Which One of Me?

 

 Don’t wish to begin all over again.

Once is enough to convince me.

People, some folks, perhaps not

you or me will say, this life of ours

is anew each day.

It is this way, we grow into old age.

Come to think of it, I do recall making

that claim several times before along

the way.

I have repeated the process so many

times. And I’ve littered the pathway

behind me with so many clones, it’s

hard for me to differentiate which

reality to claim.

Guess you’ll have to live with one

or two of those fellows you have

come to know.

Now move along, there’s nothing

new to see here. I have accepted

the process although at times I have

disagreed vehemently.

If you are one of those who had

met me previously, did I ask you

to pull my finger? That was the silly,

disgusting one of me. But the look

on your face still makes me laugh.

                     -30-

Chris Hanch 6-14-2023

Up Front

Around 1956, I was 9-years old

and my father, a WWII veteran,

gave me his personal (military

issued) copy of Bill Mauldin’s

Up Front.

This was a witty and sarcastic,

editorial cartoon account of

American Gi’s life on the Euro-

pean battlefield.

For me, that lifted my cartooning

from a Mickey Mouse and Donald

Duck form of cartooning to a more

tongue-in-cheek, satirical approach

and style of rendering which would

influence my characterizations well

into adulthood.

Also, it instilled in me a profound

respect for the US Military which

a few years later inspired me at

seventeen to enlist in the Army

which so many of my peers in

the 1960s had rejected.

One simple-seeming act of

giving from my dad had a

profound influence on my life,

helping to form in part the

person I would become.

Thanks, Dad. 1924-2014, R.I.P.

                      -30-

Chris Hanch 6-13-2023                      

Today, on This New Day

 

Today, on this new day given me,

at first glance, I see nothing new.

Faithfully, yesterday’s pain has

followed me along with fond

and faded memories of earlier

days.

Today, on this new day given me,

I have no place else to go, no wishes

and dreams for the future which lies

ahead of me.

Today, on this new day given me

given my advanced age and waning

physical and mental state, maintaining

with that which I have left in me

is a blessing.

Today, on this new day given me,

I am still grateful for what I had and

what I used to be, all the properties

and activities which got me here.

I have been more fortunate than so

many more whom I have known.

Today, on this new day given me,

I shall relish in the thought that I

still have a litany of choice words

yet to say. “Zyzzyva,” has the unique

distinction of being the Oxford English

Dictionary’s last word. I can’t ever see

any need for me to use that word. So,

at least for today, as I live and breathe,

I’m okay.

                           -30-

Chris Hanch 6-12-2023

21st Century Prognostication

 

Seems to be that the the 21^st Century is

flying by more rapidly than centuries

before. And mankind is on a fast-track

to either annihilation or revitalization.

If our experience in the 20^th Century

was a harbinger for that which is to

come, as a surviving and threatened

society on the brink of extinction,

for the common good of mankind, we

have a lot of ground to cover, some

serious considerations and revolutionary

adjustments to be made.

                             -30-

Chris Hanch 6-9-2023

Nowhere Man

 

Woody was a quiet man,

an unimposing man who

who kept pretty much to

himself, one of those who

rarely speaks, and only a

few words when spoken to.

Today, Woody needed a

ride to work as his car

was in the shop for repairs.

And the day before he had

asked a fellow co-worker

for a lift.

Otherwise, he was a man

with nothing much to say,

no questions or answers to

investigate or explain.

It was uncomfortably

strange seeing a man of

fifty or so who seemed

to manage getting this

far in life pretty much

on his own.

Woody was a gray

haired, medium

sized guy who usually

fixed his eyes straight

ahead. He rarely turned

to the side when spoken

to by the person next to

him wanting to engage

in small talk conversation.

How about them Chiefs,

he asked Woody? Do you

like to fish? I went to

Bennett Springs last week

and caught me some fair

sized trout. Ever been there?

The co-worker tried to strike

up a conversation, but got

only “Nope” for an answer.

He finally gave up,

figuring Woody may

be one of those autistic

Rain-man-type persons

like he saw once in a

movie.

It was a long 30-minute

drive to work that day.

“Have a good one,” the

driver bid Woody when

they got to their work-

place destination. “Pick

you up right here at 5.”

Woody nodded his head

and got out of the car.

He made his way to the

door, and opening it he

disappeared as he does

every day, Monday

through Friday, five

days a week, no antici-

pation, no complaints.

Just another routine day

packaging finished goods

in the shipping department.

It’s a living, the co-worker

figured, not a hell of a lot

to say.

-30-

Chris Hanch 6-8-2023

AI and Me

 

Thinking about Artificial Intelligence (AI)

this morning. I suppose that’s because it has

been in the news a lot lately. There will be

many positives and negatives experts say.

Depends upon who will use it for good,

and then there will always be those who

will misuse it for selfish and evil purposes.

I am of an age where I’m close enough to

the end where I won’t get to see it come into

its full-fledged fruition. I’m sure the auto-

mobile and airplane caused the same sort of

consternation back in their day. I know the

atom bomb sure did, and with proven nega-

tive reason.

Anyway, once the genie has been released

from the bottle there’s no turning back. For

good and evil, mankind has proven he can

and will go either way.

History shows that old folks such as I have

always been skeptical when it comes to new

technologies. Over eons, spear throwing as

an offensive and defensive weapon has e-

volved into far more effective and efficient

ways of killing. AI today is well on its way

to controlling the hearts and mind of man.

I look into the morning mirror and see what

little time in life here on Earth has done to

age me. I have lived my time in place for

the most part naturally.

AI shall never enhance, imitate or replicate

me. Could be said, by certain standards, at

times I lived my life foolishly or unwisely.

And the artificiality I sometimes posed in

actuality was still the authentic me. Thank

god, I shall not live to see the day AI replaces

who I have come to be (loose screws and all),

the one and only, true to form, unadulterated

me.

                               -30-

Chris Hanch 6-6-2023

Mind Bending

Not reachable by me,

but in my lifetime

through science

and technology

astronomically,

I have seen

into the past,

into the future,

into, the depths of Infinity.

             -30-

Chris Hanch 6-5-2030