HE WAS JUST A POOR MIXED UP MISUNDERSTOOD KID

Why are they selling Michael Jackson's 911 tapes?
And crowding at the hospital where he died?
It's another media circus run by apes.
For voyeurs who have absolutely no sense of pride.

He was society's monster who never got to grow up.
Dragged too soon, too fast into the sickly green of the limelight.
Too much fame, way too much wealth, power not meant for a pup.
He was seen in every kind of pose, lit from above, and in backlight.

An aging child with no one to play with that was like himself.
He got in trouble for trying to spend time with his real peers.
He didn't mean anyone any harm. He was just a little elf.
It was hard to know that he had grown up over the years.

101 BEST WEBSITES FOR WRITERS IS OUT

The 11th annual 101 Best Websites for Writers is out courtesy of Writers Digest. Hooray for them. This year they say they went through 2,700 nominations and got the best of the bunch for the listing. This year's list features more blogs and free market listings than in previous years. There are eight sections: Creativity and Challenges, General Resources, Agent Blogs, Publishing Resources, Jobs and Markets, Writing Communities, Genres/Niches and Fun for Writers. It's easier than ever to scan for what you're looking for--blogs, chatting, critiques, classes/workshops, contests, forums, jobs, markets, e-newsletters, podcasts and content for young writers.

MY WILD LIFE IN TEN LINES, SIX WORDS EACH

1. Born breached-- had to be different
2. Wore a mini-skirt to senior prom
3. Flowers in hair in San Francisco
4. Hitchhiked naked and studied Shakespeare's
sonnets
5. Paris--Tried to drink like writers
6. Illinois--tried sobering up like secretaries
7. Fiction and Poetry Editor, Dialogue Magazine
8. First child at thirty-six; second forty.
9. Decade being lied to for living*
10 Following my bliss as freelance writer

Author Notes
*Working as certified substance abuse counselor, I used to tell my kids, "Don't lie to Mommy. Mommy gets lied to for a living." Indicating the amount of fabricating alcoholics and addicts in denial do.

10 WAYS TO LIFT YOUR SPIRITS AND GET HAPPY

"Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be." --Abraham Lincoln

That quotation is often repeated because there is such profound truth in it. What mood did you make up your mind to be in when you woke up today? The vicissitudes of life come and go and life goes on. Why not decide today to let it flow on for better?

Here are ten great ways you can lift your spirits right now, today. The only thing that can stop you from feeling alive and at one with the universe is you. Don't get in your way today and you can be euphoric.

#1. Begin this day on a positive note of gratitude. Get a notebook and a pen and your morning coffee or tea. Now write down everything you are taking for granted this very moment that you are truly grateful for when you think about it.

"Just think how happy you would be if you lost everything you have right now, and then got it back again."--Frances Rodman

When you finish with today's gratitude, start on yesterday's.

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"Happiness is what happens to us when we try to make someone else happy."--Tom Bodett

#2. By now you should be ready to give a little back. Think real hard about who you can reach out to today. Is there an invalid in the neighborhood? Is anyone you know in a nursing home or hospital? Bet they'd like a visit from you. Bet that neighbor who has given up driving would appreciate a visitor popping in to ask if she needs anything from the store or if she would like her lawn mowed. There are so many things you can do for others. Go ahead. It will make your whole day.

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"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about."

#3. Do you remember how to be enthusiastic? The next thing you should do is take a trip to a local playground. Watch those kids. Did you ever see such enthusiasm over playing on swings, slides, and teeter-toters? How do we manage to lose all that zest for life as the years go by? We should study at their feet.
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"Personally, I experience the greatest degree of pleasure in having contact with works of art. They furnish me with happy feelings of an intensity such as I cannot derive from other realms."--Albert Einstein

#4. When was the last time you spent a few hours just strolling through an art museum? You think you know what you like or don't like, but today is a new day. You may fall in love with a painter or sculptor that you never even imagined before. Stay until you find a work of art that brings tears to your eyes because it is so uncommonly beautiful.
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"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes."--Albert Einstein

#5. Use your new attitude to appreciate the beauty of nature. If you live in a city of any size there should be a zoo. a children's museum or some place that has a living butterfly collection. (If you live in a rural area, you know where to go.) Google butterflies, grab your camera and go.
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"Act as if you were already happy and that will tend to make you happy." -- Ernie Banks

# 6. What kind of artist were you going to grow up to be? If you're not already an artist, it's time to get out the wood-working tools, paints, paper and pen (or computer) whatever. Write a poem, story or song about your happy day. Build a birdhose. Paint a picture of how the butterflies made you feel. You'll think of something if you let yourself.

#7. Prepare a dinner fit for nobility. If you don't cook, go to a nice restaurant. You deserve it.

#8. Put something on the CD player that all of you will respond to. Don't be surprised if it's something classical and you normally listen to rock. Make up your own dance.

#9. Call a friend to tell them about your extraordinarily joyous day. Invite them to hear about it while you go for a moonlight walk. The night air will feel wonderful and your body will thank you for the exercise.

#10. It's bedtime and you managed to keep your spirits high. Now complete the day by finding an uplifting. inspirational book. Or maybe you'd like some good laughs. Get a book by somebody who's genuinely funny and laugh yourself to sleep. Then have exotic and sweet adventures all night long in your dreams.

The next day repeat with variations.

"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."--Dale Carnegie

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HITCHHIKING NAKED

You must believe that I wouldn't tell a lie
Because the tale I'm telling here sounds insane
But it really happened in the Seventies... days gone by
Back in the days when flashing and streaking raised cane.

A friend and I hid stuck out our thumbs on the main college drag
We were trying to get to a party we'd heard about.
We were both stark naked and it wasn't some gag
It was just the way things were going on that route.

And sure enough, a car stopped and let us in.
There were four naked jaybirds to join us
The driver had on a hat but the rest of him was all skin.
No one uttered a comment about our nudity or made a fuss.

We were in good, decent company in our indecent exposure
They were going to the same party we were trying to crash.
There was no need for name exchanging or other disclosure.
We were all just flashers out to make a most public splash.

We piled out of the car when we got to the party.
And went inside the house exploding with loud rock.
There we were met by forty naked people so hearty,
They all seemed to be a wholesome, hale unique flock.

We all danced our naked booties down.
No one seemed to notice the lack of clothing after a while.
Some would-be prom queen came in wearing a gown
But quickly disrobed when she saw she was out of style.

It was a naked hoedown, a nudists' bash.
A few clever men wore top hats and ties.
Some prudent girls wore sneakers in case they had to dash.
But the strangest thing was where people kept their eyes.

Everyone looked at the faces of everyone's spaces.
No one was caught in open-mouthed stares.
It was like we were all children living under the graces
Good children dancing who all had said their prayers.

It was a naked rock and roll party for dancing
And everyone got into the spirit of the thing.
Of course there was some subtle glancing
But no more than any dance floor party would bring.

We went home the same way we came.
Hitchhiking naked down the college streets.
Getting picked up by naked drivers seemed tame
The only complaint was the hot leather seats.

The next day we had to put clothes back on
And give up our childlike state of purity.
Our wilder, younger selves were gone.
Hiding behind our newfound clothed maturity.

HEALING THE INNER CHILD WITH HIS GENTLE TOUCH

Healing the Child Within With His Gentle Touch


I would trade all the kisses swept with passion
Of deep-breathing lip-locks, I'd give up my ration
And you can have the deep-diving tongue dances too.
I'd give it all up for one last gentle touch I once knew

It wasn't a tight embrace that touched my soul.
It wasn't a soul kiss that made me feel whole.
My true love had a touch like the breath of a child.
It was so sure, so gentle, so kind and so mild.

He would take my small face in his large and sturdy palm
Smooth my hair, let loose a strand, and let me feel that balm.
Rub his hand across my cheek with fingers softly floating
Tender as a mother moving a curl on a child upon whom she is
doting.

I would feel soft and small and fragile.
His loving hands were so agile.
He never failed to let me be his own loving child for a while.
I let all the love in without seduction and without guile.

Then we kissed and became man and woman, lovers again
With a secret knowledge of what we had just shared then.
I knew the gentleness beneath the steel.
He knew the way to make the child in me heal.