Remembering An Absent Friend

  I did not let Memorial Day 2016 pass without recalling the one shipmate I actually saw dying while I was in the Navy. He was a HAY-SOOSE type Jesus: a Filipino named Jesus Paredes. He never made it past boot camp. An undiagnosed heart weakness led to his death by heart attack when we did an exercise run.                                                          

Jesus was the next oldest man to me in my recruit company, a fellow Christian, and a good buddy. Like me, he had a wife. He was trying to earn United States citizenship, a path open to Filipinos due to the long relationship between the United States and the Philippine Republic. His diligence and helpfulness to others during basic training suggest what a good sailor he would have made. ("He who is faithful in a little is faithful also in much.") I never found out what became of his family.                                          

Twenty years later, for my Navy retirement ceremony, I created a sort of banner in Paredes' honor. It showed a man running up a ramp into Heaven, and bore the Biblical phrase "I have finished the race."                 
             

My Satire MayBe Funny, But Sexual Harassment Isn't

These parody lyrics go to the tune of Joe Walsh's song "Life's Been Good," but the message is not directed against Joe Walsh himself unless he joins the current sick movement. My target (no pun intended) is any entertainer who, by refusing to perform in a place, tries to force people to agree that men should be allowed to invade women's restrooms.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

I am a has-been who's older than dirt;

I want my fame back, no matter who's hurt.

Good as a Grammy is being p.c.,

So every tranny is precious to me.

Women's rights became old-fashioned when the new fad began,

Oh yeah.

Ladies have to share the restroom with a cross-dressing man;

This trend works for me so far!

North Carolina wants girls to be safe;

I'll say their minds run on bigoted faith.

I'll take my stand with transgender voyeurs;

We'll change the meaning of "his" and of "hers."

Women's rights became old-fashioned when the new fad began,

Oh yeah.

Now we see pretended women with a camera in hand;

This trend works for me so far!

Time was when women could cry gender war

If men just had a swimsuit calen-dar.

Now girls are losing the ground they had gained,

All so that psychos will never be pained.

Now America's a witness at the scene of this crime,

Oh yeah.

I don't care about the damage done, I just care that I'm

Going to be a p.c. star!