"Coyote" - by Bret Harte

Bret Harte (1836-1902)
---------  "Coyote"

Blown out of the prairie in twilight and dew,
Half bold and half timid, yet lazy all through;
Loathe ever to leave, and yet fearful to stay,
He limps in the clearing, an outcast in gray.

A shade on the stubble, a ghost by the wall,
Now leaping, now limping, now risking a fall,
Lop-eared and large jointed, but ever alway
A thoroughly vagabond outcast in gray.

Here, Carlo, old fellow,— he’s one of your kind,—
Go, seek him, and bring him in out of the wind.
What! Snarling, my Carlo! So even dogs may
Deny their own kin in the outcast in gray.

Well, take what you will,— though it be on the sly,
Marauding or begging,— I shall not ask why,
But will call it a dole, just to help on his way
A four-footed friar in orders of gray!

"Don't have a cow, man!" - by Hénock Gugsa

"Don't have a cow, man!" *
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by Hénock Gugsa   For many years now, Bart Simpson, that incorrigible brat from TV, has regularly and irreverently told everybody: "Don't have a cow, man!" It seems to me that this is the mantra we should adopt when faced with seemingly insurmountable crises and dilemmas in life. The only exception could be if we were somehow personally and individually responsible for creating those situations in the first place. However, we can and perhaps should show a modicum of sincere empathy and concern for all serious situations all the same.

- So, a bridge collapses and kills 13 people. Should the immediate reaction be to find somebody to blame? No, the tragedy has already occurred. As a citizen, I can only mourn the loss of lives, and hope that a proactive investigation is done that will be instructive enough to help us correct the avoidable human mistakes.

- A government adopts wrong-headed policies and stubbornly executes them in the face of so much opposition, then grapples with the predictable disasters that ensue. All I can do is vote against those responsible ... the incompetent and unworthy elected officials. It should not matter what party they belong to.

- Someone somewhere loudly and passionately writes in support of his political party, and bemoans and besmirches the demurrers as liberals, neocons, libtards, democRats, republitards, lefties, righties, commies, fascists, pro-American, anti-American, traitors, fundies, wingnuts, gay lovers, homophobes, hypocrites, zealots, racists, sexists, bigots, neanderthals, progressives, reactionaries, bolsheviks, mensheviks, etc. But what does it all mean? Why even discuss any issue if everything can be settled by just name-calling, labeling, and pigeonholing?

Conclusion: I think that all of us (i.e. each and everyone) are really more complex in our thoughts, our beliefs, and our actions. Even the most "so-called" die-hard capitalist can, at some point, succumb to moments of humaneness and give in to compassion and charity. Hence hope and optimism always stay unvanquished for the nation.

Our country has numerous unsung heroes who have sprung from all walks of life, and they are always doing wonderfully good deeds. But these folk don't advertise their good work. They are quiet, they stay under the radar, and they like to keep it that way. Maybe they are the true practitioners of Bart's philosophy. They try to right a wrong, to mend the broken, to feed the hungry, and to love the unloved.

Have a cow? No, not them! 
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* "Don't have a cow, man!" ~ © Hénock Gugsa  ( ሄኖክ  ጉግሣ ) - 04/07/2010