She once called him her “Sweet W” and the smartest man she knew.
But, that didn’t stop the Wizard of Oz — Chief Executive of Emerald City
— from jilting Harriet Quagmier, his longtime courtesan, this morning.
Calling it only a change in titles, the dispirited Harriet is expected to
remain at the Wiz House long enough to save face.
orig.
There have, of course, been rumors of a break-up for weeks. Some
sources blame it on angry in-laws, others on religious differences.
Palace gossip has described shouting matches with epithets such
as “brainless,” “heartless” and “cowardly.” Others say the Wizard
could no longer trust Harriet to keep his secrets behind that curtain.
orig.
At the other end of the Yellow Brick Road, there is much talk — among
both nominally-loyal noblemen as well as rivals — that the Wizard already
has a replacement for Harriet. Shockingly, it is unknown whether the
next courtesan is male or female, West Coast or East Coast, strict or
loose.
The f/k/a news organization will be following this story ’round the clock,
but is admittedly confused over the cast of characters. It seems clear
that the Wizard is not taking advice from the Good Witch of the North;
whether Harriet’s archrival, the Wicked Witch of the West, has his ear
(or other parts of his anatomy) is still unknown.
orig.
Doc Williams, and Butch Barton, have been suggested as Harriet’s
replacement, along with two younger men referred to only as Wally and
Barry, and Constance Edwards, a legal secretary. We would not be
surprised to hear more gossip about other women, soon.
Stay tuned.
coffee shop . . .
the only empty seat
still warm
evening walk
after office politics
lilac sent
orig.
through the open door . . .
her smile doesn’t forgive
all my sins
“coffee shop” & “through” – School’s Out (Press Here, 1999)
“evening walk” – Modern Haiku (Autumn 2003)
happier days
October 27, 2005
Ozzie dumps Harriet
slow news day (except for H.M. and the gloating)
Now that they’ve proven their tongues and elbows are as pointy
as their heads, America’s neo-con intelligentsia will surely be
offering a mixture of threats and advice to Pres. Bush regarding
his next Supreme Court nominee.
Since many of the neo-cons purport to be religious — and thus
subject to the Most Supreme Court — I thought I would again
remind them that Pride, Anger and Envy are among the Seven
While I’m in preacher mode, here’s Mahatma Gandhi’s list of
the “traits most spiritually perilous to humanity,” which I just
discovered this morning:
- Wealth without Work
- Pleasure without Conscience
- Science without Humanity
- Knowledge without Character
- Politics without Principle
- Commerce without Morality
- Worship without Sacrifice
“hangManG” Back to gossip and speculation: Does anyone
think the White House accepted Harriet Mier’s withdrawal
today, expecting it would eclipse bad news later in the day
from Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald? Does anyone think
Fitzgerald decided to make his annoucements tomorrow,
once he saw all the Miers’ coverage this morning?
Meanwhile, it’s a gray chilly day in Schenectady,
my last load of laundry is in the dryer, my car is in the
shop for new tires and more maintenance, and I’m
expecting a dose of agita over all the gloating that
will be floating in the blogisphere. Sounds like an
Andrew Riutta kind of afternoon:
mudslide
whatever it takes
to get us where we’re going
my mistake
untangling the orchard
from your hair
Andrew Riutta from Simply Haiku (Autumn 2005)
among our differences,
a thousand leaves sway
as one shadow
dead leaves—
children race one another
down an endless road
a woman
I pretend I don’t love
sets with the sun
Andrew Riutta from World Haiku Review Peace
Comments Off on slow news day (except for H.M. and the gloating)