Selections From
THIS IS WHY I'M WEARING SUNGLASSES
July 2009 to December 2013
THE CHANGE
Caterpillar
rumbles through the dirt
Often rolls,
but seldom hurt.
Eats the leaves
and blades of green,
Destined for
a life unseen.
Caterpillar
climbs the lofty tree
Has no idea
where he should be.
Slowly spins
through weaving night,
Then leaps with wings
into the light.
DANCE BEFORE
Dance before
the music plays
Squint before
the golden rays
Laugh before
the laughing days
And so unwrap
the gift of praise.
See beyond
the doors with locks
Hear beyond
the glooming talks
Run like child
down the stairs, in socks
And open the gift
before the box.
MERRY POP-INS
One-man-bands and
Chimney sweeps,
Nannies blowing
down the streets,
Laughter launching
tea up to the ceiling.
Smoke-stairs, penguin waiters
leaps into chalk paintings,
and flights with kites or
under umbrellas.
More Merry Pop-ins!
Lots more laughter,
before and after.
Cut the glum summaries
and numb numerologies,
Pour a spoonful of sugar:
Look for the funny side
and find it.
Step out of time
and fly a kite,
out to the edge
of the galaxies!
KidZone Radio
On the air: January 1, 2000 to May 7, 2005.
Broadcast locally from 90.9 KCBI in Dallas/Fort Worth.
Artwork: Ken Miller.
On the air: May 14, 2005 to June 1, 2013.
Broadcast nationally from 90.9FM KCBI in Dallas/Fort Worth.
Artwork: Daniel Miller and Joe CZ.
700 Saturdays (or more)
Once Upon A Time
in December,
a word came floating down
out of the sky.
The word:
COCONUT
Later, another word:
HUT
Then:
RADIO
And then:
SHOW.
I immediately
saw the playful
double-rhyme,
I had no idea of
the joyous, glorious, unforgettable
times of music,
kids and miraculous
God Stories
to follow...
Even now,
floating
in the coconut breeze:
700 smiles,
or more.
Artwork: Daniel Miller, Joe CZ.
A radio mini-series
Artwork: Parker Ott.
Is That You, Lieutenant?
Laughing, laughing, laughing,
watching black 'n white movies,
godzilla vs. tanks and guns,
the lone soldier wandering in the tunnel,
hears an unworldly voice and asks:
"Is that you, Lieutenant?"
We write our own dialog, making it funnier,
so funny I'm
falling off the sofa, again
laughing, laughing, laughing.
With Laurel and Hardy or
Fog Horn Leg Horn or
placing our sockly feet
close to the floor-vent heater,
toasting, toasting, toasting.
Or Bonnie in the kitchen making
crud-steaks and super-potatoes
Tang and peaches and everything on TV trays
watching Walter Cronkite in the 21st Century
Or how Mark prayed the world's fastest grace,
getting every word in there in three seconds flat!
or how Bonnie called me Roddy
or munching KFC from the bucket in the back seat of the car
with monsters or Clouseau at the drive-in theater,
where the clunkish metal speaker clipped onto the window.
Mark, the Boss, Bonnie the Crud-Steak Connoisseur,
the little girl Jennifer, the little girl Jaime,
Uncle Tonoose and bedtime stories with
rocket-ship trash cans taking us to happy planets,
laughing, laughing, laughing...
Thank you for filling my life with
family.
IN RED
Shout in Red Forever
Forever display the
beautiful drop of
un-ruined blood that
splashed into the
barkwood of Calvary.
Staining the wood,
un-staining humanity.
Thank You forever
my Savior.
SEED
Christmas Adam
Christmas Eve
Come to the manger,
see and believe.
Come to the cross,
of your sins be relieved,
Then to the tomb
of death's chains be freed.
As eternity springs
from Bethlehem's Seed.
ANGEL
Got the roll of
screen-door wire at
the Walmart,
pulled off the stretchy plastic wrapping
and watched you,
Sweet Lady,
unroll it...
and cut and
fold and trim and staple
and spray.
And then, behold:
I saw
an angel,
raised into the heavens.
A flowing, transcendent,
shimmering, silver-gold,
[screen-wire]
Christmas angel.
And I thought,
that's funny,
an angel
made
an angel.
Good-Bye, Hello
Why must we always say good-bye?
You go your way, I go mine?
Why can't it be like the good old days,
Ball to the mitt, bug on my back,
batman or joe's
or the games we played
in the afternoon sky...
Why are we always saying good-bye?
Somewhere beyond
the driving snow
and the let-you-go
Shines the yellow sun
we call
hello.
WALLS
Life is confounding,
Christ is astounding.
Life can be walls,
but Jericho falls
in everyday praises
resounding.
LAST FIRST
The cross has cancelled the curse,
My future is better, not worse.
Forgiven and free,
There's a jubilant new me
And my last day
will now be my first.
THE GRAPE
The grape, she smiles in the sunlight,
while the Master tends the vine.
The grape, she dreams of grape juice,
While the Master plans for wine.
First puppets, made from an old broom handle around 1980.
Logo for new puppet stage, cut from sheets of Fun Foam.
See puppet video and pics at Rod Butler Puppets.
From Joni And Friends Family Retreat, 2013.
FUNNY AIR
The puppets played
a performance rare,
for a crowd of
children gathered there,
all of them breathing
funny air.
Some would laugh,
others quiet, still,
all of them coming
with hearts to fill
with love and laughter and
funny air.
Dearest children,
young and old,
especially precious
in stories untold.
'Twas the highest honor
to meet them there,
let the puppets
dance with humor's flair,
and fill their moments
with
funny air.
THE TOAD IN THE THRONE ROOM
Devilish how I hopped into the palace.
Squatted on the tile.
With plans to do
absolutely nothing.
Bloated on self and
self-inclination
self-destination
self-preoccupation.
"Bribbit," I say.
And it echoes down the hallways
along the marble columns
into the Master's ear.
Kingly, you step down
from the throne,
wave your magic wand
and
POOF!
There I am.
A prince in the squat position.
Suddenly
remembering.
The book "Finneas McBly With A Log In His Eye"
came with a Story and Songs CD, including the following songs.
(Artwork by Daniel G. Miller and Parker Ott)
PINKY'S POLKA
When there's a pig in a wig, doin' a little jig,
Hey! That's Pinky's Polka.
When you're feelin' kind of down, turn that frown upside down,
Just do the Pinky's Polka!
Pinky's Polka, all the way from Speckleberg,
It's the piggest little song you've ever heard.
You can snort along and maybe even flip your lid,
You can oink along, and oink you glad you did?
When there's a pig in a sty eating MudBerry Pie,
Hey, that's Pinky's Polka!
When she turns to look at you, with those eyes so piggy-blue,
You'd better do the Pinky's Polka!
Pinky's Polka, all the way from Speckleberg,
It's the piggest little song you've ever heard.
You can snort along and maybe even flip your lid,
You can oink along, and oink you glad you did?
Do the Pinky, not rinky-dinky...
(RAP)
Pinky does a wiggy jiggy,
Little piggy can you diggy?
It's the Pinky's Polka!
(Words by Rod Butler, Music by Joey Geisel and Rod Butler)
I'm Seeing Clearly Now
Life was in a muddle, 'til I fell into a puddle.
Then all of a suddle, I was talking to a pig.
I was finding faults in others,
In my sisters and my brothers,
The fault was mine, and not another's...
'Till I dropped my pride, and flipped my wig.
Now I'm seeing clearly now,
(I'm so happy that) I'm seeing clearly now.
(Words and music by Rod Butler)
(Artwork by Daniel G. Miller and Parker Ott)
New music, new moniker and a new Sound Cloud page, rodsounds.
FUN-TASTIC VOYAGE
I put on the white jumpsuit,
Zip it all the way up.
Take one last sip
From my coffee's white cup.
Climb aboard the Proteus,
Strap into my seat,
I can hardly contain
My heart’s wild beat.
The sleek vessel shrinks,
Dwarfing smaller and smaller.
The people in the lab
Growing taller... and taller!
A giant hypodermic
Punctures a great wall of skin.
Now surging the blood stream,
Fantastic Voyage begins.
The Proteus, microscopic dot,
Glides the bloodstream of man.
Following the veins and arteries
Of the Fantastic plan.
Huge cells and corpustles,
Giant blobs, soft and clear,
Warble and tumble,
Fantastically near.
Suddenly—great pounding!
Deep drumming stops and starts.
And we lurch to the rhythm
Of the blood-pumping heart.
We will swim in thick waters
Of the body’s ocean-flow,
Through the lungs, heart and brain,
Oh the places we’ll go!
God’s marvelous creation
Makes us grin, grip and sigh,
Until we splash back to daylight
In a swimming pool teardrop,
From a wide-open eye.
Kirk and Rod
I mean
John and Don
Steve and Dan
Napoleon and Illya,
In a room, Lost in Space
In a backyard Land Of The Giants
Out on the golf course, weapons in hand,
the Man (men?) from U.N.C.L.E.
...searching for Trush...
Who had a childhood like this?
Me!
And Kirk!
Best friends,
space-shipping through a
world of imagination.
Best friends,
sipping cold water from metal cups,
spooning out soft-boiled eggs,
eating macaroni at Denny's.
Best friends,
street-bussing to Hollywood,
walking down to Toy Round Up or Neff's,
dumping out rubber animal buggies
all over the carpet,
or cooking them in Thing-Makers
or editing almost-scary movies
in Alabama's lush back-forest and
so many years later,
finally adding sound.
Who?
Kirk and Rod.
Rod and Kirk.
The faces grow older
but the boys keep playing,
hearts together,
forever young!
A visit to the Trona Pinnacles, original Jupiter 2 crash site from around 1965.
All writing ©2013 Filament City Media
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