Something about Signatures and Friends

Quite some time ago, before he died,

my uncle Buddy told me that he was

not very popular in high school, and

that he more than likely signed fewer

than ten year books of fellow students.

Huh, I thought to myself at the time,

I was worse off than that, having

dropped out of high school in what

would have been my senior year.

I probably knew fewer than ten

students by their first and last names.

I stormed out of that place in a huff

one day and never returned before

the year books were even handed out.

In my case, no clever sentiment was

needed; I had no friends worth remem-

bering; and no signatures were required.

A few years later in the Army, I had one

good friend at a time, Earl Foster, I recall,

and got a GED instead.

-30-

Chris Hanch 1-15-2022

Indulge Me, Please

 

Allow me to bring you up to date.

Yesterday, cold and cloudy was

less than great. 1947, the year of

my birth, was a very good year.

I don’t recall the particulars of

that event at all, but so I was

told by those who were there,

most of whom have since become

the Dearly Departed. The nearly

seventy-five years I have been here

have flown by, my sordid history

has summarily swept me off my feet.

Oh for me, there was a heaven on

Earth as well. In any case, I’ve

somehow managed to make it all

this was into the 21^st Century.

Some of my contemporaries were

no so fortunate, many of whom

I can recall the years of their birth.

For the most part those were good

years as well even though we may

mostly agree, life can be a bitch

sometimes. And should you be

among the lucky ones, well now,

you’re all caught up, and here I

am to tell you.

                       -30-

Chris Hanch 1-11-2022

Sunday, Sunday

 

The holidays play tricks on me,

each day of the week seems like

Sunday to me. Now being the

retired guy from work and society,

such an illusion is not that relevant

for me, you see.

I have no other place to go or be,

nothing much to do or say.

Each day now, Sunday after Sunday,

monotony in time and place, and me

hobbling alone into the old and gray.

                        -30-

Chris Hanch 1-9-2-2022

Old Men

 

Old man one, Athens, Greece.

Old man two, Sydney, Australia.

Old man three, Quincy, Illinois...

Old man me, more than four,

seventy-two years more than three.

Old men here, there, everywhere

as far as the eye can see,

old men destined for the dust bin

of history. Ain’t it a shame, but it’s

all in the game—that’s

what so many young men grow

up to be.

                      -30-

Chris Hanch 1-3-2022

One Strange Rock

 

I watched a documentary

on TV the other day.

It featured some astronauts

who had spent time

on the International

Space Station.

Taken aback with Earth’s

spectacular beauty

and diversity,

one of them said

looking down at it

from 250 miles above

(and I am paraphrasing him

here), On Earth we look

up at night and imagine

where heaven must be.

From this place on high,

I look down and my vision

of Earth is where, I figure,

heaven is to be found.

                  -30-

Chris Hanch 1-3-2022

Another New Year

A New Year, Yes.

I am headed into my 75^th.

No resolutions for me,

just keep breathing.

My mind continues to play

reruns of the past.

A young boy

follows behind.

He sings, One of These Days…

I turn and wave him on.

He’s going to make it,

I know he will.

He has a song to sing.

And from here,

my 75^th year,

I sing along.

So many One of These Days

for remembering

following me from behind.

                   -30-

Chris Hanch 1-2-2022 

From Where We Stand Today

 

At night we stand looking up at the stars…

There are about 100 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy

There are some 37.2 trillion cells in the human body.

Astrophysics and cytology boggle the mind.

All the sciences are a mystery to me. Why we are here

at all to wonder about such things beats the living crap

out of me. And yet, I ponder such things often.

Why I turned out to be an artist rather than a scientist is

easier for me to explain—That’s just the way my mind

works. Well then, this whole life experience thing boils

down to psychophysiology. Whew! Makes me grateful

for Google then. In seconds I could access both the

spelling and definition of such complex words. We

humans have certainly come a long way since our

beginnings here on Earth. And watching all the latest

news on CNN, given the sorry condition of our human

existence today, if we are to survive, we have a hell of a 

long, way to go. One-celled creatures, now they’ve got

it made, and they can’t even see the light of day. They’ve

got no thoughts, no worries and could give a decent shit

about, why or what for? You don’t even need science or

Google to tell you that.

Happy New Year!

                                           -30-

Chris Hanch 1-1-2022