The Power of Words. On Writing: Poems, Journals and Individual Expression

At the prison where I work, I was on Outside Post duty the other day and heard this story on NPR's On Being show by Krista Tippet.  I love this show.  Through this story I intellectually, emotionally and spiritually confirmed the writing of this blog and my personal, hand written journals.  It also convicted me of writing online, but not publishing all my stories publicly.  If you wish to read these other stories, more personal, with more detail, send me a note and I'll send you a link or personally email you my entries. Email to guskoerner@gmail.com

Here is the story from OnBeing.org that inspired me.  Thank you Krista.

By Naomi Shihab Nye

Your Life Is a Poem (Audio Interview) A must hear of 51 minutes.  Give it at least 15 minutes and you'll be hooked too.

Growing up, the poet Naomi Shihab Nye lived in Ferguson, Missouri and on the road between Ramallah and Jerusalem. Her father was a refugee Palestinian journalist, and through her poetry, she carries forward his hopeful passion, his insistence, that language must be a way out of cycles of animosity...

Thank you Naomi.

Notes To My Inmates

I think I am the only Correctional Officer who does this. If not, like to meet other officers who do, and that have a passion for re-entry.

Everyday when I come into the dorm at 0600, at my first opportunity I leave an inspirational thought for my inmate residents. I jot it down on a piece of scratch paper and tape one copy to one side of the dorm, and another copy to the other side. I also write one more copy of it in my journal. The thoughts come from where ever - literally. Sometimes they are a quote I heard the day before, or they may come from my devotional time that weigh heavy on my heart and mind. I've been doing this ever since I started and I plan on continuing. Even though I am a by-the-book policy and procedure guy, there is no policy on this and inspirational thoughts I'm sure would be approved. The embedded images are some of the notes I get back from my inmates.

Why do I do it? As of June 5, 2016, 63% (92 of 145) of my dormitory residents will be released from their prison sentence by the year 2020. Will they be ready?  Is there anything we can do, indeed something I can do to help them in their successful re-entry back into society to help them be employed, responsible, caring and law-abiding sons, fathers and husbands. That is why I do what I do.

My guideline for notes to inmates is that it must be applicable to all. If it is religious in nature, which my notes sometime are, they must be acceptable to all faiths. The faiths represented in my dorm right now include several Christian denominations, Jewish, Islam, Wicca and Buddhism (that I know of). 

This is what my last note said:

Faith and Family

Faith and family are two things we should hold dear and value the most. What can you do today to strengthen these? A letter? A prayer? A thought? A phone call?  Think about it.

Follows is another note back from one of my inmates...

A Great American Love Story

Every once in a while I’ll run across something extraordinary that is brand new to me, but has actually been around for a long-long time. When that happens I am always so surprised and occasionally dumbfounded that I haven’t come across this earlier in my life. I ask myself, “Where have I been?” or “How did this wonderful thing exist without me knowing about it?”

The story and letter below knocked my socks off when I heard it the first time on public television (PBS).  It is the story of a Union officer and his last days before he was killed in action.  It is a love story in the form of a letter; expressing love of country, duty, honor, family and romance.  At the bottom I included references so you the reader can research further.

One last thought before the letter of Sullivan Ballou. Heroes such as these can be found all over the globe and throughout time.  The difference with this one is that it was recorded, archived, and shared.  I urge the reader to investigate and record your own ancestral stories so as to honor the heroes we have in our own families and in our communities.

The setting is Union Headquarters, Camp Clark, Washington, D.C., July 14, 1861, near the beginning of the American Civil War.  Major Ballou died in battle fifteen days after he wrote this letter. - gk

By Sullivan Ballou

My very dear Sarah:

The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days—perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.

Our movement may be one of a few days duration and full of pleasure—and it may be one of severe conflict and death to me. Not my will, but thine O God, be done. If it is necessary that I should fall on the battlefield for my country, I am ready. I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans upon the triumph of the Government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing—perfectly willing—to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt.

But, my dear wife, when I know that with my own joys I lay down nearly all of yours, and replace them in this life with cares and sorrows—when, after having eaten for long years the bitter fruit of orphanage myself, I must offer it as their only sustenance to my dear little children—is it weak or dishonorable, while the banner of my purpose floats calmly and proudly in the breeze, that my unbounded love for you, my darling wife and children, should struggle in fierce, though useless, contest with my love of country.

Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when God willing, we might still have lived and loved together and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me—perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar—that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness, and struggle with all the misfortune of this world, to shield you and my children from harm. But I cannot. I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the brightest day and in the darkest night—amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours—always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for me, for we shall meet again.

As for my little boys, they will grow as I have done, and never know a father's love and care. Little Willie is too young to remember me long, and my blue-eyed Edgar will keep my frolics with him among the dimmest memories of his childhood. Sarah, I have unlimited confidence in your maternal care and your development of their characters. Tell my two mothers his and hers I call God's blessing upon them. O Sarah, I wait for you there! Come to me, and lead thither my children.

Sullivan

By Major Sullivan Ballou
Union Army, 2nd Rhode Island Infantry Regiment
Born: March 28, 1829, Smithfield, Rhode Island
Died: July 29, 1861, Age 32, KIA 1st Battle of Bull Run, near Manassas, VA
Survived by wife, Sarah Hart Shumway, and children William and Edgar

Buried: Swan Point Cemetery
585 Blackstone Boulevard
Providence, RI 02906
Tel: 401-272-1314
Location: Group 205A, Lot 6, GPS (DDS) Location: (Lat./Lon.): 41.85405, -71.38027

References:
National Park Service Record of Sullivan Ballou
Wikipedia reference
Swan Point Cemetary

A History of Swan Point Cemetary
Find a Grave Site Location

This Week's Limericks

Sunrise Over Edgewater (My Drive to Work)
I set out and I’m greeted by sun on the rise,
Blue and pink glowing - blessing my eyes.
The animals stirring.
The birds are a chirping.
Beaconing all of mankind to arise.

gk, 3/7/2016

The Romantic Elephant
There once was an African elephant,
Who learned to paint with great eloquence.
He courted his sweetie,
With art and graffiti.
On a tree with picturesque elements.

The Chewing Giraffe
A giraffe from afar Mozambique,
Kept a chaw 'tween his gum and his cheek.
Other animals didn't get it.
They said, "You'll regret it,
You'll be hooked in less than a week."

This next one is a tribute to my wife Sandy.  The other night she just got home from work and  was watching our grandsons.  At the same time she was cleaning the house and cooking a marvelous rib dinner with fixins.  This was all done between 6 and 7 pm.  She's such a champ and I appreciate her so much.

My Daytona Woman
My wife, Nana and sweetheart,
Faster than Daytona and Earnhart.
At cookin' up dinner,
She's a First Place Winner;
and shows all evidence of a good heart.

The Tootsie Roll
We all enjoy a Tootsie Roll.
Of which I’m willing to pay a toll.
The chocolate is sweet,
and is such a retreat.
It has to be good for one’s soul!

gk

Limericks

I've been obsessed with limericks lately, starting with The Pelican, which I think I found on NPR, and it became the impetus of my sudden rhyming enthusiasm.  This jewel was written by Dixon Lanier Merritt, in 1910, and it moves me so in such a funny way, it causes me to think in rhyme, all the time!  After The Pelican are my own which I came up with in the last two days inspired by events in my life. I think I'm finished now.

First this...

The Pelican
A wonderful bird is the pelican,
His bill will hold more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Food enough for a week.
But I’m damned if I see how the helican.

Now here are mine...

The Fid (a tool for rope work and knot tying)
My Fid has been missing for weeks,
I found it tonight with much glee.
It was right where I laid it.
I'm glad cuz I made it.
I use it for knots that I keep.

My husband he lost his best Fid,
Then blamed everyone and the kids.
His mind he's a losin',
For simply not choosin',
To remember the things that he did!

Pillow Thief
I now have a wife who's a thief!
She never causes much grief.
My pillow she'll take, Before I awake.
She denies it in great disbelief!

Covered Dish
Oh the joy of community eatery!
Enjoying each other so leisurely.
The dishes diverse,
We sit and converse.
Getting to know one another so easily.

Slumber
My sweet wife is sound asleep.
She lies in a slumber so deep.
But soon she'll awake, and coffee partake.
She's a blessing to all whom she meets.

Misbehaving Students
In prison they come to my school.
They can stay if they don’t act the fool.
If bridges their burnin’ they don’t get no learnin’
That is the primary ground rule.

Mean Ramona
There once was a man from Daytona,
That married a bike chick Ramona.
He rode on the back, but she cut him no slack,
And dumped him on this side of Pamona.

Old Mr. Forte’
I wonder how old Mr. Forte’ has been?
Since ‘76 he’s been in the pen.
The sweetest man you've met in your life
39 years now for killing his wife.

Squirrel Chaser
Harley chases with fleas on his knees.
All of the squirrels plum up the trees.
All he wants to is play, but he never will say,
The squirrel language version of 'please'.

All Things Good

Sometimes we just need to count our blessings.  A few years ago someone gave me a Catholic Rosary.  I held it and it brought me comfort when I was sad.  I didn't know how to "pray the Rosary" like Catholics do, so I just went around each bead and named a blessing of mine, then another and another.  One for each bead.  I named each of my children, my legs, my home, my truck, etc, simple things and complex things.  I named things that made my life better, comfortable; things that if I didn't have my life would be a little "less good".  In the end, I found myself going around the rosary three or four times naming all good things in my life.  So in this story I am counting my blessings.

My definition of All Things Good: Words that describe good things, words that transcend race, religion, economic status, geographic location and gender; things that make the world a better place.  If a specific person, place or thing is mentioned, it must be of significant influence to have changed the life of millions of people, such as Gandhi, or Christmas.  Yes, I am a Christian, but this isn't a christian list.  I want it to go beyond one belief system - so words like Jesus, a flower and physics can all be together, because they all make our world better.

Yesterday the world learned of Journalist James Foley being killed by terrorists, so I added the word Journalists.  When you consider what they do, they bring the public news, the truth of what's going on in the world, and we should be thankful for that.  Each word below can be thoughtfully considered in that manner. This list is in response to all things bad going on right now.  We need to count our blessings.

All Things Good is an ongoing project, and my initial goal is 365 words or one to ponder each day of the year.  All contributors will be mentioned when it's complete.  Thank you for your assistance.  So far 25 people are contributing to this list, worldwide. 

Note to Editors and Contributors. - Please leave your comments in the comments section under the post, or email me directly guskoerner@gmail.com.

All Things Good
347 listed, as of 29 September 2014
_____________
A Job
A Kiss
Accomplishing A Goal
Advocacy
Air Conditioning
Airplanes
Anniversaries
Annual Leave
Antibiotics
Antiseptic
Apologies
Appreciation
Art
Assembly Lines
Assistants
Awards
Awareness
Bacon And Eggs
Bacon Cooking Smell
Beauty
Beds
Being Yourself
Berries
Bible, The
Big Trucks
Birthday Cakes
Blessings
Blue
Boats
Boots
Brand New Babies
Bravery
Brotherhood
Bubble Bath
Butterflies
Buy One, Get One Free
Campfires
Candle Light
Cardinals
Cast Iron Cookware
Chairs
Character
Chastity
Cheap Gas
Cheerfulness
Children
Christmas Day
Christmas Eve
Church
Civil Rights
Clean Sheets
Cleanliness
Coffee Smell
Colleagues
College Football
Cologne/Perfume
Comfort
Communion
Community
Compassion
Computers
Confidence
Conservation
Consolation
Conversion
Conviction
Cool Water
Counseling
County Fair
Courage
Courtesy
Cows
Creativity
Crisp Apples
Croaking Frogs
Cushy Carpet
Cushy Chairs
Dad, Fathers
Dawn/Sunrise
Deliverance
Demilitarization
Deodorant
Determination
Dignity
Diligence
Discernment
Discovery
Disposable Diapers
Doctors
Dusk/Sunset
Earth
Earth Worms
Easter Baskets
Einstein
Electricity
Encouragement
Engineering Marvels
Faith
Fall Leaves
Family
Fast Cars
Favorite Songs
Fern Plants
Fertile Soil
Finishing A Book
Finishing A Project
Fire Extinguishers
Fire Flies
First Day Of School
Fishing
Fitness
Flowers
Food
Forgiveness
Found Money
Freedom
Friendliness
Friendly Debate
Friends
Friendship
Front Porch Swing
Fruitfulness
Fruits
Full Moon
Games
Gandhi, Mahatma
Gardening
Giving
God
Good Books
Good Ideas
Grace
Graduation
Grandkids
Grandma
Grandpa
Grass
Gratitude
Growing
Hands
Health
Health Insurance
Heart
Helpfulness
Holiday Lights
Holiday Songs
Holy Spirit
Honest Conversation
Honesty
Honey
Honor
Hot Chocolate
Hot Shower
Hotdogs
Humanitarianism
Husbands
Ingenuity
Innovation
Insight
Intercession
Intuition
Jesus Christ
Jokes
Journalists
June Bugs
Jubilation
Justice
Kids
Kindergarten
Kindness
Kittens
Koran or Qur'an, The
Labor Day Holiday
Life
Light Houses
Light Rain
Listening
Little League
Locks
Long Talks
Long Walks
Love
Love Notes
Loyalty
Mac And Cheese
Maps
Mathematics
Mechanics
Medicine
Meditation
Ministry
Mom, Mothers
Moon
Moonlight
Mosquito Repellant
Motivation
Mouse Traps
Music
Naps
NASCAR
National Public Radio
NBA Playoffs
New Car Smell
New Pencils
New Snow
New Socks
New Year's Eve
News
Nice Bosses
Nurses
Oak Trees
Obedience
Old Friends
Olympics, The
Open Doors
Optimism
Orange Blossoms
Our Flag
Pain Relievers
Paper
Parenting
Partners
Passing away of someone in pain
Pastors
Patriotism
Pay Day
Pay Raise
Peace
Peace Talks
People
Personal Letter Received
Pets
Phones
Pizza
Policemen and Women
Popcorn
Positive Role Models
Prayer
Progress
Promises Kept
Protection
Protectors
Puppies
Puzzles
Quiet Time
Radio
Rain On A Tin Roof, The Sound
Rainbows
Reasoning
Receiving
Reconciliation
Recycling
Relief
Resolve
Respect
Responsibility
Rest/Sleep
Reunions
Reverence
Road Trips
Roads
Sacrifice
Salvation
Saving
Science
Seat Belts
Second Chances
Secrets Kept
Serenity
Service
Shelter
Sick Leave
Sight
Singing out loud without reserve
Sisterhood
Skinny Jeans That Fit
Sleeping Children
Small Business
Smart Phones
Smell
Smiles
S'mores
Snow Days
Snow Men
Sobriety
Soldiers, including all branches
Solidarity
Song Birds
Sound
Spare Change
Spices
Sprinklers
Stars
Stewardship
Success
Summer Vacation
Sunday Dinner
Sunrise
Sunset
Super Bowl
Talking
Tall Tales
Taste
Tears Of Joy
Testimony
Thank You Cards
Thanksgiving Dinner
The Beach
The Red Cross
The Word "Please"
The Words "Thank You"
Theme Parks
Thinking
Thrift
Toilet Paper
Toilets
Touch
Traditions
Trees
Trust
Truth
Unity
Vaccines
Valor
Vegetables
Veterans
Volunteering
Vows
Waffles
Walking
Warm Sand
Warm Soup
Warning
Washing Machines
Water
Water Fountains
Water Parks
Watermelon
Wealth
Wedding Rings
Weekends
Wildflowers
Wildlife
Wildlife Spotted In The Outdoors
Wives
World Cup Soccer
Worship

Welcome to MrGus.net!

I think it's so important to record what is happening in our lives.  This has been a fairly recent revelation to me, because I've realized I know so little about how my ancestors felt about things such as spirituality, politics, family, etc.  I don't want to go another generation without my kids, grand kids, friends and siblings having an access point to my mind, heart and spirit.  Blogging helps me do that, especially with the advent of the smart phone and 2014 technology.  Anywhere, anytime I have a thought to share or important event to record, I can do it directly from my phone by keying in the letters or using voice-to-text recognition.

Back in the early 1990's I built KoernerFamily.net and EmbersWorld.com, primarily to communicate information to family members afar.  For work and fun, I have Mr. Gus Outdoors, and Voice of Truth Ministry to share inspirational stories with others.  The combined readership of those two blogs is over 20,000.  I think that's pretty cool.

About a month ago I was exposed to and positively tested for Tuberculosis.  An air-handling system at the prison I work at failed, and now I have Latent Tuberculosis Infection, or LTBI.  There's a 90% chance I'll be fine, but I am recording events, treatments and thoughts I have about that at My TB Blog, but for legal purposes I am the only reader for that one.

Recently I have been reading some books on Christian theology and one author, Henri J.M. Nouwen, in Seeds of Hope: A Henri Nouwen Reader, ISBN-13: 978-0385490498, Robert Durback (Editor), expressed how important it is to be and show our authentic selves.  This blog is an attempt to do just that.

I hope you enjoy it, and I will read and appreciate all your comments.

Mr. Gus

The Prodigal Parent, a Poem

When I was a young man, my parents let me go. They loved me and trusted me to the extent I didn't know. When I messed up they didn't seem to mind; they loved me and forgave me and all was forgotten over time.

0h, how blessed is the prodigal parent, who prays, and teaches the lost. How indeed can I ever thank them? For my debt they incurred a great cost.

My brothers were'nt so lucky, my parent's anger quickly wore thin.  What I was able to freely do, to them it was a sin.

Consider the heart of the righteous, and blessed be the one, who doesn't have to learn life's lessons taught to a prodigal son.

My heart goes to the parent that does the best they can, who tries to make a proper choice for a boy to become a man.

Thank God we have a Savior who takes away all debt, the perfect parent up above, whom now mine have finally met.

0h, how blessed is the prodigal parent, who prays, and teaches the lost. How indeed can I ever thank them? For my debt they incurred a great cost.

A tribute to Karl and Irene Koerner, and all parents who pray for their children, from their son Gus. Jan. 2, 2014. Reference Luke 15:11-32.

Honoring a Hero, Malala Yousufzai

I just cannot help but depart from my regular outdoor stories to honor a hero among young people and fellow blogger, Malala Yousufzai.  Malala is the 14 year old girl who was shot in Pakistan earlier in the week because of her cries, to among other things support a woman's right to an education.  I work with young people daily and admire the tenacity they sometimes have, to stand up for what they know is right, like a dog on a bone.  May our thoughts and prayers be with her - but more than that, let us all take a stand in our own way to support the rights of others.  Photo Credit © 2012 Associated Newspapers Limited (Picture: Reuters)

From Metro UK - They fired on Malala Yousufzai on her school bus in the volatile Swat valley.  Doctors were  struggling to save Malala, who suffered head and neck injuries. Two other girls were also wounded. 

Her classmates told police the gunmen had arrived at school and asked for her by name. They attacked her on the bus after she came out of class. 

Malala was known for speaking out against the Pakistani Taliban and had a blog published by the BBC when she was 11. 

The Islamist group called her work ‘an obscenity’ and claimed responsibility for the shooting. A spokesman said: ‘She was pro-West, she was speaking against Taliban and she was calling president Barack Obama her ideal leader.’ 

The attack in the city of Mingora followed a number of threats against Malala for her activism. She is also famous for her work promoting the schooling of girls – something the Taliban strongly opposes – and was nominated last year for an international children’s peace prize award. Read the October 9, 2012 story here.

Malalal is expected to survive, and if she does, she'll have a long road to recovery.  For the latest news (as of 10/15/12) see, "As teen recovers from Taliban hit, Pakistanis demand answers" by By Shaan Khan, CNN.  This article also has links to petitions to arrest her attackers and other worldwide outcrys for justice.

 Malala's Facebook page is here. 

Mr. Gus Outdoors Proudly Supports FOWA

Recently I had the honor of hosting the Florida Outdoor Writer's Association (FOWA) on a day shooting experience at the Titusville Rifle and Pistol Club in Mims, FL.  They were right in the middle of hosting their annual conference in Titusville, Florida and one of their conference favorites is getting in a little "trigger time".

We had a great day at the range, practicing a little clay bird practice off the trap machine then finishing up at the pistol range. We all had a safe fun day, thanks in part to the gun club, and Diamondback Firearms who provided some of the pistols for our evaluation and recreation.

FOWA is a great organization! FOWA’s mission, "Through ever-improving our communication skills . . . to heighten the education of all outdoor participants in the areas of conservation, safety, participation and environmental issues” is as important today as it was over 50 years ago when they began.  Students need to realize that FOWA provides scholarships to young writers, as well as memberships.