One Mans Weed Is Another Mans Grass E-Book

Roger Sweet

• Herausgeber: BooxAi
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

ROGER SWEET is a psychologist who retired after a 48-year career. In 1969, less than 24 hours after receiving his Ph.D., he was ordered to report for active duty. For the next 2 years, he practiced psychology as a Captain in the Medical Service Corps. He developed procedures for treating what at the time was called Battle Fatigue, Shell Shock, etc. It took at least 10 more years before PTSD became recognized and utilized as the appropriate, treatment-oriented diagnosis.

For the next 8 years, he worked as a civil commitment court evaluator as well as a clinician with the Psychiatric Clinic in Mankato Minnesota. He specialized in the treatment of children and adolescents. However in a small town, semi-rural area, he often had to treat whoever walked in the door.

In 1980 after moving to Minneapolis, he served 2 years as the Treatment Coordinator for the inpatient adolescent unit at the University of Minnesota Hospitals. For the next 3 years he was director for one of several clinics that was part of a local HMO. By the late 1980’s he had developed a full-time clinical and forensic practice. Around 2001 he gradually phased out of his clinical practice in order to devote full time to his forensic practice which included evaluations in the areas of child custody, post-divorce decree mediation, juvenile and adult competency to proceed to trial, criminal evaluations referred either by the county attorneys office or private defense attorneys, and civil commitments (Mental Illness, Chemical Dependency, Mentally ill and Dangerous, Sexual Offenders).

By the mid-1990s he began writing poems, which quickly morphed into writing song lyrics as well as poems. This has continued to the present time and served as the basis for the book. He used to play a lot of tennis and racket ball, was a long-distance cyclist, a 10K level runner, and wilderness camper. He can still play a lousy game of golf, hike up to a couple of miles, lift weights, and do 10 mile bike rides. He remains a blues and hard rock fan as long as it’s played LOUD. Favorite authors are James Lee Burke, Michael Connelly, Cormack McCarthy and Daniel Silva. Roger lives in Arizona with his wife (Gail) of 58 years.

Leseprobe

Roger Sweet

One Man’s Weed Is Another Man’s Grass

All rights reserved

Copyright © 2023 by Roger Sweet

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Published by BooxAI

ISBN: 978-965-578-814-3

ONE MAN’S WEED IS ANOTHER MAN’S GRASS

SONG LYRICS, POEMS AND A SHORT STORY WRITTEN BY A GUY WHO PLAYS WITH WORDS THE WAY TODDLERS PLAY WITH FOOD

ROGER SWEET

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

AUTHORS NOTE

ONE MANS WEED IS ANOTHER MANS GRASS (COMMENTARY)

1. ADORATION

2. AIN’T MANY DAYS.

3. AS LONG AS YOU’RE NEXT TO ME

4. BINARY HERO

5. BLOOD UPON THE SHEETS

6. BOTTLE OF JACK*

7. CAT'S N' DOGS *

8. CELEBRATION OF A GAY MARRIAGE

9. COUCH POTATO BLUES

10. DICK AND JANE

11. DONT FORGET YOUR SENSES

12. DREDEL SONG

13. DRIVE ME TO DRINK I’LL PAY FOR THE GAS*

14. FAST FOOD LOVE*

15. GAIL VERSUS DANDELIONS

16. I CAN HEAR YOU SINGING

17. I GOT LOU (PARODY OF “I GOT YOU BABE” BY SONNY AND CHAR)

18. IF YOU WANT TO SUCCEED

19. INTENSITY

20. INTERRUPTIONS

21. JUST ANOTHER DAY

22. LET ME IN

23. LIE WITH ME

24. MONDAY’S HEAT TUESDAY’S BURN

25. MTG

26. MY BLUES BE GONE*

27. NOW IS MY MOTHER

28. OMEN OF THE TREE :(A note of melancholy and celebration)

29. ONE LAST PIECE OF FUDGE

30. PROMISED LAND

31. PROMISES*

32. QUIET THUNDER

33. RAINING IN SEATTLE *

34. REBOUND LOVIN*

35. SAFE HARBOR HOOK UP

36. SEPTEMBER SIDE OF AUGUST*

37. SOME WOUNDS NEVER HEAL

38. SUCK IT UP (Geezer’s Lament)

39. THE MESSENGER*

40. THE ROSE*

41. UNTITLED

42. UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS

43. WHATEVER

44. WINTER RITUAL

45. YOU and I

46. YOU ME N’ US

47. THE ROCK (short story)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book is dedicated to my friend, lover, and wife, Gail, who, for 57 years, provided a steady sense of purpose, compassion, and tenacity to keep her quirky hubby from going too far off the rails.

To our kids Rob, Ann, and Ania (daughter-in-law). It is amazing to realize what each of you have contributed to the well-being of others through your medical careers. It is an honor and privilege to continue remaining a part of your lives.

To long-time buddies John Flaten, Steve Kluz, and Mike Rohr). who you can blame if you experience an unpleasant upper GI episode after reading all or part of this book. They are the guys who talked me into this book after reminding me I was a poet, not a musician, and that I should publish a book of poems and song lyrics. Thanx guys!

To John Austin, Joel Peskay, Steve Yussen and Skip Campbell longtime friends and professional colleagues with whom war stories and professional advice were shared. To Diana Bridgett, who gave me the initial jump start for completing this collection. To Bianca Reis who functioned as my Booxai program manager. She had to deal with a disorganized, book publishing rookie with limited computer skills. She was patient and supportive to the point where she should be considered a candidate for sainthood. Thanx to the following musical collaborators for providing their talent and critical advice: Chan Poling, Maurice Jaycox, Bob Ekstrand, Tom Krochock, Lars Nelson, Levi Rohr and Chris Granias

AUTHORS NOTE

Hi there. I’m happy to see you’ve made it this far. I’m a retired psychologist living in Arizona, where one can idle away the hours engaging in a large variety of activities. So why did I also decide to devote a lot of time attempting to publish a collection of lyrics/poetry? The answer is a no-brainer. Vanity and legacy. On the vanity side, I would like to believe, or at least hope, that a few folks surmised that I produced something of critical and/or entertainment value. More importantly, before my expiration date, I wanted to create something tangible for family and friends.

Since the early 1990’s I’ve been writing song lyrics and an occasional poem or short story. Some of those lyrics have been produced. However, I’m not a performing musician nor a music theory maven. I collaborated with professional musicians to develop melodies and arrangements. Along the way, I had 3 different pals (Steve, Mike, John) at three different times, living in three different towns, all telling me that I’m a poet, not a musician, and that I should publish a book of poetry/lyrics. Part of me still believes I’m a “songwriter”, but they did have a point. Anyway, I went through over 140 “sort of finished products” and from that, winnowed it down to a collection that might be good enough for publication.

With exception of the title’s commentary which comes first and one short story, which comes last, the poems and lyrics are presented alphabetically. In some cases, especially the produced songs, it’s an obvious song lyric. With other items, it may be less obvious and yet, could be viewed as a potential lyric. Still, some of the items are clearly poems.

Due to copyright issues, if you’re a musician or civilian planning to use any portion of this collection, including previously produced songs, contact me at [e-mail].

ONE MANS WEED IS ANOTHER MANS GRASS (COMMENTARY)

One man’s weed is another man’s grass. That’s what I keep telling my neighbors and friends, who listen politely to my diatribes about the pain in the ass hassle of having the privilege of pushing a snarling, smoke spitting, upchucking, rock spewing beast over a weak excuse for an overindulged green plant that would never survive a long hot summer if not for the expensive gobs of synthetic sheep dip, cow shit, herbicides, insecticides and mega-gallons of H2O.

These comments are NOT directed at folks who truly enjoy taking care of their lawn. A close friend of mine fits into this category. If he sees one blade of crab grass it’s “fire in the hole”. I’m exaggerating a bit, but not by much.

My comments are directed at those of you who still carry a mortgage surrounded by a lawn. You would rather be doing just about anything other than maintaining your lawn and thinking about all the time and money it takes to keep it looking “acceptable” enough for your neighbors, many of whom feel exactly the way you do.

Remember the movie “THE GRADUATE” starring Dustin Hoffman? Hoffman’s character has just graduated college and is being given advice regarding his career. The iconic word of advice was “PLASTICS”. It jogs the person’s memory about the film’s content. I’d like to suggest the following iconic phrase as representing how to simplify the caretaking of your piece of earth. “CREEPING CHARLIE”.

No, this is not a joke. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. He’s a lunatic, another eco-weirdo. Everybody knows that Creeping Charlie is a noxious aggressive weed. I guess it’s all in the eye of the beholder. You call it a weed. I call it natural GROUND COVER, which has been in use for hundreds of years.

There are a couple caveats to consider. It will strangle adjacent plant growth, so put some distance between Charlie and your favorite bushes or flowers. You will also have to keep it out of your neighbor’s yard.

Advantages are numerous. It is tough as nails. It doesn’t need to be watered every or every other day. Weekly works just fine. It can take a lot of punishment. No matter how often you neglect or abuse it i.e., lawn party for 300 of your closest friends, daily rugby, etc., it grows back aggressively. Much of the growth is horizontal, which means a lot less mowing. It has a nice post-mowed smell. In the spring, pretty violet flowers bloom, waiting to be pollinated by bees, birds and wind. There’s a very long history of medicinal benefits. Oh, and don’t forget. It could save you some dinero and a whole lot of time, while helping the environment. I’m done making my pitch. Think about it.

ADORATION

Your eyes

those blue, sometimes mischievous eyes

that can see truths, even when tears cloud the sky

Your lips

soft lips I fondly kiss and nibble

lips that can communicate so very much

without uttering a single word

Your perseverance,

your hard nailed strength, your magical wisdom

I give myself

to your love and passion

AIN’T MANY DAYS.

Born too restless, easily bored the teachers claimed

Every job I ever had always ended ‘bout the same

Shooting off my mouth showing up late or not at all

Oppositional said the dude with the MD on his wall

Disappointment and frustration my oldest friends

More days than not I wish my life would end

You’ll find me on a corner with a cardboard sign

I wave n’ smile as you drive by while your eyes ignore mine

Desperation got no bounds nothing left to play

So into a Dallas bank, I walked to steal their money away

But just before I drew my gun this guy shakes my hand n’ says

You’re our ten millionth customer gonna make you a wealthy man

Ain’t many days you get a second spin

Ain’t many days a sin becomes a win

Rags to riches this was my lucky day

Better pinch myself before reality drifts away

Bank gave me a million bucks and a caddie deville,

Paid cash for a mansion up on blue berry hill

got women of every shape n’ size sweet as sugar

Whatever I want they happily deliver

Bet you guessed by now I’m all shuck n’ jive.

No money, car, no mansion, no women in my life

Oh I did rob a bank that ain’t no lie

Just made it out the door as the cops arrived

Now to keep from going crazy i spend my time

Making up new lives better than mine

The prize I won in the end