2012 is coming

As our year winds to a close we are going to see more and more of our politicians. Maybe it's time to start paying attention. The good thing about a representative democracy is that we can make sure the people who represent us really understand what we want. Lobbyist may provide the money to run campaigns but each lobbyist is only one vote in their district. We have the most power in our votes.

Jason

to the editor

November 11th, 2011

To the Editor;

My daughter attends Madison High School in Northeast Portland. She has to go to school everyday with layers on because the school has broken boilers and there is no heat in several classrooms. This has been a problem since last year. On top of this we had to request a special curriculum for our daughter because the English class is to easy and she has already read the assigned text, in last years English class. Portland closed Marshall High School, at the end of last year, and moved a little more than 700 students to Madison in order to save money. This has raised the classroom totals to as many as 30 to 40 students to one teacher in some classes. Meanwhile in Salem our elected representatives continue to talk about cutting the budget with no additional talk about raising taxes or finding new sources of revenue. sn’t it about time we begin talking about what we need to fund instead of continually talking about what we need to cut. As a society we need to meet some basic societal needs and one of those is the education of our children. It’s time we as a community step up and fund the programs that teach our youngest, take care of our oldest and weakest, and protect the rest of us. We as a community need to remember what is most important and find the will and the way to take care of these things.

Jason Murray

boxed in

an unopened box
contains the miracle
of anything
for who knows
what is really inside
until it is open

Green with desire

to hold in
your hand
the answer

to your hunger

that thing
that has been calling
to you four hours

thinking only of it

green and ugly
beautiful egg shaped
mysterious

in its being

somewhere
in between
fruit and vegetable

to slice it

in half to
remove the pit
and look at

the absence left behind

a natural bowl
perfect and round
a natural bowl

to fill with balsamic

dark and sweet
sprinkle with salt mankinds
oldest currency

then, like a lover

spooning it out
with sensual longing
dark and secret

a priest stands nearby

ready to hear
your sacred confession
"Father, forgive me...

for I have eaten."

Time for more Haiku

We recently did the Maker Faire in San Mateo. We drove down overnight and back the same way. The craziness of doing this first event of the season inspired me to scribble (figuratively) some more Haiku;


twelve hours down the road
two hours to sleep in between
rest stop so noisy

In and out burger
french fries dipped twice in fry sauce
tums, glad to see you

expensive hotel
the bed is soft, inviting
Pay for my wi-fi?!

So many steam punks
goggles on their leather hats
I don't understand

It's sunny outside
but the wind whips cold through here
tent booms like thunder

Boxes Beads and Books

As we near the day of the great departure things get more and more crazy. Two large boxes showed up on our front door. As I looked at these boxes full of gift boxes the first thing I thought of was "how the hell am I going to fit those in the car?" The second thought I had was is there an UPS store that I can ship these to in Sheboygan. The thought of packing my car makes me think immediately of how nice a beer would taste, or how fun it would be to watch an episode of Dr. Who. Escapism aside I am looking forward to the parts of my summer that don't involve driving across Nebraska or driving late into the night. I look forward to the food, the people, the different places. Jack wants to see the Lincoln Memorial as he regards Lincoln as his hero.
I am preparing for finals, and final papers while ordering and receiving small boxes of beads (it's amazing how small a 150 dollar box of beads or parts is.) It's always funny when we unload the car and look at the huge pile on the ground and then take out the small box full of Lisa's jewelry. Several hundred pounds of tents, tables, gift boxes, tools, bank card machines, drapes, posters, etc all for one about five pound soft sided container of Lisa's hard work.
Watch for us this summer as we turn into gypsies and travel all the way from one coast to another and back! I will blog from the road. Some may show how tired I am. Some may be quite good. We'll see.
Peace, Jason

looking down at me looking up

Jason Murray
Saturday, May 28th 2011


Testing metal
you break down
crashing through
your self and self

floating on a whim
a cloud of desire
tasting the wind
that once filled your sails

she told me she was dying
that was so long ago
and yet we are both here today
longing for the next thing

We smiled at the thought
of a manhole left open
dropping down and
coming out in China

What did the toast
taste like today
death? or life
or butter and jam

Why did we say goodbye
just now
when we really meant hello
do you know?

The sun winked at me
this morning
and then rose
to its usual chorus

I went to bed
only to dream of
going to bed
only to dream of waking

This flower is full of
insanity, bop
flower of love
hits you in the nose

She came to bed late
ears ringing of hammers
and eyes aching
for watching the metal

the time slipped
and went by me
while I sat reading
my bus sailed past

I walked to the
edge of the world
and looked down
to see me looking up at me.

Kite

Jason Murray
March, 2009

You told me that you had never flown a kite.

I said - We must change that!

And we set out to Myrtle Edwards Park

Stop first at the hardware store.

A reel of string and an inexpensive kite

wrapped in a plastic bag closed with cardboard

Probable five dollars for both.

Dancing through city streets on rubber wheels

in two tons of metal.

Building the kite on the table of the

hood of the car.

The weather was perfect, the wind blew

one way then another first blowing your hair on

then off your expectant face.

A team of two as we tried and tried to launch

this crazy cheap kite.

Finally it flies out of my hands and heads aloft

to heights that make it hard to see.

Where did that kite go? The one we flew

all those years past.

We are both older, and we have changed

from children to parents,

but I would still run to the store,

to buy you a kite and fly it high

above a city beach.

Backcountry, Jason Murray, Winter, 2011

Just a moment more
one more page
Sitting here
doing nothing
going nowhere
but reading
and going
everywhere.
Walking through the
tropical undergrowth
traveling with
bandits
riding the rails
through the backcountry
of Russia
but not today’s Russia
the Russia of tolstoy
of Anna Karina
and Peter the Great
Of wars with Sweden
and in a moment
in a tenament in New York
drunk with the travel
unafraid of the rats
and the knife wielding
drunks
that occupy these pages.
Afraid rather of the
end of this chapter,
this book, the search
trepadatious for a new one.
Just another moment my dear
and I will come with you.

Damned Pencil

I like writing poems
but Haiku is the most fun
My pencil lead broke.

Sitting in the Pub

The taste of one beer
Leaves me wanting another
too many is bad.

the long road

Lost behind the wheel
road stretching out before me
I drink more coffee

No deer, good food, cheap motels

Well, as we plan for TQB Designs North American tour 2011 I am planning my routes to bypass deer, not bypass good food, beer and wine, and find cheap clean hotels with soft beds and lenient pet policies. Last year started out with a bang, or rather a loud thump, as on the early morning of our second day we lost our mirror and sustained about $5000 dollars of damage to our car when a deer decided it needed to cross the road. The car was drivable, and repairable. The deer unfortunately was not.
The rest of the trip went rather more smoothly and provided a good platform for our plans for this year.
This year I plan to write about our travels, our food, and the politics we see along the way (we are doing a show in Wisconsin.)
I look forward to this adventure and to the comments anyone wishes to post to my blog.
Happy Highways:)