The title of the book, Staying Stoned: High in the Mountains, is very misleading.
Clink on book image to learn more. Or perhaps purchase if interested? No pressure!
Back to School Again?
Going back to school has many complications.
Getting there is only just the first distraction.
For some High-schoolers there are sport’s interactions.
Others may imbibe, while on that ride.
Historically, there was a time before drugs and alcohol.
And it was not that long ago.
When kids are five, they’re just happy to be alive.
Each day is filled with so much wonder.
Clouds overhead, books in their bed.
Friends sharing their imaginations together.
Amazed fascination with changing weather.
In suburban Summers, simple pleasures were all around.
A bird sitting atop of a tree, talking to thee.
Backing out of a flower, we watched the bumblebees.
Children needn’t be forlorn, or up at dawn.
Happiness was not a five-o-clock destination at a bar.
So, how do we reclaim our childhood innocence?
Perhaps, we just need to stop over thinking.
Turn off our phones and computers for a time.
Take a walk more slowly, and notice our surroundings.
Say hello to the old folks sitting on their porch.
Help our children learn to appreciate being young.
There was a time before drugs and alcohol.
That time can come again.
That time waits for all.
richard ebner 2026
Contact me via Email
FRIENDS
I am fortunate to have many friends. I have also been homeless in the past. Not park bench, or all night on the streets kind of homeless. But when I couldn’t reach any of my friends, I spent a few nights sleeping in the cab of my pickup truck. After that, several friends took me in for various lengths of time. I spent several days on a couch at one friend’s house. Then several months, at another family of my friends in their guest room. Never, did I have to fear for my survival.
Today, many homeless people are not so fortunate as I was. However, the homeless do have friends. Other homeless people are their friends. They do what they can for each other. They may share some food, or hugs and a blanket. And yes, drugs are often shared as well. Some are military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress, after being involved and exposed to war environments. Others, are victims of child abuse and domestic violence. Illness is often another major contributor to homelessness, as our healthcare system is not all that healthy-caring, or a very good system. Still others, just haven’t been able to afford the American Dream of owning a home, or even the cost of renting a dream. Many of the more fortunate, see homeless people as a threat to their own way of life, if they even see them at all. Can’t they realize, as Phil Ochs and Joan Baez did, that “There but for Fortune go I”? https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DCbLYAHUUpA0&ved=2ahUKEwjZnfaQ1vKVAxWtkYkEHXDXKGIQz40FegQIFhAU&usg=AOvVaw1LS8DpzSfzyqad2DQ-LPIw
We needn’t drink wine or break bread to listen to Christ.
The path to righteousness is within us All!
Jesus was a man who believed in empathy and kindness.
No religion denies his existence as a human who once lived.
Even atheists can appreciate this man’s model for being.
Socialism is not the same as communism.
Being antisocial, is a negative State!
Prisons are not the answer for addictions.
Anyone who is lost, can be found.
Making a profit, doesn’t make you a Prophet.
Shoes can be bought and sold — souls cannot be purchased.
If there is a ‘hereafter’ the key word is after.
The time for loving yourself and others is Now!
“Judge Softly”
“Pray, don’t find fault with the man that limps,
Or stumbles along the road.
Unless you have worn the moccasins he wears,
Or stumbled beneath the same load.
There may be tears in his soles that hurt
Though hidden away from view.
The burden he bears placed on your back
May cause you to stumble and fall, too.
Don’t sneer at the man who is down today
Unless you have felt the same blow
That caused his fall or felt the shame
That only the fallen know.
You may be strong, but still the blows
That were his, unknown to you in the same way,
May cause you to stagger and fall, too.
Don’t be too harsh with the man that sins.
Or pelt him with words, or stone, or disdain.
Unless you are sure you have no sins of your own,
And it’s only wisdom and love that your heart contains.
For you know if the tempter’s voice
Should whisper as soft to you,
As it did to him when he went astray,
It might cause you to falter, too.
Just walk a mile in his moccasins
Before you abuse, criticize and accuse.
If just for one hour, you could find a way
To see through his eyes, instead of your own muse.
I believe you’d be surprised to see
That you’ve been blind and narrow-minded, even unkind.
There are people on reservations and in the ghettos
Who have so little hope, and too much worry on their minds.
Brother, there but for the grace of God go you and I.
Just for a moment, slip into his mind and traditions
And see the world through his spirit and eyes
Before you cast a stone or falsely judge his conditions.
Remember to walk a mile in his moccasins
And remember the lessons of humanity taught to you by your elders.
We will be known forever by the tracks we leave
In other people’s lives, our kindnesses and generosity.
Take the time to walk a mile in his moccasins.”
~ by Mary T. Lathrap, 1895
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