My first book of poetry was a self-published chapbook, Cracks in the Mirror: Experiences in the Boston Movement.  The old Boston Movement morphed into its current version, The International Church of Christ.  Surprisingly, my little book of poetry helped the many people who bought it and made me a little spending money.  This morning, I decided to post some of the responses to my first poetic effort:

RESPONSES TO CRACKS IN THE MIRROR

Your book of verse on your experiences in the Boston Movement is the best thing I’ve yet seen on idealism degenerating into tyranny.  It’s the Orwellian nightmare of “Big Brother” all over again, and your vision of the experience is immediate and wrenching.  It’s the perfect work to give to a Boston Movement adherent, anyone tempted by rank legalism, or anyone who wants to know what it’s like to be caught in the web of
cultism.—Don Glover, Minister, Forsythe Avenue Church of Christ, Monroe, Louisiana.

I know your inspirations will help many in that healing process.  They certainly have helped me.—Emma Hodges, Former ICC member in Australia.

I want you to know ho much I appreciate your poetry.  My favorite is “The Butcher of White Plains,” because it is the most graphic of the brutality in the Boston Movement.  Your poems are so powerful. I can relate to them all.—Susan Irwin, Former Boston church member.

You don’t know me and you obviously would get tons of letters from people all over the world after they read your poems. I wanted to write and thank you for such an enjoyable reading of humor and memories.  You recall experiences of the movement so realistically—straight from the heart, to other hearts knowing exactly how you felt.—Angela Sanders, Former member ICC church in Australia.

My husband and I have recently read your book, Cracks in the Mirror.  We understand your pain and appreciate your coming forward with these powerful poems that express that pain in no other way we have yet seen.—Ann McDonald, Balls, Texas.

Yesterday, I had my signing at the Barnes and Noble on Youree Drive in Shreveport. I arrived early as I was to meet some editing clients from East Texas for lunch. The Barnes and Noble here surpasses anything we have in Monroe. They have wireless, but it’s not free. You must have an AT&T account. The manager helped me get online so I could sit in the coffee shop, check my email, and do some writing as I waited for my friends, Norma and Marvin, from Diana, Texas. When they arrived, we went to lunch at Ci Ci’s Pizza. (I love pizza). Norma is a talented writer who will be coming out with a truly moving novel soon. The novel is entitled, My Name Is Lisa . . . Norma is an experienced social worker and her knowledge and compassion for children has helped her write a truly socially significant novel. I’ll have more to say about Norma and her book in future posts.

After lunch, I manned my post in Barnes and Noble. The manager had placed my table at the front of the store, so every customer who came in had to look at my table. Sales were brisk. I met several new people and lined up some more work with Shreveport area schools in the future. As always, I learned much from this signing. Barnes and Noble liked me and the managers invited me to return when Stories of the Confederate South is printed by Pelican.

Our band’s performance at Enoch’s went well. We had a good crowd all night. Hot and humid, but we escaped the rain. Our performance was solid. Waigne Cryer recorded us live. Possibly we can construct a CD from the night. We quit playing at midnight, but Tom and I stayed till 2:00 a.m. (closing time), talking with audience members and to Doyle, the owner. Needless to say, I’m a little tired this morning (but thankfully not hungover).

Today, I have so much to do that I don’t know where to start. I do have an opportunity to sell books at a church in the country today. They’re having a special service and activities. I’ll likely start with that and go from there.

Today began warm. Now, I love, I mean I LOVE summer in the South. However, it became warmer when my air conditioner suddenly died. This is not so much a hardship on me–I can live fine with fans and open doors and windows. (We have an old house, so the windows are large, and all the doors have screens). However, family members and visitors would think of it as a sauna, while I would be thinking of the electricity bill I would be saving. So, I must purchase a new unit. It will be installed next weekend. Money I don’t really have to spare, but what are you going to do? I was going to take a road trip today, see a friend and try to stir up some business, but had to wait on the repairman who couldn’t get there till noon. I was not happy.
I went to Office Depot to get a new Day Timer, as my schedule for the next year is filling up so fast. From there, I decided I wanted coffee and a small Pellegrino. I’m at Starbucks as I write this post. At 2:00 I’m leaving as I need to hear my band, Angus Duhbghall, on World Stage on KEDM, our local public radio station. We played seven songs and the rest of the program is interview. Brad Shelton did a good job hosting the program, and he had excellent interview questions.

On my way now to listen to the program and pack for my very busy day tomorrow. In fact, it looks like I will have very few days off in the months ahead. But I like that, and the writing life is the live I love best and the one I’ve chosen now. Wish me luck.

Tonight, my band Angus-Dubhghall will be recorded and interviewed for a local radio program, World Stage. This program is on KEDM, 90.3 FM, Public Radio. The interview and studio recorded music will air Friday, 2:00-3:00 p.m. and Sunday, 11:00 p.m.-midnight. The program’s host is Brad Shelton. If you’re not familiar with World Stage, KEDM’s Web site says this about the program:

Music from everywhere – A celebration of life! Explorations of music from all over the world including african, celtic, latin, middle-eastern, to name a few – along with interviews and special features. Friday afternoons feature more upbeat mixes while Sunday nights are more tranquil.

Of course, I hope to be able to talk about my books as well as my music. In addition to planning for the interview, we’ve selected a half-dozen songs that we’ll play live, time permitting. Here’s a picture taken when we played at the Celtic Festival in Monroe, October 2006.

My schedule is continuing to fill with book signings and other good things. Between my book editing, my band, and promoting my books, I’ll have more than enough to do this year.
June 9 – Shreveport: Barnes and Noble 2:00-4:00 p.m.

June 11 – Eldorado, Arkansas. Sons of Confederate Veterans, Ryan’s Steak House. 7:00 p.m.

June 14 – Snyder Museum, Bastrop, LA 2:00-5:00 p.m.

And there are more to come. Here is photo from a recent signing at the main branch of the Ouachita Parish Library, May 26.  The librarian, the beautiful Jennifer Schneider, is an Irish dancer. She also was part of a Civil War dance troupe when she lived in South Louisiana. She came to the signing in an Ante-bellum period dress, and she added so much to my presentation.

Tonight, I wanted to post a short entry about Civil War reenacting. I’ve done this for about three years now. Last year, I didn’t do as much as I wanted, but this year, since I’m focusing on my writing, my music, and my books, I intend to do more. It’s not really an expensive hobby or interest, it can be, but participating in one battle with men who have studied every detail–major and minor–about the War Between the States, is a richly rewarding experience. I’ll post more on this  topic later.
Here’s a picture of me in my Confederate uniform, taken at Eldorado, Arkansas, at a living history event. This was the first day I had ever fired a Civil War musket.

When the Celtic performer Beth Patterson does a show, she uses humor effectively. She has a good repertoire of jokes, and she plays the crowd well. She also uses humorous songs. This past Saturday, the Enoch’s audience particularly liked “The Hand of the Almighty,” a song by I think, John R. Butler. You can find those lyrics here:  (Warning: The lyrics are quite bawdy! This is definitely a bar song, not one for children or family settings) http://www.lyricspy.com/166733/John_R__Butler_lyrics/Hand_Of_The_Almighty_lyrics.html

Another song that crowds love is Beth’s, “Darling, Please: The Uncut Version.” Here are the lyrics. I transcribed the words from Beth’s CD. (If I made any transcription mistakes, please pardon.)

Darling Please by Beth Patterson

Darling, please come and sit down beside me,
You know how long we’ve been together,
Lately I’ve been thinking
About what I really want
And it’s something that would last us forever

Everywhere I turn, I see women with strollers
They’ve got tiny bundles from heaven galore
They’re lives are now complete
With the patter of little feet,
It’s an issue I can no longer ignore

CHORUS:
Oh Darling, please,
Would you do one thing for me?
I’m tired of always thinking about fertility,
As the ultimate gesture of complete gallantry,
Darling, please get that vasectomy.

Every morning, I can hear little kids screaming
In the restaurant, always one that kicks my chair,
Sometimes a little angel nearly knocks down my mike
After sticking wads of bubble gum in my hair.

Well, I know you’re protective
Of your Big Jim and the twins,
But it takes a real man to wear such a scar
Your sperm count would be zero,
But you’d always be my hero,
And you’d have something to show
Your friends at the bar.

CHORUS:
Oh Darling, please,
Would you do one thing for me?
I’m tired of always thinking about fertility,
As the ultimate gesture of complete gallantry,
Darling, please get that vasectomy.
Darling, please, get that vasectomy.

Writing poems gives me ideas for stories and novels. I wrote this poem today. I hope my friend in Lafayette, one of my readers, likes it.

How Often

How often I’ve thought about you,
A brown-eyed, voluptuous Cajun beauty,
You’re slowly stealing my heart,
Somehow, you changed everything,
Meeting by accident,
Loving on purpose,
A lady who knows books and life and me . . .
Accepting, sensual, and curious,
With a beauty that maddens me,
We’re not done yet.
We’ll have our own 9&1/2 weeks,
And it will be better than the movie.
I’m sure you ruined me for wanting others,
How could they compare?
Now, that I’ve found myself,
It seems I’ve also found whom I needed,
You . . . Only you.

There’s no other competition.

Yesterday, a friend and I worked on some major changes to my Web site, http://rickeypittman.com/ Those changes should be posted soon. I’m excited, as I found out that my site is getting 400-500 hits a month! I feel like I squandered my time last night. Yet, the only time I deliberately sit down to watch the television is on Sunday nights–to see the Sopranos and the Tudors. I don’t even answer the phone during those two hours. Of course, the final episodes are next week, so my already limited TV time may dwindle even more.

My week is shaping up to be a very busy one. Literally, there are scores of people I must contact and meet with as my writing schedule steadily fills up. Here’s a running list of what’s planned in the near future:

*June 9: 2-4:00 pm, I have a signing at the Barnes and Noble in Shreveport on 6646 Youree Drive. People are coming to the event from East Texas, Arkansas, and western Louisiana.

*9:00-midnight, June 9, My band, Angus Dubhghall, will be playing at Enoch’s, Monroe’s only Irish pub. If you like traditional Scottish and Irish music, you need to get out to see us.

*June 11 – I’ll be speaking in Eldorado, Arkansas, at the meeting of the Sons of Confedrate Veterans. They’ll be meeting at the Ryan’s Steak House in Eldorado. This town is likely to keep me very busy in the future as there are possible events planned with the college, the bookstores, the library system, and a festival that my band may play at.

Diggging through my files, I found this poem and thought I should post it.

Unbidden

Do I still appear unbidden in your dreams?
Walking through them with
Our unresolved issues?
Troubling your conscience,
Pricking your heart?
Have you succeeded in banishing me
Entirely from your day-thoughts?
Do you read my poems,
Or even your own?
What can you honestly write now
In the kingdom of mommydom?
Have you succeeded in banishing
Me from your daily thoughts?

How could I not be a point of reference,
A point of comparison?
How could his passion, attention,
His adoration compare to mine?
It can’t . . .
But I know you’ll settle for it,
For less than we had that year.

There’ll never be a day
When I won’t whisper your name,
Or wish for a glance of you,
You are always there . . . unbidden,
But always wanted, always desired.
We were a love poem a ballad of love,
That suddenly underwent a Derida deconstruction,
Turning everything upside down.

How can you read Jong, Miller, Keats,
And the other books on your shelves,
And not think of me?
Do you still read my poems?
Do you wonder what I’ve written since?
Do you read your own poems . . .
What can you honestly write now
In the kingdom of mommydom?

Your “club,” your “group”
Will replace our intimate talks,
You’ll be recognized as a
Faithful and loving wife,
But you’ll always be the
Love of my life.

The group saved your life,
But I saved your heart,
Go on . . . say your prayers,
But you’ll never be free of me.