Poem: How To Be Fab

How to Be Fab

Live in the moment
Experience each hour
Discover today
Bloom like the flower

All of your dreaming
Others care less
Struggles and scheming
Strive for the best

Discover today
Dreams to fulfill
Life is revealing
Climb the big hill

Maybe tomorrow
Or yesterday
Bloom like the flower
Go your own way

Never give up
Or let them get you down
Wearing a smile
Not a frown

Strive for the best
Don’t ever give in
Before the sun sets in the west
Determine you’ll win

Have what it takes
Use what you have
Overcome mistakes
Then you’ll be fab.

© September 30, 2011 by Jimmie A. Kepler

Poem: Forever Free

Forever Free

His heart cares more than it should
With love enough for two
His dreams are sufficient for persons three
Soaring in pages of poetry, he’s forever free

With love enough for two
He reads each word on the page
Seeing them acted out vividly on his mind’s stage

His dreams are sufficient for persons three
The future his hope for each day
Off to work he goes earning his pay

Soaring in pages of poetry, he’s forever free
Going wherever he wants to be
Traveling through the sky and across the sea

© Jimmie A. Kepler 2011

Review: The Sound and The Fury

William Faulkner’s birthday was this past Sunday, September 25. In honor of his birthday I reread The Sound and The Fury. I read it 40 years ago while in college. I wondered if it was as great as I remembered. I must admit I struggled through the first 100 plus pages.

I discovered the look at life through the eyes of the “retarded” Benjamin is still all there. It is a vivid reminder that the past forever influences the present, the decay, and the destiny. The Sound and the Fury is one of the icons of American Literature.

This book is not for the novice reader. Some people may just not get it, but if you love to read, like Faulkner and southern literature, or are just reading through the Nobel winners, it is worth the struggle to dip into this classic.

Poem: Red Bird

Red Bird

The gale force southwest wind’s heat
Had the elm leaves flapping,
The foliage curled,
Protecting itself from the lack of moisture
And a top the tree was a red bird.

His shiny feathers shown as a beacon.
Their candy apple red color signals his presence.
As gleaming as a perfectly ripe fruit on a tree
His gaze searching the grounds
He’s watching over you.

His song erupts as you exit the house.
In excited merry melody he enhances your day.
Watching over you with something special to say,
The red bird from his nest
His unending love wishes your day to be the best.

© September 23, 2011 by Jimmie A. Kepler

Poem: Elope

Elope

A car slowly drives down the highway
The driver’s vision impaired by blissful tears
A white frame house sits near the road’s bend
Then he thinks of her father and fears

I love you said her letter
I’m packed and ready to elope
And her perfumed, lilac stationery
Gives him courage, filling his senses with hope

He hides his car around the bend
The moon is beaming, lighting the night
He walks the quarter mile to her house
And waits by the kitchen door with fright

He’d asked for her hand and been told no
When asked why not he almost got shot
She now hates her father
They had to flee because passion was too hot

He loves his lady dearly
She’s eighteen and they’re running away
He and his ladylove will marry
Without her daddy’s blessing later today

With craftiness she slips out the back door
Her late mother’s old cardboard suitcase in hand
A shadow she sees through the moonlight
She stops and wonders, is it dad or her loving man?

From the upstairs window her father is watching
As the couple embrace, then move to the car
Dad remembers running off to marry her mother
As the moon sets, the sky fills with stars

A car slowly drives down the highway
The newlyweds laugh, both full of joy
In the rearview mirror, a white frame house gets smaller
And in nine months she’ll birth a bouncing baby boy.

© Jimmie A. Kepler
June 17, 2011

Poem: Back to those … care free days

Back to those … care free days

I’ve traveled back in time
But only in my mind
Back to the time
When I was young
When I use to have fun
Back to those … care free days

And I think about the times
When our love was young
There were few bills to pay
We were living for the day
And sex was still fun
And we were born to run
Back to those … care free days

But the past doesn’t last
And time moves too fast
And the years go zooming by
And life’s hurts make us cry
And the bills we have to pay
Not much time left for play
And the kids up and grow
But they never seem to go
And work it never ends
We need money to live and spend

I wish we could go back to those care free days
When I asked if you could come out to play
And  we explored life and grew up too
It was fun to go to the zoo
And the circus came to town
How we laughed at the clowns
And we held hands and walked at the park
You had to be home before dark
And your dreams they came true
And some of mine did too

And our moms we still try to please
Allergies cause us to sneeze
And our kids have made us proud
And our kids have let us down
Like we did to our parents back in the day
When they didn’t want us to play

I still see your bright, big smile
And remember when we were sorta wild
And you had no fear
Because I was always here
And you would light up my life
You even became my wife

And I’ve traveled back in time
But only in my mind
Back to the time
When we were young
When we had fun
Back to those … care free days

Copyright © 2003
Jimmie A. Kepler
The Colony, Texas

Hitler’s Master of the Dark Arts: Himmler’s Black Knights and the Occult Origins of the SS

Mr. Yenne takes a well-known subject, the SS, and examines it through an unusual point of view. Instead of just looking at the organizational structure and providing a time line of it’s history he digs into the historical background it through the scope of paganism showing the background and origins of Nazi racial philosophy and how these philosophies became the motivating force of the SS .

Mr. Yenne explores the roots of Himmler’s racial philosophies as he developed the SS in the book’s first half. The activities of the SS during World War II and the occupation of Europe by the Nazis files the book’s second half.

The reading was enjoyably, those sometimes it was repetitive. An example is Heinrich Himmler believing himself the reincarnation of Heinrich I, the first king of Germany. Mr. Yenne dwelt too long on this subject. Stating it once would have been enough.

Mr. Yenne’ research of the subject shows. The book is full of interesting sidebars and visuals. The quality of the book, presentation, and photographs are spectacular. Once again Zenith press shows why they are at the top of the list of publishers of military history books.

“Hitler’s Master of the Dark Arts” communicates the philosophies of Himmler. It drives home the point he was the man who coordinated the Holocaust. His SS carried it out.

Mr. Yenne successfully tackled the subject from a controversial point of view. He made his point. Any serious student of World War II and the SS will benefit from reading the book. The book helps in gaining a better understanding of the SS and Himmler.

Poem: Books

Books

Books take you places
You hope someday to go
They transport you to times
In the future or long, long ago
The words paint the pictures
The author’s canvas is your mind
Surreal images greet you
Where people aren’t always kind
You don’t have to dress up to read one
They’ve a special texture, smell, and feel
Some tales make you laugh
While others make you squeal

© 2009 Jimmie A. Kepler
Originally published in
WORDS..RHYMES..POETRY & PROSE!

Writer’s Life: Why I Love Writing Book Reviews

Over twenty years ago I read Louis L’Amour’s book, “Education of a Wandering Man”. It is one of my all time favorites. L’Amour kept a journal recording the books he read year by year. The idea seemed unusual to me at the time, but I started doing it. About the same time I attended a writer’s conference in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Author Calvin Miller was the featured speaker. He also suggested keeping track of what you read. He added maybe writing a one page summary of the book and your thoughts about the book would be a good record to keep. He saw value in reading the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize Award winning authors as well.

I thought both gentleman’s idea was good and added a twist of my own. I would write a short book review. In the late 1980s I had my first book review published. Several years ago I stared posting my reviews on-line on Yahoo 360. About the same time I started Kepler’s Military History Book Reviews.  My oldest review on the site dates back to October 2007. Since then I have read and reviewed 107 military history or military historical fiction books. The website was name a 100 Best Blogs for History Buffs in late 2009. I receive about six requests a month to read and review books. Several publishers send me their books automatically. Some authors and/or their publicists contact me directly asking if I will review their book. I have about a six month backlog of books to review. Most authors who contact me want the book reviewed now. I tell them of the backlog and many withdraw their offer of a review copy of the book.

What do I get out of it? First, I get the enjoyment of reading the book. I love reading and history. This is a great way to read new material and get review copies of the books. Second, I share my love for history in general and military history specifically. Third, I try to be a good finder in what I read. I will read the entire book. Sometimes it is a struggle, but I look for the good.  I don’t say it is wonderful if it is tough to read, but I don’t read looking for the bad.  How blessed I am getting to review the books.

 

 

The Singer Trilogy

I first heard of The Singer Trilogy in January 1979 while working on my Master’s degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Calvin Miller, the author of the series, was the speaker for chapel services. The professor in my class before chapel said that Dr. Miller had written The Singer Trilogy which consists of The Singer, The Song, and The Finale. He said it was the best thing written since the canon was closed. I rightly understood this to mean this was the best thing written since the Bible.

The Singer Trilogy is a retelling of New Testament events, including the ministry of Jesus and the founding of the early Church. The books are religious historical fiction. They are excellent and an easy read. They are a must for any Christian library. The series is as timeless as the Bible itself.

From 1991-1998, Miller served as Professor of Communication and Ministry Studies and Writer-in-Residence at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, Texas. In January 1999, he joined the faculty of Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama, where he is currently Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Ministry. In my opinion he is the America’s C.S. Lewis.