Are You There, God?

Are You There, God? is both a sampling of screams against unpleasant forces in humanity and a sampling of chuckles from the lighter side of the human experience. 

A cursory glance through the book shows that I have many targets to scream or laugh at.

From painful or unsuccessful attempts to gain sexual favors, to the harsh realities of trying to make a living on minimum wage salaries – from prayers to an unseen God – from an unseen group that shouts “have sex the way the Bible says (somewhere) OR ELSE YOU WILL BE FLUNG INTO ETERNAL HELL AND NOBODY WILL TALK TO YOU AND THEY WILL CALL YOU DIRTY NAMES, HA! – from faithless lovers to teenagers struggling with the pains and trials of puberty – there is much, much material.

Plus, a few smiles on some foibles that crop up in the area we call humanity. 

The world of poetry impacted strongly on my tiny brain when I was in the eighth grade – and a Catholic nun read, dramatically, “The Charge of the Light Brigade.”

After World War II, I continued with poetry at Tufts University (Medford, MA), very much encouraged by an English instructor (a Ms. Newton) who warned me to get a real job because, if I depended on poetry for an income source, I would starve to death.

My first of two careers was as a math and science teacher.  My next career was in mechanical design with the Northrop Corporation.

Poetry was a continual hobby and cost me nothing.  And, I can say that my poetry has been published in many states, including California and – even – in Oregon!

Let me add here that I had my own poetry show on local television for almost three years – and the station manager insisted on introducing me as “Mad Dog” Lou to add some excitement to the opening of the show!

I would say I wrote “pretty-pretty” poetry until I was out of school and hit the outside “cruel world.”

Then I was whacked on the side of my head by various forces – and my reply, in most cases, was to scream against these various forces.

For example, whether it was trying to live on minimum wage salaries, or getting too many refusals on my requests for sexual favors, I found that I had no shortage of material for my kind of poetry.

Plus, I have strong feelings against any kind of cruelty or stupidity.  And the cruelty could be against animals as well as people.  And stupidity could be racism and homophobia.

And so I scream.  With words.