Hey Nineteen

Foretelling COVID-19 and its social distancing, forty years early. Precognitive lyrics from Steely Dan's 1980 hit.

Hey Nineteen
No, we can't dance together
No, we can't talk at all

by Monkey's Dad April 25, 2020

Wankee Doodle Dandy

Boris Johnson, born in the United States, now, somehow, Prime Minister of Britain.

The ghost of Churchill returned to 10 Downing Street just long enough to be stunned that his once-dignified office was being sullied by this Wankee Doodle Dandy.

by Monkey's Dad September 21, 2019

Amanda Gorman

The 22-year-old poet who spoke with poise and eloquence at the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, reading her poem "The Hill We Climb". Ms. Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet in United States history, earned wide praise and admiration for her contribution to an event regarded, by several measures, as historically significant.

Amanda Gorman joins a small group of poets who have graced a presidential inauguration with their words, among them Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, Miller Williams, Elizabeth Alexander and Richard Blanco.

From "The Hill We Climb", she read:
"And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it.
Somehow, we do it.
Somehow, we’ve weathered and witnessed
A nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished."

by Monkey's Dad January 24, 2021

roc

rate of change. The speed at which change occurs.

Reeling from the unprecedented roc. And you?

by Monkey's Dad March 19, 2020

through the cracks

Some fall through the cracks, others peek through.

Falling through the cracks, many Americans took to the streets in massive protest of racial injustice and police brutality. Peeking through the cracks, many Americans watched in fear as the streets were filled with anger and pain they could hardly comprehend.

by Monkey's Dad June 03, 2020

unstrung hero

Someone whose usual leadership skills are unraveling in the face of the unknown.

She knew her kids looked up to her, yet suddenly faced with total loss of income, feeling her symptoms of coronavirus increasing by the hour, she feared she would become their unstrung hero.

by Monkey's Dad March 25, 2020

beneficial side effect

Faced with the global COVID-19 pandemic, hostilities between nations seem to have vanished.

We are all in it together, all human and vulnerable to the same degree. If there can be a beneficial side effect to a devastating pandemic, it may be this awareness.

by Monkey's Dad April 07, 2020