SAVE TRAVIS OR HE ONLY GETS LEAFY GREENS UNTIL I RELEASE HIM

I know, I know you all opened this page to read the words of the monster sized man from Amarillo and you wound up with me instead and as you sit there scratching your head wondering who the hell is this? I said to myself…well if you’re going to be that way then I should explain.

My name is Mark Durfee AKA The Walking Man and I live in Detroit. I am a poet without much of a sense of what poetry is, except poetic justice.

Four years ago there was a mayor in Detroit named Kwame Kilpatrick, he was busted for lying under oath during a lawsuit and in the course of events it was discovered that not only had he been schtuping his chief of staff, but about a half dozen other women, none of them named Carlita which happens to be his wife’s name. Now once he was tried and convicted and put on probation a kind Detroit multimillionaire named Peter Karmanos of Compuware fame and a few other kind multimillionaires paid to move Kwame, his wife, (whom Kwame may have started schtuping again because she probably put a leash on that hog,) and their kids to Dallas.

Seeing as Travis is always remarking on his size 6’5 280 and Kwame is exactly the same size, I could feel, with all that weight in Texas, the world shifting too far on its axis, so I traveled down to the Lone Star State and to decide which of these huge hunks of meat I needed to force back to the north to stop the earth from tipping too far. Well the short of it was after a great dirty, dusty and hours long fight, I (who am much smaller comparatively to Travis) but from Detroit, which comes with its own cache of dirty fighting, hog tied the big man from Amarillo and threw him in the back of his own pick up truck (my Honda was too small) and hauled him to what we affectionately call the “D.”

I could have hauled Kwame back but we have had enough of that grazer of feed store swine product. Besides by the time Travis escapes from the evil clutches of the D the feds will be hauling Kwame back here to face 25 or so indictments for running a criminal enterprise while mayor. And then the world as you have come to know it will be right again and the axis will be back in proper alignment. You could acknowledge your gratitude for me saving the planet from tipping over but I am humble enough to know you are grateful without forcing you to say it.

So here is the deal, you put up with one piece of my poetry, make a shit ton (that is a feed store measurement) of comments and I will release Travis and his pick up truck to go back to Texas but only because the Feds really are bring the Detroit Dog back here for a federal trial. In the interim you will have to click through to HERE to not only take yourself to the D but to check up on Mr. Erwin’s welfare seeing as I left him with only his hands unbound sitting at my rusty old computer in zip code (that is Postal Service talk that Travis told me about during our ride North) 48205; which is the most murderous zip code in the most murderous city in America.  So now you are aware of the deal and you and you alone have the power to save Mr. Travis Erwin not only from Detroit but if you fail and I have to keep him here I am changing his squirrel and quail stew diet to one of only leafy green vegetables.

There was a kid named Travis Erwin

who grew up in a place called Pearls Feed and Seed

run by a reprobate named Doyle Suggs.

Now Doyle or Mr. Suggs a wise man of three ex wives

(two he married twice)

was prone to espousing to Travis

a young fella’s need for “getting in the girl” advice.

Erwin, at the time not the brightest bulb in the chandelier,

tried ever trick Suggs suggested at age sixteen years

went every which way Doyle sent him to get his manhood vested.

AND THAT IS THE PREMISE FOR THE FEEDSTORE CHRONICLES

But by far the sweetest part of the book is that it comes to a right ending.

OK now that doesn’t count as the poem of mine, even though there is a countable iambic meter in there if someone knows how to count that shit. That is what we call a hook so you will spend your time purchasing and reading Travis’ book. Though it’s not Bukowski, in a prose sort of way The Feedstore Chronicles comes close to some of Hanks poetry.

Now to torture you my work is below, it’s an old piece but one of my favorites. It appears in my second book of poetry which you can buy from me if you want it.

Cobblestone Kisses II

I saw a shoeless girl,

about 4.

Dancing on cobblestones

in pure bliss.

Each and every cobble

she touched gave her bare feet

a smiling loving kiss.

I wondered as I watched

Where she got the joy

to dance like that;

fluttering dress,

twirling, blessed

mindless bliss,

in a place so lacking in romance.

Dance though she did,

on and on laughing, loving, living

while she had the chance,

to be dancing carelessly to a music

only she could hear.

I wished I could be that way again

mindlessly joyful with cobbles dear

kissing my bare feet

soothing my mind taking my fear.

Wishing for a childhood

not knowing what lay ahead.

Better yet I’d like the freedom to be

dancing now this moment, this day

letting the smooth stones

take my care away.

Laughter and smiles come

so easy to children loved,

with nothing amiss

all the little ones should

be dancing and twirling in joy

as the cobblestones deliver

their loving bare feet kindest kiss.

© M Durfee

9-2-05

12-22-09(rev)

Pimping In Pampa - A My Town Monday Post

I've worked 19 years for the United States Postal Service. The last 13 1/2 in the maintenance department. Most of the time I work in the main sorting facility here in Amarillo, Texas but at times I am dispatched to other small post offices in both the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles.

And not long ago I visited the facility in Pampa, Texas which is 55 miles northeast of Amarillo.

In all of my postal travels I have never seen a post office as cool as the one in Pampa.

Here is a shot of the front of the building.

and of the old style postal eagle in the stonework.

And of a topless woman.

No really. See the lady near the top of the ironwork. She really is topless.

An odd thing for a government building especially one located in the bible belt. Sorry for the poor picture quality, but all I had was my cell phone.

Inside the post office is all marble, iron, and ornate woodwork. Here is a shot of ceiling.

And another looking through some of the ironwork.

And the old antique style of post office boxes. Note the  marble on the walls.

And a shot from the roof of the Spanish tiles.

A shot of Pampa from the rooftop of the post office. As you can see the town still has several brick streets.

And I'm including this last shot for all you postal haters out there. Yeah I know waiting in line can be a drag but the USPS still is the most economical, and best shipping option. Heck, with those boys in brown want their stuff to get there where to do they take it?

That's right to the post office.

The above shot was taken at the Pampa receiving dock but it is a daily thing for UPS to drop off packages for us to ship. Why? Because we do it cheaper and more efficiently than they are able to.

For more My Town Monday posts from all over the world stop by the official MTM blog.

I Hate Blogging Politics, but ...

Now that is is clear my old bud, Texas Governor Rick Perry, is going to toss his Aqua Net into the ring and make a run at the presidency I feel obligated to comment. If the hair spray reference in that first sentence gave you pause let me introduce you to Rick.

 

Does he look like a man that would risk mussing so much as a single hair with a hat?

Now me and Slick Rick have a bit of relationship which you can catch up on here, and here.

The gist of those posts are this.

1) I make a disparaging comment of Mr. Perry

2) Weeks later I get an email from a member of Mr Perry's campaign team (he was seeking reelection for Governor at the time) The email describes me as both an influential Texan and a long time supporter of Rick Perry. The letter urges me to blog about my support of Mr. Perry's bid for another term as Governor.

3) I post a letter clearly stating I do not like or support Perry. I end the post with a sarcastic letter addressed to the campaign chairwoman. 

4) Weeks pass by and I receive another email from the woman. This time thanking me for my support and as a sign of thanks it includes a personal invite to a meet and greet session with Mr Perry during a private/invitation only function of his upcoming visit to Amarillo.

Sadly, I was out of annual leave and could not take off from work to attend. I would have loved to have gotten a picture of me and Slick Rick to aid in my mockery of Rick Perry but alas it was not meant to be.

Come December, Perry will have served as Texas Governor for 11 years. As George W. Bush's  lieutenant Governor he took over when W became president. I'm going to go on the record here and say W I think Bush did a fine job as governor. It wasn't until he sold his political soul tot he Devil for the presidency and became some kind of Aww-Shucks-Good-Ol' Country-Boy that I lost respect for the man. He didn't pretend to be stupid or behave like a backwoods hick while either campaigning or serving as Texas Governor.

But back to Perry.

Yesterday I wrote this Facebook post ...

I'm torn whether I want Rick Perry to run for president or not. On one hand, it might be the only way to end to end his monarchy here in Texas, but on the other I have an intense dislike for the fellow and I'd sure hate to see him in charge of the entire nation.

The post prompted several people to ask why I specifically will not vote for him. Along with info in those previous posts here are a few reasons why I will not vote for him to be President Of the United States. I will also point out out here that I will not be voting for the incumbent President either. Should it come down the those two names on the ballot I will most likely vote for the Libertarian candidate as my political opinions lean that direction anyway.

Perry's political career began in 1984, when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat. Yes, that's right folks. The Republicans party's poster boy once was a Democrat. A democrat that served as Chairman of Al Gore's Texas campaign during the 1988 presidential primaries. A year later Perry jumped ship and joined the Republican Party.

Why? Pure speculation on my part but I feel as he did it because Democrats have ZERO chance of getting elected to statewide office here in Texas. Only because of idiotic statements by Clayton Williams did Democrat Ann Richards when the Governorship for a single term back in the 80's.

In 2003, Governor Perry proposed the Trans-Texas Corridor, a 4,000-mile highway cutting a swath thought the state. His plan laid claim to half a million acres of farm and ranch land. After the State spent more than $50 million overwhelming statewide opposition killed the plan.

In 2007, Perry signed an executive order (before the state legislature could ever discuss or vote on the issue) making Texas the lone state in the nation to require 6th grade girls to receive a vaccination against a sexually-transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. Why? Rick will no doubt say he was concerned for this girls but the fact is Perry's former chief of staff had left that position to work as a lobbyist for Merck. And guess what Merck just happened to be the maker of the mandated vaccine. 

Back in 2009 Perry made headlines for grandstanding and refusing Obama's stimulus money. He was a bit quieter 4 months later when he asked the federal Gov't for  $170 million to bolster the states unemployment fund.

Perry described the oil spill in the recent Gulf Oil Spill as an act of God. Never mind the the gross negligence that has been brought to light by BP and others involved in the Deep Horizon.  

Really I could go on for a while but this post is long enough. I view Perry as a win at all cost carer politician. Yes, he has done some good things. Texas is leading the country in job creation. I happen to agree with his stance on gun control, parental permission for underage abortions, and he swiftly ended all gas price gouging immediately after 9/11, but I believe he will make deals and show favor to his friends and financial contributors without regard to to the welfare of the nation. Therefore Rick Perry will not get my vote to run this great nation.

Jimmy Recracked Corn and I Still Don't Care

The birds are chirping. The tulips are blooming. The wife and kids are out of school. That's right folks it is spring break time here in the Texas Panhandle so while I am away from the computer spending time with my beloved and the fruit of our loins please enjoy these posts you may have missed the first time around. 

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Cornarchy!

I consider myself an intelligent fella. I am quite capable of following a string of logic and coming to an understanding, provided there is actual logic behind that said string.

For instance, I get the fact that the more corn we use for the production of ethanol, the less we have for the other, more traditional uses of those little golden kernels. I grass supply and demand economics. I buy the reasoning behind cattle feed going up and there for beef prices rising. I am not baffled that the Green Giant must charge more for his frozen packs of Nibblers.



And, I even understand that the price of popcorn has exploded. But here is where things get greasier than your fingers after eating an entire bag of eight-dollar popped gold at the cinema.

Movie tickets might take hit from exploding popcorn prices

That headline comes from a USA Today story that theater owners are planning to raise ticket prices by as much as 30% because of the escalating price of popcorn. According the the story, ticket prices are subsidized by the sale of concession stand goodies and the higher popcorn is the less people buy it so the less the theater makes. There are more holes in that theory than gray hairs in Indian Jones's stubble.

If I go the counter and see that a tub O' cholesterol now cost me more than Nick Nolte spends on bail money then I'm going to change my snacking selection. I'm just as happy munching on Sugar Babies and Junior Mints as I am on digging kernels of popcorn out of my teeth for the next few hours. As a fat guy I will go on record as saying I don't care what I eat. It's dark and my focus is on the screen. Give me chocolate covered ants, or deep fried grasshoppers and I'll probably never even notice unless the movie is total crap. I say the theater owners should get inventive. Tell the National Popcorn Society to go to hell and feed us something different. Unless your name is Orville Redenbacher you can probably sit through Pirates Of The Caribbean 18 -- The Curse of Jack's Kracken Bones without a barrel of butter drenched, air-infused corn. And if you can't well then you tell the kids there will be no Christmas this year and go ahead and break out the credit card at the concession stand.

This is the equivalent of strip clubs raising their cover prices because the cost of glitter has skyrocketed. I say we all put our foot down and start sneaking in bags of microwaved Pop Secret. Women use your purse, and guys, just cram it under your shirt. Sure you'll look fat and lumpy and you might even get a few grease stains on your clothes, but sacrifices have to be made. Besides, chicks still dug Elvis right up until the end and that same description could have been used to describe him.

Help Me Help You

I am an important man.

Scoff if you will, but obviously it is true.

Otherwise why would the staff of Rick Perry, the governor of this, the greatest state in the union work so hard to garner both my vote and my pledged support.

If you missed my post about Slick Rick and his reelection bid to once again lead the great state of Texas then by all means click here to catch up before proceeding.

Some of you overachievers might have actually clicked but I'm betting most of you did not. So long story short. i am not a Rick "The Hair" Perry fan. I said so once in a post and then shortly thereafter received an email from one of his campaign directors labeling herself as a big fan of my blog. She described me as an important and outspoken voice of Texas and urged me to vote and pledge my undying love for the hair spray manufacturer's of the world favorite politician.

So being the smart ass I am I penned a letter saying that while I have never been a Perry supporter I could be bought and if a book deal suddenly appeared out of thin air, even one from a  publishing company owned by a Rick Perry supporter I might change my mind. I signed that post ... Travis "Itchy Back" Erwin.

Needless to say, I wasn't surprised when the Perry campaign team did not respond.

And  then today I get a new little message int eh old inbox. From the same woman who claimed to be a big fan of my blog. An invite to attend a local soiree with none other than the Governor himself. A grassroots event they describe as an event where I can ...

"... learn how to help Governor Perry stand strong for Texas values."

A meet and greet session with an opportunity to shake hands and speak with the best man to lead our great state. The only man that shares my ideals and beliefs.


Their words, not mine. 

Sadly, I have to work during the time frame they gave me. I could take annual leave but despite the chance to have even more fun here at the blog I do believe I will forgo this "opportunity" and save my vacation time for things other things.



Unless of course the aforementioned publisher sends me a personal invite.


Actually I fear the whole invite may be a setup. Perhaps I would show only to discover to former UT offensive lineman looking not only to change my political thinking but also to reprimand me for the derogatory comments about the Longhorn football program.


And despite my take on Mr. Perry and gubernatorial abilities, I am in no way endorsing the other major contestant for the race, former Houston Mayor Bill White.

Though in the sense of fair play let me publicly state, Mr White, if you happen to be tight with any book publishers interested in a memoir about a boy coming-of-age while working at a dusty Texas feedstore for the world's most morally bankrupt boss .. then by all means I'm all ears.

Wherever you may be ... and whatever candidate you happen to support ... do not forget to get out and vote next Tuesday.

Remembering - A My Town Monday Post

Many a time on this blog I've pointed out terms that I consider misnomers or poorly chosen. On this, Memorial Weekend here in the United States I wish to share yet another one.

Friendly Fire.

This is the term used to describe military incidents when service men or women of the same uniform accidentally, or intentionally, shoot one of their own.

Way I see it there is nothing friendly about a chunk of lead hurling toward you at high speed, regardless of who happened to pull the trigger. The resulting damage is just as lethal, and for those who have suffered as the result of friendly fire, the tragedy just as pronounced. Maybe more so, since you expect a declared enemy to induce harm whereas you have placed trust in the hands of those who have volunteered to serve alongside you defending your countries principles and ideology.

Amarillo recently lost one of it's one to so-called friendly fire.

Army Major Mathew P Houseal was a doctor. A psychiatrist who worked for the Texas Panhandle Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center until 2007 when he decided to reenlist in the military. According to reports I've read, he was troubled by the high suicide rates among our military and wanted to do his part to help. Mr. Houseal was assigned to a stress relief center at Camp Liberty in Iraq.


On Monday May 11th, Houseal was shot and killed by one of the men he'd volunteered to help. Mathew Houseal was 54. Four other servicemen were also shot and killed. You can read the news story here.

Mathew Houseal leaves behind a wife and seven children. He was due to return to Amarillo in June where he planned to resume his work at Texas Panhandle Mental Health and Mental Retardation. I ask that you remember him along with all of the other men and women who have made sacrifice upon sacrifice for the sake of their country.

I never met Mr. Houseal personally but for a time his children attended the same school as my boys. My heart goes out to all of his family but especially to his children who have been robbed of their father. A college trust has been established on their behalf.

Benefit fund for Dr. Houseal's minor children, in care of Amarillo National Bank, 410 S. Taylor St., Amarillo, TX 79101.



Check back to discover links to other MY TOWN MONDAY posts from all over the world.

Patti Abbott - Detroit, Michigan
Jenn Jilks - Muskoka, Ontario, Canada
Chris - Hong Kong, China
Debra -Village of Peninsula, Ohio
Barbara Martin - Toronto, Canada
Terrie Farley Moran - Arlington, Virginia
Barrie Summy - San Diego, California
Mary - Olmsted Falls, Ohio
Clair Dickson - Livingston County, Michigan

Never Trust Anyone Who Doesn't Laugh

Monday's are my critique group night, but last night we did something different. Instead of taking the latest chapter of our work and reading it aloud for critique, my group and I got in our cars and headed south to Canyon, Texas and the campus of West Texas A&M University. There, along with a basketball arena full of other people, we sat and listened to Maya Angelou speak as part of WT's distinguished lecture series.

What an inspirations. Ms. Angelou's spirit, wit, and elegance held the crowd captive.

She spoke of honoring those who have provided all of us with the opportunities we now have. She talked about rainbows in the cloud and how we all had them in their past and it was just as important that we find way to be someone else's rainbows. She sang, she laughed, she cracked jokes as she told bits of her history. And all of it was wrapped inside a great personality and told with a smile that truly did light up the entire arena.

Then toward the end she spoke directly to me. Or so it seemed. Like a sinner sitting in the first row of pews I couldn't help but feel Ms. Angelou was addressing me when she started talking about humor and laughter.

First she said, "Never trust anyone who doesn't laugh."

I couldn't agree more.

Then she went on to add. "You see those people with the back of their hands pressed to their foreheads. They go around saying. 'I'm not laughing, because I'm serious.' " For that last part she adapted a falsetto to her voice to imitate those kind of people's speech pattern.

Then, in her own voice Maya, said, "I don't know how serious any of them are but they sure are boring as hell." The place erupted in laughter.

Then she gave us a bit of history on one of her more lighthearted poems. She prefaced it by saying. "I am not nor have I ever been a vegetarian." And suddenly I liked her all the more.

Then she shared a story about a visit some twenty odd years ago to a health diner where the waitress ridicule her for simply reaching for a package of cigarettes. I found that poem in the internet and I'm going to share it here.

The Health-Food Diner

No sprouted wheat and soya shoots
And Brussels in a cake,
Carrot straw and spinach raw,
(Today, I need a steak).

Not thick brown rice and rice pilaw
Or mushrooms creamed on toast,
Turnips mashed and parsnips hashed,
(I'm dreaming of a roast).

Health-food folks around the world
Are thinned by anxious zeal,
They look for help in seafood kelp
(I count on breaded veal).

No smoking signs, raw mustard greens,
Zucchini by the ton,
Uncooked kale and bodies frail
Are sure to make me run

to

Loins of pork and chicken thighs
And standing rib, so prime,
Pork chops brown and fresh ground round
(I crave them all the time).

Irish stews and boiled corned beef
and hot dogs by the scores,
or any place that saves a space
For smoking carnivores.

-- Maya Angelou

I don't smoke, but I understand exactly how she feels and that is Maya's true gift, capturing the human spirit. Whether it be a poem, an oral story or classic prose on a page she speaks not to the brain but to the heart and soul of those fortunate enough to be her audience.

An interesting tidbit. The very same West Texas A&M university is soon hosting Karl Rove as their commencement speaker. I can't imagine any tow individuals having more dissimilar life philosophy's than Ms. Angelou and Mr. Rove so I'll give the university kudos for their diversified approach.

Cheers - A My Town Monday Post

Most of my posts about Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle are positive, or at least neutral. I try to shy away from politics and my own opinions on this blog. I try to look at the bigger picture and present things that highlight the cultural differences between my home and yours, but this week I'm going to tell y'all about a common practice in these parts that is asinine regardless of how you paint it. I'm gonna ramble for a minute, but stay with me.

Canyon, Texas is but a short hop to the south of Amarillo. Twelve or so miles but there are enough businesses and homes along Interstate 27 that it only seems like four or five. Beyond Canyon, on Interstate 27 a traveler will pass through the towns of Happy, Tulia, Kress, Plainview, Hale Center, Abernathy, New Deal, and finally Lubbock. There Interstate 27 ends and since it beings in Amarillo the term Interstate is a misnomer, as all 112 miles of the road resides within the confines of The Lone Star State. So let's call I-27 an Intrastate Highway. But the wrongly named roadway isn't really what this post is about. There is actually something else odd about the byway.

It's dry.

No, I''m not talking about the lack of rainfall, or the evaporating playa lakes. I'm talking about booze. Until recently* you could not buy a single drop of alcohol anywhere between the outskirts of Amarillo and the far side of Lubbock.



HAPPY, TX - THE TOWN WITHOUT A FROWN ... OR A GOOD STIFF DRINK.



And even odder, Canyon, Texas is a college town. The home of West Texas A&M University.

Simply put, I do not get dry counties. I understand the theory. The entire remove from temptation rhetoric, but I ain't buying it. People that wanna drink are gonna drink regardless. Prohibition failed miserably and went a long way to creating organized crime. So how does anyone think regionalized prohibition is a good idea? Yes, bootlegging of a sort is common. Not like the rum runners and moonshiners of old that created NASCAR, but many a guy can make a few bucks by hauling back a case of brew for his buddies after a trip to Amarillo or Nazareth. Nazareth is a small German community that sits a ways off of the interstate. Despite having less than 400 residents the tiny rural town supports two or three liquor stores because all of the surrounding areas are dry.

I'm open for discussion on the benefits of a dry county, but I am of the opinion that the policy creates problems rather than solving them. I say it creates drunk drivers. If a guy has to get in his car and head a county or two over he's not going to wait until he gets home to crack that first beer like he might if his trip was only to the convenience store around the corner. And when the boys at the frat house run out of beer,a s they are eventually going to do, isn't it better if they have the option to walk to a store on the edge of campus, or ride a bike? Not in Canyon, they have to hop in a car and get on the interstate no less.

Ohh ... but the tee-totalers would have you to believe that the frat parties at WT involve Hawaiian Punch and Kool-Aid, because it's too much trouble to import beer from that ungodly big city twelve miles to the north.

Okay I'm going to step down off my beerbox and say there are a number of counties in the Texas Panhandle that have restricted liquor laws. Some are completely dry - no booze whatsoever. Others you can join a private club and drink there - again forcing you to drive home at the end of the night. Some sell beer and wine only. Most places in the entire state restrict hard liquor sales on Sunday or after 9 PM the other days.

Now I'm in no way condoning drunk driving. I'm all for designated drivers, heck I'm all for drinking in the safety of your own home, but when rules go overboard and create more problems than they solve, I just don't get how they remain in place.

So I'm curious. Is this dry county business a bible belt side affect or do you have such in your area. Can you buy hard liquor on Sunday? Or after 9? What unique laws do you have? And yes, I am fully aware that I am stumping for what many consider a sin on one of the most religious days of the year. But after all, Jesus turned that water into wine, not grape juice.



* The city of Plainview recently voted to lift the no booze ban in order to recapture the tax revenue they were losing to other counties.


Thirsty for more MY TOWN MONDAY posts? Check out these links.


Yellowdog Granny - West, Texas
David Cranmer - Castine, Maine
Barbara Martin - Toronto, Canada
Debra - Village of Peninsula, Ohio
Gary Dobbs - South Wales, England
Lana Gramlich - Abita Springs, Louisiana
Barrie Summy - San Diego, California
Reb - Elk Island National Park, Alberta, Canada
Passage of Woman - Kingston, Tennessee
Chris - India
Terrie Farley Moran - New York City, New York
Patti Abbott - Hamtramck, Michigan
J Winter - Cincinnati, Ohio
Cloudia - Honolulu, Hawaii
Carolee Sherwood - Ogunquit Beach, Maine
A.K. - Delhi, India
Clair Dickson - Livingston County, Michigan
Junosmom - Kentucky

When the Sunshine is Gone -- A My Town Monday Post

Each town has its cliques those who don't get along
and then there's towns I know where certain kids just don't belong
so know your rivals and watch your back
'cause no one's gonna be there when the enemy attacks

[Chorus:]
When the justice eludes you it's the fortunes of war wouldn't things be different had the tables been turned? If the people won't protect you you must fend for yourself when the justice eludes you it's the fortunes of war

You drove right over him and then you sped away how does it feel to kill and know you didn't pay? So walk away even though a life is gone someday, you'll know the price when god repays you for your wrongs


Those are lyrics to a song titled Fortunes of War by the Dropkick Murphys.

They were written about and were dedicated to the memory of a young man named Brian Deneke.

Brian was murdered December 12th, 1997. He was nineteen years old. He was killed in my town -- Amarillo, Texas.

His untimely death was featured on 20/20, Leeza, Dateline NBC, and an MTV documentary. An entire sub culture rallied around Brian's memory, and along with the television shows, labeled Amarillo as a den of intolerance.

Brian was a punk rocker. His killer a jock. And on that cold icy December night, the two, along with their friends, were fighting for no reason other than the differences in their lifestyle.

The argument started in an IHOP parking lot and then moved across to an empty mall parking lot. That is where, according to eyewitness testimony from the trial, Dustin Camp deliberately aimed his Cadillac at Brian and ran him down, saying "I'm a ninja in my Caddy" as he did so. The backseat passenger that testified, also claimed that Brian was holding a black stick.

Both sides acknowledge that they were fighting. As to who started the brawl, which by all accounts involved nightsticks, bats, and chains, varies according to sides. Regardless, every last person at the scene made bad decisions. Both sides had been drinking, and nothing good can come from a parking lot brawl, so it's a shame that neither side found the strength to walk away that night.

The sad thing is that something as superficial as looks and lifestyle choices resulted in a young person's death. A young person that was more than his studded leather jacket, homemade tattoos, and spiked mohawk hair.

Brian was a punk rocker. He was also a Boy Scout, a Kwahadi Indian Dancer, some one's son, a friend to many, a skateboarder, and a young man that others called Sunshine.

The resulting trial creating much resentment. The defense team held up Brian's clothes as if to say no respectable citizen would wear such. They brought Brian's former Boy Scout leader to the stand and had him speak about kicking Brian out of the troop for bringing his skateboard to meetings. They trumpeted Brian as an All-American kid who did what he had to after being attacked by a band of thugs, criminal and street urchins. His football coach testified to Brian's character.

The court did not allow evidence of Dustin's original testimony that Brian slipped on the ice and fell under his 1983 Cadillac and that he braked to avoid hitting the other boy. Testimony that proved Dustin was lying about that night since he later admitted to aiming his car for Brian and there were no skid marks or evidence that Dustin ever hit the brakes.

Dustin was 17 when he ran down Brian. In august of 1999 the trial finally commenced and when the the smoke cleared Dustin Camp was convicted of manslaughter. He received 10 years probation and a probated fine of $10,000 for the taking of a human life.

Questions were raised. Would the punishment have been as light had the fates been reversed? Had Dustin's clean cut appearance and all-American boy virtues bought him leniency? Had the jury not been as sympathetic because the victim did not look like the boy next door?

Was Amarillo a bigoted den of intolerance?

Those are question I can't answer, but as a lifelong citizen of Amarillo I will say the vast majority of people that live hear are good, decent, hardworking people. I would call them reluctant more than intolerant. They are reluctant to accept change, or outsiders. Reluctant to relinquish their conservative values.

Brian's murder and the resulting trial are not one of the cities better moments, but I do not believe it is fair to label the entire town for the mistakes of a few.

A year and a half after his conviction Dustin Camp was arrested on multiple charges including minor in possession and evading arrest. his probation was revoked and he was sentenced to 8 years in prison. I believe he has since been released even though his eight years would go through next year.

I did not know Brian, though I have met his father. As a father myself I grieve for him and his family's loss as I can not imagine the pain this crime has caused for them. I look forward to the day when all humans start treating each other humanely.

Brian Deneke (1978-1997)

Links to other My Town Monday posts.

PreTzel - West Bend, Iowa
Lyzzydee - Welwyn garden City, England
Sex Scenes at Starbucks - Winter Park, Colorado
Debra - village of Peninsula, Ohio
Chris - Hong Kong, China
Barbara Martin - Toronto, Canada
Mary - Olmsted Falls, Ohio
Barrie Summy - Ann Arbor, Michigan
Chuck - Kentucky
Nan Higginson - New York City, New York
Patti Abbott - Ann Arbor, Michigan
J Winter - Cincinnati, Ohio
Cloudia - Waikiki, Hawaii
Rebecca - Groom, Texas

Poll This

I'm sick of politics. Reading about them, hearing about them, keeping up with them.

Matter of fact I'm down right disgruntled with the entire two party system.

Democracy my ass. Only two candidates have a real chance and even those individuals candidates aren't allowed to truly be individuals. Instead they have to pander to their party's ideals.

Know what I wanna see?

A gun-toting, corporate CEO loving Democrat ... or a gay, Republican atheist.

During the primary and caucus season each candidate spends his time saying I subscribe to the party's list of rules (they call it platform) and all of my opponents are secretly communist or spies from the other party.

Then when they get the nomination we hear, "My party's set of rules are better than you party's set of rules so vote for me."

Leaders should lead not recite from a rule sheet. A castrated pig has more balls than either of the current candidates.

Next presidential election I'm forming the Human Party where you are allowed to think for yourself, disagree with others, and yes, even make a mistake or two. And all tree-hugging Republicans who want to spend more on social programs are invites as are all Pro-Life Democrats who secretly shout Drill Baby Drill! Heck we'll even take a Libertarians that thinks the government does have a right to make us wear a seatbelt.

The one and only requirement is to have an opinion that someone else didn't cram down your pie hole.

Rant over.

Political Reporter Travis, Chiming In

This is the first of two posts I'm putting forth this afternoon. I really try to focus this blog on me, my life, my pursuits to peddle my fiction, and life as I live it. In a way I present myself on here much int he way I would present a fictional character in a book. I try to stay out of the mundane as well as my political and philosophical views on all issues of importance. Yeah call me a chicken, but I choose not to use my voice hear as a means dive into politics, religion, or many other explosive issues.

However, that disclaimer aside this post is political because I've had several comments and emails from those expressing to hear details of the speech Presidential hopeful Barack Obama deliver to the delegation of the American Postal Workers Union today. Senator Obama did not appear before the body of us in person but rather via live video.

Obama was welcomed by standing crowd that was already shouting YES WE CAN under the direction of APWU president William Burress. The candidate's first big reaction came when he said that under the Bush administration the Department of Labor had become the Department of Management. He promised to change that by making certain to appoint those friendly to workers not CEO's to those positions.

Obama's other pledges were to end tax breaks for companies that use overseas labor. He vowed to strengthen the protection afforded by the Family Medical Leave Act and to end the trend of privatization of all public service jobs.

Perhaps his biggest cheers came when he said he would be a president that would not choke on the word UNION. To that front he guaranteed his support of the Employee Free Choice Act which is an important piece of literature regarding unions and their rights and ability to organize.

That's it in a nutshell. Will post a blog more along my normal lines shortly.