All Things Zombies
Written by Donald Hughes, Fall 2013

It seems everywhere you turn around now days there is something about Zombies. They are used in commercial advertising, in major movies, television shows, and books. As we approach Halloween yet again, I am fairly confident to see them out in force.

Although the term, “zombie” is well known as a depiction of a mindless, half dead half alive creature that feasts on brains, the word itself has unknown origins. We know it was used by George Romero in his early films, such as Night of the Living Dead back in the counter-culture days of the ’60s, but where it originated is not really known. There is early reference to the same kind of creatures, often times termed generically as “ghouls” in European folklore, and referenced in works from HG Wells, Poe and even Shelley’s Frankenstein. So, our concept of these mindless wanderers of the night have been around for many decades, if not centuries. Even in Africa, in the mystery of Voodoo, these “zombies” were as a result of magic and hypnotism and was referenced in the 1928 silent film Magic Island by W.B. Seabrook.

For the most part, all works relating zombies to the plot, are of course fictional. After all, would we really see groups of people wandering about, void of feeling and care, mindless in their pursuit of something to feel, taste or experience, following the crowd and unable to make rational decisions, unaware of their surroundings and what is happening in the “real world”, devoid of conscience and desire, influenced by uncontrollable thirst and hunger for stimuli, unable to relate and socialize, nameless and faceless, ghoulish in appearance and dress, lacking in social graces and otherwise half dead, half alive?

Oh, wait…………have you been around lately in our shopping malls, inner-cities, and local high-schools? Have you noticed the influence of cell phone use, texting, and social media? Have you seen the results at the polling booth? Have you witnessed the increase in mass murders? Have you felt the impact of Hollywood and the music culture? Have you cringed at the level of humor and what is socially acceptable now? Have you been in line at the boarding gate of an airport? Have you been stuck in traffic and looked at those in the adjacent cars? Do you work in a cubical office? Have you followed a Bill being debated in Congress? Have you listened to a major news outlet for coverage? Have you purchased a pair of slim jeans? Ate at McDonalds? Shopped at a Wal-Mart?

Yes, Virginia, there are zombies. Most definitely.

Too many talking heads, not enough candor,
Too many lawyers, not enough honor;
Too many fortunes, not enough sacrifice,
Too many opinions, not enough experience.

Too many taxes, not enough tax-base,
Too many politicians, not enough voters;
Too many religions, not enough faithful,
Too many wars, not enough soldiers.

Too many distractions, not enough learning,
Too many schools, not enough taught;
Too many asking, not enough giving,
Too many spending, not enough earning.

Too many laws, not enough enforcement,
Too many experts, not enough understanding;
Too many aging, not enough living,
Too many dying, not enough born.

Too many roads, not enough destinations,
Too many songs, not enough music;
Too many visuals, not enough seeing,
Too many entertainers, not enough laughter.

Too many activities, not enough time,
Too many couplings, not enough marriage;
Too many babies, not enough parents,
Too many males, not enough men.

Too many goods, not enough labor,
Too many followers, not enough leaders;
Too many options, not enough commitment,
Too many directions, not enough decision.

Too many wanting, not enough caring,
Too many pretending, not enough sincerity;
Too many wants, not enough needs,
Too many stars, not enough heroes.

And thus we fall.

Written by Donald L Hughes, 2008

In Motion
Written by Donald Hughes

I sit and I wait,
I watch and I pray;
After all, He knows my fate,
And what I think and say.

So I sit, and hope it will start,
This life I’ve been waiting for;
After all, doesn’t He know my heart?
Won’t He give me wings to soar?

So I sit, and I look to the sky,
With my hopes and dreams at bay;
Come now, I plea as I wonder why,
Let me get started on living today!

But alas, He doesn’t come with magic or spell,
And I’m left to begin on my own.
Why He didn’t answer my plea I can not tell,
So I rise up and begin the journey alone.

Suddenly, as I take steps to start my life,
And do what I need to do to begin,
I feel different somehow, less stress and strife;
Like windows and doors have been open.

Perhaps I’m not alone, on this long journey,
And all I had to do was just start it;
His love, help and support I could easily see,
Once I took the steps and moved a little bit.

The faith to live, love, and move is never easy,
But your dreams are more that mere notion;
Inspiration, and answers to prayers, you will only see,
Once your feet, hands and heart are in motion.

It’s about Character
Written by Donald Hughes, March 2013
There is so much talk now-a-days about the government being too big, the deficit too big, the taxes too high and the spending too out-of-control. And, all of those things are obviously true as has been the case for most of the modern age in America. But what is different than times past is the lack of a moral compass in the general population to turn it all around.
Back in the day of Calvin Coolidge, post WW I Era, the Nation was in a similar circumstance as today. Unemployment was high as soldiers returning from the front were unable to find work, tax rates were high and inflation so out of control actual riots were in the streets. Warren Harding was President, and was caught up in a firestorm of controversy over favoritism to oil-leasing our West, leading to the “teapot dome” scandal in Wyoming. While visiting the West, he suddenly died and left his VP, Coolidge, as the new President of the United States.
Coolidge understood one important thing that most politicians don’t seem to grasp today: that the office of the President (and any other for that matter) is temporary, and as such, the electorate is there to do a service by and for the people who elected them, and not the other way around. He had a whirl-wind schedule of work, work, and more work since he considered his time in office short, and had to get things accomplished quickly. He met hundreds of times in his one-term (he refused a second term) with his staff regarding the budget and the economy. He was famous for saying “no” to spending, and to bills that increased spending. He understood that tax-cuts, and not tax-hikes, increased revenue to the Treasury. In fact, he understood that tax increases were mainly to increase the size of the government, and did not increase revenue. He also understood, and had a deep moral conviction that he and those elected were given a trust by those that elected them to be honest, responsible stewards of their hard-earned money. To do anything else would be not just economically wrong, but morally wrong for the Nation. He professed, “We must have no carelessness in our dealings with public property or the expenditure of public money. Such a condition is characteristic of undeveloped people, or of a decadent generation.”
At the core of all of his leadership as President was his character, or moral compass, set on an unyielding course of doing what was right with the Nation’s money, especially with real spending and budget cuts. As a result, he was not particularly popular with the Washington “in crowd”, and not with most of Congress (which is another problem with today’s politicians seeking popularity over substance), but he didn’t care. He led, he made personal decisions rather that rely on committees or special focus groups, and knew what was needed to be done to put the country on its feet again. His success didn’t last, but good times seldom do because great leaders with moral clarity are indeed rare. What makes it even more difficult today is that the majority of the voting public themselves lack the moral conviction to elect such a leader, as was witnessed this past election cycle. The general public, fueled by the media, just doesn’t care about character, a thing so important in Coolidge’s day. Until the general population start caring about that again, great leaders will not have the chance to shine and turn this great Nation, around. It’s not about the taxes, the spending, or the deficit. It’s about moral fiber and character.

Into the well lit room I entered,
Which light did pierce my eyes.
Squinting, I felt too exposed, to well seen,
So I set ou to find the darkness-switch.

Yes, I looked and searched for the switch,
To turn the darkness on, maybe just a bit.
But to my dismay, no such switch was found.
Only one to dim the light.

At that moment, I understood,
Darkness could not be turned on, not at all.
The only way to soften the billiance and hide the flaws,
Was to dim the light!

Yes, as I dimmed the light to shield the rays,
In direct proportion the darkness came.
First, just a little turn of the switch,
Than my eys edjusted…yet another turn!

Soon I was totally adjusted to the darkness,
And comfortable in my shadows.
No longer could others see my faults,
No longer could I see their needs.

I knew if I continued to turn the switch,
Total darkness would soon fill the room.
And I became scared and felt alone,
And found I missed the light.

Turning the switch back, the light began to pour in,
In direct proportion the darkness fled.
Oh, how good it felt to bask in the glow once again,
And see clearly what I should be.

Yes, the only way to darkness is to dim the light.

Written by Donald L Hughes

In Memory

Written by Donald L Hughes, Memorial Day 2007

Forever written in the annals of history,

They silently moved thru strife;

Shadows really, each within a story,

Each a part of life.

Warriors fighting for their own reasons,

Men of age and many just a lad;

Some struggling for only a season,

Others giving all they had.

I often wonder, in my limited sight,

From fear of the gun and the knife;

How would I have handled the fight,

When another sought to take my life?

Thanks to those whom made that choice,

To stand for the small and the weak;

Thanks is all that I can voice,

As words enough I cannot speak.

They took the bullet, they took the blade,

And stood on hallowed ground;

Their names and faces will not, should not, ever fade,

Each time the haunting bugles sound.

Let us pray, not for their souls, but for ours,

As we are left looking heaven-ward;

It is we that are left with the wounds and scars,

For it they that found the Eternal reward.

To our soldiers, we lift our voice of gratitude,

To our brave and to our strong;

We will never forget the bitter-sweet interlude

Of your service that make the music of freedom’s song.