Glorious California!

Breathtaking coastlines, towering pines,

Hills and valleys with grapes on vines

From which we produce our exquisite wines…

Glorious California!

 

Majestic forests, volcanic peaks,

Beachside towns with their quaint boutiques,

Silicon Valley and its techno-geeks…

Glorious California!

 

Golden hills with their sprawling oaks,

Expansive fields of artichokes…

There's magic that your name invokes.

Glorious California!

 

Miles and miles of fine desert sand,

Sometimes a language we don't understand,

But that helps to make this state so grand…

Glorious California!

 

Poppy-lined roads, gardens and flowers,

Varied landscapes as you drive for hours,

Yosemite's grandeur after spring showers…

Glorious California!

 

I have been elsewhere

And seen wondrous places--

Mountainous regions

And vast open spaces.

But when I'm away,

I find that I yearn

For home and can't wait

Until I return.

 

Though crowded at times and in traffic we wait,

No place is perfect; still you're first-rate.

So much beauty in this golden state!

Glorious California!

 

Some say your taxes are far too high,

Affordable housing's in short supply,

But I plan to stay here until I die.

Glorious California!

-by Bob B (11-29-21)

The Thanksgiving Blues

I ran into Tom Turkey today;

It's been a couple of years.

We sat in a local bar together

And drank a couple of beers.

 

"Tom," I said, "I know quite well

That life has its bumps,

But often when I run into you,

You're feeling down in the dumps.

 

"Last Thanksgiving had to be

A difficult one for you,

But what is happening this year

That's making you feel so blue?"

 

"Well," he replied, "you know the day

Is always bittersweet:

It's nice to see people celebrate

But sad to be the meat.

 

"COVID put a real damper

On last year's merrymaking.

I thought things would improve by now,

But my heart's still breaking.

 

"Hospitals are under siege.

Cases again are spiking.

In ONE state* 68 percent!

That's not to my liking.

 

"Unnecessarily,

Many people are dying.

And some people who downplay the virus

Resort to unscrupulous lying.

 

"It makes no sense whatsoever

When we have the means

To put an end to this horrible scourge

Through safe and effective vaccines.

 

"Almost as many people are losing

Their lives to COVID today

As LAST year before the COVID

Vaccine came into play.

 

"Certain counties where vaccination

Rates are super low

Want to send patients to other counties.

To me that's malapropos."

 

"Tom, I feel your pain," I said.

"I'm amazed as well.

Conspiracy theories and misinformation

Sometimes are hard to dispel.

 

"Let's hope that more unvaccinated

People will see the light

And work to get this virus under

Control by doing what's right."

 

"AMEN!" he said, and waddled

Out to catch his cab,

While giving me a cursory wave

And leaving me with the tab.

-by Bob B (11-24-21)

*In Michigan

BREAKING NEWS: Big Bird* Upsets Cruz

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas

Has a gripe with Big Bird now.

Big Bird mentioned his vaccination,

And Ted Cruz had a cow.

 

That is government propaganda,

Cruz declared, as if on cue.

But vaccinations have been a theme

With Big Bird since 1972.

 

Big Bird feels that public health

And safety are an important aim.

It's sad but also not a surprise

That Cruz doesn't feel the same.

 

Perhaps Big Bird should talk about

The issue of massive voter fraud

Or giving tax breaks to the rich--

A couple of topics that Cruz would laud.

 

Or maybe Cruz would much prefer

That Big Bird go in a different direction

And tout the January 6

U.S. Capitol insurrection.

 

Ted Cruz is totally

Obsessed with things that he abhors.

Instead of working to help the people,

He's too caught up in his culture wars.

-by Bob B (11-9-21)

*Big Bird is a larger-than-human puppet on the children's TV program "Sesame Street."