Author: John Battle
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Stodgy Liberals
Do you know what a stodgy liberal is? I do. It is the given political position in some places in our country: You are liberal or you are a traitor. I used to think sometimes when talking to these people: I am just a person schlepping through life here—but you have a defined belief system?…
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Why I Oppose Psychopaths
Call the cops on psychopaths—don’t kill them: Call the cops on them when they do something wrong to you or near you. Give them a bad record with the police. My sister was raped: She did not go to church with us; one Sunday, we arrived back from church, but she wasn’t there. My neighbor’s…
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Mealymouthed M-F-ers
Mealymouthed, vacillating pronouncements muddle what is real: We don’t know what to think anymore. This is by design. Oh, well—let them do their thing, let them do it their way, I guess. This is evil; this is genuine evil: It killed six million Jews some eighty years ago—Oh, well, let them do their thing, let…
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Spring 2026
This is my sense of spring: wandering in the woods and along streams. It took nine hours to upload it because it is high resolution. I have asked that it be exhibited at Artworks in Big Rapids. It is about trilliums, then rippling water and blossoms on a wild cherry tree, and, finally, some still…
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A family logo
Copilot helped me make a family logo. I think this is pretty good. It is not the same as the family crest I designed last year; it is a simple emblem. Nick and I have worked on different things to put up on the side of his barn; this is based on that project, which…
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The Waste Land
by T.S. Eliot This poem has taken an important place in modern literature; I do my best with it; I mispronounce a few words, but I do not think that, in such a long work, it requires me to correct the recordings. If you read the poem while listening, you will notice that, toward the…
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I read Tintern Abbey Ode and other works.
This is a slideshow with Poetry. Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth, Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant, 14 Haiku by John Battle, The last lines of Lieutenant Lasset, a teleplay by John Battle. Tintern Abbey opens at 00:00 with: “Five years have passed.” Thanatopsis opens at 11:17 with: “To him who in the love of Nature.”…
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When You Are Old, and The Second Coming by W.B. Yeats, and Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
These are some of my favorites. I listened on YouTube the other day to Anthony Hopkins delivering Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night. It was a recording from only seven moths ago. Perfection was achieved once more in the world. I looked up my vacation photos from a trip I took to New…
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People Like My Pizza Sauce
Here is how to make it. Buy a large can of plum tomatoes: This one is $7.99 at Gordon Food in Grand Rapids. This brand—Alta Cucina—of whole, peeled, plum tomatoes has just the right tang for my taste. Get hold of a head of garlic. Buy a bunch of fresh basil. I bought some at…
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Clem Battle Family Pictures
This is close to the final edition. I can add some names if I get help identifying Canadian relatives. Thanks, John
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