Love and Weather

Love and Weather

By BR Chitwood

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 Weather tomorrow: Blue Skies, soft

breezes and Sunshine!

Turn off spigot to troubling thoughts!

Believe in your dreams and attack the day!

Keep the smile in place – someone is nearby…

Love taps tenderly on your shoulder, and kisses your cheek…

A song plays loudly on a passing auto:

More dreams pass with a zephyr.

The Western sky spreads its beautiful

Panorama of colors…

There is no place on Earth that you would rather be.

Car horns honk blessings to the couple on a tree-lined mall

As they continue their lovers’ walk to their brighter future!

Hearts and Souls unite for this special day of Happiness!

*

BR Chitwood – June 15 2020

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My 20 books in most genres with synopses, book cover pics, over 500 blog posts, Short Stories, Flash Fiction, and Poetry are on my WordPress Website…

My WordPress Website: https://www.billyraychitwood.com


Love and Weather

Love and Weather

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By BR Chitwood

***

 Weather tomorrow: Blue Skies, soft

breezes and Sunshine!

Turn off spigot to troubling thoughts!

Believe in your dreams and attack the day!

Keep the smile in place – someone is nearby…

Love taps tenderly on your shoulder, and kisses your cheek…

A song plays loudly on a passing auto:

More dreams pass with a zephyr.

The Western sky spreads its beautiful

Panorama of colors…

There is no place on Earth that you would rather be.

Car horns honk blessings to the couple on a tree-lined mall

As they continue their lovers’ walk to their brighter future!

Hearts and Souls unite for this special day of Happiness!

*

BR Chitwood – June 15 2020

***

My 20 books in most genres with synopses, book cover pics, over 500 blog posts, Short Stories, Flash Fiction, and Poetry are on my WordPress Website…

My WordPress Website: https://www.billyraychitwood.com

Or: https://www.brchitwood.com

  ***

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Life, Love, and Longings

Life, Love, and Longings

A Poem by BR Chitwood

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Short, Tall, Lanky, All Sizes, All Colors,

              Males, Females, Cats, Dogs, ‘Beasts of Prey’,

           Gays, Straights, Old and Young, All Creatures,

        Popes and paupers, have precise engineering

           Which allow them to satisfy their needs For Love,

         For Hate, For Expression – with different styles          and Languages, of course.

**

      There are many Specialists who make it their  

          Life’s work to journey through knowledge fields

          To enlighten our minds with new information…

           We are landing on the Moon, entering deeper into

       Outer Space, Exploring Mars and other planets

       With newer technology, giving the US public new

     And promising information…

  ***

Here on Earth, we live with raw street violence,

   Robberies, Murder, wanton terrorism in our cities,

 And ‘Politics’ has turned a different scary shade of

Yellow, without sensible leadership, Marxist drivel

Occupying many college campuses…it cannot be

  This writer alone seeing our country going to hell

                in that ‘proverbial hand-basket’!

****

 I am not the smartest ‘ape’ in this jungle but I need this moment to express my concern for our United States of America… In short, we need, badly need, new leadership to restore border law enforcement, to rid our political representatives from receiving big money from ‘K Street operatives. We need a person who cannot be bought…

*****

BR Chitwood – June 8, 2022

For the Love of my Country!

My 20 books in many genres, over 500 blog posts, short stories, flash fiction, and Poetry, all at:

https://www.brchitwood.com

Hope you don’t mind my saying so: ‘There are some great novels I’ve built around ‘unsolved cases’ as well as Romance, Mystery, Suspense, Sci-Fi, History, and other genres…

Hope you have an opportunity to read my books, blog posts, F/F, and Poetry.

BRC

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Lester at Dexter High

Lester at Dexter High School

Lester at Dexter High

*

BR Chitwood

It Is quite amazing how and why people have the impulse to disfavor you in all kinds of settings – be it a Store, a Movie House, Church, School, sidewalk, a restaurant, anywhere!

Maybe it’s a ‘Social, verbal vitriolic attack because the personal ‘VVA’ remembers the number of times the person ‘has pushed his/her button recently’. Let’s call the ‘VVA’ another name as well, his real name, Lester Hale, the local high school football’s team hero who has shot them to the top of their local Football Division.

As in most cases of ‘Bullying’, the ‘Les’ knows how to sketch the points of where he levels our unsuspecting victim. The most frightening aspect of this ill-guided Teen-ager is that he understands exactly where the key is kept when not being used.

Lester has other problems this day. He watches the kids scratch their heads over the number of police present at the school, checking lockers and classrooms. He also catches the stares from members of the police unit. He is not intimidated by their presence.

He is however eager to know ‘why’ the police presence? The ‘deal’ he has cooked up doesn’t go until the bell rings at 3:15 PM.

Hey, I’m just backing to a few pages of history, and I’m not surprised to find we have had these kids with fouled brains throughout our history. The bastards who get them there have set the tone for their thoughts and their hatred…

Lester is having a marvelous day: he has gotten some real scary faces around him, those who wonder what is coming next from this unregistered member of the ‘KKK’ who has modified their programs of devastation. There is nothing good that will be coming from this group, other than dumbing-down talk and action…their lives, the way they were taught to live them. The kids had a chance, but did they have the positive images of ‘Purple Mountain Majesty’, ‘America the Beautiful’, and ‘A house not divided’ who sang the positive and the beautiful… No, the kids had their music and lyrics written for them by ‘lame duck’ nay-sayers and those shooting the dice for glory and bounty.

 cheeksso much to people coming to America, and, somehow, ‘the melting pot’ became a ‘shooting arcade’, a place you can pick a good fight anywhere.

I cannot spend much time with our Governmental successes – certainly, not in the past couple of years, but it seems the young congress ‘modifiers’ – AOC and her group, are making America somewhat of a Pariah Playground…licking their cheeks and taking our money.

We are so close to becoming a country with all the evil forces of the past settling in for Armageddon.

I am not a ‘Doom-Sayer’ but, now an old man, I worry for my kids, grand-kids, and great-grand kids. We have the greatest motivators in our country coming forward, good and honest people. ‘Bite the bullets’ you need to bite, get rid of the ‘losers’, but, please, get our country running again. We have all you ‘red, white, and blue’ power-movers, and one can hope for here in the USA an emerging country and economy – with lots of gas, food stuffs, and some very large bottles of Champagne.

Come on, America, Let’s get going!

*

BR Chitwood – June 1, 2022

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https://www.brchitwood.com

*

I have written 20 books, 500 blogs, short stories, flash fiction, poetry, and songs…hope you can enjoy some of my work…they are all at https://www.brchitwood.com

So Much Mayhem and Mud

So Much Mayhem and Mud!

*

BR Chitwood

*

Papers print the news!

Television shoots the live images!

A senile president can only play ‘Yesterday’!

Can it be that so many of our public Servers are ‘brain dead’?

It is all unfolding before our eyes!

Daily!

Hourly!

Innocents are killed!

The world quakes in disgust!

Where is Superman?

The Militia?

The total outrage!

Can we be this weak in protecting our people?

When the hell is enough, ENOUGH?

We are throwing money away like drunken fools!

Rampant are the fools we trust!

Where is the End?

The last body laid to rest?

Where is the wrath of God?

The tune plays on and on!

Someone must care!

Troops must be everywhere!

Until!

Until the madness is gone!

Until babies can be born again!

Until the reason for living is viable again!

Until gross selfishness suffocates from its labor!

Until the world can awaken to new days!

To brightness and peace!

To merciful giving and love!

It must come!

Doom awaits in the shadows!

Be rid of malice and brutal behavior!

Now, dammit!

Not in a few weeks or months!
Now, dammit!

No more bullshit!

Now, dammit!

Rid us of hypocrisy in Government!

Give us our inalienable rights?

Now, dammit!

*

BR Chitwood – May (NOW), 2022

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My 20 books, 500 blog posts, short stories, Flash Fiction, Poetry, Songs can be found at:

https://www.brchitwood.com

When is Tomorrow?

When is Tomorrow?

*

BR Chitwood

*

 For many, tomorrow never comes!

Why?

Because ‘Tomorrow’ for many is a ‘dream day’, that day when bells ring and all that one has wished to happen – happens! They become rich through a lottery drawing! They hear from their agent that a publisher has decided on their novel, their book of poetry, their historical fantasy. They receive word that The War Has Ended! Twin girls are born! big raise at work! Dream Days that make a Tomorrow rich with blessings and joy.

Because of circumstances, because of educational growth, low IQs, because of inbred anger, poverty, ignorance, laziness, and any number of causal effects, ‘Dream Days’ never come for some of us. No matter our prayers, our hopes and wishes, the Dream Days never come.

In a Democracy, each of us has our Freedom and Liberty to take us to our Dreams and Goals. Some of us are lazy and wait for the world to offer us our dream. It is seldom that will happen, and, when it does happen, the ending will not be easy to watch. Some will turn to crime for a possible rescue from their prevailing state of life, some even to murder…their envy and hatred of those who have worked hard to make their lives satisfying.

So, what is all this gibberish really trying to say…you read the newspapers…you watch the news on TV or hear it on your radios.

It comes down to this!

Our leaders – president, house, senate, state houses must be much better at their jobs, never lose sight of the People for whom they work. Those who use their charm and speaking talent and their enticing promises only as a stepping stone for the lifetime benefits of the Lobbyists and their own greed must be thrown out of office. People like George Soros and the rich who buy their favors cannot be allowed to interfere with government business for the American people. ‘Mr. Clean’ has a hellava job in cleaning up federal, state, and local governments.

If this country can do these things for the American people, we will see some very ugly statistics go speedily down, riots become a ‘thing’ of the past, criminals paying dearly for their crimes, prosperity becoming common for all states. All colors among our citizens are equal now. Then, again, what the hell do I know! I’m just an aging American citizen who wants all we attest to in our founding documents… LIFE, LIBERTY, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, PROSPERITY FOR THE PEOPLE OF ALL OUR GREAT COUNTRY…

You read it here! If we have to start over, START OVER!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Color me Naïve, Dumb, or, Close!

*

BR Chitwood – May 23, 2022

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https://www.brchitwood.com

Our Scarred World

Our Scarred World

BR Chitwood

*

Somewhere along the scarred and diverse political line there has got to come a civil and practical union of minds…minds that can see the distinction between schoolyard bullies, those who have been fed political slop of bias and wrong-working policies from one side of the spectrum from parents who argue parts of political problems without the Bona fides to succeed…and, of course, minds that can see more logical and compatible policies that help an entire nation – not, just those labeled with ‘blue’ alone, but those that can work for the ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’.

I’m approaching that part of life where my living parameters are flashing with great neon awareness, where my political will and logic are weak and meager – not that they ever were so forceful in altering anyone’s assumptions on the blackboards of the two major forces who vie for our votes. I have never been this concerned about our nation as I am in the present. I see forces at work that could literally push our sacred ‘Life, Liberty, and Freedom’, our ‘Constitution of the United States’, our ‘Bill of Rights’, ‘Unity of Races’, all for which our proud men and women died for in our wars.

It seems to me all people – Blacks, Whites, Asians, et al – are now firmly part of our great United States of America…a splendid quilt, if you will of all among us.

So, why, ‘riots’? Why, rampant thievery and murder that does not invest its energies in the evening time, but during the day, visible to all who are watching. Yet, our fragmented police District Attorneys appear to be bought off by big money people – we have heard some of their names.

It must be admitted here, as I write this post, that I well-know nothing written here can or will never alter the issues of which I write. It is for me a simple attempt at renouncing the vile perpetraters of crime, malice, and evil doers who have no respect for our country or the people who honestly try to get our system in working order.

In these past couple of years I have seen our country’s borders come to ruin with millions of peoples from all over the world coming into the United States, along with purveyors of killer-drugs for sale, the Cartels making millions of dollars in smuggling and drugs in the process.

The man we call President, his Vice-President, and all of his cabinet picks are without equals in their government posts – words like ‘evil’, dumb, and unworthy come to mind…

There has never been a doubt in my mind that this current president was fraudulently elected, that he is eminently senile and puts our great country in peril…not to mention the son of this president who has committed crimes in his sexual pursuits and his use of our government as his benefactor.

Those who are reading this, YOU are correct! I should not be writing these words…although truthful and the ‘great washed’ among us know my words ring true…

So, I thank those who might read this post for their indulgence…after all, I’m only writing of things you already know.

I love this country and want the very best in leadership for its future, for me, my family, and all the families of the United States of America.

*

BR Chitwood – May 18, 2022

https://www.brchitwood.com

*All that I have written is on the above Website: 20 books, 500 blog posts, many short stories, many ‘flash fiction’ pieces, poetry, songs, and bio information…Hope you can visit… –

BRC

ired But Still in the Fight

Tired – But Still in the Fight

BR Chitwood

*

The softness, sweetness settles within me

On this still, slumberous, summer day…

The sky above is clear and convenient

 To my aging heart and soul of wandering.

The big windows out of which I peer

Display the birds, quails and rabbits in

Their daily missions for food and play,

          Forever watchful as the coyotes are fast         

 Afoot, canny, can spring from the idle

Brush, Ironwood, and Palo Verde Trees.

*

Here, in the comfort of A/C and luxury,  

My mind ponders the plurality of messages

My outside view might reveal through

This tired heart and soul that have borne

Witness to so much my Gracious God

Has so generously shared along my way…

The joy of love and family, the search

For fame and glory that has shown in

Quantities never as large as one might hope,

Never the prominence foolish pride allowed.

*

So, it seems this beauty outside my windows

Is occasionally followed by rain and wind…

Perhaps, more in hope and longing, nay, in

Truth and Faithful days and nights of dark

And wistful thoughts, witnessed by the moon

And brilliant stars outside another window…

After prayer, a truth emerges, vague, tingling,

And, suddenly, my bedroom wall to the East,

 An amorphous cloud slowly passes, my eyes

Widen: an image of Jesus gently smiling…

*

BR Chitwood –

https://brchitwood.com

Do You Know This Man?

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Do You Know This Man?

By BR Chitwood

Do You Know This Man?

No? I knew him, not so well, some forty years ago…he was a habitue, a devotee, of the Phoenix neon night life, searching for parts of himself he lost along a long emotional road from the hills of Appalachia: lost in an abusive and disoriented childhood; lost in a flawed and impetuous marriage; lost in the glittering promise of booze and women. Yes, I knew him, not so well, as he made all his stumbles along the way, losing not only himself but the connections to family and friends, to the people who loved him.

Yes, of course, I’m the man in the photo, and there’s a lot more to the story…hope you’ll read THE CRACKED MIRROR, Reflections of an Appalachian Son, by Billy Ray Chitwood.

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Amazon Worldwide

https://www.brchitwood.com

Excerpts from “The Cracked Mirror…”

***

In the end, my story must be like so many others, a story of a simple kid who grew up eating emotional soup and spending a lifetime trying to digest it. There are no spectacular or heroic moments. I’ve been in the United States Navy, but I’ve never fought a war—except the one I’ve declared within myself. So I know not the pain of holding a bleeding comrade to my bosom as he or she gasps the final breaths. I know not the anguish of a parent losing a child in an accident, or, in war—unless losing a child to drugs can be comparable. I’ve loved and been in love, but I’ve never stepped far enough from myself to know the true and natural profundity of its happiness and joy. I’ve been born but never died—unless the demon of the past is segmented death. The prospect of dying scares the hell out of me—not so much the prospect itself, but the pitiful legacy that is left behind. I’ve known insecurity and fear, along with self-confidence, loyalty, and pride. There have been the sins, small enough, I hope, to keep me at least somewhere in the thoughts of those I’ve loved. At times I’ve longed for ‘Nepenthe,’ the drug mentioned in ‘The Odyssey’ as a remedy for grief, the potion used by the ancients to induce forgetfulness of pain and sorrow. But, then, without some pain, can the soul truly seek refuge when the long journey is over?

***

The jail cell brought back sobriety and a stark reality. Sitting on a hard dirty ‘bed thing’ in the dimly lit, tiny barred enclosure, the demon thoughts came and possessed me. My world was disintegrating around me! The claustrophobic cell was my coffin of contriteness, a veritable symbol of my languishing life. There again was the ‘dark closet’ feeling within me, an anxious and suffocating hell! Grabbing at the bars I pitifully called out to the jailer, but no one came. Within the limited space I paced, stopped at the ugly stained wall, splayed my body against it, and tapped my forehead against its roughness. The jailer eventually came. He showed me a smile of compassion and told me that morning would come soon; then, I would be arraigned. The fitful night would pass.

***

It is Time that wears down the acts and deeds of man into something forgettable, mundane, heroic, noble, historical, and unforgettable. It is Time that leads us warily toward the greatest secret of all: That which lies beyond the dark veil!

***

“…There are men like you in the world, Prentice, through whatever kind of intervention, divine or otherwise, who must make us cry and laugh, who record for us the stirrings of the soul which we might otherwise never know.”

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BR Chitwood

Okay, here I am today, no longer chasing those windmills, still trying to figure out this ‘one foot in front of the other’ thing. There are times when it seems I’m pretty close to figuring out this grand production, but those times are little teaser moments to stir something in the soul — sort of like a dreaded visit to a doctor or dentist, getting the car repaired – feels great when you find out the blood pressure is normal (thanks to a little round pill taken each day), the teeth cleaning and exam present no new cavities, and the car now carries no shameful dent.

All in all, living for some years on the rolling bluegrass hills of lovely Kentucky, a good wife, an aging, lovable cat, great daughters and sons, have given me happiness and joy. Back in Arizona the past still gets in my way at times in inscrutable ways, like a misty longing for something valuable I’ve left behind. I’ve never abandoned my faith, though fragile it might be, and there are many more good days than bad,

With all this said, I’m still writing, still searching…guess that only stops when mortal time gives up on me…

 BR Chitwood – April 6, 2022

If you like books of mystery, suspense, action, romance, many of which are inspired by true events, please visit my website at  https://www.brchitwood.com – after a short bio, just scroll down the ‘home’ page to preview the books and synopses of each.

More: It’s all here: https://www.brchitwood.com

*

Nine of the author’s 20 books shown below…  Go to https://www.brchitwood – Website with synopses of all 20 books, over 375 blog posts, short stories, poetry, songs, author info, and BUY SITES AT YOUR AMAZON SITE…

Please visit! You will find some good reading with ‘BUY SITES’, book reviews, et al!

BR Chitwood – Author

April 6, 2022

NOTE:

All books below have 5-STAR REVIEWS on AMAZON!

***

If you like books of mystery, suspense, action, romance, many of which are inspired by true events, please visit my website at  https://www.brchitwood.com – after a short bio, just scroll down the ‘home’ page to preview the books and synopses of each.

More: It’s all here: https://www.brchitwood.com

*

***

Nine of the author’s 20 books shown above…  Go to https://www.brchitwood – Website with synopses of all 20 books, over 375 blog posts, short stories, poetry, songs, author info, and BUY SITES…

Please visit! You will find some good reading with ‘BUY SITES’, book reviews, et al!

BR Chitwood – Author

April 6, 2022

You Are Your Moods

You Are Your Moods

BR Chitwood

You are your moods…just sharing some of mine…

My mother was a gentle, generous, and kind woman from a large loving family of four boys and four girls, the matriarch of the brood fervently involved in her Protestant Faith. The father was a quiet, gentle, corpulent man, a railroad foreman for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, a most pleasant person who seldom interfered with the demands of his pious wife who each day offered a loud, long, tearful, prayer to her Father in Heaven, with all present kneeling for her long wailing wishes for blessings and forgiveness of sins committed by her and her brood. Despite the parental toughness of her ways and the seriousness of her moods, she was a kind and gentle person.

Two of the four boys would serve their country in World War Two, one ferrying our brave warriors to the shore at Omaha Beach. The youngest of the brothers was murdered as he was closing down his ‘Filling Station’ late at night in Knoxville, Tennessee. Stanley was his name and a most wonderful Uncle. Uncle Stanley saw me through some difficult times in my early life. I loved this good man and think of him often through all these years.

Uncle Stanley and my mother were so much alike, both holy of heart, soul, and honorable in their daily living…

My Mom was a boarding house cook and a Bell Telephone Operator/Supervisor. Because of economic conditions at the time my mother had to rely on the state of Tennessee and my grandparents for boarding and financial help – it was a necessary procedure for many families at the time.

My most memorable years came when my mother brought my sister and me to live in a lovely home across from a beautiful college where I played tennis with some of the students and attended elementary school. Times got better for our small family. My sister blossomed early and wanted all that went with a pretty face and desirable body…problems, yes, but the family worked through it.

Much of my life was molded from those early days, still given to thoughts of a past with too little good and a lot of ugliness. I served my country, got through college, taught writing to high school seniors, did some acting, commercials and film, married a few times, sired three beautiful kids who constantly amaze me with their goodness, settled at last with a lovely lady who is all a man could possibly want.

Oh, and I have written twenty books, many based on true crimes, mystery and romance, a couple of memoirs, some 375 blog posts, many ‘flash fiction’ pieces, short stories, and poetry.

Okay, had this quiet afternoon of reflection, felt like writing some of it down, and I feel better…and, I just felt like sharing it with people who might be reading my posts.

All of my books are on: https://brchitwood.com

Hope you can read some of my books…and perhaps leave an Amazon review if so inclined…

Too Much to Absorb

BR Chitwood

*

A better person than I can parse and understandthe confounding nature of our world, how we arrive at a multitude of decisions as a disjointed group of politicians handle affairs of our nation from a position of power, personal goals, anger, and disassociation from a particular item of high importance to the people for whom they represent.

 It is my belief that our government handlers are anything but centered to their life-long political biases and hatred for their counter-parts, many so paralyzed by their animosity they would deny their nation responsible representation.

An Appalachian transplant, who am I to have such thoughts?

I saw it at recess on the grounds of my elementary and high schools, in the classrooms, in the halls stalked by bullies… Unlike today, we young people were taught ‘Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic’ so we were spared today’s wide-spread indoctrination of blame, of how and who to hate for society’s slide into racial issues, kept alive and more viable to our youth by an almighty ‘National Association of Teachers Union’.

Okay, sure, we must allow for environmental differences, low IQs, high IQs, parental inability to carefully cultivate and fine-tune tolerance and care for a multitude of beliefs. We are built in our early years and that inculcation en masse make for the world we build.

So, we migrate, spread our selective fine-tuning to other cities, other countries, and the centuries roll on with our human sacrifices, wars, famine, and ultimate destruction and re-building…until!

What?

Our ‘Religions’ speak in different tongues, views that see ‘life and death, heaven, hell’ in totally sharp contrast…

Life goes on.

Death goes on.

Zealots go on.

Will freedom and liberty go on?

Can love conquer all?

Can a ‘Cosmic Wave’ pass over the world, instilling in each of us a predominant theme for living?

Does this ‘Cosmic Wave’ erase all of the frailties of the world?

Does Jesus return to make all things right?

Does another planet in another Solar System come to create a true Eloi?

Are we a ‘Lab Experiment’ that has gone wildly awry?

There is so much good in the world – can it not be an unbreakable bond for humanity?

*

BR Chitwood

https://brchitwood.com

http://twitter.com (@brchitwood)

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