Pattern Recognition

 

Thanks to Pattern Recognition, we

humans have been able to advance

individually and as a society.

Our ancestors were able to determine

animal migrations, seasons for planting

and harvesting, the benefits of sunshine

and rain, what certain reactions and

behaviors were best or detrimental to

survival.

The discovery and advancements

of the sciences and the arts were

primarily and initially based upon

Pattern Recognition. Be prepared

for the tiger to attack when cornered.

We know because we have seen the

likes of him do it before.

The sun rises higher in the sky,

the air has become warmer, the days

are longer, the snow is gone and the

rains have come. According to these

repetitive happenings over time we

know certain edible plants can be

found.

Old Joe will laugh when you tickle

his belly. See, I told you so. He does

it every time. We are where we are

as a species today because of Pattern

Recognition.

When will we learn, when you give

guys like Putin, Hitler or Stalin an inch,

they will take a mile. I suppose those

who should know better are just not

paying attention. Careful, you’re playing

with fire. You will recall the last time you

did that.

                                -30-

Chris Hanch 3-11-2022

Aa Long as...

 

As long as tomorrow follows today…

As long as the tree sways in the wind…

As long as page 257 follows 256…

As long as the next breath is taken…

As long as one step comes after the other...

and snowflakes fall…

and short is less than tall..

as the bat hits the ball...

As long as a new dawn breaks…

As long as the second rung is above the first…

As long as a correction follows the error…

As long as time is kept accurately…

and the secret is kept discreet…

and socks cover the feet…

and the weeping willow weeps...

As long as the last line eventually follows...

I’ll finish with this…

somewhere beyond the beginning

the end will follow.

                       -30-

Chris Hanch 3-10-2022

The Second Half

 

Life as I see it is a conundrum

mostly. You spend the first half

learning how to live it, and the

second half learning that you’re

no longer able to live the way

you used to.

That’s what memories are for

I suppose, remembering those

good and bad things you are

no longer able to do; missing

the people and places who no

longer visit you nor are you

able to visit them.

Now, this premise hypothetically

applies if you are fortunate enough

to have lived what is considered a

full life, you know around 60, 70

or 80 years. Anything past that is

generally considered to be a

burdensome and lonely waste

of time.

Oh sure, there are those rare birds who

go on with semi or quasi-productively

into their 90s and even up into the early

hundreds. And as I have witnessed,

even many of them, especially the

disabled will admit, life has dragged

on way past its time.

Let’s face it, there is only so much

the human body, mind and spirit

are capable of withstanding.

But then again, there are those who

never made it to the second half or

later stages of life. Their lives snuffed

out of the game way too early before

they even really got started.

Now I’m nearing 75-years old and

in my second half, before I become

incompetent or bedridden, before

I lose my mind to dementia, I still

have my thoughts and memories

of those who are gone.

                     -30-

Chris Hanch 3-9-2022

Cosmic Reality

 

Given what we as a species face, all

the love and hate, the travel from

place to place in our lives here on

Earth each day. I am reminded that

we are all travelers on this little orb

rotating elliptically around the sun

in outer space. I was reminded of

our precarious travels by watching

an episode of Cosmos hosted by the

renown astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse

Tyson last night on TV. Our story

began over 14-billion years ago with

the Big Bang Theory birthing the

entire Universe. It was dizzying to

hear once again about the immensity

of time and place evolution of all

creation. Science and history, my

friends, is happening everyday,

right here and out there. And mostly

we live out our lives unaware. Look

up at the immensity of space at night.

Imagine what has been and that

which is yet to come. Your own

flesh and blood, and mine, 

                                                                                                           

the precious reality of it all,

                                                                                                                                                             

a wonderment for the ages…

Amazing!

                    -30-

Chris Hanch 3-9-2022

From Where I Sit

 

Here I sit warm and cozy

having paid the rent and bills.

The gas bill is three-times

higher than it runs in the

summer. Oh well, although

the price of everything has

gone up, I have enough to

cover the cost of living.

I’m nearly 75-years old,

disabled and don’t need a

lot to keep me going these

days. I’m making my

grocery list. My son does

my weekly shopping

for me. Those costs

have gone up appreciably

as well. What the hell,

all-in-all, I can’t complain.

There’s a war in Ukraine.

Innocent people are dying,

bombed out of their homes,

and forced into fleeing for

their lives. This terrible

situation could easily trigger

World War III, and then

where would we all be?

So, there is always that,

poverty, homelessness,

inflation, global warming,

Racism, the Republican

Party, and a whole world

of turmoil and disruption

out there. Which reminds

me, I’d need to add

ibuprofen to my list.

I’ve got a goddamned

headache.

               -30-

Chris Hanch 3-8-2022

'Tis Indeed a Pity

'Tis indeed a pity,

‘tis indeed a cryin’ shame

that we have come all

this way from the cave

of our ancestral history

to this, where one man

controls the fate

of all mankind

with his ego maniacal

ideology, one little

pathetic man who

would have been

an outcast in a society,

who would have peace

and harmony prevail

instead of war and

teetering on the brink

of absolute annihilation.

‘Tis indeed a shame,

‘Tis a dirty rotten shame,

one man,

one pathetic little man.

                       -30-

Chris Hanch 3-7-2022 

Something About Touch and Feel

 

Helen Keller depended upon the

texture of touch to enhance her

ability to see beyond her blindness.

The Greek orator Demosthenes

was said to treat his speech impediment

by talking with pebbles in his mouth.

I’m sure he chose a smooth variety

rather than the sharp and jagged.

Robert refused to eat mushrooms.

Said he couldn’t get past the texture.

Most everyone loves the feel of bunny

rabbit fur, so soft and cuddly.

Unshaven for a day, my father’s face

felt like sandpaper, I recall as a lad.

Very few like the feel of slimy. That

yucky goo gives people the creeps.

Touch and feel is a vital sensory

perception which attracts or repels.

I wouldn’t touch a Putin or a Hitler

with a ten-foot pole. Most folks

learn a valuable lesson through

experience—a hot oven burns to

the touch.

Once stung, even a dog knows

a porcupine quill stings like hell.

And ofttimes, analogies do have

their place in an educated society.

                          -30-

Chris Hanch 3-4-2022