Written: 5/23/02
Words: Walter Koning
Birth
Growth
School
Work
Live
Age
Settle
Mature
Rest
Decease
Written: 4/17/01
Words: Walter Koning
Are you on the upswing
Are you on the cutting edge
Do you read that newspaper
Everyday, to appease your head
Have you caught a cab to Macy’s yet today
Nordstrom’s, Hudson’s, they’re all on sale
Are you convinced the media represents reality
Those pictures and people are really like that
It took them two hours of posing
And an hour more to airbrush away
All the blemishs and features you or I would see on them today
Do you believe what you see in the news
Do you believe what you read
Do you believe fashion makes you any more than who you are
Do you believe the world is caught in 20 second video clips
Have you helped an old lady cross the street ever in your life
Have you lent a helping hand to those who live at the banks of a flooding riverside
Are you willing to forgive your neighbor if he’s willing to forgive you too
What cutting edge are you on
If you read about it all and watch it in the news
And go to church to ask forgiveness
And wear the clothes to give off that image
Then why don’t you give anything positive back
Written: 4/6/01
Words: Walter Koning
So many single people everyone waiting for a supermodel
You see an attractive person
Think they should have an attractive spouse
What about those ugly people
Who do they get?
I’d say I’m mediocre and I have the chance at anyone
Who’s to say that I don’t deserve a gorgeous babe?
What about those ugly people
They have a chance at anyone too
There’s nothing stopping a great looking female from being attracted
To a lumpy, lopsided, lazy looking man
But a guy is less likely to go for a woman who doesn’t have it going on
Or maybe it’s our goals
Maybe the woman sought after will match our lifestyles
Our vicarious dreams for our future
If we’re athletic we want an activity partner
If we read we want a literary foil
If we reflect upon the 1800’s the industrial revolution, the electronic age
We may desire a parallel mind
Someone who’ll feel the same, use the same tools, be submissive all the same
Physical features attract
Beauty maintains
Habits annoy
Common interests propel
Exactly alike stagnates
Written: 6/3/02
Words: Walter Koning
The best time to read self help books
Is when you don’t need to
You’ve just succeeded at something
And you’re feeling great
Read a self help book about failure
And how to overcome it
Compare it with what you just achieved
And how you did it
Stow away the ideas
For the next time you fail
Apply whatever you can
To the next failure
Written: 11/3/08
Words: Walter Koning
OK. Came up with a couple things for you to consider.
1. Deflecting the truth. A politician does that. Being under scrutiny and attack for a year and a half will make a person do that. Not ideal but both sides do it.
2. Big gov’t. I’m not sure I’m against big government. I’m against inefficient big government. I’m also against bombing the war to peace. I understand the intentions of controlling the middle east. I just wish it weren’t so. Money spent by the government is spent somewhere. That creates monetary velocity when the money is then earned by someone and then later spent. This isn’t always a bad thing.
3. Taxing profits greater than $250,000 by 2% more won’t end capitalism as we know it. I’m sorry but it’s far fetched and illogical. We’ve had higher taxes in the past, and lower taxes too. Investing in your business to lower your taxable profit will grow your business and lower your tax expense. Run the math. I can help if you want me to.
4. As for the idea of him being a muslim. I’m sorry you feel that way. Here is a link you should read. http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_barack_obama_muslim.htm
5. As for substance, experience and values, I think your values are different than mine. I’m not religious and think there should be a separation between church and state.
6. The media outlets were very Bush-centric last time around. John Kerry wasn’t a qualified candidate. The media picked up on that and ran with it. I don’t believe McCain is the same person he used to be. He may have been qualified in 2000 but he’s sacrificed some of his quality to win the highest prize.
7. Why are the Middle east folks cheering him on? Because the United States, Britain and France have colonized the world and controlled the resources. McCain wants to continue to bomb them into submission. Obama talks of wanting to work with them toward a more productive solution. I’d cheer on the idea of not getting bombed too. They are people with cities, jobs and families.
8. The chance of another attack is probably quite likely. Biden was probably playing politics and trying to convince people Obama is ready for an attack.
9. I don’t support flipping people off and making them angry because they support the opposition. I’m sorry they did that to you.
10. Well, based on fraud and a close race, we probably won’t know who won… The electoral college needs to be changed, in my opinion.
For fun, read this: My Republican friend Joe wrote it. Surprising to me he’s voting Obama. http://www.keystothebus.com/
Strange times,
walter
Written: 7/15/08
Words: Walter Koning
i remember when the best thing was
if i sold the most magazines
and kids would sell the most
and go to the front of the class to pick up their prizes
i remember when the best thing was
when my parents let me use their frequent flier miles
and i thought that someday i’d have
enough of my own
and i’d fly wherever
Written: 8/6/08
Words: Walter Koning
During the Dot Com Boom in 1999 I told everyone I knew that I didn’t think the stock market rise was based on financial fundamentals. It was just a matter of time before it would bust. Then it did.
After watching the interest only loans and Adjustable Rate Mortgages spike in recent years I told everyone I knew about the possibility of another “Great Depression”. If I remember correctly, the last time they allowed interest only loans was prior to the regulations during the post 1929 era. Then in the 90’s they started to offer them again, then promote and push them.
Now the thing to watch for is credit debt. Our economy is built on debt. Debt can also be considered leverage. When you borrow money to do things that will earn you more money than the amount you paid in interest, that’s leveraging your debt. If you’re just borrowing time to pay back your credit card debt, or business loan, but you’re not making more money back by having that debt
Written: 4/16/01
Words: Walter Koning
I see a man trapped to a wheelchair with a “no pity” button strapped to his backpack
I see a woman sharing his friendship,
A giggle now and again
I see a woman with a 90’s version of an 80’s outfit,
Black hair, pink streaks, bold red lipstick, chewing gum,
Thick-rimmed, dark glasses, wide hair tie around her wrist
I see a woman of Indian descent standing behind a stroller which
Held her child until she just picked it up to her waist
I sat next to a very tall man with skin more black than mocha or chocolate
I see a man in khaki, skin dark in color, with hair in corn rows,
He’s pleading for the BART operator to open the doors of the train
I see the doors open, an act of mercy,
An announcement of the destination of the train over the PA,
The pleading man gets back off the train
I see another man of wider body and pale skin, wearing shorts
With hair colored in a God-given natural strawberry blonde,
He steps aboard after the pleading man as a result of the Asian
Conductor’s mercy and the other man’s honest mistake of train identity
I see a woman of Asian descent, sitting by the door, fresh from college,
Or a day at work, probably not manual labor
I see a woman of Mexican or Native American descent,
Listening to music through her headphones, playing a video game on her PDA
I see myself in the window, writing about the diversity,
Enjoying some worldly peace
Written: 5/1/01
Words: Walter Koning
How to get a job when you’re homeless
Got a beard so long
It’s unkept and scraggly
No energy in me because I don’t eat well,
or often enough
Pants are dirty and stained
Happens when I roll over at night
Sleeping on my blanket in the doorway of a business
Have no pillow
But I’ve got neck problems for sure
I walk into a temporary labor office to try for a job
They tell me they want to help
Ask how they can contact me
How can they contact me?
Well I’ll wait or I’ll come back tomorrow
OK, then what’s your address?
I don’t have one
I’m living on the street
I walk around with a grocery cart
My pants are stained and I smell badly
Well can you shower for work?
Where?
I guess that’s no
What am I to do?
Written: 4/27/01
Words: Walter Koning
Easily amused, my imagination gets the best of me
I let it take me where I feel I couldn’t go
Double vision, out of body observations, roll with it
Look in the mirror, look at your eyes, not one, both at the same time
Feel separated from your body. Your eyes are the passage to your soul.
Try it.
Let your escapist tendencies take over. Don’t think too much.
Relax and let it happen.
Jump inside your head and scurry around for awhile.
Just because you can see doesn’t mean you have to.
Don’t close your eyes at all
Let them roll back a bit and start thinking
Concentrate on the subject and
Go swimming in your own little stream of consciousness
Get caught in a daydream
Let it drag you in headfirst
Picture an orange and wonder about it
Eat it
Pull it apart
Puncture the skin
Let the juice run away
Apply the skin to your lips or teeth
To make an orange grin
Think of the seeds
Attack the orange sphere fortress
With it’s peel for a force field
Skinned pieces like colonies
White rind up the middle a municipality
Seeds are ecosystems
Watersheds and deserts
Mountains and plains
Written: 6/18/01
Words: Walter Koning
When you see them – observe them first
– keep your thoughts in your head
– ask yourself why
– maybe they like it this way
– observe them first
– it’s like a life size experiment
– and you’re the standard to measure against
Even though they’re not the same as you
Even though they don’t live the way you do
They may be happy with their lives
So don’t even bother if you only plan to criticize
When you see them – don’t be offended when they yell
– notice how they push but not in angst
– Hate man may or may not stand out
– they’ll be sitting in the round
– they’ll already have a system figured out
– be careful of what you say
– maybe they really like it this way
Even though they’re not the same as you
Even though they don’t live the way you do
They may be happy with their lives
So don’t even bother if you only plan to criticize
Written: 4/26/01
Words: Walter Koning
Seven voices chanting at me in different ways
Yet all the same
Be like us. Be yourself. Do what you want. Do what I ask.
The oldest should be the one to lean on
The most mature view. Founded in wisdom.
Not the case.
The youngest hasn’t a clue who to follow
Be like us. Be yourself. Do what you want. Do what I ask.
Stuck in the middle, wiser than the years suggest.
Yet inexperienced and desperate for someone to trust
J.D. Konye did so much, he’ll never ever know how much.
Jessica Hollister did so much good without even trying
Without intention she also broke my heart, the one she mended,
The one she owned, the one I gave to her, but she couldn’t give back.
Memories prevail, some positive, some hatred, some disgust,
Some joy, for some people, for some things, behind me, memories.
The seven voices have stopped, now they’re one, my own.
I don’t know if I could hear another voice and listen to it daily,
Be like me, be yourself, do what you want, do what I ask
Don’t ask too much and I’ll do my best
Don’t expect too much, you’ll get what I have
Love it or leave it
Written: 4/24/01
Words: Walter Koning
I’ve got this pessimistic optimism about me.
Forward looking I’m a little weary. Maybe not pessimistic. If I were pessimistic. I’d think the future holds a plethora of bad things in a box, a gift for me. When the future becomes the present, this gift for me will be opened and a torent of negativity will pour over me. This pessimism is both negative and silly. The future may always be saddening, and the present may currently be saddening, but a negative view of it all will only make it worse.
If I were optimistic I’d think the morrow brings nothing but presents filled with figurative sweets. The future is something to look forward to; Not as an escape from today, but as a continuation of the joy currently enjoyed. Optimism stretches reality in awkward ways to hide the fear of tomorrow being as dismal as today. The future may be wonderful and cheery but an optimistic view covers up the need for honest preparation for impending doom.
So am I a realist? Maybe. If I am, that’s frightening. The realist is stuck with empathizing with the hopelessness felt by so many people; with the founded worries of how to make ends meet; with the constant fear of WWIII. The realist is also fortunate as they get to share in the joy of a first at bat, in any league; of a successful career; of a happy family; of a well rewarded effort.
But I’ve got this pessimistic optimism about me.
Written: 4/23/01
Words: Walter Koning
What matters?
Does my headache matter
Do you matter
Does cosmetic surgery matter
To Whom
Why
Does the plane in Peru matter
How about the plane in China
Or the plains of the Midwestern United States
What matters
Does my ripped jacket matter
Does my ripped CD matter
What’s the matter
Why bother
Does a fake smile matter
Does a liquidation matter
How about a milkshake
Or a liquidation manager
Or an acquaintance with some sense of what matters
Who knows what matters
Does my headache matter
To whom
Why
Written: 4/6/01
Words: Walter Koning
Right now
These days
Lately I’ve been caught up in thoughts of thoughts
And time and memories
I’ve been caught wondering about how times are, how times were,
How times will be tomorrow
I’ve been caught trying to preserve what never was, create what
Never will be, hope for what I dream of
I’ve been thinking of where we go wrong, what we do right,
And what we’ll continue to do
I’m stuck in this state of why
I’m stuck hoping we’ll reach the goals we tell ourselves
We’re working toward
I’m stuck believing lyrics have been written before I sat down to write
Tunes have been played, music composed, back beats dropped
I’m stuck with this opportunity to repeat those beats, write those words,
Express my thoughts, feel my emotions
And believe they’ve never been felt like I feel them now
Lately I’ve been caught up in thoughts of thoughts
And time and memories
I’m stuck in this state of why
These days
Right now
Written: 3/27/01
Words: Walter Koning
How do I put chaos into words?
How can I capture an emotion, such as love, in three syllables?
How do I generate my spirit in those who can hear me?
How can I sing out with pride without being so shy?
What is accepted and what is right,
Don’t always agree with each other
What are mistakes,
If you make them time and again
What clothes should we wear,
When it’s a Sunday afternoon in the Park
In the Park
When it’s a Sunday afternoon in the Park
In the Park
What’s the message we’re conveying,
When we gather peace ____ fully
It’s the same message we’re saying,
As when we live respectfully
I see nothing wrong with obedience,
When it means we can have Sunday afternoons in the Park
In the Park
We’ll have Sunday afternoons in the Park
In the Park
Some value fighting for every small detail,
Even those they’ve won
Why criticize our freedom,
With the actions you’ve just done
I love living in America,
Where our dreams can be achieved
So why do you keep fighting,
The people who treat you fair
Our government may stop us,
From hurting other folks
But how does that hinder,
Our Sunday afternoons in the Park
In the Park
We have our Sunday afternoons in the Park
In the Park
Written: 2/27/01
Words: Walter Koning
Ideas keep flowing through my head
I try to write these thoughts on paper
But every time I sit down to write with my pencil
It seems that I’m all out of lead
Maybe my thoughts don’t need to come out
Maybe the world is better off without them
Maybe it just takes some time
To pull together all my worthwhile details
And separate them from the rest
I’ve got this idea that we need another Nirvana
Some band that can inspire the uninspired
Some band who is able to spell out the truth
Without offending everyone from the Pope to the Dalai Lama
Maybe my thoughts don’t need to come out
Maybe the world is better off without them
Maybe it just takes some time
To pull together all my worthwhile details
And separate them from the rest
So when these ideas of mine can be made cohesive I shall share
The energy and direction I have streaming through my head
And if anyone can understand the point I’m trying to make
We’ll be better off, simply by the way you chose to care