http://www.jillsobule.com/showandtell.html
(bottom of the page, in the black bar)

http://matte.silent-e.com/heard/index.php?path=jill/

ME - As an acting teacher of mine once said, if it’s gotta be all or nothing, more often than not, it’s gonna be nothing. And he was a big mass of gray area, himself.

SONNY LISTON by Jill Sobule

Dad knew Sonny Liston
He took care of both of his dogs
He had a signed color photo of him
In the basement bar

Next to Sonny Liston
Was a picture of my uncle Matt
With a couple of gangster buddies
In a ???? hat

And the rain it came
And the pipes are bound to burst
What was worse
Was that all of these things I am talking about
They are gone
Gone for good
Washed away
In the flood that came that day

Down there in the basement
Smelling of cedar and pine
Sprawled out with toys and comic books all the time

A helmet and a Purple Heart
That my dad got in World War II
And a poster of David Bowie as the Thin White Duke

And the rain it came
And the pipes are bound to burst
What was worse
Was that all of these things that I’m talking about
They are gone
Gone for good
Washed away
In the flood that came that day

And the rain it came
And the pipes are bound to burst
What was worse
Was that all of these things that I’m talking about
They are gone
Gone for good
Washed away
In the flood that came that day

What is worse
Was that all of these things that I’m talking about
They are gone
Gone for good
Washed away
In the flood that came that day

Charles - You’re welcome, my friend. Sometimes no words are better. More room for reflection. (I oughta know–I am HARD to shut up!)

Dave - “Almost?!?” What’s it gonna take? :-)

You know, I’ll bet that cringe-inducing stuff is not as bad as you think. In fact, I’ll bet we could swap journals and have a lot more compassion for the young author than if we read our own.

I know we’re supposed to start at home, but it seems like it’s hardest to have compassion for ourselves. Sometimes, anyway.

Thank you, I thought I was the only one who did that. I read private stuff I wrote down from long ago, cringe, and thank God no one else has read it but me. But yeah, I still hold on to them. Maybe I can read them someday without wincing.

“Most of all, it has helped me find compassion in my heart that I might not have found otherwise for my mother and for people like her. People who cause pain even while surely they wish they could stop.”

That’s really what it’s all about, isn’t it? This post almost brought tears to my eyes.