There is more to ‘playing games’ – every kind of game – than catches the eye. It is more than just a pastime or just for fun. It is deeper than any desire to win. It goes far beyond being unscrupulous. And whoever thinks it is just about scoring, piling up trophies or carving another notch on the belt, is missing the most crucial aspect of life – of living on this planet.

“And . . . probably relegated to a pawn, to a checker, a card, a chip to be tossed.” The Sage (SBL series)

I'm In The Game. Are You?

Yes. We all play games: men, women, animal and children.

But what game and why?

We set about exploring these questions on The Journey (Listen to the Podcast Below)

The Journey hosted by Neville DeAngelou Free download Podcast / iTunes.
Show Title: Games Men Play In Coffee Shops

Guests sharing their stories on this episode: UT artist and gamester David Tarlo, actor and gamester Don Fletcher, game developer Ruth Hearn, and Professional Tennis Player Kirstie Hearn.

On The Journey: we meet fascinating people, we track the heroes of A Sound Byte Life, The HUNK I Dreamed, Flight Of The Fused Monkeys, ILICET – A Time To Begin Again, and seek out novel solutions to a few tricky problems.

When it was announced on air that our intention was to explore games men play, immediately – if conveniently – the question was posed: mind games?

Well, why not begin there? It’s as good a place as any.

So here are those: the five successful mind games men play to score without having to commit. (Reference: Date Him Or Dump Him.)

Mind Game #1
My ex broke my heart; I’m so torn up inside I need time to heal and I don’t want to lose you.

Mind Game #2
My parents are divorced; commitment is scaring me right now; I don’t want to end up divorced, do you?

Mind Game #3
I just want to live together first – see if we’re really as sympatico as we seem to be.

Mind Game #4
I’m still good friends with my ex.

Mind Game #5
You’re just so lucky to have me.

Recognize them?

Are You Ready To Play?

Studied closely, you might recognize that these strategies are not restricted to the bed, the kitchen table or the back seat of a car, they’re employed everywhere in every realm quite successfully. They are pervasive. We looked at them closely.

Why do we play these games? To score, of course. But why do these amorous objects of our passion fall easy prey to these ploys? What nets them? What keeps all parties playing?

“Games are the way we keep romance alive,” says Helen Fisher, PhD, author of The First Sex. Romance is a contact sport. Besides, not all mind games are bad.

Remember: both sides want to score.

In many cases one player wants to be wooed and appreciated while the other player wants to be challenged and intrigued. Sometimes it’s just a case of the-fox-and-the-hen. Note: the hen is not always as obvious as you think, looking from your window. However, these games stretch wider and deeper – beyond romance, beyond the steady trick for a sweet thrill.

“The stories of our lives (individually) and the histories of our societies are scrambled with the jigsaw pieces of the games we play. Four games to be precise! Sum up the variety of games being played now and ever, ever since known time throughout history – mind games, physical games, digital games, political games, religious games, ideological games, war games, romantic games; every kind of game – add them all up or parse them any which way one is inclined, these all boil down to FOUR GAMES.” The Sage said. “Each human is playing one or more of these four games and/or is being played one or more of these four games.”

Most any one of us can name in our sleep past, current and rising winners of these games – the human game. Steve Jobs. Martin Luther King. Albert Einstein, Helen Keller, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Beyonce, Brad Pitt, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Maya Angelou, Nelson Mandela, that relative! And there are people we know who would buy – if they could – the playbook scrawled with the Xs and Os of how to raise their children to rise to equal victories.

Our questions became obvious:

Which game are they playing?
Do we know how to play the game?
Or are we just being played?
Are we the checker-pieces?
The pawns? The chip tossed?

We could name losers too! At the drop of a hat!

At a first blush, during our exploration, we encountered the following juxtapositions in response to the question: why we play games? And this proves to be true whether you are man, woman, boy, girl, child or tired old geezer.

to win
not to lose
just want to have fun
to get the juices flowing

Experts of game-playing identify the following as reasons why we play games – all of which are quite valid:

sensation — game as sense-pleasure
fantasy — game as make-believe
narrative — game as unfolding story
challenge — game as obstacle course
fellowship — game as social framework
discovery — game as uncharted territory
expression — game as a soap box
submission — game as mindless pastime

Two people might be playing the same game, but not necessarily similarly motivated and not necessarily after the same thing, even if it appears that they equally want to win and for which victory their appears to be only one prize.

The fact is, that prize – no matter how practical or useful it is, no matter how much it might be needed – say it is a car or millions of dollars – it is merely symbolic.

“There are only four games. And there are four motivations for playing these games.” The Sage proves. Here are the four reasons men play games and the four games men play. (Men, women, girls, boys! While tired old geezers, having climbed the heights, laugh.) The INNER Game! These guide our decisions. They guard our social networks. They define our choices.

Motivation #1: Power
The Game: My Daddy Is Bigger Than Your Daddy

GOAL: to gain power, to have stature, to be bigger than the other, to be stronger, to be larger than life, to be the force to be reckoned with, to be the influence. (Deification)

Motivation #2: Control
The Game: Who’s Your Daddy Now?

GOAL: to be in command; to assure a predictable outcome – predictability of circumstance, predictability of surroundings – control and command; to hold the lever; to own the keys, to own you. (Domination)

Motivation #3: Discovery
The Game: Yo! I’m the daddy.

GOAL: To explore, to inquire, to be enlightened, to expand, to learn, to understand, to be brighter, smarter and wiser. (Enlightenment)

Motivation #4: Destruction / Annihilation
The Game: Where’s That Daddy?

GOAL: To destroy, to break the rules, to have total autonomy, to tear down, to see what’s next. (Destruction)

“Don’t know which game you’re in? Don’t know how to play the game? You’re being played: a card tossed to the wind.” The Sage (SBL series).

Now what?

Though we’ve barely begun this deep dive into games men play – as is revealed in the SBL series – the clear aim of any player with barely a modicum of smarts is to achieve the goal. Oh, so fun! However, one would be comprehensively trounced, as Tarlo experienced, frustrated and flummoxed, if one were to enter these fields not knowing the game he or she is playing or how to play the game. But we’re already in the game. Ouch! Follow The Journey. You’ll find the prize. And remember, if you slip into the hole three hands will appear – choose wisely!

Book One of the intriguing SBL series

Games Men Play Show Guests:
David Tarlo (Artist)
Don Fletcher (Actor)
Ruth Hearn (Game Developer)
Kirstie Hearn (Professional Tennis Player)

Associated Blog:
Agony & Dubi

References:
A Sound Byte Life
The HUNK I Dreamed
Flight Of The Fused Monkeys
ILICET – A Time To Begin Again

Images:
Courtesy of Costa-Soria

David Tarlo, the younger son of holocaust survivors, is an artist and an acupuncturist. The academic realities motivating Agony (sculpture) and his doberman’s unwavering devotion, which inspires his painting – Dubi, underscore the four deep secrets of men-playing-games revealed on The Journey – Your Radio Show.

Don Fletcher is the son of a Backgammon professional. An avid player himself, and a former actor now researching the many intriguing aspects of spirituality, Don offers up his experiences in the wealthy gambling houses of New York’s East side, as well as, the many unforgettable characters – arabian princes saddled with pouches full of rubies and diamonds – frequenting Dallas, one of the world’s Backgammon meccas and home of Backgammon Master Malcolm Davis, a family friend.

Their insights, along with those of Ruth and Kirstie Hearn, illuminate Games Men Play In The Coffee Shop. Listen to the Podcast here.

The Works Of David Tarlo

Painting - Dubi by David Tarlo

David Tarlo and Don Fletcher on The Journey

Sculpture - Agony by David Tarlo

This mutilation, David explains, is demonstrative of the vexing issues of war and violence. Abandoned to rust, later to be sandblasted, Agony was painstakingly put together before its heart was ripped out and its abdomen stabbed with a rod.

David Tarlo's Art & Photography

These two brass/bronze pieces are facial derivatives of Icarus, the mythological son of the Athenian master craftsman Daedalus. King Minos of Crete imprisoned Daedalus within the walls of his own invention – the Labyrinth. This genius craftsman would not suffer himself to be a captive. He made two pairs of wings using feathers waxed to a wooden frame, gave a pair to his son, and cautioned him not to fly too close to the sun, since that would cause the wax to melt. Icarus flew and was so ecstatic at his ability to fly, he forgot his father’s warning. The wax melted. His feathers came loose. He plunged to his death in the sea. Tarlo has not yet named these telling pieces. Two-Faced is a possibility.

David Tarlo's Jewelry

Jewelry – rings and pendants, including intricate skulls not shown here – are not to be relegated to arts-and-crafts, David stresses. These are sculptures. They are works of art.

A Sample of Tarlo's Photographic Art - Refractions

Like poetry in pictures, there is an emotive quality to his photographic art – refractions – buildings refracted by other glass buildings across the Dallas landscape.

Sculpture - Mask In An Arm Chair by David Tarlo

David Tarlo is a graduate of the University Of Texas (Austin). He was born in Israel, son of Polish parents, who escaped Nazi camps. David lives in Dallas Texas.

Don Fletcher hails from Rockwall, Texas. He is searching for his next new adventure, while considering screen plays.

The Journey – Your Radio Show connects with fascinating people sharing intriguing stories and novel solutions to some of life’s tricky problems.

Along with our guests, The Journey tracks the real and imaginary characters of three modern classics:

A Sound Byte Life (SBL series)
Flight Of The Fused Monkeys (Star 5 Series)
ILICET – A Time To Begin Again (Myosheka True Story Series).

These three intriguing books are available in all formats from Amazon/Kindle and Barnes&Noble/Nook on any of your smartest reading devices. Uncover why men play games. It’s not just to have fun. It’s not merely to win. And it’s definitely not to conform to the rules. Those rules are for you!

David Tarlo's Photographic Art

Poet Ric Couchman and author Neville DeAngleou read the following poems by Ric Couchman on The Journey Radio Show:

• The Feast
• Prelude to The Journey up The Mountain
• The Evidence of Things Not Seen
• RIK

Listen to these poems here:

Ric Couchman's Photographic Art - Brazil

The Journey – Your Radio Show connects with fascinating people sharing intriguing stories and novel solutions to a few of life’s tricky problems.

Along The Journey we also track the very real and imaginary characters of three modern classics:

A Sound Byte Life (SBL series)
Flight Of The Fused Monkeys (Star 5 Series)
ILICET – A Time To Begin Again (Myosheka True Story Series).

These three intriguing books are available in all formats from Amazon/Kindle and Barnes&Noble/Nook on any of your smartest reading devices. Re-discover the rhythms of the soul.

The Poet’s Advice To Young Poets

Audio: The Poet – Part 2 01/08 on The Journey | Host: Neville DeAngelou. Poet: Ric Couchman.

- Publishing is not the first priority.

- Read as many poems from others as you can.

- Poetry is compressed emotions

The first order of business is not to have to interpret the poem in order to discover its meaning. Listen to its rhythm, its tone, its beat, the emotional rhythm, the emotional tone, the emotional beat. Meaning and understanding will eventually come.

- Good poetry is simple and clear.

Don’t think of a poem as some cryptic construct with hidden meanings requiring you to dig deep to discover it or requiring you to have some special gift or insight in order its appropriate meaning. Good poetry is simple and clear.

- To write poetry you need to understand the elements of poetry.

Learn about figurative devices, figurative language, symbols, similes, metaphors, the difference between connotation and denotation.

- Be observant. And Listen.

There is a lot going on around us. There is a lot of rhythm and music and beat around. Soon, you’ll start to hear it inside; you’ll start to use words like paint. Play it back in words. Respond to that beat.

- Now you’re ready to produce really wonderful and inspiring poetry.

Best Selling Book One of the intriguing SBL series

A Sound Byte Life
by Neville DeAngelou

“Everyone living long enough will slip, fall into a deep hole and look up for help. Three hands will appear. The hand of a hustler. The hand of a riddler. And the hand of a clown. Choose wisely or be buried there.” The Sage

Which hand will you choose?

Find your way out of the hole. Re-discover your golden touch.

Escape the trap sprung amidst the clash of three superior forces. Defeat the demons of doom. For, my daddy used to say, “When elephants humping boy got no business being between.”

Powerful. Transformative. Must Read

ILICET – A Time To Begin Again by Neville DeAngelou

This is the award-winning true story of three mighty women and a boy beneath the mountain. And it is the story of the second most powerful word in the univers.

Discover the truth about why we (you and I) do the things we do the way we do them.

Engaging. Rewarding. Unforgettable.

Kirk Douglas

Yes, I’m sure you too – at sometime or another – were stunned and stilled by news of a baby in a hole, or a girl stuck in a well, or of men trapped underground in an exploded mine, or of families feared buried alive in the rubble of a massive earthquake.

Say in Haiti. Or Turkey. Or Japan. Or China.

Like me, you too, perhaps, have held your breath, glued, wondering if that person will get out, or how, or how long it will take, and what story that person will tell if he or she escapes.

And what if it is a baby – as the clock ticks? Or a puppy?

Puppy In A Hole

Something about being trapped in a deep hole grips us. A living death? Purgatory? A drab and desolate no-man’s land? Something.

Maybe it’s a primal fear!

In a journalistic piece called People In Holes, NPR reporter Mike Pesca looked back on the media magic created when a person is trapped underground. Ratings! It’s not new.

A frustrated former big-city journalist now stuck working for an Albuquerque newspaper exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to re-jump start his career, but the situation quickly escalates into an out-of-control circus.

That’s Ace In The Hole (1951). Eons before the Internet.

Here – in A Sound Byte Life, as well as, on The Journey – the media circus is not on folks’ minds. These don’t care about ratings. They are exploring (having experienced the hole) getting out! How?! & Now!

Peena is in the hole!

Aren’t we all?

We are well aware of what The Sage said so very long ago.

Everyone living long enough will slip and fall into a deep hole and look up for help. Three hands will appear. The hand of a hustler. The hand of a riddler. And the hand of a clown. Choose wisely or be buried there.

So, what is Peena to do? Which hand should she choose? Which would you?

Pathos or bathos, onlookers are gripped. Tragedy is comedy. How did she fall in, some might wonder. Why did she fall in? When did she fall in? Did she not hear the warning? Was she not told not to dig holes in the beach? Didn’t anyone tell her not to jump into manholes? Who crosses a canyon in high heels?

Pundits are ever ready, passing judgements, making predictions, blowing smoke up broad assumptions.

For a wide swath of bystanders, nothing is more fun than seeing the mighty fall. And wow! Not just onto the ground, into the hole! For some, there but for the grace of god! Many come camera-ready. Monetize. Monetize. Candid pictures are cashable. Some anticipate – hoping desperately, actually – for a change in the weather, eager for a heftier drama. Tragedy is so fun. So cashable. Or is something else really going on deep inside the human heart and mind? Deep in the psyche? Perhaps, a stir of questions.

Who is the hustler? Who is the riddler? Who is the clown? What will the mirror reveal?

It might appear that a lot depends on your angle of view. On whether you are full or hungry. On whether you are stuck or free. On who is in the hole? But does it?

Perhaps – as the clock ticks – the truth of claimed values are served in the hole.

Equally as this well-fed roundtable is hilarious, it is an enlightening discourse – voices from many walks of life: professors, professionals, parents, students, athletes, business men, young, old, retired, the employed and the unemployed. And it is insightful.

Three Hands & A Deep Hole:

How To Get Out Of The Hole

It is true that not every hole is the same in size and shape and scope. However, the feeling is the same being in the hole. The experience seems the same when you’re in the hole. The cry is practically the same form whoever is in the hole: Get Me Out Of Here! In the case of Floyd Collins, “Get me out … even if you have to tear my foot off!”

My bet is that, first and foremost, you’d want to get out, but that you’d rather come up whole.

My bet also is, you’d come out changed, even if gravity (eventually) drags you back into that same-old-same-old shell.

What's Your Bet?

Regardless, life won’t be the same, neither for you nor for those involved. However, none of that means anything unless you get out.

If The Sage is right – and experience, time and again, the world over proves The Sage is spot on point – then the question is HOW? And the best time to know the answer is NOW!

For sure, if Peena doesn’t get out in time 363 employees will lose their jobs.

Then there is the issue of her life. It’s an issue of choice. It’s an issue of urgency. It’s an issue of destiny. It’s an issue of purpose. Perhaps, it is just A Sound Byte Life! Well, decide for yourself.

But how does one get out of the hole?

Obviously, there is a matrix of strategies. They take into account the conditions of the hole, the state of the man, woman, boy, girl or baby in the hole, and the predispositions of those – if any – outside of the hole. Obviously, preparation is key. Obviously, waiting until you’re in the hole to figure out how to get out of the hole is not all that smart. Too obvious!

So how does one get out of the hole?

Regardless of the hole, etc,. these three aces come into play. The wizard recommends coming to terms with them – the sooner the better – and playing them well. Here are Your three aces:

1. Stop! Have A Reality Check (Ace Of Heart)

Marc and Angel Hack Life – Practical Tips for Productive Living presents 30 Things To Stop Doing To Yourself. It is great advice. Oddly enough, several of these tips are precisely the steps of this reality check.

Stop running from your problems. Face them head on. Stop lying to yourself. You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself. (Well, I think you’ll sooner or later believe in your lies. Then you’re a goner!). Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else. Stop trying to hold onto the past. You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one. Stop being scared to make a mistake. Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. Stop blaming others for your troubles. The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. Beware of bullies: they’ll be ever ready to remind you to blame yourself.

The reality is now you’re in the hole. You want to get out. You need a lift, a ladder, a rope, a hoist.

2. Start With What You Have! (Ace Of Diamond)

Recognize what you have with you: what’s on you, what’s around you, what’s in you, yeah, what’s above you. A lot depends on what’s in you.

In the hole, these are not helpful to you, even if they have legitimate claims on you, for they will weigh you down. Note them well: skeptical, powerless, disappointed, upset, exhausted, suspicious, confused, stressed, numb, hopeless, disinterested, anxious, sickened, defeated, indifferent, poor me. Fright! These are loads you must shed.

These are helpful: calm, energized, excited. Yes, I did say, excited. Actually, adrenaline will do that for you. Flight. Let it lift you.

3. Step It Up A Notch! Bam! (Ace Of Club)

Be prepared to build, beg or buy your way out. This is not meant to be funny. Learn the TRUE FACTS about each. Each has its consequence.

Remember, this is not a survival strategy, i.e., how to survive in the hole. This is a getting-out-of-the-hole strategy. Preparation is the key.

Have a plan before you slip into the hole. This ought to awake you wide to what The Sage said.

Whether or not you’re prepared to build, beg or buy, know that three hands will appear. The hand of a hustler. The hand of a riddler. And the hand of a clown. It is wise to know – before you’re in the hole – what each hand will come to claim.

It is wise to understand your own bargaining power. That done, Stay The Course.

Breathe in plenty of fresh air. Maintain focus on the goal. Your goal is to get out of the hole in order to stand up and flourish again.

If not, you will be well advised to have a set of survival strategies – i.e. How To Not Suffocate In The Hole. Here are a few offered by New York Times: Living With Less. Add yours to the lot. And don’t forget: someone is holding the Ace Of Spade.

A Fun Quick Read (Nook & Kindle(

References:

Living With Less (New York Times)
On The Media
A Sound Byte Life (Kindle)
A Sound Byte Life (Nook)
ILICET – A Time To Begin Again (Amazon / Kindle)
ILICET – A Time To Begin Again (Barnes&Noble / Nook)
30 Things To Stop Doing To Yourself

Season's Greetngs

My Christmas Tree is tall and evergreen.

Its branches are robust and prickly – the joyous energy of veritable brothers: David and Gaston, Brandon and Deivid, Misha and Pablo.

My Christmas tree is sprinkled with joy dust.

loads dipped from the shavings of a life alive with the love and laughter above par that of any acquired family spreading hope and cheer: Andre, Leyland, Noel, Ric, Chris, Keith, Joan, Janice, Giilan, Martha, Grace and Yvette.

My Christmas Tree is adorned with precious ornaments – cherished memories of the kinds of friends, collaborators and advisors many dream.

There is a huge star atop my Christmas tree – its crowning glory – sparkling with the sacrifices of my mom and my granny and Mother Grooms – three of the mightiest women this world has ever known.

Gifts of love, joy, peace and laughter are packed beneath my tree. For you!

And there is a manger.

The three wise ones have come from afar: Nitin Nalin, Benjamin Zuniga and June Junes – angels – anointing me – imbuing me with the courage to let the rhythms of my heart beat in tune with the waves of our universe

For I’m but a drummer boy.

The star lights my tree, which lights every city and town and village in the gleam of eyes across many nations – eyes of friends and loved ones, eyes of angels, eyes of hope and love.

These lights are sparkling with gratitude
gratitude to our soldiers who are home
gratitude to our soldiers still in the field
gratitude for all who fight for justice, peace and freedom
gratitude for those who give hope to the weak and grace to the strong

The sparkles of these lights are in eyes all around – so our roads are lit.

My Christmas tree is full of joyous song, compliments of:

• Four time Grammy-nominated artist Richard Souther – a composer, producer, arranger, sound designer and multi-keyboardist, with numerous best-selling albums – playing brilliantly, I Wonder As I Wander
• Nashville-based singer/songwriter, activist, author, composer and guitarist Gary Davis (Davis Deluxe Music) – one of the coolest voices ever – singing his composition I Wish Every Day Was Christmas
• Multi-award-winning singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and prolific performer Don Campbell lighting us up with a song that travels from his heart to every heart – Christmas Lights
• Oswald & The Herringbones, GBS Records, Columbus OH led by John Botzenius and Tom Boyer – Feeding The Hungry and Poor Through Music – gets us going with their joyously eclectic rendition of Hark The Herald Angels Sing
• The Yule Logs – the hardest working band in Show Business, who knows The Seven Ways To Ruin Your Holiday Party – underscores our sentiment with a rollicking performance of We Wish You A Merry Christmas

My Christmas Tree is your Christmas tree – yours ever to enjoy.

I wonder what your tree is like.

I wonder, as I wander, how you are in this moment: cuddled, cozy, warm, happy, smiling, sweet, busy, relaxed, grateful?

May your dreams come true.

Merry Christmas.
Happy Hanukkah
Cherished Kwanza

Season's Greetngs

Listen to the beat of A Boy’s Heart (part 1)

Poems read live:

A View From The Cradle (Human Contradiction / Domestic Violence)
The Passion Of The Dragon Fly
The Answer To Eliot’s Question

Appearing in this episode of The Journey are:

Gaston Cuadranti
Ric Couchman in A Boy’s Heart
Anita Marina
Sherry Sykes
Shumba
Neville DeAngelou
A dramatized episode of A Sound Byte Life.

Reference:
T.S. Eliot
Dragonfly
Domestic Violence Resource Center
Genesis Women’s Center
Domestic Violence Awareness Project

Ric Couchman

It is a very special time for me – together again. We’ve traveled far and wide. Met and engaged all kinds of people. Philosophers and poets. Teachers and leaders. Intellectuals and puppets. One-perecnters. The left-aside and the cast out. We’ve heard. Seen. Looked and listened. Been moved. Transformed. Taken on hills. Mountains. Rapids. Long winding roads. Running. With champions. And alone. We’ve not taken on the sitting-down-foot-up view of life. We’ve seen some that do. Fat.

The journey – hard – is sweet. The fire inside is, if not more, as hot as when we were boys – aware. This old rock just keeps rolling on. If we but let it roll by on the blindside it’s likely to swing around and swallow or flatten us as it does so many – far too many.

It is an incredible joy meeting him again. Meet him with me on The Journey – your Radio Show. Listen to the beat of A Boy’s Heart.

The View from the Cradle

The storm explodes around the cradle.
A roaring torrent of insults,
A deluge of viciousness,
The thunderous onslaught of blows,
A downpour of hostility,
A flashflood of rage.
The unbearable turbulence overwhelms the flesh.
Foreshadowed is the baton’s fury.
[The children weep for Rachel.]ı
Anticipated is the hammer’s wrath.
[The children weep for Rachel.]

The calm settles around the cradle,
Arresting the storm.
All is quiet now,
Except for labored breathing,
Except for a broken whimper.
A bloodied finger,
A basin of water,
A washcloth.
No words are exchanged.
Violence gives place to tenderness.
In the cradle, the child weeps for Rachel.

ı A deliberate inversion of the verse in Jeremiah 31:15

By Ric Couchman
5/5/2000

- The Passion of the Dragonfly
- The Answer to Eliot’s Question

The Feast

We carried ourselves proudly.
None knew the privation we endured -
The pangs of hunger,
The longing for a morsel
Our source of strength?
Each other and the god of heaven.
Our source of sustenance?
The nearby canefield.
The bare pantry mocked us.
The empty table taunted us.
Well did we understand Oliver, poor child,
And the widows and the fatherless,
And those overwhelmed by penury.
But we held our heads high,
Daring hunger to do its worse,
Refusing to be humbled,
To be brought down.
We dared to live,
Resisting defeat,
While the wolves of starvation lay siege around us.

I came home that afternoon
And what awaited?
A feast.
A feast, the envy of the gods,
A banquet rivaling those of kings.
Five plates,
Five hungry mouths.
The table was set.
No baked meats adorned its surface,
No wine to make glad the heart,
No desserts to transport the soul to heights of delight,
But a miracle lay in each plate -
Porridge,
The union of grated cassava, sugar, and water,
A feast like none other,
A feast incomparable.

By Ric Couchman
May 14, 2003

- Least Of These by Ric Couchman – A Powerful Photographic Mirror

Prelude to the Journey Up the Mountain

And must I blindly follow Your command,
Doing that thing most difficult which You ask,
Raising the question whether a heart You possess?
But no argument from me will You get,
For against You I am no match.
Yet I rebel, not in refusal, but in acquiescence.
For in so doing I rise above You in morality.
No cause for worry is mine, no feeling of guilt,
Since Heaven’s endorsement have I acquired,
While Hell looks on gleeful, encouraging,
Mocking, awaiting the completion of the act.

Well that dreaded night I recollect
When from You the words I received -
Fatal and murderous words which none should hear -
Shattering a father’s peace,
Disturbing the order of things.
Well that night I do remember
When at hearing those words
The heavens and the earth hurled forth their protest,
Thundering and quaking their displeasure,
Bewailing the abuse of power,
The Despot’s whimsical pleasure construed as test.
Later that night I watched him as he slept -
Oblivious of the Divine plot,
Serene, peaceful, trusting, innocent -
Him to whom I gave life, “Oh, son.”
A life soon to be snuffed out, snatched away.

From fitful sleep this solemn morn I rise,
Lonely and friendless, aged and wiser,
But now with a heart of stone.
Of that which I was asked to do,
I cannot speak.
Of that which I am about to do,
Neither friends nor wife can be privy,
For they will consider me among those
From whom reason has taken flight,
Among those to be examined, put away, confined.
But far hence and in many places
Fools will analyze and expound upon this event.
Deeming me praiseworthy,
Those guided by faith will laud my faith,
Holding me up as its witness and model.

But ask any child – two, three, four, or five…
Whether such an instruction its endorsement has,
Whether such an instruction it would follow.
Note the incredulity in its response;
Note the resounding, “No!”
Note further, its belief that
No such instruction from Him would come,
For such would call into question His goodness.
But, ah! What does a child know?
Who would pay it any mind?
In the meantime, then, up to the mountain I will go,
There to confute existence,
To obliterate innocence;
There to affirm the Unjust,
To give definition to my being,
And to dare to confront the universe.

By
Ric Couchman
December 5, 2011

The Evidence of Things Not Seen

Into that place,
Where transcendence meets imminence,
They came –
Mother and child,
She purposeful,
He hesitant, diffident, timid.

In that place
Where stained glass tell stories
And sculptures with wistful gaze
Look down upon votaries,
They stood –
Child and mother,
Embraced by the silence
Awed by the holy,
That place of last resort
After all else fails.

In that place,
They knelt, side by side,
Mother and child.
No chance visit this,
But by maternal love propelled,
A mother’s desperate heart
Pours out words unspoken
While he with staff in hand
And The Child on his back
Looks down.
Were those sightless eyes
Capable of sight
They would see
The boy’s adoring gaze.
But who could know
Those words of sacred whispers
That from that child flowed,
The pain,
The suffering,
The nights of restless sleep.
Who could know
A mother’s anguish
While, daily and helplessly,
Upon her suffering child she looked.
The “burnt offering” is made,
Put there in the little box by the boy.
A mere penny –
Like the widow’s mite -
But a sweet fragrance.

From that place
They went, hand in hand,
Child and mother,
Anticipating, expectant, hopeful.

By
Ric Couchman
9/12/2001

- RIK

. . . . More Poems by Ric Couchman

The Journey – Your Radio Show connects with fascinating people sharing intriguing stories and novel solutions to some of life’s tricky problems.

Along The Journey we also track the very real and imaginary characters of three modern classics:

A Sound Byte Life (SBL series)
Flight Of The Fused Monkeys (Star 5 Series)
ILICET – A Time To Begin Again (Myosheka True Story Series).

These three intriguing books are available in all formats from Amazon/Kindle and Barnes&Noble/Nook on any of your smartest reading devices. Feel the beat of a boy’s heart.

Best Selling Book One of the intriguing SBL series

A Sound Byte Life
by Neville DeAngelou

“Everyone living long enough will slip, fall into a deep hole and look up for help. Three hands will appear. The hand of a hustler. The hand of a riddler. And the hand of a clown. Choose wisely or be buried there.” The Sage

Which hand will you choose?

Find your way out of the hole. Re-discover your golden touch. Escape the trap sprung by the clash of three superior forces. Defeat the demons of doom.

Powerful. Transformative. Must Read

ILICET – A Time To Begin Again
by Neville DeAngelou

This is the award-winning true story of three mighty women and a boy beneath the mountain. And it is the story of the second most powerful word in the univers.

Discover the truth about why we (you and I) do the things we do the way we do them.

Engaging. Rewarding. Unforgettable.

Whether it is family, fame, fortune or favor, exactly what seals a deal?

This question is put to German Professional Tennis Player Tobias Clemens, to an SEO/Internet Marketing Consultant Jared Carrizales, and to our Texas Instrument Lead Engineer, Nitin Nalin, as well as, to three up-and-comers. Their instructive responses are top-notch and amusing, birthing a new twin term: likeability-linkability – one of the most effective proven methods of racing up the social networking hierarchy to seal the big deal.

I love it.

What seals the deal for you?

In context – christmas – what seals the deal for you is a two-pronged question.

Its first prong is implicit: what triggers that feeling of Christmas in you? This is the ticklish prick. Their answers made me chuckle like a ganja-choked teenager.

My answer is easy: Nat King Cole singing O Come All Ye Faithful.

Back when I was a boy, though, it was my mother belting out The Twelve Days Of Christmas that did it to me, and when I was a lad it was a Secret Admirer’s first Christmas Card. Who was that? Still a secret to me.

So, what triggers that special Christmas feeling in you?

The second prong of this ticklish question is explicit (wink-wink): how do you win that cherished stamp-of-approval – the big deal? It’s a slog negotiating this saturated social cloud? So how do you get it? This is the sweet prick.

It is not so much that our SEO’s answer is new – though, it might be to many – I like it because it is clear cut and clean. And it turns out that the magical tingle most of us feel in the midst of sealing-the-big-deal has nothing to do with magic. Really!

Or beauty – entirely.

Though, that helps.

(Don’t worry, God don’t make no ugly child. Just get a better mirror. It’s cheap.)

So, if Claus (wink-wink) delivers the present down the chimney in the dead of a wintry night – on the 24th – and it lights up all your cockles, you’re APPROVED! If Claus doesn’t come, it’s all your fault, but don’t worry – be happy – it isn’t the end. Just yet. (Wink-wink. Wink-wink.)

So, who is your Santa? How do you win his stamp of approval? Where are those puppy-faced reindeers? Who has the sleigh? Behind which door is the big chocolate? What seals the big deal, whether for family, fame, fortune or favor?

Somebody knows.

And here it is for free.

Tobias Clemens - SMU Tennis Coach

Anyway, our favorite German Professional Tennis Player, SMU Coach and UCLA Grad – Tobias Clemens – reveals the secret trigger of the special Christmas feeling.

STARBUCKS!

And how do you seal the Big Deal? Well, let’s just say that Tobias makes a big revelation on air. “I ate all her chocolate.” Huh? Yes. He ate all of her chocolate. There is a secret in there. Grab the chocolate AND eat it – QUICK! This reminds me very much of that marvelous pocket-sized Quick Read revelation, The Rat And The Alley Cat (How To Get What You Want While You’re Busy Changing The World).

Much like that twinkly alley cat, it didn’t appear to me that Tobias was one bit sad about eating all her chocolate. Bad boy!

But it turns out that bad boys are quite good. Really. They know what they want. They find out where it is. They go and grab it – all of it! And they eat it all. Yep. Into the belly! All gone. Can you spot the mystery secret? Or do you feel queasy?

Confident of his prowess and pleased to be on The Journey – Our Matchbox Mystery Radio Show sharing this secret, and twinkling through his apology to the chocolate-less cry-baby, while expressing sincere gratitude to his Los Angeles Christmas family, Tobias allows us a solid piece of his precious advice – the one thing we must do before we die: go to Machu Pichu.

I endorse the sentiment.

Thank you, Tobias.

Jared Carrizales - Independent SEO/Internet Marketing Consultant

Well, that’s all good and great for chocolate lovers, but what about our young entrepreneurs, social butterflies and creative geniuses who desperately want to climb the crowded ladder of internet visibility to seal that deal – fame and fortune?

Or, in the spirit of the season, how does one get those robust reindeers to fetch fat Santa to our chimneys to deliver our goodies?

SEO Consultant Jared Carrizales reveals it all on The Journey – Our Radio Show.

To clarify – for those of us non-techie creatives: SEO = Search Engine Optimization.

You know how you google a key-word or a question when you are searching for a particular set of information? You don’t want junk. And you don’t want to dig through ten pages to find it. Right?

Well, these guys – SEOs – know exactly what GOOGLE (other search engines too) needs in order to make YOU the TOP response to a visitor’s search requests – if you know you’ve got what that seeker needs. These SEOs know exactly how to give you that HIGH Ranking in every search engine. They can improve your SNH Score i.e. your SOCIAL NETWORKING HIERARCHY SCORE. I just made that term up. Ain’t that cool?

So, what can you and I, rather, MUST YOU & I do to climb to the top of the social ladder? Lots! Here’s is what’s cool too. The answer is exactly the same for how to attract your most favored Christmas guests to your twinkly christmas tree if you want them to enjoy the gifts there AND it is exactly the same for how to lure the choicest meatloaves into your love nest so you could enjoy their tastiest treats. Okay, we have to switch on our brains now. Uh!

Here is the gist (in non-technical, non emotional terms):

Give them what they want – nothing more, nothing less. YES!

Wrap it in their favorite wrap; if they don’t like it wrapped, DON’T!

Dip your twinkles in cinnamon. Don’t sing – unless they want you to sing. DON’T ARGUE … unless you are looking for a fight! Laugh. Laugh. Laugh. And they’ll stay.

Like it - if you like it. Regardless, THAT HAT IS THE COOLEST THING EVER, if Aunty Poo-Poo thinks it is the coolest hat ever. Laugh later.

They like; you like: You’re approved. Sit by the fire. Coffee? Martini? Cuddle. Knock yourself out.

DON’T want the riffraff? Put a SIGN at the gate: Merry XMas – Have A Happy New Year; C U Later.

IMPORTANT: No one really gives a damn if Santa is your daddy! Unless . . .

Here is the gist – if you’re a geek!

• Starbucks!
• Hot! Have what they want: rich, usable, quality content; clear, concise, clickable
• Hot! Have easy-to-find address: applicable key words, targeted tags, appropriate title
• Hot! Don’t badger, build! Your visitors are your builders: they like, they link – think ants
• Hot! Laughter lasts longer
• Hot! Likability = Linkability; think doggie; licky-licky = likie-likie; the ladder, baby!
• Very Cold! Rants. Rages. Spam. Buy-buy. Buy-buy. Buy-buy.

IMPORTANT! Santa Claus is coming to town … YOU have to wave him over!

Imagine building the best lounge on a busy block. Know who you want to come in. Build it totally FOR THEM and they will come! They want to see Santa too.

Just Imagine If Life was all this way! Hmm?

What happens if you’ve already screwed up? You’ve already dug yourself a deep hole? How do you get out? Solving these little and not-so-little mysteries of our lives are the serious business of The Journey’s humor and the challenges of The Journey’s guests.

Whether it is about how to get out of a hole, how to rejuvenate a dried-up life, how to start over with your best foot forward, how to fix your ugly toes, why men have nipples, or how to get that dog to stop humping your leg; it doesn’t matter, The Journey seeks the answer. That is why we are tracking the fascinating characters in A Sound Byte Life. Nitin Nalin, our third guest and future cohost. Offer his bit of advice too. It’s sound, but I couldn’t stop laughing.

Join Us On The Journey - Share Your Story.

Neville DeAngelou

Yes. That’s the new number. Seven billion. And counting. Never more than now was there such convincing evidence we live in a big fat global village. Every time a fairy shakes a leaf or taps a rock the fanned rumble is felt across the bottoms of every caterpillar across earth. We are that close – like it or not – that intricately interconnected. Yes. We live in one big fat rumble. Ai-yai-yai!

There! Did you feel that?

The moment is ripe again. That moment reminiscent of Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo, Amerigo Vespucci, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan and the rest of that restless lot, who venturing in search of what lies beyond stumbled into earthy aliens – savages, they called them. Hmm?

Well-well! Some might say today’s smarties have discovered as much savagery, if not more, in the souls of roving conquerors. Some might even have found wizards to be right – Aha! – finding in them all the drums of that eternal echo: never a conquer true, always a trap; trapped behind the gorge – savages eating savages to the full fat. Hmm? Wizards speak funny.

Be it so or not, the moment is ripe again. We’re feeling the itch. Onto a new frontier! Off to new worlds! What lies behind? What lies beneath? What lies beyond? But this time advancing smarter? Wiser? More enlightened?

To which world shall we venture? That far earth? A thousand fold scattered. That inner earth? So teensy-bittsy told. Serious matter. There is much more to discover.

Let’s fan out.

You, off into the heart of divinity. You, off into dark energy. You! To that new universe – packed with supernatural worlds – the fertile land of literature, their scary skies teeming with monsters – the realm of angels. I say aye! Aye! Aye! Aye!

SUPERNATURAL

In this episode of The Journey, serious Supernatural fans gather from across the air waves to re-live favorite supernatural moments. They discuss favorite supernatural foods and share how the brotherhood (family love) inspire and thrill them.

Two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, bound by tragedy, travel across the country on a mission. They encounter terrifying and dangerous forces. They hunt monsters.

This haunting series on The CW has an incredibly impressive fan base. SUPERNATURAL is up for two People’s Choice Awards: Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show and Favorite Network TV Drama. Well wishes fan out. Oy-oy-oy!

The realm of supernatural is not restricted to TV land; it extends far beyond, across and through our iPhones, iPads, Nooks, Kindles and favorite digital devices in A Sound Byte Life as well as in Flight Of The Fused Monkeys. Enjoy. Live. Laugh. Love. Seek. Re-discover. Here, a young soldier, Baba, bound for A Place Called Ah, determined to find the mysterious Blue Stone, determined to avenge his truth, determined to find his Gra’Pa, must of necessity cross chasms, battle monsters, and conquer fears.

Oh! And there discover – as only the fool never does – that freedom will never continually remain bound, restrained or asleep, and waking does not shake free of its shackles, rather yanks those chains, ripping the very foundations to which they are anchored then flies above the burying rubble, and the rumble is heard far and wide. It will never be any other way. Freedom knows every tyrant, every bully, every monster – variants of the same cheat – has only one weapon: a dare! The tyrant, by whatever disguise, dares freedom to exist chained or risk being to be free. It’s a dare. Always a dare. The bound must choose, for it is the bound that was netted whilst asleep.

David's Gratitude Pick - Courage, Hustle, Victory

Have we forgotten how to give thanks? Is sincere gratitude on the decline or the rise?

This week The Journey – Matchbox Mystery Radio Show is sprinkled with laughter, as university students from the Caribbean, Europe, US and South America explore the well of GRATITUDE. They discuss favorite movies most authentically expressive of their feelings of gratitude and appreciation of life then debate which hand each would pick to pluck him or her out of a deep hole. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE.

Mischa's Pick - Family Life & Love, Hustler

Sarah's Gratitude Pick - Love, Romance, Laughter - The clown

Gasrton's Pick - Laughter, Living Life - The hustler

Pablo's Pick - Life, Security, Love - The riddler

Charles Dickens gave us this advice. “Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has plenty not on your past misfortunes of which all men have some.”

G.B Stern said, “Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.”

GRATITUDE: what is it? Isn’t it A GREAT ATTITUDE?

Balthazar Gracian said, “He that has satisfied his thirst turns his back on the well.”

The Sage of A Sound Byte Life said, “Everyone living long enough will slip into a deep hole then look up for help. Three hands will appear: the hand of a hustler, the hand of a riddler and the hand of a clown. Choose wisely or be buried there.”

So what is GRATITUDE?

Is it a great attitude? Is it clasped hands lifted to lips silenced by the magnanimity of grace? Is it unvoiced thanks – nought but a gentle kiss: moistened lips resting upon ripe cheeks – the giver blooming? What is gratitude? Bitter sweet. There – but for the lifting hand – left to the glories of the hole. Grateful. Gratitude! The joy of gratefulness. A well of hope. A spring. Or is it a heart betook by the wonder of interdependence?

Traveling on The Journey through intriguing places and meeting fascinating people with novel solutions we encounter the many beautiful ways people LIVE, LAUGH and LOVE.

One of the more joyous experiences while exploring our individual feelings of gratitude came as we were enjoining Louie Schwartzberg’s TED presentation on Gratitude. Louie Schwartzberg is an award-winning cinematographer, director and producer. Oh, blessed to have eyes, what a colorful feast!

We are reminded to “Look at the faces of people you meet. Each one has an incredible story . . . a story we could never fully fathom; not only their own story but the story of their ancestors . . . it’s like life giving water, if you only open your heart and drink.”

Look At The FACES of the people you meet.

GRATITUDE. What is it? Is it on the decline or on the rise? Who will we pick to lift us out of the hole we’re in? Which hand are you, should a cry of help tickle your heart?

Live! Laugh! Love! This is your life: only you can live it.

Enjoy.

NB: Actors dramatizing A Sound Byte Life on this episode of The Journey are:

An SBL Series

A Sound Byte Life by Neville DeAngelou is available in all formats at Amazon / kindle and Barnes&Noble /Nook for all your smart reading devices.

“A smart, rich, sensuously savvy read.”

“Funny. Poignant. Memorable.”

“A book that will endure the ages.”

Next episode a team from SUPERNATURAL joins us on The JOURNEY. Meet us there.