March 3, 2008
by Mike Palecek

"I don't care if it rains or freezes 'Long as I got my Plastic Jesus Riding on the dashboard of my car."
-- Cool Hand Luke

Is This Heaven?

Or what?

Hey.

It's a nice day.

That time of year again.

Last night was parents' night for the Sheldon High School dance team. Ruth and I didn't have to walk out and be introduced this time. They only did the seniors this year, but next year we will be front and center. Yahoo.

Some new birds will start trying to wake up this neighborhood.

The road kill in the ditches will start showing up as the snow melts.

I saw a dead Saint Bernard by the side of the road this morning while driving the residents to work. It used to always sit by the farmhouse over on the side road. This was about a mile away. It might have strayed too far.
_________________________

Trouble coming He don't see,
He just keeps His eye on me
And any other thing that lies behind.
Plastic Jesus! Plastic Jesus,
Riding on the dashboard of my car ...
__________________________

And I got the oil changed on the '91 Honda. Took it over to Eason's Shop in Orange City, just like I did last spring before my big "American Dream Book Tour and Protest Around The Country And Some Other Stuff."

You might recall that I was supposed to spend three months buzzing around the country appearing at bookstores and signing and speachifying about my new book. I did make it a ways, about ten ink scratches in the dashboard, all the way to Boston, but I got tired.

I got tired and broke and hungry and lonely.

All that.

And I got skunked a few times. I guess I could brag that I've had a book reading in New York City, but I would have to add that there was nobody there. If you give a reading in the city and you drop your book, does it make a sound?

I certainly dunno.
____________________________

Once His robe was snowy white,
Now it isn't quite so bright -
Stained by the smoke of my cigar.
If I weave around at night,
And policemen think I'm tight,
They never find my bottle - though they ask.
____________________________

(Article Continues Below)

And looking at the map it looked like it I would be hanging a few more zeros on the scoreboard.

So I headed home to hugs and handshakes, and vowed to the cats and the walls and the sugar bowl to try again.

And so, on March 9, I will say goodbye again to Ruth and Emily, and Sam in college, headed on another quixotic road trip.

This one will be a lot shorter, about a month if I can handle it.

It will start in Tulsa, commence to Texas, Taos, then south to Bisbee to visit a friend who does work with the immigrants who cross the border, then Tucson, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fort Bragg, Chico ... oh, you get the picture.

For a complete schedule: http://www.mikepalecek.com/.

On the tour I will be talking about two books - Cost of Freedom and Iowa Terror.

COF is non-fiction, an anthology of stories of protesters who have spent the last several years fighting the demon Bush.

It has been praised by Noam Chomsky, Harry Belefonte, Ralph Nader [you go Ralph!], Ramsey Clark, Thom Hartmann. It is a great book, published by Howling Dog Press. I am one of the editors. It is still great.

For more info on COF: http://costoffreedombook.blogspot.com.

Iowa Terror is another in a long line - in what appears to be my continuing need to howl against life these days in small-town America.

I don't hate it, but I do.

In fact I love it. I love baseball and driving home at night following the full moon with the window down when it's working and listening to the Twins game.

I love seeing kids riding home from ball games with the gloves on their bike handles.

But there's also other stuff, so I write.

Iowa Terror is about Jesus Iowa, this guy who lives in Orange County Iowa, who lives through all the shit of 9/11, who doesn't believe half of the shit he hears, does something about it, and is predictably pursued by all the traditional idiots.

Last year before the tour I sent in a crossed-out tax form to the IRS to express my displeasure with the current state of affairs.

This year I have chosen to do the same thing.

My letter is copied below, along with a copy of the press release for the book tour.

I will be writing a column along the way, however far I make it, be it Bluejacket, Oklahoma - or Bullhead City, Arizona - or Bonanza, Idaho.

I will surely give it a try, the college try for old guys.

Along the way I also plan to visit the Waco compound, or try to find the dust, Dealey Plaza, Roswell and Cicely, Washington. I guess the Ambassador Hotel is gone, huh? I also plan to go walking in the woods looking for Bigfoot with a friend in Oregon and also out on Pine Ridge.

I get this one month to howl at the moon and believe me, I appreciate it. Everyone should get a chance to take a long drive every now and then.

My wife has put up with me from seminary to prison to depression to ... well, just depends, I guess.

Maybe Depends, just have to see.

If I don't come home, Ruth, maybe look for me with the Cubs in Mesa, or just search the ditches in the spring.

seeya

Mike

Plastic Jesus shelters me,
For His head comes off, you see
He's hollow, and I use Him for a flask.
Plastic Jesus! Plastic Jesus,

If you enjoyed this post, please make a donation to help keep this website active:

Click Here for the Free Populist Party Newsletter

Mike Palecek [send him email] is an activist for peace and social justice. He served time in federal prison for civil disobedience and has run for US Congress. He has authored a number of books [click here to view] on behalf of the cause.

More Articles from Mike Palecek