Live or Die: A Stroke of Good Luck, by Richard L. Burns, reviewed on Sept. 25, 2010 by Floyd A. Logan, San Rafael, CA.
Richard Burns of California wrote a 160 page memoir and self help book published in 2008.
Richard was one of the premier advertising executives in the 1960s. His ad campaigns for airlines, restaurants and personal products were iconic.
Richard was part of the group that thought of painting smiles on the noses of planes.They understood the catchy appeal of those “fruit of the loom” characters in their colorful costumes. He achieved a high level of success by age 38, when he seemed to have all that anyone could want; a loving wife, three healthy children, and the knowledge that some of his ideas had a direct and lasting influence on American culture.
It was then, at the relatively young age of thirty-eight, that Richard was felled by a massive cerebral hemorrhage. There was severe cranial bleeding, with almost no detectable brain function. Immediately following the stroke, he suffered total paralysis. The doctors came to his wife, Nancy, and said “there is nothing we can do, you should make arrangements.” Nancy even wrote an obituary describing Richards’ life, his epic career, and his closeness with his family. All vital signs had become muted or absent. In essence, Richard L. Burns died on Dec. 26, 1968. Nancy’s immediate concerns included selecting which flowers would be at his funeral service.
Floyd Logan lives in San Rafael. He is a Literature enthusiast and amateur writer. If you have questions or comments about his review, he can be contacted by email at floydalogan@gmail.com
Michael Lavin Flower, Fine Art and Commercial Photographer, has remained connected to the education of photographic arts for over three decades. Michael Flower does work in a wide variety of subject matter, and you can see more of his work on his website, www.michaellavinflower.com.
As I waited on B St.,
New friends entered my life,
Calling me “Buddy,” asking for dimes,
Wandering off, aimlessly, but for one–
A small lady with staring eyes–
Who mumbled, three feet from me,
And stared, three feet from me,
And mumbled and stared
And mumbled and stared,
Stared and mumbled
As I replied “I don’t know,
I don’t know, I don’t know”
To her monologue unintelligible
And wondered how she came
To this place,
Embracing her coffee cup,
Mumbling at strangers,
With no place to go
After such a promising start
As the apple of her mother’s eye.
Bruce Roberts, 2010
Bruce Roberts is a poet, sculptor, and schoolteacher from Hayward, California – and the winner of the 2010 Hayward Poetry Slam! He may be reached at brobe60491@sbcglobal.net.
Jon McNeal is a photographer and architect from San Francisco, California.
STATEMENT FROM THE ARTIST:
“My act of interpretation is in highlighting the unusual, absurd, or sublime in a place or object as found, whether it has formed naturally or been heavily shaped by human activity. What fascinates me most is that understanding that everything in my photographs is in transition, whether large or small in scale. Holding a moment still with an image is a key means of identifying and defining that momentum of change. My hope is that the forces that drive the metamorphosis of the subject are brought to light by holding it still for a moment and observing that instant carefully. We look for clues to its past and future, while perhaps glimpsing a bit of our own.”
Dear Jesus, I saw you at church today, in the upraised arms of a man as he worshiped our Father God. As his words overflowed with love, singing to our Heavenly Father, I heard your voice. As he swayed with joy filling his very spirit I saw yours within him. I watched you my Lord, drawn by your love as you shun through the spirit of this man, whom I did not know. I knew it was you.
I pointed you out to my young son who stood at my side and he too recognized you, his face lighting up with a genuine joyous smile. I saw you in this man who so reminded me of my very own brother who I carry in my prayers. You know him Jesus. My heart began to yearn, then I heard you Lord as you spoke to me, “Your brother too will soon be as this man, filled with my spirit as he outwardly portrays his love in worship and upraised arms. Be comforted my daughter, rejoice in the knowledge that I carry your brother in the palm of my hand. You entered my heart and brought me peace.
I was moved to speak to this man as the morning service came to an end to tell him how his love for you touched my heart, how you radiated through his very being! I had to tell him the blessing he was to me this morning. I gave him my brief story, you know it, you heard it, you were there, and he gave me his.
Blanca Jones welcomes feedback on her writing and may be reached at blancajones@att.net.
Sometimes reflection upon ones past is the best possible way to get a glimpse into ones future. Mr. Livernois’ detailed and refreshingly candid account of a reunion with his 80 year old estranged father, The Road to Guanajuato, is a prime example of such.
Joe Livernois was the eldest child in a large Catholic family, with a severely bipolar father and a hardworking (and often self-sacrificing) mother. They grew up fast in a flurry of fear, disappointment, uncertainty, and all the usual chaos that comes with living with a mentally unbalanced parent. After a particularly mortifying encounter with his father in his adult life, they parted ways and remained estranged for nearly 23 years…until a series of events caused them to reconnect online, eventually leading to an apprehensive gathering of the Livernois siblings and thier father, to celebrate his 80th birthday – in the small, traditional village of Loma, Mexico.
Yes, he’s in Loma. Not Guanajuato, the town his father had originally attempted to journey to, but the quirky, unexpected place he wound up. Much like the writers own life and the lives of his siblings, this story isn’t about reaching the destination they were working towards, but the unexpected and often eye-opening experiences that can happen to make that previously sought destination seem well-nigh irrelevant by comparison.
The events of the trip, many of which involved attempts at entertainment interrupted by the uncontrolled outbursts of his infirm father, were not so much the driving force of the memoir as the emotions and insight gained during those times. The heart of the story was found amid the simplest of conversations, as well as the searching reflections on the authors own fears and insecurities as a parent & husband, his religious upbringing, and his perceptions of the people around him. While not without bias in some respects (i.e. his views on Catholicism and his initial apprehension towards certain aspects of Mexican culture) it’s overall as honest and searching as an account this personal can be.
I especially respect the writer for the fairness in which he wrote of his father, making it less of a harrowing account of his more violent transgressions, a-la “Mommie Dearest” and more of a window into the mind of a bi-polar man, struggling to make a normal life for himself amid the flurry of manic “ups” and crushing “downs” that such a condition inflicts. Throughout the visit, the writer managed to find a budding (albeit fragile) acceptance of the path his father had taken, and the friends he surrounded himself with. He could see his father as he truly was, and not as the monster from his past – and with that sight and understanding, their relationship grew into something that – while far from perfect – was far more than he had hoped for upon starting the journey.
I highly recommend this memoir, available both in print and online (through the Monterey County Herald and other sites), to anyone who has felt the need to find a new connection with an estranged parent, to understand a mindset they couldn’t quite comprehend, and to find in their adult life a closeness with their family that they just couldn’t find in the relative madness of their youth. In other words, I’d recommend it for just about anyone.
