The Proposal

 

Look at it this way,

you’ll have exposure

to your work, and that’s

worth a lot for a new

advertising business.

That’s what Old Man

McHenry told me

after playing the

commercial I had

produced on speculation

for his profitable

appliance business

in Independence.

Advertising is key

in keeping your name

out there for the buying

public to see, I emphasized.

Besides there is keen

competition to contend

with in the home and

commercial markets.

You’re fighting the big,

chain, brick and motar

stores for consumer

recognition.

Along with the premium

radio spot I had created,

I presented McHenrey with

a common sense and powerful

proposal for spending his

advertising dollar with me.

He insisted that I needed him

more than he needed me,

and I should be grateful to

hand over my work to him

cost free.

Granted, I could have used

the exposure for my fledgeling

advertisinf business, but

in turn I diserved to be

payed for my efforts.

You didn’t make a profitable

business by giving away

refrigerators, ovens an washing

machines for free, I told him.

No, the cheap bastard made

his fortune on overly inflated

profits made from suckers like

me. I shook his hand, walked

away with my proposal vowing

to myself to buy my next

appliance from Sears or

Montgomery Ward’s

Advertising or not, McHenry’s

was no longer able to compete

with them.

I learned my lesson, giving up the

advertising business eventually, and

stuck with my self-serving consumer

tendancies instead.

                  -30-

Chris Hanch 4-30-2022

Why I Write

 

Some of you may wonder

why is it I write or try to

every day. Wether you

like my work or think it

sucks, either way chances

are I will never get paid for

it or become famous. Likely-

hood is I shall never make

a living at what I do. So,

what’s the use, why bother?

Well my friends, save your

criticism or praise. Writing

gives me pleasure. If I have

something to say, I shall

indulge. I’ll never get paid

or become renowned for

eating or breathing either.

My laughter, and tears,

my napping or waking

will never pay the rent.

I can’t sing a lick, nor

can I dance or tell jokes

worth a shit, but I con-

tinue because that’s

what we humans are

born to do. I have always

been able to get along

in life by doing what was

necessary for me. I got

paid for some of the most

mundane and useless

jobs available. So, I

suppose writing for free

makes up for the time I

wasted making a living.

And with that, in your

reading what I have to

say for free puts you

ahead of the game as

well. You’re welcome!

                 -30-

Chris Hanch 4-29-2021

The Gig

 

It is said, the cream of the crop

rises to the top. The disadvantaged

and defeated linger in line at the

bottom. The next hitter awaits his

or her turn in the batter’s box.

Who shall be selected next for the

inevitable car crash on I-435?

We live our lives everyday

repositioning ourselves in the

race against time. It happens

to the best and worst of us.

This is an irrefutable fact

which cannot be denied. The

call is made. He, she, they,

them, you or I. Sometimes

it is apparent, at times a rude

awakening or pleasant surprise.

One flash of a moment or long

overdue awakening. Who shall

be the next in line? That day of

reckoning for each and everyone is

destined by nature to arrive.

For now in the moment, enjoy the

ride. Was that your name called

or mine? When the gig is up, one

day it will not always be applied

to the other guy.

                   -30-

Chris Hanch 4-28-2022

Just Another Day in the Life

I remember the day this picture

was taken of me in the third grade

at Mary Queen of Peace School

in Webster Groves, Missouri.

I remember a boy who was a grade

ahead of me brushing my hair to

the side away from my eyes to make

a more presentable picture of me.

I learned to be considerate of

others from that day forward some

68-years ago.

I can’t remember who it was that

taught me about love and hate.

Those human traits may have come

to me naturally.

There was so much to learn and

remember over my lifetime.

I do know today, I have always

been good at recalling faces and

places, but I’ll be damned if I can

remember all the names.

And too, it occasionally comes

to me that likely I made up a lot

of shit just to get through.

                       -30-

Chris Hanch 4-17-2022

 

Longevity for Me

There were those times when hate

kept me agitated and awake for hours.

It was love, however, which thrived,

keeping me alive until age seventy-five.

Of course luck played a part in this as well.

Love and luck walked with me side-by-side.

                                 -30-

Chris Hanch 4-16-2022

 

Mahalia's Song

 

Music to the ear,

music for the body,

mind and spirit,

uplifting revery for

the downtrodden

in forsaken place

and time.

Glory be for the gospel

songs of Mahalia Jackson,

so melodic, revered

and sublime.

Free at last, giving hope,

joy and redemption to

the worn, the weary and

enslaved.

Hallelujah and Glory be—

Salvation, sisters

and brethren, in soulful

song and praise.

Even I, a repentant

sinner and non-believer,

am blessed and invited to

join in and sing along.

If there is a god, then the

example of mankind created

in his likeness certainly

leaves questionable doubt.

Ah, but the pretense of such

an enlightened and powerful

being may well dwell in those

who are touched deeply by

music which nourishes the soul.

                   -30-

Chris Hanch 2-19-2022

Biological Transformation

 

Thunderstruck by biology today.

It never ceases to amaze, you know,

keeps us going and growing as we

become old. I wriggle my fingers and

toes, having done so some seventy

five years ago.

I hobble and wobble as my metabolic

state deteriorates by the day. And the

gravity of my condition pulls me ever

closer to the grave. One day soon I

shall be discombobulated matter on

the compost pile of time’s ultimate

reality.

Next time around, who knows, me

as a ragweed or a rose? For now the

arthritic calamity I have grown to be

as I sit in my designated biological

reality wiggling my aching fingers

and toes. Had I paid attention in

school years ago, science would

have told me so.

                     -30-

Chris Hanch 4-6-2022

Defining Moment

 

 In your personal lifetime or that of someone you

know, what shall you recall as one defining moment

to remember? For Will Smith, it may be his receiving

the Best Actor Award at the Oscar’s. Or could be the

slapping of Chris Rock for making fun of his wife,

Jada Pinkett, at the same broadcast live on National

Television. For you it may be an honorarium received

or some egregious act or mistake you made in the

presence of others.

Depending upon how long you live or were publicly

engaged, there may have been several moments which

may have specifically, for better or worse, defined the

person you either are or may not have been. Some will

claim that people and situations change and have had

multiple defining moments.

Deion Sanders played pro football and baseball in

the same intersecting seasons and was remembered

for his prowess at both sports. DaVinci painted the

Mona Lisa Masterpiece, but was also classified as

a creative and renown inventor.

As for me, the only person I ever slapped, slapped

me back. And as I recall, that was in private and a

wash, an unproclaimed and undefined moment

between them and me. Oh, and as a child, I once

cheated at a Pin-the-Tail on the Donkey Game at

Otis Manchester’s 11th Birthday party and didn’t

get caught.

Otherwise, I suppose one could say, at best, by

and large, in my lifetime, justifiably I may be

defined as obtuse or ambiguous. One day at

a time, no falls, no wars waged best defines

me presently.

                                  -30-

Chris Hanch 4-1-2022