John

John�s Poetry Page

Twas� the night before Christmas throughout all the land,

Fewer folks were listening to the AM/FM band.

Radios were silent, no longer could anyone hear,

local news and weather or of Santa drawing near.

Radio�s new owners, now led by so much greed,

Cut the local announcers, claiming there was no need.

Programming fed by the stations automation.

Any voice heard came from elsewhere in the nation.

A winter storm brewing, unknown to those in town,

No warnings would be given that power lines were down.

Service to the area, replaced by so much pap.

A vibrant radio station now drained of all its sap.

But new times could be a comin�, not all was going well.

As radio�s new owners have decided its time to sell.

Perhaps in the near future local radio will again appear.

Keep your fingers crossed & hope for the coming year.

The Music Lingers On

They may be gone, but to me they�re still near

Those voices of the past I�ll always love to hear

Elvis, John and George, Richie and Buddy too

Fill my head with memories whenever I am blue

Johnny and Waylon sang country as did ole Conway

What they left behind for me, always makes my day

Mama Cass gives me �Dream a Little Dream�

�Only Love Can Break a Heart� is from Gene

Roy�s �Pretty Women�, �Only the Lonely� and �Crying�

The Platters with �Only You, the Hilltoppers and �Trying�

Don Gibson wrote and sang it and Ray Charles did too.

How could we ever forget, �I Can�t Stop Loving You�

A pal of mine named Sharon wrote it for a guy named Rick

�Poor Little Fool� went gold, after radio made it their pick

�Summertime Blues� from Eddie, seems like yesterday

In southern California where we would laugh and play

Yes they are gone now, but the music lingers on

I�ll never forget them, for they have left a song

Back then I didn�t realize, they were a special kind

Today they�re still here, for what they left behind.

= = = = = =

Coeur d'Alene in the distance, from my Mica Flats paradise

Nearby Lake Coeur d'Alene

Coeur d�Alene

Nestled in a paradise of mountains and a lake

It�s a dream I�m hoping that I�ll never awake

Friendly faces are everywhere, offering a smile

Inviting you to stay, if only for awhile

You�ll never forget it, whatever the season

An escape from the world, for whatever reason

My love for this place shall never wane

The Idaho town they call Coeur d�Alene

My Best Friend

Sport & John

They come in all sizes, tall, big and small

Always there for me each time I call

My troubles they comfort, my joy they favor

Their support of me never seems to waiver

Happy to see me, a friend indeed

A kind word from me is all they need

Little do they ask, not much to attend

My dog for me is my best friend.

Love

Love is a four letter word, easy to say and often heard

But it�s what you do that withstands the test

For actions speak loudest and say love the best

So the next time you say, �I love you dear�

There may be something else for her to hear

It�s not the spoken word that will make the day,

It�s love that�s said in more than one way.

Faith

Today its old fashioned, considered out of step

My faith in God though, I've always kept

Though difficult at times to stay on course

A talk with him always renews my source

The lord is my Shepard and shall always be

Through sunshine and darkness I�m able to see

Without his love I would stumble and fall

It�s why I listen and try to heed his call

My First Car

Working after school and weekends, saving my pay

Not much time was given for any kind of play

Nothing came before it, my very first car

It was my speeding bullet, my shining star

A young lad must have it, what else could matter

A forty ford with stick, what could be bader

Chicks loved it, up front where they would sit

Moving to the back seat, at the drive-in passion pit

No thrill was greater than a gas peddle floored

Winding up the motor of my v8 forty ford

It wouldn�t last forever as I would come to find

But my first car will never ever leave my mind

Radio

Turn it on and listen, it brings the world to you

Almost by magic, it tells you what and who

Music, News & Sports, its there for you to choose

Always there to help you chase away the blues

The sad and those happy rely on it today

By turning the knob on and allowing it to play

It cheers you up and chases away the gloom

Just invite your radio to come into the room

Round the clock its there without a fee,

Radio�s your friend and its yours for free

Grandma's Wisdom

John & Grandma Rook

My grandma taught me a long time ago, most of what I�d need to know

Valley�s and streams she said there would be, but here my son you'll find the key

Walk and swim whenever you must, but never forget where to place your trust

The world we live in, the sky above, was given by God with all his love

So cherish all that you�ve been given, a wonderful place for us the livin�

The time will come some day for us all, when we hear from him and heed his call

Well done he�ll say as we depart, you�ve left a good place for others to start

Her words of wisdom still ring loud and clear, almost as though she were still here

"This world�s for others and not just you, follow this son and you�ll get through."

Try as I will to do as she said, time somehow erases the thought from my head

But one thing is certain as I�m sure she must know, I�ll pass on her wisdom before I must go

Tin Lizzy

Cliff and Mr. Logan

Henry Ford�s Tin Lizzy was born in 08, folks went crazy they thought it was great

Eight hundred dollars and one would be yours, horse and buggy not needed for anymore tours

Dirt roads and ditches were hardly a treat, but that model T Ford was hard to beat

To impress all the neighbors and your favorite gal, the ol� Tin Lizzy was really a pal

One pedal on the floor to put it in gear, second pedal was there to back to the rear

Third pedal a brake if you must slow down, it was sure needed when you entered a town

A lever on the steering column to give you the gas, another lever there for the spark to pass

It would be needed to crank up the car, but brother be careful of the kick from that bar

I often rode on the running board, of the ol� Tin Lizzy a model T Ford

Jack rabbits we�d hunt on the prairie back then, two of them together paid a dollar ten

My buddy Cliff and his dad you see, gave all these memories to someone like me

An experience in life that most would not do, but something I�m glad to share with you

Passin� Thru

Like the dawn of a new day they came our way

Some for just a moment, some are here stay

Each are dear, we�re so glad they are here

A few more than others we�ll hold near

And with their touch they bring so much

Our lives enriched, it seems as such

Our time here together is short and never

Long enough before we must finally sever

We always knew they�d leave us too

For in this life together, we�re all just Passin� Thru.

Blue

Being sad and blue, can plague us each day

I need not happen, for there is another way

Count all the good you�re given, it�s all there for you

And soon you�ll find the answer�it�s only a color �blue�

The Wall

Math, English and History, they pushed into my skull

Those teachers of yesteryear, claimed it was their call

Preparing us for the future, they said it was a must

Crammed into my head til� it would surely bust

High School before computers, so very long ago

Taught us to remember, things we�d need to know.

Today its largely missing, no history to explain

english is a country, no math is in their brain

The future is upon us, the Internet and all

Let�s hope it has the answer before they hit the wall

Golden Years

Save all you can for your Golden Years, those words of wisdom were preached by my peers.

The days will come to be yours my boy, a time of pleasure for you to enjoy

Work hard now son to save for them, for you to travel where you�ve never been

I did as they said morning and night, saving what I could to make everything right

Though spending my health, I saved some money, to prepare for those days when life would be sunny

In time though as those days grew near, something else was needed for my retirement years

For more than money is measured in wealth, more important by far is a thing called health

Without it you�ll find your Golden Years not so great, so take care of your health before its too late.

Mr. Record Man

Thank you Mr. Record Man, for being there for me

Without your gift of music, my career would hardly be

You delivered the hits and listeners to many a radio station

In various cities here and there scattered across the nation.

Russ brought Elton John and Neil Diamond,

Clive with Santana, Barbara and Paul Simon

My good friend Neil was there with more for us to play

Bubble gum and KiSS, not to forget YMCA

Herb & Jerry delivered the Carpenters, Cat & TJB

Without A & M, imagine where we would be

Michael moved to Epic, Cash on Columbia too

Ron pushed for airplay for some guy who's name was Sue.

Irving with his Eagles, Al�s Maurice, Robin & Barry

Damn near too many hits, for just two guys to carry

Mo and Joe of course, had Trini, Dean and Frank

Peter, Paul & Mary and many others to thank

It took action together, to get their records sold

Artist after artist, soon would turn to gold

Radio and Records almost always seemed as one

A different time and era and man it sure was fun

They say those days are over, it no more can be had

Everything sounds the same today, and boy it sure is sad

The lesson from this story, is it�s really not to late

Radio and Records together could still make it great

New artists bring new listeners; music excitement can do it all

It�s easier than you think and now it�s just your call

The names have changed and while some are here no more

These two industries together still have time to really score

Reverse the stance you�ve taken, return to the good ole days

Have fun with music excitement, you�ll find it really pays

(For years I've been writing poetry, I find it to be almost like a crossword puzzle. Exercising my mind, I've scribbled it down on numerous scratch pads until my sister Dottie insisted I make it available on this website. Much more to come..I hope you enjoy)

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