The Clock

What time is it? I ask,
And look at the Clock.
But the Clock says nothing.

What time is it? I ask again,
But the Clock remains mute.

Frustrated now, I ask once more:
What time is it?  

And the clock replies,
'Tis time to stop, and think, and feel,
And be yourself, with joy!

What kind of answer is that? I cry;
A clock that can't tell time?
It must be a nightmare,
with no reason or rhyme!

For minutes and hours I rant and I rave,

Then I stop, and quietly say,
Time is Now, or it is not.

And to the Clock I say,
Thank you, my friend!

© 2015 Donald C. Rice Jr. 

Finally published my book!

My long-awaited debut novel is finally live on Amazon!  Find it here:

Child Protection: A Novel of Deception

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Namaste',
Don

© 2015 Donald C. Rice Jr.

E-Book First?

Dear friends, I'm at a crossroads of sorts.  I have to decide whether to continue with my fundraiser to publish this novel in all physical and electronic formats, or publish first as an E-book on Amazon, and later as a physical book.  The reason is that my GoFundMe page is at a standstill, with no contributions coming in since the last one a couple months ago.

So here's the question.  Should I go the E-book route first, or only an E-book, or just keep pushing the fundraiser and wait until the donations reach a level to permit physical publishing?

I humbly await your responses.  

Thank you!

© 2015 Donald C. Rice Jr.

On black women and the black men who hate them

My friend Christelyn Karazin just wrote a blog about this black dude who is ranting about "ugly black women" whining about how they're treated by "the black male collective".  She quoted word for word some of what the guy wrote, and it's atrocious, in all respects.  Not just the lack of correct writing skills, like spelling, punctuation, and word usage, but in the total disrespect toward black women (and by extension, all women).

That blog post is here:

http://www.beyondblackwhite.com/your-daughters-are-being-boycotted-time-to-heed-the-death-knell/


I've seen quite a few posts, blogs and groups supposedly dedicated to black women from black men, and every one of them is focused on the body, the physical appearance.  For example, if a "sista" has a big booty, it's like, "Bruh, I wanna get wit' her!"  And if she's small in that department, it's, "Aw, hell no, she got too much cracker in her!"

Very rarely do I ever see black men celebrating black women's accomplishments.  I even saw one dude ignore what Maya Angelou has done and say, "That's one ugly female!"  My initial reaction was, "What???  Are you nuts?  Maya was a beautiful woman, inside and outside, even more so because of what she did with her life, using her experiences and observations to teach and entertain."

Of course, every time I put myself out like that in those arena's, some fool (or some bunch of fools) accuse me of being the slavemaster or some such crap like that, and the two women I've been married to were called bed wenches, which pissed me off royally. 

Yet I've observed over my life that when some phase of human existence is on the way out, is being overtaken by something different, something better, then the hardcore proponents of the old ways come out in force and become even more forceful, because they know their time is up and they're unwilling, even unable, to go with the flow.  So they lash out at the new and better, and try like little children to hold onto the old way like it's their favorite toy.

But eventually, the new way, the better way, will supercede and become the dominant aspect of life and living.  This is true in religion, in culture, in politics, and yes, in personal relationships.  Swirling is here to stay, and I say, Thank the Universal Intelligence, because in my younger days, I risked being beaten, mutilated, and/or strung up for my choices in partners, and I love it that this younger generation is more open than mine was to the possibilities. 

In fact, I've had many younger folks ask me what it was like, and when I told them, they shook their heads in wonder, practically speechless at the insanity of my generation on the topic of so-called interracial relationships.  And I applaud them for realizing in their youth that the only thing that matters isn't the color of their skin, or the culture they were born into, or the religion their parents raised them in (or tried to).  They seem to understand intuitively that the only thing that matters is that we're all human beings.

Namaste'!

© 2015 Donald C. Rice Jr.

My first short story on Amazon!

I finally stopped procrastinating and put this on Amazon last night, and they put it out early this morning.

It's an account of my own journey through life as much as it is about the concept of love at first sight.  It does have a few short scenes of explicit sexual expression, so call it adults only.  And after the story is ended, there is an excerpt from my novel, which I'm working toward publishing.

Here's the link:

At First Sight

For those of you interesting in this type of story, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Namaste'!

© 2015 Donald C. Rice Jr.

Obama vs Warren

Obama vs. Warren:

The Trans-Pacific Partnership and

Fast-tracking Presidential Trade Authority

I've generally supported President Obama since the beginning, seeing him as the best candidate available in both of the last two Presidential elections.  I didn't always agree with him, but he was still the best available in both national election cycles.

Now comes another time I must disagree with him, at least in principle if not on substance.  The Washington Post reported today, Tuesday, May 12, 2015:

'Recently, Obama grew tired of Warren’s tactics on the trade bill. The president is particularly irked by Warren’s representations that the Pacific trade deal is being held in secret, when members of Congress are allowed to review its current stages in a classified room in the Capitol basement...

... “On most issues, she and I deeply agree,” Obama told Yahoo News while at Nike’s headquarters in Oregon trumpeting the trade deals. “On this one, though, her arguments don’t stand the test of fact and scrutiny.”'


So Congresscritters can see the details of the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) bill and Presidential fast-tracking authority , but We the People can't?  I'm truly disappointed with Obama's stand on this.  If it's such a great deal, why can't we see the details before it comes up for a vote?  Why the secrecy?  What is in this bill that he doesn't want us to see until it has become a fait accompli?  Clearly that is the secrecy that Senator Warren is referring to, and I see Obama's response as an attempt to deflect from Warren's position.

It's been said that President Obama is playing chess while his opponents are playing checkers.  Could it be that he now has an opponent who carries her own chess board and pieces?  Only time will tell. 

But even that is beside the point. Let the People see what is in the bill under consideration, before it is voted on.  We've been here before, most notoriously in 2001 when the so-called "PATRIOT Act" was ramrodded through both houses of Congress for G.W. Bush to sign. 
Granted, this bill isn't on that level, but it's still being touted as an important piece of legislation. 

But the current secrecy is a clear violation of the principle of openness in government, which is one of the things that candidate Obama promised before he was elected. And if, for some reason, he thinks this bill should not be made public before it's passed, well then, how about telling us why the secrecy is necessary?  That might go a long way toward ending, or at least mitigating, the hostility that is currently building between the Senator and the President, and perhaps even prevent a civil war within the Democratic Party. 

Namaste',

Don Rice Jr.

© 2015 Donald C. Rice Jr.