20170104 (who knew?)

John Carroll, first American Archbishop: slaveowner

John Carroll had a slave.

So now to raise diversity stats

My Alma Mater (Almus Pater?)

Is thinking of changing its

Name. I happened on this fact

Because I have yet to remove

cle.com from my bookmarks.

Honestly I was looking only 

For the weather back home

When I came upon the story.

Tim Gill, the author, a 2007

Graduate of JCU, is a post-

Doctoral fellow at Tulane’s 

Center for Inter-American 

Studies. Discovery of the

Slave-owning prelate resulted

From research into how many

American schools profited

From the slave industry in 

The earliest centuries of their 

Existence, notably like 

Georgetown, a leading Jesuit

School. Princeton and Yale 

Were the first to come to light.

Eventually Catholics would

Be scrutinized and rightly so.

Two things about the story

Caught my attention. First,

Why weren’t we as students

Informed of this fact about 

Our supposedly benevolent 

Namesake? And second,

Why was our school lagging

In diversity in the first place

Considering its leadership by

Socially sensitive religious 

Throughout the civil rights 

Years into the “post-racial”

Obama presidency? But wait,

There’s more to the story.

After reading the article I 

Perused the comments, many

Of which claimed to be from

Carroll alums. Now we also 

Know trolls are paid to enter

Comments for any range of

Political topics and Carroll’s

Poor showing on diversity fit

Somebody’s agenda. I read

I guess a hundred comments 

And found not a one favoring

The name change or recognizing

Carroll’s student body tint

Needed some bronzing. Virtually

All were so scurrilous and

Vicious it was impossible these

Were submitted by well-educated 

Christian gentlemen. Such is the

Flaw with anonymous commentary.

Could be trolls. Could be real

Convictions of that part of the 

American electorate who didn’t

See what was so wrong about 

Electing a racist as president.

The good Jesuits should have 

Noticed. If they did, they weren’t

Saying anything about it. 

You know, like about 

The slave-owning bishop.

c. J.S.Manista, 2017

20170102 (new part?)

You've seen this knee before: dog attack, bee attack, now this, invalidism

Whitecaps all day on the sound.

Cold. Another grim blog. Went 

To pee several times last night

Could hardly walk. The slight

Pain at the back of my right knee

That had been nagging me for

Months had become so bad

I had to brace myself for any 

Progress. Bit the bullet since

I finally got an appointment 

For Loki’s desperately needed

Grooming. Managed to drive 

Across town, hobbled out 

Pleading he not pull me over. 

They told me the price and

Said I should come back at

Three. I did a little shopping

On the way back home. I

Didn’t remember injuring it.

The right is still my natural

Knee but I noticed I had been

Treating it like I did my left 

Before that was replaced 

Thirteen years ago. "Feces!” 

I thought, remembering I’d 

Promised Nat I’d clean up 

My diction as we left Cleveland.

You don’t put new tires on a car

That needs everything else—

Struts, motor, transmission.

Best I could hope was they’d

Pop my head onto a jock's

Body who’d died of sports 

Related brain trauma. Naw.

They try to save your old body

Even when they know it's

Going to die soon. In my family

We don’t make it to 80. I figure

System upon system will fail

Until one little infection then

Kaput. When I told Andy of

My sudden disability, he told

Me to stay put and he’d be 

Over to check it out. I cancelled

The 5K I was to run that night

And prayed there'd be no 

Needles. He felt my knee,

Said I had some kind of cyst

Blow out, and showed me

How he how could push the

Fluid from side to side. I took 

His Naproxen, let him wrap

The knee, and promised I would

Later apply the cold pack he put

In the freezer. Sunday I stayed

Home from church. The family

Came by with a week's lasagna

And arugula. Played Go Fish 

With the girls while Majida 

And Andy cleaned up my 

Kitchen and recycling despite 

My begging they leave it all

To me. Go already, I'll be fine.

They left me by the fireplace,

My leg elevated on a cardboard 

Box, with the icepack wrapped

Around my knee. “If this is 

What creeping decrepitude

Is like I’ll have to rethink

Gradual departure.”

c. J.S.Manista, 2017

20170101 (disqualify)

Nineteen days to go

Minds far better than mine

Have summarized last year.

As for wizards who foretell,

Count me out. I’d say all I

See is gloom and hardship

For everyone—dangerous

Days of the world looking

On us as we look we on Kim

Jong Un. When the eight 

Hundred pound gorilla  

Comes unglued everyone

Best run for cover. Nobody 

Can forget, however laughable

His ravings may be, that there

Were enough idiots in these

States to toss this doofus the

Hot potato. Conspiracies aside—

Which will be a fertile ground

For surviving historians from 

Other countries, eras, or

Planets—do you think that with

Seven thousand nuclear 

Warheads at his command, 

The damage will be limited

To our china shop alone?

Depending on how seriously

You deem the situation to be,

One has to consider what 

Defensive actions to take

On January 20 when this

Ridiculous fait will have

Become accompli. Trust in

Checks and balances in the

Age of the Imperial Executive,

When congress has long ago

Forsaken its sole constitutional

Power to declare war? When a 

Great portion of the president’s

Advisors have come straight

From military careers having

Been selected for their

Combative inclinations?

Didn’t you quake to hear his

Supporters naively pooh-pooh

His declarations? “Oh, sure, he

Said that, but he doesn’t really

Mean that,” they smugly claimed 

Once the fact of his Electoral 

College victory became clear. 

They had been so cavalier

About his excesses. Maybe they

Thought he hadn’t any real

Chance of winning, so what was

The harm in letting their inner

Beasties play on the national

Stage awhile?  Or will caving

Congressional powers, Ryan 

And McConnell, suddenly

Behold their spines when at last

They pry their heads from their 

Accommodating posteriors to 

Pen their implacable toddler?

c. J.S.Manista, 2017