THE HOUSE WITH NOBODY IN IT. By Joyce Kilmer

THE HOUSE WITH NOBODY IN IT

by: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)

WHENEVER I walk to Suffern along the Erie track
I go by a poor old farmhouse with its shingles broken and black.
I suppose I've passed it a hundred times, but I always stop for a minute
And look at the house, the tragic house, the house with nobody in it.

I never have seen a haunted house, but I hear there are such things;
That they hold the talk of spirits, their mirth and sorrowings.
I know this house isn't haunted, and I wish it were, I do;
For it wouldn't be so lonely if it had a ghost or two.

This house on the road to Suffern needs a dozen panes of glass,
And somebody ought to weed the walk and take a scythe to the grass.
It needs new paint and shingles, and the vines should be trimmed and tied;
But what it needs the most of all is some people living inside.

If I had a lot of money and all my debts were paid
I'd put a gang of men to work with brush and saw and spade.
I'd buy that place and fix it up the way it used to be
And I'd find some people who wanted a home and give it to them free.

Now, a new house standing empty, with staring window and door,
Looks idle, perhaps, and foolish, like a hat on its block in the store.
But there's nothing mournful about it; it cannot be sad and lone
For the lack of something within it that it has never known.

But a house that has done what a house should do, a house that has sheltered life,
That has put its loving wooden arms around a man and his wife,
A house that has echoed a baby's laugh and held up his stumbling feet,
Is the saddest sight, when it's left alone, that ever your eyes could meet.

So whenever I go to Suffern along the Erie track
I never go by the empty house without stopping and looking back,
Yet it hurts me to look at the crumbling roof and the shutters fallen apart,
For I can't help thinking the poor old house is a house with a broken heart.

"The House with Nobody in It" was originally published in Trees and Other Poems. Joyce Kilmer. New York: George H. Doran Company, 1914.

While the Hudson branch of Metro North isn't the old Suffern Track of the Erie Rail Road. It has its own stories of houses and former homes which echo the words of Sergeant Joyce Kilmer, 69th Infantry, NYNG, who passed from this world in WWI.

July's done let the ranting begin

August 3rd, 2009, Monday.

Rants, Raves and commentary.

By the way a special note to all my legislators both state and federal; you assholes better have no less than $2500.00 cash on hand if you ever need me to make a 911 call on your behalf. 911 isn't free it is supported by tax payers. The $2500 charge isn't a tax it is a service fee I'm imposing. I figure if banks, governments, businesses and other institutions can impose fees to earn a bit more income I am allowed to do the same. That and for over a decade of being denied a Metro Area Pay Allowance while working in a high cost area while federal and state taxes increased faster than my rate of pay; Its a fair fee to impose on legislators. Pay back is a B____.

Well July wasn't too eventful done many mundane things which may confound and confuse folks. The majority of the urban populace in the U.S. today have more limited skill sets than just 25 to 50 years ago.
While our use of computers is quite recent and for some of us still a bit of a novelty; many critical skills are being lost due to over reliance upon technologies. True there may be no requirement for the average person to know how to safely change a tire as they'll simply contact AAA or some other roadside assistance program. But due to that reliance on others i foresee a time when our populations will find them selves in situations where they will not be able to both think and work their ways out of them.

As for myself, I've been working with older technologies for so long I'm comfortable enough tempting more than basic repairs; Still in that regard I'm a Technological Troglodyte with the skills to disasseble and rebuild many mechanical devices, some eletrical and electronic devices and can weild an oxygen acetelyne torch with some dexterity. as well as use some more dangerous tools with considerable confidence built upon honing my skills with their usage. If our technologically dependent world came crashing down tomorrow; the veneer of civilized society would asuredly be cast off. But thats just my opinion.

Speaking of opinions and undeucated louts. Arlen Specter of PA was recently dressed down for being the ignorant asshole he is. This time based on the Abomination of a socialized health care mess the House and Senate are attempting to put together and foist upon everyone who needs to work hard to support illegal aliens, 3rd & 4th generation welfare recipients and many others. If socialized medicenes are to work in the U.S. the governing factions of the executive branch, legislative branch and judicial branch of government all must be subjected to it as well. Failure to restrict the three branches of government to the laws applied to the general population in regards to health care as well as other aspects of life will only be a cause for civil unrest in the future. Socialized reforms must be appiled to the members of government first to test how well it truely works. Thus preventing harm to the true tax paying bases of society.

So what else have I been doing besides running and preparing for another marathon? Drinking beer but not the massed produced swill from Anheiserbush, Miller, Coors and other crap of that ilk. Assholes Rice is not an ingedient in BEER! Enjoying some good Irish and Scotish single malt whiskeys. Killing trees, creating fire wood for next winter, working on replacing the front suspension on a 12 year old work truck; Cash for Klunkers is still too expensive a route to follow. As the newer vehicles are that much better in a fuel economy or servicability stand point and are 3 to 4 times more expensive than what is already brought and paid for. I'm waiting to see what happens if and when the Indians start up deliveries and dealerships for a pickup truck they've designed utilizing a 2.2 liter diesel and getting 30 MPG with a 1&1/3 ton payload.

Hey DODGE/Chrysler, Ford and GM. How about it? can you compete? maybe a lot less displacemt some less speed and better fuel economy at a lower cost? I would certainly purchase a Mahindra truck if it has the same reliability as a Ford. Sorry GM you blew the reliability issue with me in the 1990's.

Well on the nicer side of life. there was a reunion of sorts this past weekend of members of my old fire department. The less than pleasurable weather kept a few folks away. Heavy rains, Thunder & lightning will tend to do that.

Well as you can see I'm as much a pain in the ass as ever. But it could be worse; I could be living with you.