REFLECTIONS by Uncle John
Spring 2004, Washington, D.C.
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people
some of the time, but you can´t fool all of the people all of the time."
--Abraham Lincoln
Washington, D.C. is a hotbed of poetry. It is a town like ancient Greece or Rome with its huge rolling columns, statues and continuing history. It is a place of reflection and signs for inspiration. There’s a lot of biblical references here and unique antiquated architecture. It’s the week of the cherry blossom festival. I’m searching for a museum called Folkways Recordings when I stumble upon the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library. I’m here to attend a poetry reading to celebrate and open National Poetry Month. The main event here is at the library, a poetry happening called “Taking Poetry to the Street”, with poetry slams for middle and high school students, poetry performances, jazz music, poetry workshops, films, books and readings. It's also National Library week this month (April).
Uncle John
Poetry Reading
Java Head Café, Washington, D.C
THE DAY JACK KENNEDY DIED
by John Patenaude
Shots rang out and there was a pause.
I'll never forget where I was.
I remember how so many people cried
the day Jack Kennedy died.
So many hearts turned to pray,
after the flash that interrupted the day,
for the territory's change in its executive guide
the day Jack Kennedy died.
I'll never forget who he was.
How great in our minds because
his oratories were so profound,
his rhetoric kept us inspired and sound.
Remember when he was with his staff,
how he used his wit to make them laugh.
He was a wise man and didn't complain
of our burden he carried, or his own real pain.
He was determined and his courage was clear.
He was a man of conviction without fear.
Everybody worldwide felt emotion inside
the day Jack Kennedy died.
Love for him can't keep hid
his inquiring smile photographed like a kid.
We'll never forget the blood on this lamb or being misty-eyed,
the way we felt the day Jack Kennedy died.
All Rights Reserved
*“We in this country, in this generation, are,
by destiny rather than choice, the watchmen on the walls of world freedom.
We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility,
that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint,
and that we may achieve in our time and for all time
the ancient vision of ‘peace on earth, goodwill toward men’.
This must be our goal, and must always underlie our strength."
--President John F. Kennedy
* excerpted from an undelivered speech, Dallas, Texas, November 22,1963
Read John Patenaude´s unpublished article,
Exclusive coverage of Queen Elizabeth & President Reagan´s
visit to San Francisco & their stay at the St. Francis Hotel,
including stories of Ronald Reagan´s early years.
John´s first year at Fordham University was at Fordham College
and his first major was Political Science.
Excerpts
ROOTS
One night, Ronald Reagan was riding with his dad, Jack Reagan,
and they stopped in an isolated town where there was one hotel,
but Jack refused to rent a room there
because the clerk bragged that they did not serve Jews.
That cold winter night, Ronald and Jack slept in their car.
POOL STORIES
I was inside a special room in the St. Francis Hotel in Union Square
with San Francisco reggae guitarist Lew Doss and
PC World/MAC World magazine Publisher David Bunnell,
and we were discussing the role of the Press.
Lew and I had been interviewed by a reporter from Boca Raton, Florida
inquiring about our Publisher friend.
This occurred during the same month
that reporters and commentators from around the world
descended upon California to follow the Queen of England
and her first official visit to San Francisco,
and cover the Presidential stay
with the Royal couple at the St. Francis.
FLASH
Every journalist in town set out to find the scoop du jour.
In the Sunset district, the artist Roger Broomfield
found a pink Baby Grand Piano inside a dumpster,
and another time, an antique rug.
Perhaps the dumpster behind the St. Francis might yield a treasure.
This, though, was no expedition a la A.J. Weberman,
who is infamous for scurrying through Bob Dylan´s trash
seeking bottles of booze.
As I dug into the bin I recovered
The President´s Itinerary Schedule and Assignment Calendar.
As I was retrieving my yet unknown sudden find,
an exquisitely dressed lady approaches and says to me,
"I know what you are looking for,"
and presses a piece of paper into my hand.
I am surprised to see a picture of Abraham Lincoln
on a five dollar bill, and when I look up, she has vanished.
REVELATIONS
On March 4
Dr. Henry Keith introduces President Ronald Reagan
at the Commonwealth Club luncheon
in the Continental ballroom of The Hilton.
While the President speaks,
hundreds of homeless people line the streets,
all dressed in tuxedos shouting "We want jobs!"
The Reverend Cecil Williams of Glide Memorial Church,
who feeds nearly three thousand hungry people everyday
in San Francisco, distributed the donated tuxes
with the free lunch, to coincide with the official visit.
The people on the street were demanding jobs and housing.
A PLEA FOR SANITY
Early in the morning, I am sitting near "Dewey´s Winged Victory"
in Union Square, the center of the city in pioneer days,
and named for meetings held here in 1860 supporting the Union,
directly across the street from the St. Francis,
housing the President and Queen, and their loyal spouses,
where they sleep peacefully, the Queen in the Presidential Suite
and the President in the London Suite.
I can see the flags of the United Kingdom and the United States
fly side-by-side.
The streets are completely deserted.
Alone in this public square, I light a marijuana joint
and inhale the fragrance of freedom in America,
and reflect on what God says about this.
In Genesis, from the Bible, it says all herbs are a gift from God.
God also said,
"See, I give you every seed bearing plant all over the earth..."
STEM
President and Mrs. Reagan celebrate
their thirty-first wedding anniversary
aboard the floating Palace H.M.Y. Britannia,
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip´s home at sea.
The President´s gift for Queen Elizabeth II
is an original copy of
"Sir Francis Drake´s Voyage Around The World,
Its Aims and Achievements" by Henry R. Wagner,
published by John Howell in 1926.
FLOWERS
The St. Francis is one of the most opulent
and elegant hotels in the western world.
Its prospectus when formed in 1903 states
it would be "a caravansary worthy of standing
at the threshold of the Occident,
and as the representative of California hospitality."
When I met with Boston writer Jonathan Kozol,
on his visit to San Francisco,
he joked that his Publisher (Doubleday)
couldn´t afford the St. Francis
and he had to settle for the Hilton instead.
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