Holiday Dilemma

With the fourth of July on a Wednesday,
Seems like everyone's slightly confused;
Though for children and fireworks makers,
They're sure to be extra-enthused.

For those on vacation, you've got a whole week
With the fourth falling smack in the middle;
But if just a long weekend is all you can take,
Then your choice is a tough as a riddle.

Do you pack up and leave on the Friday before
And drive home as the fireworks burst?
Or do you start your weekend in holiday mode
As excitement gets slowly reversed?

This dilemma extends to each township as well -
When to sponsor your bang-up display?
On the Fourth when some people will not be around
Or on pre or post-Fourth Saturday?

To the purist, the answer is clear as can be
For the Fourth of July is unique;
So let's celebrate Wednesday, although I am sure
We'll hear cherry bombs all through the week!

Pre-Existing

How can something pre-exist?
It either does or doesn’t.
If I were stricken with disease,
I either was or wasn’t.

When anything exists, it is;
Or it is nonexistent.
To travel back in time, it seems
Is out-of-reach and distant.

If health care will not cover me
‘Cause I’m already sick,
Then I must try to cure myself
And I should do so quick;

But even if I’m cured, I’m told
My problem’s “pre-existing.”
Insurance will not cover me,
Some people are insisting.

I find it quite confusing
And at times I could have sworn
That I’ve somehow pre-existed,
Prior to my being born.

Politics and Ice Cream

Start to talk Obamacare
With a perfect stranger,
And you never know if you’ll
Hit pay dirt or find danger.

Politics is tricky stuff
So maybe your rapport
With someone you just met today
While at the Jersey shore,

Could turn out to be based upon
Agreement on one thing;
But even if it was,
A little pleasure it did bring.

A sunny day, an ice cream cone,
Good friends and to the mix,
Toss in an unknown person
Willing to talk politics…

And what you get is just a smidge
Of life as lived each day
In towns both big and tiny
All across the U.S.A.

Music

Whether you like rock or rap
Or classical or jazz,
Music is the equalizer
Everybody has.

Often we’ve heard quoted, “Music
Soothes the savage beast.”
Listening to music helps
Emotions get released.

Opera may make you cry
And hip hop make you dance;
Show tunes make you sing along
And some inspire romance.

Salsa music makes you move
And reggae makes you jive;
Marching music, so emphatic,
Shouts, “I am alive!”

We need sunshine, food and drink
And love to help sustain us,
But music is the magic
With the power to unchain us.

Shakespeare in the Park

There is magic in the air
As twilight turns to dark
And some are witness to the treat
Of Shakespeare in the Park.

The tickets can be had for free
(You wait in line for hours)
And sometimes while you’re waiting,
There is brutal sun or showers.

Yet what rewards await you!
Shakespeare’s language, acting’s best,
A gentle breeze, the birds a’twitter:
Nature’s joys expressed.

The audience, quite riveted,
Just sparkles with delight –
So fortunate to be a part
Of such a wondrous night.

It isn’t often wealth or fame
Or privileged pedigree
Can’t equal what the Delacorte
Bestows on us for free.

An opportunity like this
Is rare within the city,
And missing out on such a prize
Would truly be a pity.

Ann Romney's Blouse

Mitt Romney's wife was criticized
(Though she was not defensive)
Because she chose to wear a blouse
Considered quite expensive.

She wore it on a TV show
So she would look her best,
But journalists decided that
She’d failed the litmus test.

All those who like to criticize
Were ready with their clucks,
Delighted to reveal that blouse
Surpassed nine hundred bucks!

Though prices through the stratosphere
I cannot comprehend,
I wonder why reporters care
What politicians spend.

John Edwards’ haircut, Palin’s suits
And now Ann Romney’s blouse,
Provide the ammunition so
The columnists can grouse.

Such splurges prove to all of us
Those folks are out of touch.
They have no clue that most of us
Would never spend so much.

Yet still, I find it strange these facts
Are told with fevered pitch;
Beware of candidates like these –
They’re not like us – they’re rich!

Perverts

When I heard the news
The latest pervert was convicted,
I felt glad he’d pay
For all the pain that he inflicted.

Though he’ll go to jail
(And hopefully, will rot in hell),
It sounds as if his victims
Aren’t faring quite so well.

Their detailed stories fill me
With disgust and downright rage;
What the perpetrator’s feeling, though
Is very hard to gauge.

He had to know that what he did
Was horrible and wrong;
Among the lowest of the low
Is where he does belong.

He did it with impunity
And no one said a word;
Accusing such a trusted soul
Seemed totally absurd.

The lesson to be learned is that
Appearances can lie;
Suspicions should be followed –
No exceptions should apply.

My heart goes out to all of those
Who suffered at the hands
Of the perverts who deserve the fate
Society demands.