "war on drugs" had nothing to do with his death.

Whoever did the artwork to alter the tombstone to read "Damn That Was a Good Shot" is a sicko.

It's not only not funny, it is totally and completely disrespectful.

What do you want to call it, doreen? Collateral damage?

The War on Drugs had everything to do with his death.

O.P. was an intelligent man, even though using drugs is not too smart.

He died from shooting street drugs that god knows what was in them. Absent the War on Drugs, if he chose to use drugs at least they would have been safe.

The epitaph was intended to be distressing.

The War on Drugs is sick. The casualties inflicted by the 'liberating army' are much greater than any damage done by the drugs themselves.

And yes, it was intended to be disrespectful, not to my friend, but to the idiots who contrived the travesty.

[Doreen Peri]

Sorry, I was editing my reply as you replied.

I agree. The War on Drugs is sick. For the most part, it's a money machine. The people who are trying to stop the drug usage are also selling it.

Your friend, though, died because he did too much and he combined it with alcohol and who knows what else. You've posted about his death quite a few times during the past 5 years.

It certainly wasn't because the drugs he was putting in his arm were illegal (which is what the War on Drugs is... it's making it illegal to use them). No, he died because he did too much. He overdosed.

And I'm sorry.

[Lightning Rod]

I'm sorry too

I should go to his grave and place a wreefer

[mtmynd]

...

[Lightning Rod]

LR : "Here is the grave of my friend O.P "

Curious... why use another's headstone and call it David OP Dawson's headstone? Didn't yr friend have one of his own?

yeah, but I don't have a picture. Sorry for using yours. I hope you don't mind. I was just trying to make a point. I should have said that I altered your pic. But it was just so perfect.