"Writers Who Play" features words & music & fun March 28 in L.A.

This comes from traveling troubadour and poet Ken Waldman:

In Los Angeles the end of this month, my NOMAD co-editor, Rachel White, and I will be getting our new NOMAD literary journal out in the world, and I'm producing a Friday, March 28, show at the fabulous 1642 Bar at https://www.facebook.com/1642beerandwine/ .

Here's the poster:

The event is being held off-campus you might say from the Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference at Los Angeles Convention Center this week. Consider it a break from AWP sessions and the magnificent bookfair where you can buy books and have books thrust upon you. Also a good time to schmooze with editors and publishers. I haven't attended AWP in a number of years but it always was fun and where I recruited writers to come to Wyoming. And always brought an extra bag to haul books home.

Donuts that are pretty as a picture

Donuts!

Haven’t given them much thought the past couple decades. They once were a regular morning feature, coffee and donuts. You know it was a good day -- or a long meeting was ahead -- when greeted with a box of donuts when you walked into work. Sugar and flour never tasted so good. Therein lies the problem. Carbs and sugar are not on my diabetic wife Chris's menu. Carbs, butter, and cooking oil led to my heart attack in 2013.

But I ate a donut this morning. They were cooked by The Donut Shop in Cheyenne. Most people know it by its pink exterior paint festooned with multicolored donut varieties. Daughter Annie, the artist, was so taken with the place’s color scheme that she created a painting in the place’s image. When it was finished, she framed it and we trundled it over to the Southside shop. There’s a café on one side and a Dollar General across the street. Donuts are in the display cases when it opens at 5 a.m. This means that the owners are up earlier to cook. Chris worked at a donut shop for a brief time. It was one of her three jobs. She was in the shop at 5 a.m. and the cook had already been there for hours. She worked the morning rush and then went home.

The Donut Shop won a 2022 “Best of Cheyenne” award and the framed plaque hangs in the dining room that has a half-dozen tables.  Bonnie the owner says she will hang Annie’s painting for all to see. We ordered a dozen donuts. Bonnie wanted to pay for them but we insisted on paying our own way. Many struggling artists have traded their work for food. Those times could be ahead for Annie. This was not one of those times.

The golden glazed donut I ate was delicious. Nostalgia in a box. Annie and I each took one and brought the rest downtown to the PrideFest committee readying the plaza for the afternoon event. Son Kevin is on the committee and built the stage. He’s also on the security team that’s a must for any Pride Month event this year what with all the right-wing loonies on the loose. Donuts might be a great peace offering in tumultuous times. This might be one of those times.

Donuts!

Far from the MAGA crowd: Democrats invite you to Oct. 18 chili cook-off and fundraiser

These are the times that try men's and women's souls, especially if they have souls. From a press release: 

Greetings Fellow Democrats:

After the last few months of Trump and Kavanaugh and McConnell and daily assaults on our psyche, Dems need a safe place to gather and vent. Are you tired of the MAGA crowd? Need a safe place to share like ideas? Looking for some talking points for those upcoming Thanksgiving dinners with conservative relatives? 

The LCDGC welcomes you to its semiannual chili cook-off and fundraiser at the Kiwanis Community House in Lions Park, Cheyenne, Wyo., on Thursday, October 18, 6-9 p.m. Bring your hand-crafted chili, salsa, and desserts to enter into the contests. Winners will receive a fancy certificate which boasts of your cooking skills and Democratic credentials. Suitable for framing and posting on your office wall, further stoking the paranoid delusions of the MAGA crowd fearful of encroaching immigrants, PC liberals, feminist protesters, African-American ex-presidents, and LGBTQ cake bakers. 

Candidates will be on hand to speak about the issues of the day and answer your questions and just in general talk some common sense. 

For further information, contact Joe, 307-630-6192. See you there!

Sponsored by Laramie County Democrats and the Laramie County Democratic Grassroots Coalition.  

I also can answer questions about the event. Comment below. 

Meanwhile, get out there and vote for Blue Wave candidates.

Looking for some post-ecliptic music and prose in Casper on Aug. 21?

Musician Ethan Hopkins and writer Mike Shay

I will be on stage with musician Ethan Hopkins on Eclipse Day, Aug. 21, 7:30 p.m., at Metro Coffee in Casper. This is the final outing of the summer for the "Music and Poetry" series sponsored by ARTCORE, Casper's vibrant local arts agency. The title is slightly misleading. I will be reading prose, not poetry, as I need many more words to express myself than the average (even above-average) poet. I will be reading from my novel-in-progress, "Zeppelins Over Denver," which has Wyoming characters in it but takes place in the Denver of 1919. I will share some excerpts here in the month or so leading up to the event. I also want to give you some tastes of Ethan's music. Take a look and listen of this vid clip from Ethan's web site: https://www.facebook.com/ethanhopkinsmusic/videos/1824071751243851/

Casper will be in the cone of totality for the solar eclipse. During the day, I will be somewhere in that cone of totality. But at night, I will be in the spotlight at Metro.

To get tix to the ARTCORE event, go to http://www.artcorewy.com/tickets.php. Also check out ARTCORE's upcoming season. Excellent, as always.

"Ladies in Red" event Feb. 9 raises awareness for women's heart disease

The good people at the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center's Heart and Vascular Institute saved my life after a recent heart attack. Turns out that February is heart month and the American Heart Association is promoting women's heart health. Why? Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S., with 500,000 dying every year. A number of my colleagues going through cardiac rehab with me are women who've had stents or bypasses. They are outnumbered by us hard-living men, guys who never gave up smoking or Big Macs or stress. But the women's heart disease stats are a revelation.

The 4th annual "Ladies in Red" seminar and fund-raiser will be held on Saturday, February 9, 9 a.m. to noon, in the Kiwanis Community House at Lions Park in Cheyenne. Nationally recognized speaker Donna Hartley will offer insight and humor to share what she’s learned from her own journey of surviving a plane crash, melanoma and open-heart surgery.

To register, call (307) 633-6050 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. $25 registration fee, includes brunch and giveaways. The completed form must be mailed to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center with payment. Or you can call (307) 633-6050.

Cheyenne's Tuesday farmers' market moves downtown in June

While spending my allowance Saturday at the Cheyenne Winter Farmers' Market at the Depot, I ran into Sara Burlingame-Thomas. Whenever there's a farmers' market or progressive cause, Sara can't be far away. Most of the time she's leading the charge.

Back when Sara was proprietor of the now-defunct Sara's Breads, she started up an alternative market, held each Tuesday in a parking lot on Yellowstone Road just a bit north of Dell Range and about three blocks from my house. The market is sandwiched between Cool River, the neighborhood liquor store, and a chain bread store that makes some nice sweet rolls. It's a small lot, but it's been home to the market for years.

Sara says that in June 2011, the market will move to the Depot Plaza downtown. My neighborhood will miss it, but it will be a big boost to downtown. That means that the plaza will be lively at least three nights a week each summer. There will be the Tuesday market, the Friday evening concerts and the big Saturday market that begins the week after Frontier Days ends. During Frontier Days, the plaza stages nightly concerts. A half-block away is the Atlas Theatre with its nightly melodrama, sometimes featuring yours truly as emcee.

But before and after CFD, tumblin' tumbleweeds are the only things moving downtown on many nights. There are a few bars and restaurants. People come out to see the films at the Lincoln Theater. But there are too many vacant downtown buildings, some that have been empty for decades. And many businesses close at 5, even in summer.

Sara says that the market wants to feature live music and work out some deals with local restaurants to get people to stay downtown to eat after buying their grass-fed beef and lettuce and and bedding plants from vendors. Great ideas.

Now, if we can only come up with a creative idea to fill in downtown's Big Gaping Hole. Just filling it in would be a start. What about a community garden?

I'll plant the first seed.

You can light a fire with "Ignite Cheyenne"

Hey, everybody. You can "Ignite Cheyenne." I first heard about "Ignite" last year from Jeff Fruwirth. He's been participating in Ignite Fort Collins for awhile. Here's the info, cross-posted from wyomingarts:

If you had five minutes to say something to the people of Cheyenne, what would you say?

Well think it over, because we are giving you a chance to say it. "Ignite Cheyenne" is a place where people from Cheyenne and southeastern Wyoming can come to share ideas, hobbies, socialize and have a great time. Ignite Cheyenne is about showcasing your ideas and your passion. Both of those things can make Cheyenne an even better place! We want to hear you talk at Ignite Cheyenne.

Location: Historic Plains Hotel, 1600 Central Avenue, Cheyenne

Date: October 5, 2010

Schedule:

6 p.m.: Doors open -- Come for mingling and drinks

7 p.m.:  First group of talks

7:30-8 p.m.: Intermission

8-8:30 p.m.: Second group of talks

9 p.m.: Go home enlightened

Tickets: Starting September 3 at 9:30 am.,. you can get them on the blog. Tickets are free, but you must register to attend.

Agenda: Presenters have not been picked. If you’re interested in presenting, head over here to read some guidelines on the talks, then contact us here

Event Curators: Anna Nowak, Jeff Fruhwirth and Juliette Rule

What is Ignite, exactly?

On the website, Ignite is called a “global movement.” Here we just like to think of it as a group of people gathering around to share stories, tips and tricks that make life and work easier, and a forum for people to talk about their passions.

How does it work?

Each speaker at Ignite will get 20 slides to tell their story. However, there’s a catch: each slide will auto-advance after 15 seconds, making the total time of the talk 5 minutes. The format of the slides embodies the Ignite tagline “Enlighten us, but make it quick.”

How much does it cost?

"Ignite Cheyenne" is free to the public, but you do need to sign up for a free ticket. You can sign up for tickets starting at 9:30 am on Friday September 3, here. Having you register helps us by letting us know how many people to expect, and in turn how much food and beer to provide (also free) at the event.

What do I need to do?

Just show up. If you enjoy yourself, make sure to tell your friends and come back next time (we are shooting to coincide with Global Ignite Week for Ignite Cheyenne 2). If you’re feel really brave, give a talk!

We will be uploading pictures from the event to our Flickr page and the talks to our YouTube Channel.

What are some possible topics? What about these:

Ideas for filling up the hole in downtown Cheyenne

Public arts in Cheyenne -- beyond the bucking bronco.

Oil boom or oil bust?

Cheyenne -- a state of mind or a mind of state?

Cheyenne Frontier Days -- Is that All There Is?

Etc.....

All these boring summer weekends

Too bad there is nothing to do this weekend.

If that sounds like a bored teen, that's because I just heard one say this.

I just spent an hour staring at the PC marveling at the weekend's events. Superday in Lion's Park all day Saturday. Music and vendor booths and food and brew and lots of sun, at least that's what the weatherpeople told me this morning. I grew so weary from our elongated winter/spring that I am thankful for each ray of Sol that hits my very sensitive Celtic skin. I wear layers of sunscreen. All the pols will be out promoting their various agendas. An election year, don't forget.

Speaking of Celts, the Cheyenne Celtic Musical Arts Festival takes place all weekend on Cheyenne's Depot Plaza (see previous post). Highlight will be The Elders from K.C., but also lots of other bands. One thing about these Celtic festivals -- Scots seem to dominate. They lord it over us Irish, them and their stinking tartans and their skirling pipes and their caber-tossing and Robert Burns look-alike contests. What do we Irish have? Music, with our sets of pipes and whistles and fiddles and such. Poetry. Writers by the score. Drinking, too. Can't forget that double-edged sword. We have swords too. And I.R.A. bomb-makers, although most of them are either dead, still in prison or riding The Celtic Tiger, selling I.M.I.R.A. T-shirts (Euros only).

And then there are all the mountain activities, including hiking, camping, fishing and a variety of folk and music festivals. Casper has its NIC Fest, where I always spend too much money on art for my crowded walls. The Jackson Hole Writers' Conference is in Jackson.

At home, there's gardening and reading novels under my oak tree.

I'm not bored.

Last weekend we were all volunteering at Juneteenth. Only a handful of pols showed for that one. They all got to speak. Dem Gov candidate Pete Gosar was there with a retinue. I liked his T-shirt, in UW Cowboy colors. On back it says "Walk On!" As a one-time jock and sports reporter, I know what that means. He was a walk-on player at UW. I asked him about this and he said he had to go head-to-head with about 100 walk ons his freshman year. After day after day of full pads and sun and screaming coaches, the field was narrowed to ten. Gosar eventually earned a scholarship and lots of playing time.

Walk on. He will be doing more running this summer than walking. Primaries in August!

Juneteenth in Cheyenne

Juneteenth committee member, community organizer, YMCA maven (and loving spouse) Chris Shay serves as emcee at Cheyenne event.

Earth Day has come a long way -- but the journey is far from over

Earth Day 40 years ago -- and now ...

I wasn't paying too much attention to Earth Day in 1970.

But I am now.

My formerly all coal-powered blog now taps into some alternative energy generated at the Happy Jack Wind Farm west of Cheyenne.

The Fourth of July Honor America Smoke-In and Gas-In -- not exactly Woodstock

I missed Woodstock. I had to work. Some surfer friends invited me to drive the 900-some miles with them to a field in upstate New York. They didn't have tickets but didn't see it as a problem. "Hendrix's going to be there, man -- and Santana!" I'd need money for gas and food. Take off a week from work. Sounded tempting, but I said no.

Class of 1969, working to pay for college. I had a ROTC scholarship but I still needed spending money. I needed clothes, too, because the ones I had bought over the preceding months had terminal smoke damage from the fire that burnt half of our house and infused the rest with clouds of smoke. I wanted to spend more time with my girlfriend before we headed off to separate colleges. I wanted to get in some storm surfing, too, as August can bring some big waves to Daytona. I was a hard-working lad, looking ahead with bright eyes and a sense of purpose -- with a bit of fear lurking in the background.

Over the next decade, I went to plenty of small music festivals and lots of concerts. I saw "Woodstock" the movie numerous times. I felt a twinge of regret that I didn't cast fate to the wind and just go. As it turns out, I missed so many of key cultural events of the 1960s and 1970s. I wasn't at Altamont, either. Don't hear too many Baby Boomers waxing nostalgic about that one. I never got to see Janis or Jimmy in concert, but I did see Woodstock performers Canned Heat and John Sebastian. Sebastian was on a concert bill with the Edgar Winter Group, which seems an odd match-up. Maybe that bad juju caused the riot that night at the Orlando Sports Stadium. That, and a group of people climbing the stadium fences to get in for free. We got tear-gassed and two of my friends -- including the driver of our concert vehicle -- were thrown in the slammer. We hitched a ride to the county jail and got the keys from Rick and got home around dawn.

Not exactly Woodstock.

I was tear-gassed at another concert. This was the "Honor America" concert during Fourth of July weekend 1970 on the National Mall in D.C. Paul from Notre Dame and I were on leave from our summer ROTC cruise and hitched from Norfolk to D.C., where both of us had college friends. Our original destination was the Atlanta Pop Festival, but we decided it was too far to go and, in D.C., there was a girl waiting for Paul. So D.C. it was.

Paul went to Alexandria, and I stayed with my friend Pat and his big Catholic family in northwest D.C. Pat and his brother and sisters and parents and grandma all went to the National Mall for the concert. Meanwhile, over the the Washington Monument, hippies were staging a smoke-in. As we settled in to enjoy the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, pray with Billy Graham and hear quips from Bob Hope, Pat and I thought we could smell the smoke drifting over from the monument. That's probably because we both were stoned, having earlier staged a much smaller smoke-in behind Pat's garage.

The crowd for "Honor America" was heavy on families. Who wouldn't enjoy the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and fireworks on the National Mall? We were all having a grand time until the tear gas arrived. Pat and I had been right -- prevailing winds had caused the smoke from the smoke-in to drift over to our crowd. That pissed off the cops and they dispersed the smokers with clouds of tear gas which immediately inundated us. Not too many of the Honor American crowd had been tear-gassed. Pat and I had the benefit of multiple gassings that spring during post-Kent State riots at University of South Carolina. We told Pat's family members to put a cloth over their faces. "Don't run," Pat said. "It only makes it worse."

They ran. Pat and I grabbed his grandma and guided her slowly back to the car. She was having difficulty breathing. You could see panic and tears on the faces of the escaping concert-goers. Later, over a joint with Pat and his brother, we laughed about it. "Welcome to the Fourth of July Honor America Smoke-In and Gas-In." "Our parents warned us about going to those concerts."

Not exactly Woodstock.

Not every concert ended in tear gas. In 1976 in Gainesville, I saw the wonderful Rolling Thunder Review tour with Dylan and Joan Baez and Roger McGuinn and Kinky Friedman. I was at the Eagles Hotel California concert outside in a different stadium in Orlando. I saw Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger at Red Rocks outside Denver in 1972 during a hitchhiking trip around the U.S. That same summer, I saw Quicksilver Messenger Service in Berkeley. I was at three Allman Brothers concerts with the original members, including the amazing Duane Allman.

None of them were Woodstock. But so what? I had fun at most of them. As for the rest -- they make great stories to tell our kids and grand-kids when they ask: "Dad (Grandpa) -- were you at Woodstock?"

Not at Woodstock, I say, but do I have some stories for you.

Protect an American tradition and attend Congressional town hall meetings

I'll be there as a card-carrying member of the WPEA/SEIU.

B-ball adds zip to a cold, snowy spring

This time of year, all talk is about basketball. Sweet Sixteen, college women's hoops, NIT -- and that's all on the college side. NBA is in the midst of its season. And high school hoops tournaments are being held (or have been held) during March all across the land.

Chris and I just watched the Kansas-Michigan State men's game. Michigan State won in the final two minutes. I was rooting for Kansas. All that tradition -- Naismith peach baskets, Phog Allen, Larry Brown, Roy Williams, three NCAA men's titles, including last year. Michigan State also has a bit of tradition going for it in the form of Magic Johnson and at least one men's b-ball title. MSU is in, KU is out of the running for a repeat.

Michigan State was down by 13 points at one time tonight. But the team battled back. That's the great thing about b-ball. In a good game, neither team is ever hopelessly behind. There were a few blow-outs the past couple days (poor Arizona) but tonight's game was a battle the entire way.

There are some of you out there (Bob P!) who are happy that the Missouri Tigers made it to the Elite Eight but Kansas did not. All I have to say to you is "wait 'til next year."

And let's hope that the Florida Gators find their Sweet Sixteen stamina next year.

Dick Cheney descends on Laramie Saturday

The Laramie County Democratic Party received a robocall from the Wyoming Republicans this morning. It sounded like a real voice on the line, but that's the strange thing about robocalls -- they come from robots who sound human. The big news from the RoboRepubs was that V.P. Dick Cheney is coming to Laramie tomorrow (Saturday) for an 8:30 a.m. rally for U.S. House candidate Cynthia Lummis and senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso. Despite the cordial robocall, Democrats are not welcomed. Here's the protocol as outlined in a story from the Laramie Boomerang:

The vice president of the United States will be in Laramie Saturday trying to convince voters to get to the polls and vote Republican. Vice President Dick Cheney will participate in a Republican Rally at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Laramie High School. The event will be an RSVP-list event and those interested in attending need to submit their name to the Wyoming GOP Headquarters at (307) 234-9166.

Wonder how you can hold a non-public rally at a public high school? But that's what happened a few years ago when Cheney visited his old haunts at the Wyoming State Capitol. The doors were closed to the common people. Usually Cheney is holding $10,000 a plate fund-raising dinners that are closed to the public due to the fact that not every Dick and Jane can afford $10,000 for a plate of rubber chicken.

“Because Vice President Cheney is a Republican, we are encouraging everybody to support Republican candidates,” said Tammy Johnson, head of the Albany County Republicans. “It is to rally Republicans and to make people excited about getting out and voting.”

I know that Cheney's appearance will encourage Wyoming Democrats to go out and vote for Democrats. None of us want to see another Cheney-like creature in the president's or vice-president's house. Let's just hope he doesn't return to Wyoming once he's booted from D.C.

Dem lit drop set for this Saturday

Nicole Novotny, communications director for the Laramie County Democratic Party, sent this:

Please sign up to help hand out information for our Laramie County candidates during this weekend's literature drop!

When: Saturday, October 25, 2008

Times: Two Hour Shifts - 9-11 AM, 11-1 PM, 1-3 PM

Where: Meet at 810 Fremont Street (IBEW Bldg.)

Questions: Contact Betty Jo at 635-7901 or Mike at 634-9001

Silent auction items needed for Dem event

The Laramie County Democratic Grassroots Coalition is holding a silent auction at its Oct. 18 meeting. Please donate items by Oct. 1 to Louise Raimondi. Preferred items include gift certificates, collectibles, artwork, and political items from elections past and present. Call Louise at 307-635-1592.

The Oct. 18 meeting includes a chili supper and Democratic political candidates. It will be held at the VFW 1881 Hall in Cheyenne from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

To receive e-mail bulletins from the LCDGC, e-mail Linda Stowers at lpstowers at bresnan dot net.

Haven't seen so many flag-waving white people in one place since the Republican Convention .

Trauner in Casper & Cheyenne Tuesday

Just received this from the Gary Trauner campaign for Wyoming's lone U.S. House seat:

Gary Trauner, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives will hold a press conference tomorrow on Tuesday, August 26, at 9:30 a.m. at the Ghost Town gas station at 6680 W. Yellowstone Hwy. in Casper, then at 3 p.m. at the Trauner HQ in Cheyenne, at 211 W. 18th St.

The Cheyenne location will have a dial-in option for those around the state who cannot attend. DIAL IN: 712-451-6100 / PASSKEY: 721718#

Trauner will discuss his "American Energy for the American People" proposal and then take questions.


For further information contact Adam Ruff at 307.699.4956, or reply to this email.

SuperDay brings out the candidates

My wife, daughter, and I will be staffing the Gary Trauner booth Saturday at the 26th annual SuperDay in Cheyenne's Lions Park. Not sure where the booth will be located, but just keep wandering and you'll find us. I expect that all of Gary Trauner's Republican opponents also will have booths. The odds seem to favor Cynthia Lummis as Gary's Repub challenger for Wyoming's lone U.S. House seat.

My guess is that there may be more political booths than those selling wind chimes. We have six mayoral candidates as well as a slew of people running for the state legislature. Both U.S. Senate seats are up for grabs, so the challengers (all Dems) may be on hand. The primary will be held Aug. 19. By my count, that makes for 52 days of campaigning. It goes fast....

Slammin' on a Cheyenne Saturday night

So many things to choose from last night during Cheyenne’s first warm-and-sunny spring weekend. The Ozymandian Theater –"Wyoming’s only improv comedy group" – was on stage at the Atlas downtown conducting a fund-raiser for the historic theatre’s $5 million renovation. The Wyoming Brewers Festival was on tap a block away on the Depot Plaza. At the Civic Center, Hands in Harmony gave a "thank you" concert for all those people and organizations who contributed to a recent emergency fund drive. At the mall multiplex, The Incredible Hulk was getting incredibly angry about something.

Over at the library, we were slammin’. Two performance poets from Denver’s 2006 national champion Poetry Slam team – Ken Arkind and Panama Soweto – took turns on stage with two of Laramie’s finest – Craig Arnold, a poetry professor at the University of Wyoming and winner of the Rome Prize Fellowship in literature, and Luke Stricker, a recent graduate of the UW MFA program and organizer of poetry slams in Laramie.

Saturday's event was part of the Wyoming Humanities Council’s summer program paying tribute to the beatniks. This was the final stop on a Wyoming mini-tour that included Casper, Lusk and Cheyenne.

Arkind and Soweto have been performing together for several years. Arkind’s a skinny long-haired white guy who wears John Lennon specs. Soweto’s a lanky black guy with a buzz cut who wore a "Where the Wild Things Are" T-shirt. The two perform as a duo (bought their CD, "The Dynamic Duo") and separately. The evening really caught fire when they launched into their performance piece "Uhuru," which they’ve performed at Red Rocks and on Denver radio. They warned the 30-some audience members that this was the "political part of their program." "Stand up," was the refrain. By the end of the piece, they had us all standing up. "Uhuru!"

I kept wondering: "How did this one go down in Lusk?"

Arkind and Soweto describe themselves as nerds, guys who spent their youth not getting dates but playing endless rounds of video games. Arkind had a poem, "Life is Like Mario Brothers," which received big cheers from the teens and twenty-somethings. I made a note to buy this CD for my 23-year-old nerdy son, who still stays up late playing the games he grew up on – and some new ones, too.

The duo performed together on another gamer piece. It’s possible our generation misjudged all of our pimply-faced gamers who spent too much time in the basement in front of the TV console. These guys are fine performers. Nerds gone public. What caused them to jump from their musty confines of youth and jump onto stage. Politics? Maturity? Love of the spoken word? Maybe all of those things. My son, Kevin, also loves the stage. Last year, he and his girlfriend were in the Euripides’ play, "Electra." Maybe it was the role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons that bit them with the performing bug.

After the talented people performed, the rest of us were enlisted in a "haiku slam." We were challenged to write haiku based on a random idea shouted from the audience. You’ve seen this done in improv on "Whose Line is It, Anyway." The five competitors (including me, representing the AARP set) had five minutes to write a poem. Five judges gave us scores, as we were vying for some very exciting prizes that Craig Arnold found at garage sales and in his basement.

First haiku theme was "wood." I scored pretty low on that one. Next was "the circus." I immediately got an image of George Bush, so I had to run with it. Here’s my haiku:

George Bush, ringmaster
sticks head into lion’s mouth;
we cheer the lion

I received a 10 from one judge, nine-point-somethings from three others. A guy my age named Chris said, "I can tell I’m in a room with a bunch of Libs." He gave me a 1. Fortunately, the emcee drops the high and the low scores for the final tally. At the end of the second round, I was in the lead.

We all were challenged by the final round’s topic: "Arnold Schwarzenegger." Sara creates a scene in which "tiny Maria" faces sex with Arnold in the missionary position. Wild cheers erupt – and a perfect 10. Amanda and Xon and Colin all get good scores. And, finally, it’s up to me. I try it with an Americanized Austrian accent:

Ah-nold Schwarz-en-eg
ger, too many syllables
for such a small man

That clinched it. I claimed my first prize of a plastic horse with a Farah Fawcett mane. Also a collection of work by the Nuyorican Poets Café. Amanda said she really wanted the horse so I traded that for a 1970 manual on sandal making. Not a bad haul for a prose writer. I’ve judged a lot of slams and this was the first time I’d entered one. It was a strange sort of slam, more improv than the standard variety of writing and memorizing and performing your own poems.

That said, I shall treasure my prizes.

To view a performance by Ken Arkind, go to http://www.podslam.org.