DUMAGUETE

I found Dumaguete
Hot and sweaty,
Poor and dusty,
Kind of musty,
And not so pretty.


(March 25 we visited the city of Dumaguete on the Philippine island of Negros. We had been there before in 2006. I took a walk, and the rampant poverty made me thankful for the prosperity of my homeland.)

BOHOL BEACH CLUB

Palm trees, sand and sun.
Beach resort right well done.
Flowers and beauty all around.
Tasty chow to be downed.
Not surprised it's number one.


(March 23 & 24, 2008 we stayed at the Bohol Beach Club Resort on Bohol Island in the Phiippines. Our guide said it is the best of the 27 resorts in its district.)

SINGAPORE AIRLINES

On a long and tedious flight
Singapore Air treats you right.
I am impressed.
They are the best
And a great delight.


(March 21 & 22, 2008 we flew from San Francisco to Seoul on Singapore Airlines en route to the Philippines. We then flew from Seoul to Cebu on Aisiana Airlines, and they were good also.)

BHUTAN

Democracy is the plan
Of the king of Bhutan.
Democrats reluctantly
Her citizens be
Now that vote they can.


(Based on an article in the 21 March 2008 Los Angeles Times.)

LOS ANGELES

I see L.A. from two angles.
With urban problems she entangles.
But her beaches and her weather great
And ridgeline trails are tasty bait
Which she dangles.

L.A. is a desert city.
Yet flowers bloom there pretty.
Don't know whence she gets her water.
If she gets less than she oughta,
'Twill be a pity.

WHAT A SHAME!

I write poems, hike, bike, and run.
To me these things are fun.
So they’ve become my biz.
Yet I know a shame it is
That I get so little reading done.


(Having known this all along, I was reminded of it while reading interesting articles in National Geographic while flying to L.A. March 18.)

PARKING PROWESS

Her hopes of passing were dashed
When into the DMV she crashed.
A policeman unforgiving
Issued a charge of reckless driving,
But it may be quashed.

As her sister was remarking,
She was merely parking.
Caution was her intent.
It was an accident.
To this they may be harking.

No doubt it caused some to frown
That the DMV was shut down.
Let’s hope her insurance
Will cover all the expense.
But that is not yet known.


(A lady crashed into the Leesburg, VA DMV Service Center 17 March 2008 while trying to park during her driver license exam. The office had to be shut down. She was charged with reckless driving.)

FRONT PAGE HEAD START

With the front page, no doubt it's smart
To get a good head start.
That way for pages one and two
The printing you can do
A year apart.

Though trivial be this issue,
Check your March 6 issue.
It's 07 on the front side
And 08 on the back side
Of the initial tissue.


(The front page of the 6 March 2008 Pocahontas Times was marked 2007. The other pages were correcty marked 2008.)

WHETSTONE RIDGE TRAIL HIKE

Over to Buena Vista we rode,
And on out South River Road.
Then in the run around along Irish Creek,
We seven hikers and two hounds sleek
Were a well-packed one-car load.

'Twas a ridgeline hike
With scenic views to like.
I loved it loads,
And those country roads
Would be fun to bike.

Always on the run,
Laura's dogs had tons of fun.
The weather was just fine
Along that ridgeline:
No rain, some clouds, some sun.

Seven hours we hiked with glee,
Then came out to the cars finally.
This you should understand:
The last trail of this hike well-planned
Was built by the CCC.

For the mountains I am thankful.
Of treasure they're like a bankful.
Though lacking in agility,
Of trail hiking ability
I still have half a tankful.

Should have been spreading lime.
But as for spending time,
I prefer doing it this way.
What more can I say
And make it rhyme?


(12-mile NBATC hike led by Norman Sykora 16 March 2008)

GIFTS FOR GULU 5K

I entered this race
To check out my pace
And also because
'Twas for a good cause.
LC was the place.


(This race on a perfect March morning at Lynchburg College was a benefit for children in Gulu, Uganda, a place where children have been victimized and subjected to genocide by rebels.)

A CRIMINAL OFFENSE

If a man has an American Ph.D.,
The "Dr." title should belong to he.
Though it doesn't make much sense,
It's a criminal offense
If he uses it in Germany.


(An article in The Washington Post of 14 March 2008 says it is a criminal offense -- carrying the possibility of a year behind bars -- to use the title "Dr." on business cards, Web sites and resumes if the degree is not from a country in the European Union.)

ART SHOW AT THE ALTAVISTA Y

The Y does its part
For the sake of art.
Come on down
To High View town.
It'll warm your heart.

(An art show is in progress at the Altavista YMCA. I've seen it, and it's written up in The News & Advance of 13 March 2008. Art is also on display at most other times at the Altavista Y.)

MARRIAGE ADVICE

Oft by young folks not conceded
Is this marriage advice to be heeded:
You may expect to find a soul mate.
Indeed that would be great,
But some adjusting will be needed.


(Inspired by Ken West's column in The News and Advance of 11 March 2008.)

THE NBATC

A model of efficiency
Is Lynchburg's NBATC.
Hiking and trail maintenance
Are this club's preeminence.
They cover both effectively.


(I'm very impressed with the way the Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club does a splendid job.)

BERNICE RUSHBROOKE

She needs no wheelchair.
A weekly do of her hair
Is part of the mix
At a hundred and six
For this lady fair.


(Based on a 9 March 2008 front page article in The News & Advance about this amazing, energetic, alert lady who has always loved living.)

THE HUMAN GENOME

Our design book, written in DNA,
Has but four letters in play.
And written, I am telling,
Without errors in the spelling,
Two billion times are they.

Who can doubt it took
A mighty fine cook
To write such a book?
And yet even finer
Must be the designer
Who designed the designer.


[A scientist and believer who helped "read" the human genome ("design book" or "design code") and is awed by it was interviewed on National Public Radio. He said there are 2.1 billion "letters" in the human genome; they are repeated in every cell in our bodies; there are only four "letters" in the DNA "alphabet;" 99.9% of the code is the same for all of us humans, and a minor "misspelling" can cause us serious problems.]

LITTER LEFT UNTOUCHED

Litter, I like not much it.
So I bring it to the next bucket.
But when it's a condom,
I'm not so dumb
As to touch it.

(When I walk for exercise and often when I jog, I pick up and dispose of litter -- with this one exception.)

COACH LOY'S RACE

Whether at a trot or at a gallop,
What Goes Down Must Come Up.
A standard race it's not
'Cause everybody has a shot
At the winner's cup.

'Twas a trifle wet,
But that's not any sweat.
Who needs the sun
To have some fun
With running friends well met?

(Jerome Loy's 13th annual "What Goes Down Must Come Up" predict-your-time 4-mile race, 8 March 2008, Goode, VA)

IT ALWAYS TAKES LONGER THAN YOU EXPECT

If you're the least bit circumspect,
This fact you don't neglect:
Even with efforts ever stronger,
Everything takes a little longer
Than what you would expect.

OUR UPCOMING TRIP TO THE PHILIPPINES

On Siquijor Maria lives.
We'll go there, see what gives.
Let me tell you too,
We'll land in Cebu
And see other relatives.

If we're on a roll,
We'll see Bohol.
Other kin being in Bacolod,
It may seem a little odd,
But it's not our goal.


(Maria Varian is my mother-in-law.)

BELLICOSE

Stand not up too close
To a man with a belly gross.
Give him room to sway.
Stand not in his way,
Especially if he's bellicose.

THE SPOTTED SALAMANDER

Spotty lives subterrane.
Because of wiring in his brain,
On a warm night in early spring,
He finds it interesting
To make love out in the rain.

MATEA OSTI'S GREEN LIST

Here is the gist:
Matea's got a little list.
A student from New Zealand's scene,
She's helping Lynchburg to be green.
I doubt there's much she's missed.


(Based on an article in Lynchburg's newspaper.)

AEBO

If loneliness you've got,
Though a little dog helps a lot,
It's no more helpful, we know,
Than a little guy named Aebo,
And he's just a robot.


(Based on a newspaper article.)

TRIVIA

Don't know if it's typical in Bolivia,
Spain, Portugal, or Maldivia,
But it's this way in our house:
When I argue with my spouse,
It's always over trivia.

THE COMPUTER

If it did naught but calculate,
The computer wouldn't be so great.
But it's a machine devoid of clatter
That stores and holds a lot of data
And helps us communicate.

THE ALBATROSS OF CAPE HORN

On the summit of Cape Horn stands a large statue, the silhouette of an albatross. On a nearby plaque, this poem is inscribed:


SOY EL ALBATROSS QUE TE ESPERA
EN EL FINAL DEL MUNDO.
SOY EL ALMA OLVIDADA DE LOS MARINOS MUERTOS
QUE CRUZARON EL CABO DE HORNOS
DESDE TODOS LOS MARES DE LA TIERRA.
PERO ELLOS NO MURIERON
EN LAS FURIOSAS OLAS,
HOY VUELAN EN MIS ALAS.
HACIA LA ETERNIDAD,
EN LA ULTIMA GRIETA
DE LOS VIENTOS ANTARTICOS.

SARA VIAL


Translation found on the Internet:

I am the albatross that waits for you at end of the earth. I am the forgotten soul of the dead sailors who crossed Cape Horn from all the seas of world. But they did not die in the furious waves. Today they fly in my wings to eternity in the last trough of the Antarctic wind.

Sara Vial


My approximate translation:

I am the albatross with wings unfurled
That waits for you at the end of the world.
I am the forgotten soul from the sailors torn
Who came to cross Cape Horn
From all the seas of the world.

But those sailors brave
Did not die in the furious waves.

Though no mortal can rescind
The works of waves and wind,
Today as you see me in the sky,
With me in my wings they fly
To eternity in the Antarctic wind.

DOUG'S HIKE

Doug, who knows the routes,
Wore his thousand-mile boots.
'Twas a bright and sunny day
As we started on our way,
Doug and his eleven recruits.

Now let me right off say
'Twas done this peculiar way,
Being point-to-point, you see:
Six hiked from A to B
And six from B to A.

Along Brown Mountain's plasant creek,
We took a little peek
Where sharecroppers eked out a living
From rocky soil unforgiving.
Methinks their lives were rather bleak.

We took our break
Near Pedlar Lake,
A pleasant scene
If you've a full canteen
Your thirst to slake.

'Twas a hike not too hard
Finished not too tired,
A hike with pleasant scenery
And lots of mountain greenery
Right in our own back yard.


(Ten-mile NBATC hike of 2 March 2008 on the AT from Long Mountain Wayside to Punchbowl Crossing led by Doug Dejarnette)

THE PENGUIN

The penguin, no doubt you've heard,
Is a flightless aquatic bird.
It does right well in swimming races
And walks around in frigid spaces
Looking a bit absurd.

INTERESTING LORE

Unknown to us before
Was a lot of the lore
Heard over Farmville way
At the seminar today
On the Civil War.


(Free seminar attended 2 March 2008 at Longwood University: "Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln)