Ramblings from Ken Owen
Let them sit there
quietly steeping in their own cowardice
so that history may know them
as traitors to the dream
Let them carry forever
the stain of their inaction
complicit in their silence
enabling fears never thought possible
Let them watch
while the people who have seen
the consequence of neglect
rise up emboldened with the duty
of securing their freedoms
-inspired by the 119th Congress, 2nd Session, 2026
Ken Owen January 2026
Van Niddy Press
Defining our chaos with the day’s headlines:
“Congressman Goes Home, Complains ‘Nothing’s Going On’”
“U.S. Strikes Venezuela, Kidnaps Leader”
Exporting our governmental dysfunction to those less fortunate
01/03/2026
Clown Car
Our worst nightmare has become reality:
unqualified, deranged clowns
driving our nation towards a cliff
while tweeting on their phones
01/08/2026
Clown Car Road Trip
The first stop on this year’s
‘Sphere of Influence’ Tour:
Imperialist Hegemony in Venezuela
Pay-Per-View ticket sales in Greenland are brisk
01/10/2026
We age in haste and distraction
until the day we realize
‘Make Every Day Count’
should have always been our credo
01/12/2026
WARNING:
Protesting despotic theocracies abroad
shall be viewed as acts of heroic patriotism
while doing the same thing here
shall be viewed as acts of domestic terrorism
01/14/2026
She smiled at her would-be assailant and said
“That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you.”
making her final earthly act
a refusal to validate unchecked authority
-in remembrance of Renee Good 01/07/2026
We are now the proud owners of a Christmas tree named Walter.
We named him after the nice gent who helped us by cutting a couple of inches from Walter’s base so he’d have good posture. That sounds more drastic than it is; Walter the Tree never complained. Walter the Tree, standing 4 feet tall prior to the operation and now 3’ 10”, cost us $70. We brought him home and decorated him in the traditional way with lights and various colored ornaments.
This morning, while drinking my first cup of coffee, I asked Walter the Tree: “At $70, should I consider you an economic indicator?”
Standing upright with perfect posture on the dining table, looking utterly transformed in the role some would say he was born to play, Walter the Tree offered no answer.
I then began to study the ornaments the House Stage Designer had chosen for Walter’s costume. Walter the Tree had gone from a simple yet splendid, all-natural and eco-friendly forest green coat, and was now adorned with ornaments and lights representing many different themes: nature (birds), sports (team logos), high fashion (small glittery high heel shoes), the universe (stars), fantasy (mermaids), and the heavens (angels) to name a few. Given the numerous possibilities of wardrobes, I wondered if this is what Walter the Tree spent his life dreaming he would look like when he finally reached the big stage. Was he now feeling underdressed, overdressed, or was his true nature being misrepresented? It was early morning, and it looked to me as if he was still attempting to get into character, so I didn't bother to ask him.
Walter the Tree played the first night of his two week run here, which was technically a dress rehearsal, by practicing the acceptance of his fate with a stoic and regal repose which I found quite admirable. Walter the Tree, it seems, is a consummate professional. At $70 for all 3’ 10” of him, I’d expect nothing less.
Ken Owen December 2025
Van Niddy Press
I have encountered a growing number of people viewing the latest Ken Burns documentary, The American Revolution, who share a common realization: at many points, we find ourselves saying, “I didn't know that!”
Though personally disappointed by the extent of my historical ignorance, I quickly reflected on my own days in public schools. I realized exposing young junior high or high school students to anything but the most cursory detail on historical events would amount to an exercise in futility with a captive but uninterested audience. We fought England for our independence; Paul Revere; the Tea Party; we won. End of lesson.
Yet, as we begin to understand the gravity of the current administration’s efforts to suppress facts about our nation’s history that do not meet their political agenda, I hope we are collectively ready to learn the important lessons we were not told—at a time when we would not have listened or cared.
Mr. Burns’ wonderful work not only gives us the opportunity to realize and value the great efforts it took to codify our rights and freedoms, but comes at a time when these foundational achievements are being systematically ignored and eroded, alongside the Rule of Law and our constitutional checks on authority.
Learning our history will make us better citizens, which is the only path left to helping us “to form a more perfect union.”
– Civis
December 2025
I felt no cause to mourn
the death of the American penny
after carrying the same $5 bill in my wallet
for the last 3 months
but I worry what the street musician
without a QR code on his tip jar
will do when paper currency
finally becomes extinct
12/03/2025
* Open House *
It is said that
The White House currently holds
no books of poetry, no family pets, no roses in the garden
only excessive gildings in every room
It is also said
that you can tell a great deal
about the current occupant of a property
by their choices in decor and remodeling
12/04/2025
Nothing elicits instant panic
like inadvertently clicking
on a random Facebook advertisement
now destined to deliver you unwanted ads
for the foreseeable future
12/14/2025
The howling midnight winds
quickly reminded me
we are never too old to pull the blankets
up over our heads
12/24/2025
I hope never to lose
my childlike fascination when witnessing
the beauty of a gentle spring shower
and the power of a violent winter storm
12/26/2025
I seem to brew
a stream of memories
of the old neighborhood
from when I was a small boy
My best friend’s father
a stout, pink-cheeked Irishman
perched on his stool at the kitchen counter
home from his work of driving a cement mixer
talking with one of the fathers of the neighborhood
in his white newsboy cap, blue denim work shirt
black Ben Davis jeans and the slightest hint
of a pencil-thin mustache
and since no one in my house drank tea
I became intrigued by such a manly figure
gently performing the preparation ritual
of methodically dipping his tea bag
repeatedly into the hot water
while his wife prepared dinner
in a flower patterned apron, hair slightly disheveled
and scolded us boys for running through the house
and stealing all her spoons so we could
dig holes in the back yard that would go
all the way to China
Now all these years later
while I struggle to remember
the smallest of daily details
I can easily recall these childhood memories
as they gently drift up to me in the steam
from a morning cup of tea
- dedicated to the memory of Ed and Margaret (Peggy) McGill
