“Every student needs someone who says, simply, “You mean something. You count.” – Tony Kushner, playwright (b. 16 Jul 1956)
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Thought For the Day: Every Student Needs Someone Who Says, simply, “You Mean Something. You Count.”
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Count, Mean, Say, Someone, Student, Thought For the Day, Tony Kushner
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Somewhere In Between
Somewhere In Between
by Michael Doyle
There in the review mirror
Were the lights of my error
Near the end of the drive
Feeling more tired than alive
Was knowledge of my mistake
Hitting the accelerator, not the brake
As I did my best to make it home
And worse was I was not alone
There was no given excuse
That my error was no more an abuse
Then the traffic's flow
And miles more to go
The journey had begun
When I heard the non-fun
The fact that three hundred was the cost
For a hotel room, and the coin tossed
Caused me to drive homeward-bound
From the Upper Peninsula, we had found
Nine hours into this drive
I sped just trying to make it home alive
(c) July 19, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Abuse, Accelerator, Alive, Alone, Coin Toss, Drive, Error, Excuse, Feeling, Hom, Home Alive, Homeward Bound, In-between, Knowledge, Lights, Miles To Go, Mistake, Nine Hours, Poetry and Poems, Rearview Mirror, Somewhere, Tired, Traffic's Flow, Upper Peninsula
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Thought For the Day: A Generation Which Ignores History Has No Past and No Future
“A generation which ignores history has no past and no future.” – Robert Heinlein
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Generation, History, Ignore, No Future, No Past, Robert Heinlein, Thought For the Day
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First Principles: The Natural Cure For An Ill-Administration, In A Popular Or Representative Constitution, Is A Change of Men
“The natural cure for an ill-administration, in a popular or representative constitution, is a change of men.” – Alexander Hamilton (1787)
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Alexander Hamilton, Change, Constitution, Cure, First Principles, Ill-Administration, Men, Natural, Popular, Representative
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In the Quiet
In the Quiet
by Michael Doyle
In the late hours, with others asleep
I find my contemplation runs deep
And I get my best moments quietly done
It's sometimes best without anyone
It's not to be impatient or rude
When I speak on how others intrude
On my thoughts and my actions
And in doing this, hurt my satisfaction
Not to subject myself to dissection
Of the psychological direction
But it might be I don't need the connections
Provided by social interactions
Sometimes a profound sense of isolation
Seems less a sort of morbid deviation
And it becomes more relief in solitude
These uninterrupted times are met with gratitude
It doesn't result from depression or anxiety
Life, as we know, has some real complexity
I've just turned to become a sort of introvert
There is nothing more complex to interpret
(c) July 18, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged Actions, Anxiety, Asleep, Best, Best Moments, Complex, Complexity, Connection, Contemplation, Depression, Deviation, Direction, Dissection, Gratitude, Impatient, In the Quiet, Interpret, Introvert, Intrude, Late Hours, Life, Poetry and Poems, Profound Isolation, Relief, Rude, Satisfaction, Social Interactions, Solitude, Subject, Thoughts, Uninterrupted Times
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First Principles: Every Government Degenerates When Trusted To the Rulers of the People Alone. The People Themselves, Therefore, Are Its Only Safe Depositories
“Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories.” – Thomas Jefferson (1781)
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Degenerate, Every Government, First Principles, Only, Rulers, Safe Depositories, The People, Thomas Jefferson, Trust
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Thought For the Day: If You Want To Make Peace With Your Enemy, You Have To Work With Your Enemy. Then He Becomes Your Partner
“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” – Nelson Mandela, activist, South African president, Nobel laureate (18 Jul 1918-2013
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Enermy, Mandela, Nelson, Partner, Peace, Thought For the Day, Want, Work
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First Principles: We Must Take Human Nature As We Find It, Perfection Fails Not To the Share of Mortals
“We must take human nature as we find it, perfection falls not to the share of mortals.” – George Washington (1786)
Posted in First Principles
Tagged Fail, Find, First Principles, George Washington, Human Nature, Mortals, Perffection, Share, Take, We
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Thought For the Day: In Any Given Moment We Have Two Options: To Step Forward Into Growth Or Step Back Into Safety
“In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety.” -Abraham Maslow
Posted in Thought For the Day
Tagged Abraham Maslow, Growth, Moment, Option, Safety, Step Back, Step Forward, Thought For the Day, Two
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Road Trips With My Daughters 2024
Road Trips With My Daughters 2024
by Michael Doyle
There's a sort of magic I learned as I grew
That traveling with children reveals anew
The wonders and enchantments there are to find
Along with the souvenirs that serve to remind
One of the places gone to and things done
As the days pass under the summer's sun
Maybe lacking perfection but building memories
These are the things that make good families
It's an investment in growth and happiness
Even on those days that add up to less than bliss
In a lifetime of such blunders and wonders and glories
This might become a day that had stories within stories
Traveling too many hours, not quite well-planned
And yet adding up to missteps easy to understand
And easier still to smile on and maybe forgive
Of adventures, we didn't quite manage to live
I had chose the Henry Ford as a point of creativity
To share with my daughters and encourage ingenuity
I have always sought to encourage leaps of imagination
Believing that all things are possible with innovation
This was another stop along the way to becoming mature
Hoping that in sharing one man's path it might nurture
The sorts of choices that would help these girls find voices
That would rise above chambered echoes and drowning noises
There we were stuck on the wrong side of the gate
We found ourselves just short and several minutes too late
But instead of disappointment, they found pleasure
In the times spent talking as having worth beyond measure
Turning toward dinner we recounted times that had passed
And the sorts of dreams and pleasures that have been cast
In the days that have come and gone and have readily shown
That imagination and inspiration are better than things known
We arrived just after sunset had filled the night skies
We had seen its last traces of pink and peach with our eyes
Turning to night above the trees near Lake Erie's shore
Without disappointment, they smiled that there would be more
And that said the truth that I did not really want to hear
That sometimes things are missed but magic doesn't disappear
We had watched the seagulls overhead before we had arrived
Other beaches are left to explore and we had survived
(c) July 17, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Posted in Poetry and Poems
Tagged 2024, Adventure, Beach, Believe, Bliss, Children, Creativity, Daughters, Dinner, Families, Glory, Growth, Happiness, Hours, Imagination, Ingenuity, Innovation, Investment, Lake Erie, Mage, Memories, Michigan, Perfection, Place, Plan, Poetry and Poems, Possible, Road Trip, Souvenirs, Story, Summer's Sun, Sunset, The Henry Ford, Travel, Understand, Wonders
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