Year: 2009

major miller, a neighbor out at my grandparents’ ranch in aladdin, wyoming died last week of lung cancer (though i don’t know he ever smoked) … his memorial service is today and i wrote the following for it …

 

his lifetime bridged the worlds
between the old west and the new
and he made a smooth transition
which not everyone can do

 

from cattle drives
to internet
stock rings
to big trade shows

where he’d connect with hunters

craving guidance from the pros
they jumped to try their hobby
on a ranch with wild game
and a host who knew his land
as well as his own name

 

major
like his moniker
substantial as the hills
where he ranged routinely

and no doubt took some spills

 

and major
like in music

no minor chords of trouble

clouding up his grin
though as a rancher in wyoming
he couldn’t always win
but disappointments didn’t show
in his glad-to-see-you smile
eyes twinkling with amusement
when you stopped by for a while

 

he knew me all my life
shared the triumphs and the strife
thanksgivings with his folks

where the eating didn’t cease

christmas at my grandparents
down the road a piece 

 

as we travelled through the years

we shared successes and the tears

of parents passing
and inheritance usurped
with anecdotes amassing
to be jawed when we would meet
which wasn’t all that often
yet always was a treat

 

roots like those we shared
run deep as rains can seep

and so does life-long history
such memories to keep

 

this landscape will be barer
now that major’s gone to rest
but we can all be grateful

we knew the best of the old west

 

i’m very excited that we start rehearsals next week for “the last smoker in america” which i wrote with peter melnick … this is the lyric of the first song we wrote for the piece … jimmy, a teenager with severe a.d.h.d. addicted to video games, discovers an intruder in the kitchen in the middle of the night and is brandishing his father’s rifle …

i’ve got a gun!
and i can decimate a mutant
in an instant nano-second
i’m used to killing monsters
’bout a jillion times a day
of course i us’lly do it
in a simulated battle
but my commando tactics
can blow you right away

i’ve got a gun!
and though it is my daddy’s
and i never learned to shoot
i have ultra-fatal instincts
and a lethal bullet spray
so if you’re itching for a battle
in a pan-galactic station
i suggest you quark a shuttle
and go somewhere else to play

‘cause i will kill you
just like the avatar of megalon
yes i will kill you
make one wrong move
and, buster, you’ll be gone
unless you want to die
real fast
like a bunny
you’ll be mince pie
one blast
on the money
don’t try to fly
half-assed
i’m a funny guy
you’ll die!

i’ve got a gun!
though i’m not old enough to drive yet
this here weapon is a license
for me to prove my manhood
like an action movie star
’cause if i were to wipe out
some bad alien intruder
my dad would be so grateful
he’d let me drive the car

i’ve got a gun!
so i wouldn’t fling projectiles
or make any meta-movements
’cause i’m as trigger-happy
as a snark from myrazun
why don’t you turn around real slowly
step out where i can see you?
’cause your evil plot has ended
before the down-load’s even done
i’ve got a gun!
i’ve got a gun!
i’ve got a gun!