I Was Too Tired To Live Today

More Than Meets The Eye

As the sun falls in the west along the canal
we dream that we could store it in a jar for children to wow.
For as the darkness closes in on us we've little to say,
except it is not what it seems to try to portray.

About Yesterday's Missed Session

The Grand Design

I didn't mean to forget you.
I do the best I can,
life is moving far too fast
but I can only stand.
Stand and watch the world go by,
disabled, not a man,
while all that was me is no more
and I'm left out of the plan.

Who Said You Can't Go Home?

Are We There Yet?

I’m in a bad mood—I don’t know what for.
I’m tired and achy, my back is sore.
I start my vacation in just a few days
but I’m not looking forward to taking off days.
I don’t feel like working, I don’t feel like play,
I just feel like sleeping the rest of the way
to where I am going or where I have been…
Are we there yet, Daddy? Can we go home again?

If You're A Victim Of A Crime In Guilford County, North Carolina

Don't assume the police, the magistrate, the clerk of court or the district attorney will get their act together.

NC AOC CIS
400 Guilford
File #: 09CR 099028

On November 17th 2009, while on the job at the recycling center, I was assaulted. I called the police as the accused was speeding away from the property and the officer came to take a report.

Later that same day I went to the Guilford County Magistrate's Office and filed charges against the man who had assaulted me. The man behind the window took the form I'd filled out, scratched through several lines I'd written, without explanation, and told me a warrant would be served. Included on that form were the names and addresses of several eye witnesses.

The man who assaulted me is a life long criminal, on probation with a record as long as my arm. If found guilty of anything he goes back into the North Carolina Prison System.

When the court date finally came around in April 2010. I was the first person in line when the doors to the courthouse were unlocked, but the defendant failed to appear. The judge ordered he be arrested and placed under a $500 bond. In late June I got a telephone call from someone in the Greensboro Police Department telling me to be in court on July 9th. I was also warned by that same person not to let them wear me down to the point of giving up as that is a common tactic used by criminals and their lawyers.

As the second court date drew closer I wondered why no one from any branch of the court system had bothered to call me to hear my side of the story before taking the case to court. I also wondered why none of the wittinesses (All people I see every day) had bothered to mention their summons to appear as a witness. On July 9th I learned that none of the witnesses had ever been called.

About 10 minutes before I was called before the judge I was asked by someone from the DA's office to explain what happened. In the course of telling her the story I mentioned the witnesses only to be told by her that no witnesses were listed on any of the paperwork the DA had for the case. She asked me to write down names and contact information for my witnesses and handed me a piece of paper.

When the case was called to trial the DA asked for a continuance in light of new evidence-- namely witnesses whose names she had only just been made aware of. The defendant's council said to the defendant, "I thought you said there were no wittinesses." He only shook his head and looked at the floor.

The defense objected to rescheduling the case but the judge overruled and scheduled the next court date for August 26, 2010.

I couldn't sleep last night as I somehow knew something else was going to go wrong. To my knowledge, none of the witnesses had been called upon to testify or even appear. No one from the DA's office had contacted me either. I decided I had to make sure that justice would be served as the next trial is only a month away and time is running short.

I tried using the telephone but after 2 hours of being told I was calling the wrong person I got in my car and drove to the Guilford County courthouse, checked in with security and found the DA's office.

After about an hour in the DA's office I was given the document referenced above and told to go downstairs to the Clerk of Court's Office and hand the paper to them. On the bottom half of the form the following hand written instructions were written for the clerk of court:

"Victim gave a list of witnesses to be subpoenaed for the next court date.

No one was subpoenaed--

1. Should subpoenas have gone out?

2. Witnesses names & addresses were not entered in ACIS

3. I've just entered them--"

In a minute or so I was handed back the note and told they could not subpoena witnesses unless directed to do so by the DA's office. I handed the note back to the lady and gently said, "Read the note."

Minutes later there were 3 people from the clerk's office and one man who came down from the DA's office, all working on getting the subpoena filed and entered into the system. When they brought the form back to me the second time it was stamped: FILED July 26th PM 2:20, Guilford County.

If you're a victim of a crime in Guilford County do not assume the wheels of justice will turn. Do not depend on the police, magistrate, clerk of court or DA to get it right. Do not waste time on the telephone. You're easily ignored on the telephone and the phones never stop ringing at the courthouse. Instead, drive downtown and get yourself face to face with the various officers of the court. Be polite and nice but express your concerns that someone just might drop the ball.

Come August 26th you'll again find me patiently waiting at the head of the line for the Guilford County Courthouse to open. As for right now it's back to the junkyard.

Junkyards As Literary Meccas?

I really don't need yet another blog/webzine but because my office is besieged with calls from folks looking to buy used auto parts, and we don't sell used auto parts, I decided to refer all those callers to GreensboroJunkyards.com where I'm attempting to list all the used auto parts dealers in the Piedmont Triad Region of North Carolina.

Anyway, just making lists gets kinda boring so I decided to add a bit of junkyard humor to pass the time and give folks reason to read the site even if they don't need auto parts. Sorry about all the advertising but we're hoping to earn a little something to cover the inordinate amount of time we spend telling people we don't sell auto parts. Why just this morning I sent 12 callers to GreensboroJunkyards.com and with an average of 8 page views per reader I'd guess they're finding the parts they need at no cost to the customers or dealers we list there. Some days I field a hundred such calls.

The infrastructure is in place for local businesses to buy low cost advertising that caters almost completely to Triad audiences and the available virtual real estate is in the most coveted locations on the site. In the meantime, enjoy a little junkyard humor to pass the time.

We're also accepting and sometimes paying for submissions for Junkyard Humor, Junkyard Poetry, Tales From The Junkyard, Junkyard Photos, Junkyard Histories and stories about Junkyard Dogs. Text, cartoons, video-- any form you wish. We'll pay small fees for the right to use your works for no less than 1 year and you still retain the right to use your works anywhere else you wish.

Finally, while we only plan to list used parts dealers located in or near the Piedmont Triad (Someone else is free to snag the Triangle) we do hope to make Greensboro Junkyards the best virtual junkyard in the world.

Can You Do A Job Too Well?

Prescribing Yourself Out Of Work?

A little pill, that's all it took
to make the pain go 'way.
I didn't need to pay your fee
or hear what you might say.
A little pill, that's all it took.
Just little pills galore.
I'm glad you told me, "Take the pill,"
but do I need you any more?

Predictions Of Futures Past

Surprise Mushrooms!

Mushrooms hide beneath the ground
waiting 'til the time is right
to pierce their thallus through the earth
to catch a glimpse of light.

No one knows where they come from
or where the mushrooms go
extending their hypha 'round the world
to places no one knows.

They're the cockroaches of Plantae--
surviving all that's torn,
giving back the gift of life
to all man has forlorn.

The Never Ending War

PTSD

That feeling in the pit of my stomach--
it stayed with me all night.
And though I tried to fend it off
I fear it's won the fight.
The darkness that surrounded me
has turned day into night
and going back to where I was
fills my heart with fright.

Let Me Show You My Granddaughters

Here's my Sunshine, Betty Jo and Daisy.

Sunshine was born to Mr Green Jeans (an Auracana) and Sadie May (Breed unknown) and was hatched by See (a Bantam Silkie) who also raised the others. Betty Jo, I bought a week old and named her after my mother because like Momma, this little Dominicker is really smart. I can't remember Daisy's breed but like Betty Jo, she came from the Southern States store at 1 week of age. All 3 should start laying by Summer's end.

See, 2 Dominickers and one like Daisy have since moved about 2 blocks up the street to live with a nice but lonely rooster I gave away about a year ago.

Note To My Shrink:

After reading The Adventures Of The Vegetable Stalker you'll never look at vegetables the same way.