Valentine

Some thoughts on Valentines day just passed.

Are we victims of a manufactured holiday, perpetrated by the greeting card, florists and candy companies?

It would be nice if all these expressions of affection were to last more than just a day. Imagine having less argument and more communication, more love and less selfishness everyday.

Valentines day wasn’t started by the marketing merchants of hype; they only take advantage of our sentimentality.

The early Christian church actually proclaimed this event to counter a pagan festival that had a little too much celebration and debauchery for the ascetic beliefs of the time.

Why they chose Saint Valentine to be their champion no one knows for sure. Historically it may be a strange choice. The Valentine who became the Saint and surrogate lover for the day was actually beheaded for his Christian beliefs and became a martyr.

Maybe it is appropriate to name the day after him...people in love tend to loose their heads too.

Leslie Gore

Leslie Gore died the other day.

She was a singer, songwriter, actress and activist probably best known to my generation for the hit song, “It’s My Party.”

Before I moved into journalism as a career path, I was working in radio and television as an announcer and show host.

I worked as a teenage dance party host on a local television station in Syracuse, New York.

In 1963 Leslie Gore was a hot teenage star and she was a guest on my show. In my memory of fifty plus years she was affable, charming, talented and a delightful guest to be interviewed and to perform.

Leslie died from lung cancer at 68. She did not smoke according to Carl Sabatino, my radio partner who knew her and her family.

Whenever we pass, either young or old, I think we only do so when we have finished what we came here to do. Passages, as well as births, are gifts of service the soul chooses as an expression of love to all of humanity.

Hypocrisy

Here is the most ominous headline of the week.

“U.S. to allow the widespread export of armed drones to allied nations.”

Unfortunately the United States is the largest seller of arms in the world, yet we say we want a peaceful world.

If we want a peaceful world, then stop selling arms. Despite the fact these sophisticated and deadly weapons are supposedly going to allied nations this is an ill-advised decision.

Hypocrisy thy name is America.

2016 Campaign

I have thoughts today on the strain

Of the twenty sixteen campaign

A limerick point,

To scold, not anoint,

How negative gives us a pain.

Advertisements are often diseased

With rampant political sleaze.

Let's say from here on

No mean lexicon

Let's demand commercials that please.

Imagine what that would be like,

Back to times of Stasson and Ike

The ad's must be clean

And nothing that's mean

With statements that only unite.

It starts with political speech

And the rule to follow for each,

Find something that's nice

That's true and precise

With comments that honor, not preach.

Do you think we could make it a law

In this leadership quest seesaw.

All ad's must be true,

That people will view

If you lie, or smear, you withdraw.

And tell us at once where you stand.

Do nothing that seems underhand.

Stay simple, direct

The truth, in effect

Elections would surely be grand.

Bob Simon

Requiescat in Pace Bob Simon.

I have this vision of Mr. Simon arriving in that other place with past family, friends and so many others waiting to greet him and say, “You did a great job back there. Welcome home.”

In line:

Mike Wallace

Walter Cronkite

Harry Reasoner

Ed Bradley

Chet Huntley

David Brinkley

Edward R. Morrow

Ernie Pyle

Jim Jensen

Chris Borgen

John Reilly

Bill Beutel

Roger Grimsby

David Bloom

Helen Thomas

Tim Russert

And so many more, in countries all over the world, who have died in the pursuit of telling truth.

Rest well Bob, to paraphrase Emerson, great men exist that others may follow to be great and greater.