Author: dickking44

A STANDING OVATION 

In my opinion, standing ovations should be reserved for the rare occasions when we’d like to show overwhelming respect for a superior accomplishment.

Some years ago I attended my granddaughter’s high school graduation ceremony. It was quite a big deal and I’m really glad I was afforded the opportunity to be there, but some of the goings on got me to thinking. To further explain, let me say that there was a large contingent of graduating seniors who had committed to various branches of our military. The moderator read off the list of names and had them stand. In recognition of the value we place on serving our country, the audience gave them a standing ovation. It made me very proud to be a part of it and I really felt good about the standing O. However, during the remainder of the roughly 2 hour ceremony there were many more standing ovations. That’s where I began to have reservations.

A standing ovation used to really mean something, but when you start giving a standing O for just any ol Tom, Dick or Harry, at least for me, it tends to cheapen the effect. Did those people who have committed to the military deserve a standing O? I honestly don’t know, but it was definitely a rewarding experience to be a part of it and it definitely felt like it was sincere and deserved. To say the least, it seemed very patriotic.

Did all the other parties who received the same treatment deserve it? Again I don’t know, but someone obviously felt they did and once a few people begin to stand as they applaud, it just seems to overflow to the rest of the room. As a result I found myself standing to applaud several people simply because someone else stood and the rest of the room followed suit.

I’m left to ponder, “Is it disrespectful to not stand and applaud when you don’t feel the urge to do so?” Restated in another way, “Isn’t it a bit of a ‘Cop out’ to stand and applaud when you don’t feel it is warranted and deserved? Doesn’t it diminish the respect afforded to those more worthy?

I don’t have any answers or suggestions about this growing phenomenon, but it does cause me to ponder.

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Gramps use’ta say
©R.L.King2012 #405

About: Respect

“Often, those we choose to honor
are not the most honorable.”

MOONLIGHT ON THE WATER
© By: Richard L. King
From the book Nice & Naughty

 His imagination, working overtime, conjures up a vision,
could it be a dream, or perhaps a premonition?

Watching from the shoreline, not a cloud in the sky,
reflections of the moon create a sparkle in her eye.

Waves crashing to the shore, she lets out a passionate sigh
slipping back into the shadows, each knowing precisely why.

……To the faintest mist of salty air, slowly he awakens,
lying there alone, could he have been mistaken?

Could a dream so beautiful, leave him this severely shaken,
punishment possibly,,, for the liberties his mind had taken?

An endless wave of florescence, not a cloud in the sky,
the full moon reflecting as he breathes a mournful sigh.

His imagination, working overtime, conjured up a vision,
was it all a dream, or perhaps a premonition?

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Gramps use’ta say
©R.L.King2012 #402

About: Life’s Lessons

“Ignorance ain’t something ya learn,
lots a folks jist come by it natural like.”

By: Richard L. King

I’m from the “Rock & Roll” era, boy to have been a song writer back in the day….

Recently, I was listening to Grand Funk Rail road singing a song called “Closer to home.” I’ve heard it hundreds of times and I think it’s a great song, but I had never really listened to it.   It sounds like this guy is the captain of his ship and he’s been lost on the ocean for days…..   Anyway, as it comes near to the end of the song….. You can hear the waves coming in and he starts singing “I’m getting closer to my home,” I’m getting closer to my home, I’m getting closer to my home,,,   over and over… I counted them,,,   he sings that same line 22 times.

Makes you wonder, as the guys get together to write that song someone asks, “How do you want to end it? Oh, I’ve got it, we’ll say, “I’m getting closer to my home……” then someone says, “That’s a great line, we should repeat it.” Then they decide to repeat it several more times. It makes you wonder what they must have been smoking, doesn’t it?   How do you decide on exactly 22 times to repeat the line…..? Not two, not three, TWENTY TWO TIMES!!!!!   One guy says, “I think we should do it one more time, I just don’t think 21 times works out right, we should do it 22.”   You think they were trying to set a “Guinness book record?

Or how bout the Almond Brothers song about being, “tied to the whipping post,” repeated over and over so many times. (I didn’t count them)

Then there is Bachman Turner Overdrive and You ain’t seen nothing yet,,,, repeated 9 times.

Or, Golden Earring’s 1982 song Twilight Zone, “Where you gonna go… ‘when the Bullet hit’s the Bone,’ repeated 12 times….

These are all great songs, but who decides that a line is so good that you’re going to repeat it 12 times or 22 times…..

I’m just sayin…. I’m just sayin…. I’m just sayin…. I’m just sayin…. I’m just sayin…. I’m just sayin….

…Maybe I’ve said enough.

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Gramps use’ta say
©R.L.King2012 #209

About: Persevering

 “Distressing questions
with depressing options
offer opportunities…
for impressive solutions.”

FEEDING FRENZY
© By: Richard L. King
From the book: Memories & Time

beware ye of faint heart.

a feeding frenzy
in the interim between sundown and sunrise

hustlers and hookers share
the neon lit pathways
providing hollow pleasures
….nocturnally

sins of the heart proliferate

evils of the mind propagate

vice flourishes

tragedy prevails

alas, again I say
….beware ye of faint heart

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Gramps use’ta say
©R.L.King2012 #406

About: Perseverance

 “That which you overcame gittin there
is often more memorable
than the accomplishment itself.”

WISDOM
By: Richard L. King
From the book Memories & Time

All those who hear shall one day listen
all those who listen shall one day hear.

The questions all have answers,
though the answers often bring more questions.

Never stop trying until everything has been tried,
…then seek something else to try.

Mistakes are great teachers
and often,
your very best lessons
come from your most memorable mistakes.

And yet,  …generally
the smarter we get,
the dumber we feel.

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Gramps use’ta say
©R.L.King2012 #330

About: Competition

“No matter what yer a doin,
if ya ain’t improvin, yer fallin behind.