Rhyme and Reason

Poodle skirts. Roller skates. Hula hoops. What do they have in common? They were each the latest craze, at some point, back in the 1950’s. Then, you had The Twist, The Pony, and even the Monster Mash. Those were the “in” moves at some point in the 1960’s. Right now there’s the Distraction Dance. And it’s all the rage in political, social media, and video circles...

Imagination can be an awesome and powerful force. But it can be used for good OR evil. So, it can also be a hypocritical and destructive force. You can imagine yourself flying, on your own power, over the clouds and even through the ocean. And you can imagine no possessions in a world where everyone shares everything. And you can imagine you’re more virtuous than the next person because you...

I know you’ve been there done this. Try to sit still and feign interest while the person across from you seems to ramble on and on into the apocalyptic future. And you wonder if you locked the door at home. An image of somebody probably just popped into your mind. Right? Better not be an image of me. I’ll hunt you down and read modernist masterpieces of poetry till your ears bleed. And...

I don’t know why it is. But fat, old guys seem to be the typical Harley riders. And before you look for the page turn or delete button, I’m not gonna ramble on about fat, old guys on motorcycles. I’m sure you’ve seen your share. And you’d probably like to talk about almost anything else. So, good. How about fat, old guys walkin’ down the street? And even worse t...

Well, you can call me Tony Splendorburk. Because I meet the criteria for that title. And it took me a long time to earn it. So I’m gonna own it. That means this post is gonna contain a lot of me me me talk. But it’s really not about me. Really. First, a little back story. I’ve already lived over six decades. And I’ve got the silver/gray hair and the extra lines in my face to prove it....

Alabama is one of those states in the so-called Bible Belt. So, it might surprise you to hear that even in small towns, in Alabama, police have to deal with perverts. Yeah, even in public shopping areas. In broad daylight (is there a such thing as narrow daylight?) Small towns, in America, are no longer much different from big cities. For example, check out what police said in this headline from o...

What do these words have in common: abstruse, Delphic, incomprehensible, indecipherable, inexplicable, oracular, paradoxical, recondite, and unfathomable. According to the dictionary, they’re all synonyms of enigmatic. Sounds like I’m about to give a language lesson. But I’m not. This is about music’s mystery. Enigmatic sounds might not be your cup of tea. And, if you think...

You have a right to defend your livelihood. And this will come as a surprise to way too many people these days. But your right to do that doesn’t come from the government or the constitution. Nope. Rights don’t come from people. And just because some guy named “Bill” mentioned rights doesn’t change that fact. Nope. Rights come from God. So, you have the right to defen...

Back in the day a rainbow was a rainbow. And, for a relatively small group of people, it also represented a promise from God; that He would never flood the earth again. I consider His promise to be proof of contemplation and action. Because I believe God contemplates His actions toward us based on ours toward (or away from) Him. So it goes. In that order. Contemplation and action. And I believe th...

19000 days. Yes, that’s nineteen thousand days. And that’s a lotta days. But I didn’t just pick a number off the top of my head. No, it’s the approximate number of days I’ve written poetry. Some might say that’s a huge waste of a large number of days. To those I say, “Ouch. You hurt both my feelings.” So, the number of days also closely represents th...

I’ve talked about it before. But something popped up, online, this morning, that brought back a good and sad memory. And it’s about sticks. But not just any kind. I’m talkin’ about Pick Up Sticks. A game that used to be popular with kids before technology took the soul out of games. Anyway… Back to the memory. My brother and I used to ride the Santa Fe Big Chief twice...

Tucson, Arizona. Central New Mexico. Music. Moonlight. Dan Fogelberg. Storytelling. All parts of “the road” from a long time ago. And, early this morning, I thought about an incredible, singular experience I had during a full moon drive. Strangely enough, it was a motion-sensor light that triggered that full moon memory. Huh? A motion-sensor light and a full moon drive? Yeah, I got out of bed and...

Love, peace, and music. I wish those for you. And now, let’s get down to business. No, I’m not smokin’ any halo tobacco. It doesn’t take a dope-smokin’, long-haired, hippy freak to talk about the finer parts of life. And, while we’re on the subject, that leads me into some of the benefits of Christian music. First, there’s no cursing. Second, there’s...

Neil Patel, a marketing guy who shares a lot of how-to videos, has a website to help you with keywords and keyphrases for your content. Those are important if you want your website to be found and pull in traffic. So, with his keyword tool, you can type in a couple of words and get a bunch of questions being asked online. I typed in “Christian music,” and many of the questions asked &#...

“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” That’s a good line. Even though it does come from a former U.S. president who was so wrong on so many things. But back in that time in American history, even FDR understood that fear creates the wrong kind of defensive positions. Fearful defensive positions lead to lights under baskets. Yes, that’s a thinly-veiled reference to a Bi...

Today, I found out, once again, how fragile the hearts and minds of most people are. And it happened with some censored words. And, just in case you think Elon Musk is one of the good guys because he allowed people on Twitter to speak a little more friendly, he’s not. Or at the very least, his algorithms on Twitter would make it seem that way. But I hold people responsible. Algorithms only b...

How much grass have you eaten lately. NO, I didn’t ask how much you smoked, you knucklehead. And I’m not an advocate of grazing out in your yard. But I bring it up because there are apparently some chlorophyll benefits to eating grass. Well, to eating greens, that is. And when I mention chlorophyll, I mean that green pigment, present in all green plants and in cyanobacteria. The stuff...

It’s an event where business owners and entrepreneurs go to “spot trends, build partnerships, or secure brand rights for your products.” It’s the Licensing Expo. And it was held in Las Vegas this year. A 60 year old woman, you might have heard of, was there. For a long time she’s been one of those so-called “beautiful people.” But it turns out, she’s...

I just want you to know I’m wishing you all the best today. Because I know you’re going through a lot. And I know it can sometimes feel like you’re being tested every day. So, yeah. I’m wishing you all the best. Doesn’t it make you feel a whole lot better when someone’s tells you that? And don’t all your cares and troubles seem to magically fade away or disappear? Yeah. Words are truly powerful. (...

When I was a kid, there was a show on TV called Hee Haw. And every weekend, through the summer, I remember the family gathered around the TV set to watch all that “cornpone” humor. It was hosted by Roy Clark and Buck Owens. And Buck Owens is the guy who sang “Tiger By The Tail.” Now, keep in mind, I’m basically not a country music fan. Especially what’s trying t...

If I talked to carnations, or lilacs, or even lilies of the valley (and I don’t, in spite of what you might’ve heard), I’d probably say something clever like, “You must’ve been scent from above.” And that’s because there’s nothing like a good pun to get a conversation rolling. Yeah, “scent from above” is a pun. Not a typo. And now that th...

Ideas have consequences. And, naturally, that statement implies both the positive and negative. And I’m gonna share an example of bad consequences for bad ideas. This is a post I found on a social media platform where the discussion was about the cost of living. This young guy said, “A lot of my older co-workers have huge houses that they bought decades ago while working the exact same...

I just read a short article about a Milky Way black hole problem. And you’d better brace yourself. Because this is a serious problem. Here’s a snippet from that article: “A black hole with millions of times more mass than the sun is hurtling towards Earth and will one day wipe out life as we know it. The black hole is speeding towards us at 110 kilometres per second and is at the...

Just so you know, right up front, I don’t believe humans turn into angels when they die. Because angels are not the same kind of creation. And they’re already created. And they’ll always BE angels. You and I are already created as human beings, to be that way forever. And since we’re already created to be what we’ll always be, why this? Why would I write a poem about...

I hope you haven’t fallen into the SNAP trap. Because it’s obviously difficult to impossible to escape. And just imagine the horror you’d face without the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Brought to you by your most benevolent and trustworthy government. So, why do I call it a SNAP trap? I’m glad you asked. That WAS you, right? Anyway. First, it’s made to so...