The Champion of the World..................

G'Day Bloggers.

It is raining and bee-yoo-tiful in the land of the Blogmuggle. It's great weather for hunkering down in a comfy chair, reading a book or watching the TV. Which is how I spent my day so far. I've been going through old magazines, which are usually of the "Home Beautiful", "Burke's Backyard", "Australian Country Style" or any home and decor magazine that I've had in my "library", and sorting out the articles and pictures of decor ideas that I like. Maybe one day they'll even be put into use. There is quite a collection of these, believe me. And it's quite a time waster.

The other occurrence of the day has been that Beloved and I have watched a tape of the movie, "The Hurricane", which is the story of American boxer, Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter. Any movie with Denzel Washington starring is always worth a look, but this is a true story, which makes it all the more emotional to me. I just don't get racism or bigotry; why some people think that they're better at a cellular level. Because, we're all constructed from the same stuff on a physiological level, so why oh why are some superior? Or think that they are with such an unshakeable belief that others lives can be forfeited to support their beliefs. Regardless of the consequences.

Thanks heavens for the actions of others that help secure justice and freedom for Rubin Carter. But it was a long time coming.

Here's the lyrics form the song that Bob Dylan penned in support of Rubin Carter. It's a classic song, and the music supports the emotions that the lyrics produce. It's a mammoth 8 minutes & 31 seconds long, but it could be longer, it wouldn't matter; I love it.
Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall.
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood,
Cries out, "My God, they killed them all!"
Here comes the story of the Hurricane,
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see
And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously.
"I didn't do it," he says, and he throws up his hands
"I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand.
I saw them leavin'," he says, and he stops
"One of us had better call up the cops."
And so Patty calls the cops
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin'
In the hot New Jersey night.

Meanwhile, far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around.
Number one contender for the middleweight crown
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
Just like the time before and the time before that.
In Paterson that's just the way things go.
If you're black you might as well not show up on the street
'Less you wanna draw the heat.

Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops.
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin' around
He said, "I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates."
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head.
Cop said, "Wait a minute, boys, this one's not dead"
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
They told him that he could identify the guilty men.

Four in the mornin' and they haul Rubin in,
Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs.
The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye
Says, "Wha'd you bring him in here for? He ain't the guy!"
Yes, here's the story of the Hurricane,
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

Four months later, the ghettos are in flame,
Rubin's in South America, fightin' for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
And the cops are puttin' the screws to him, lookin' for somebody to blame.
"Remember that murder that happened in a bar?"
"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"
"You think you'd like to play ball with the law?"
"Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night?"
"Don't forget that you are white."

Arthur Dexter Bradley said, "I'm really not sure."
Cops said, "A poor boy like you could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello
Now you don't wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow.
You'll be doin' society a favor.
That sonofabitch is brave and gettin' braver.
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ain't no Gentleman Jim."

Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much.
It's my work, he'd say, and I do it for pay
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail.
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse.

All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance.
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger.
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger.
And though they could not produce the gun,
The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed
And the all-white jury agreed.

Rubin Carter was falsely tried.
The crime was murder "one," guess who testified?
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride.
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game.

Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
An innocent man in a living hell.
Yes, that's the story of the Hurricane,
But it won't be over till they clear his name
And give him back the time he's done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

What else has been happening in my world?

Well, we went to Sydney as planned and it was fun. We spent time on Friday sorting out some house stuff, including planning a kitchen with the guys from "Romos" at Rutherford. The price has come in ok, but I might tweak it a little more yet. Any ideas of better flatpack kitchen suppliers, Bloggers? Beloved, Vegeboy and GG came home on Friday night. Scorpaboy & I stayed in Newie. SB had planned to spent time with friends and riding his bike.

Saturday, I took NanandPop puppy shopping, and finally arrived home at 3 in the afternoon with 2 new chihuahua puppies. Nan is the proud owner of a lovely white little girl with black spots & ears, with some tan spots, that she has named Gidget. Pop has a new little black guy, who has markings similar to a rottweiler (but much, much, much smaller), that he has named Pepe. Not a problem for him, but this is the 3rd Pepe that they've owned, including the one that was buried less than 2 weeks ago. Did I mention that Dad has some qualities that indicate that he is in the early stages of dementia? At least he won't forget the pup's name........ They are lovely and busy puppies. As one would expect. I went home shortly after that.

Sunday was a nice, quiet day at home. Then Sunday night I drove back to NanandPops as I had a 2 day computer course for work. Boring, and not all that helpful for me, but I did get to take SB & my brother to see "American Gangster" on the Monday night. I enjoyed it. But it's so hard to work out what makes people tick, isn't it? I liked the characters and I thought that Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington were great in these roles.

Tuesday, Beloved, VB and a friend caught a (very) early morning train down to spend the day at Lambton Pool, and so were all a little crispy-fried when they picked me up in the afternoon. After a trip to NanandPops to pick up SB's things, and later on the way home, SB himself, it was back to "Walnut Grove" as Lovely Lisa calls it.

The rest of the week has just been as per usual. Blog reading, scrabulous, work, shopping, house and family stuff. Beloved has finished removing the rear of the house, so we're ready to go as soon as the bank says "MUSH"......

I can't wait.

But for now, I'll just listen to the falling rain, listen to it fall. (And with every drop of rain, I can hear you call...)

Yep, there is a song for every occasion. Thanks Jose.