Thursday, April 29, 2010

HOW WOMEN LOVE THEIR TELEPHONE!


How women love their telephone,

they talk, and yak and natter.

At its first ring they race towards it,

the sooner they reach it the better!


An exited ‘Hi!’ we hear them shriek

and on they start to babble

‘bout family and neighbours, friends,

and on and on they gabble.


Exhausted, with no time to spare,

they terminate their chatter,

and more phone calls will be made,

in idle, unproductive, matter.


Why can’t they be like men-folk do,

never talking nonsense,

with wisdom and with common-sense

their phone-talk always ends!


Peter Frederick

http://www.peterfrederick.org

http://www.life-on-the- road.com


Comments are being accepted!

(If you are a woman, please try and keep it short.)

Monday, April 26, 2010

MY FLOWERS GROW IN BRIGHTEST HUE.....



MY FLOWERS GROW IN BRIGHTEST HUE

SWEET-SCENTING IN THE MORNING DEW,

WITH BEES THAT VISIT AND ENJOY THEIR OFF’RING

AND MOTHER BIRDS THAT GUIDE THEIR OFF-SPRING

THEY STALK AROUND AND SHOW THEIR CARE

AND POINT TO FOOD, THEIR CHICKEN’S FARE.


A GENTLE BREEZE KEEPS WAFTING THROUGH,

SWAYS FLOWERS GENTLY TO AND FRO.

WITH MIND AND BODY GREATLY OVERWHELMED,

A GRATEFUL PRAYER TO MY DEAR GOD IS HELD

FOR HIS CREATION: FOR FLOWERS SO BRIGHT

FOR CREATURES, ALL IN THE SUNNIEST LIGHT!


Peter Frederick

http://www.peterfrederick.org
http://www.life-on-the-road.com


Friday, April 23, 2010

THE WAY OUT........



The man wakes up – ‘What dreadful day!’

His little cat did hear him say;

His wife with open mouth and wide,

And loud, shrill voice, they hear her chide.

The whole street down her voice does ring

and all the neighbours feel its sting,

But devastating most it is

For this old man who’s soon deceased.


His shaking hand, a handgun grabs:

‘It’s time that all inferno ends,

I want no more of life, so-called,

Where pleasure long ago has stalled,

Existence means unending drag!’

His will to live did always sag

But what she adds and without shame,

He cannot put up more with same.


For him the morning’s dark around,

And with determination sound,

He points the pistol to his head,

A trigger-pull, a shot is heard,

A body ’s slumped, a life receding,

Fast and with minimum of bleeding

And without feeling sorrow, pain,

His life is gone – he’s lived in vain!


Peter Frederick

http://www.peterfrederick.org
http://www.life-on-the-road.com


Monday, April 19, 2010

ANOTHER LIMERICK.......



WITH MY NEW CAMERA I SENSE

PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES, IMMENSE,

BUT I’LL NEVER UNDERSTAND

HOW I CAN HOLD IN MY HAND

A SQUARE PICTURE FROM A ROUND LENS!


Peter Frederick

http://www.peterfrederick.org
http://www.life-on-the-road.com


Friday, April 16, 2010

AUTHORS LIVE IN PARADISE....

Writers live in a paradise of their own making. They merely sit down and commence writing as thoughts are flowing through their mind and are instantly transported into a world of their own! It does not matter what the surroundings look like and unlike the external world, there is nobody interrupting with ‘What are you writing now?’ or reprimanding ‘you don’t need to write that!’ or criticising: ’What a lot of rubbish!’ The writer is master in his own world and as long as there is something to be written down, there is work to be done! The thoughts are literally queuing up in line, waiting for their turn to become reality in form of words.

Sometimes, it is a poem that, like a little ditty, goes round and round in one’s mind, virtually begging to be put on paper. The comparison with music is well founded as the rhymes or rhythm of the consonants can be compared to a melody.

Only recently, I woke up and there was this flow of lyrics in my mind:

There is an island North of Queensland, from the world so far away, native children play on beaches, laughing, in the foaming spray.

On and on flowed these verses, effortless and seemingly inexhaustible, compelling me to write them down and to publish them on this blog site.

Some other times, I have ‘received from somewhere’ a whole story, first in a dream which I noted down immediately in key words. Re-reading it in the morning, everything came back to me, crazy or fairy-tale-like, a story within a story and therefore unusual. Again, I had something to publish!

There are several stories I have written with this method and this method works very well for me.

My first two books ‘Life on The Road’ and ‘On the Road Again’ are recollections from my working live, hilarious and original. All my funny, embarrassing and incredible encounters have been carefully noted down on the very day they happened. As a commercial traveller, I always had, in my early days, a travel typewriter with me -yes, young authors, there was such a thing- and later, a laptop computer. Sometimes, I wrote late into the night, recording the funny situations I had encountered during the day.

Like the day I saw two men dancing on the footpath, however, at closer proximity I discerned a man and his Great Dane. Another time, a show dog had only one testicle and to be able to enter competitions, his owner had arranged for a silicon implant, indistinguishable from the real thing. But, come show day, the judges found this dog with three testicles and a scandal broke. A brand new hospital in a country town had its PVC flooring installed upside down, with the backing up! The town’s people, the architect and other dignitaries were very happy with this installation but wanted to know from me how to remove the advertising message…..Another time, a nerd had built himself the biggest surfboard in the world, so he claimed, an enormous board but extremely light. He invited me to be present at the setting of his world record, only he could not reach the waters as the breeze from the ocean caught the board like a sail and literally kept blowing him back from the beach and across the road where a house gave him some wind protection. Dragging footsteps outside a motel room, combined with heavy breathing and groaning alarmed an elderly spinster inside. In the morning, it turned out to be that of a bull who somehow had left his paddock…On and on came my memories as I worked them into very entertaining books.

Between verses, short stories and my current manuscript, I enjoy the company of like-minded authors giving mutual support and exchanging ideas. Cross-fertilizing each other (in a literary sense!) and try to raise my standard of writing to a new level.

Peter Frederick

http://www.peterfrederick.org
http://www.life-on-the-road.com


Friday, April 9, 2010

THERE IS AN ISLAND NORTH OF QUEENSLAND...



THERE IS AN ISLAND NORTH OF QUEENSLAND,

FROM THE WORLD SO FAR AWAY,

NATIVE CHILDREN PLAY ON BEACHES,

LAUGHING IN THE FOAMING SPRAY.


UNDER PALM TREES, IN THE WATERS,

PEOPLE GATHER FOOD AND STAY,

EATING, CHATTING, ALL TOGETHER,

WITH CIVIL’SATION FAR AWAY.


IN THEIR WORLD, SO QUAINT AND CARING,

ALL-SUSTAINING IN ITS WAY

AND THEIR ELDERS WITH THEIR DREAMING,

THEIR OWN TRADITION, IS THEIR WAY.


PASSED ALONG THROUGH GENERATIONS,

ALL THEIR WISDOM IN THEIR SAY,

WHO WANTS A CULTURE THAT’S SO ALIEN,

AND LIVING IN ANOTHER WAY?


KEEP YOUR RUGGED WORLD, YOU WHITE MAN,

FAR AWAY FROM US YOU STAY,

DO NOT ENCROACH, REMAIN IN DISTANCE,

LET US LIVE LIFE IN OUR WAY!


Peter Frederick

http://www.peterfrederick.org
http://www.life-on-the-road.com


Monday, April 5, 2010

ANOTHER LIMERICK.....


In the army I get woken up early,

By a sergeant so big and so burly,

‘That cannot be right!’

With eyes far from bright

‘What’s the time?’ I ask rather surly.


Peter Frederick

http://www.peterfrederick.org
http://www.life-on-the-road.com


Friday, April 2, 2010

HOW TO IDENTIFY UNETHICAL EMPLOYERS.


It is very difficult for a job applicant to judge a prospective employer for adhering to ethical standards and providing a positive working environment. Especially, since, an interview, most questions are being asked by the future employer.

This article lists the two extremes types, at opposite ends of the psychological scale, with most superiors and bosses placed somewhere between. Like in most facets of life, nobody is entirely bad or good – most are somewhere between.

THE BENEVOLENT EMPLOYER.

There is a group of bosses who resume a fatherly and benevolent position towards those who work for them. Work is fairly distributed and the boss himself does not mind pitching-in and helping out. The tempo of work is guided by his own good example, as is quality, and the general prevalent mood in the workplace.

Should there be a sudden over-demand or a surge of workload, this employer will recognise this and take steps that nobody overworks and that the workload is evenly and fairly distributed with the boss himself sharing an extra duty.

His temper is very even, with a reassuring calmness that uplifts everybody working around him. He has no sanctuary that is off-limits to employees and his own office or workplace would not be distinguishable from that of his co-workers.

He is genuinely concerned for his staff and workers and, should some body be ill, the pay cheque gets delivered home punctually and regardless of the length of illness. In one case I know of personally, an employee had a heart-bypass operation with a lengthy stay in hospital and the boss himself called on the wife regularly with the pay and enquired whether she would need anything else done around her house.

For the duration of this employee’s sick-leave, this boss worked on the shop floor in person, mingling with the other employees and being practically indistinguishable in work and manners from anybody else.

All this is done with the before-mentioned even temper and an air of teamwork.

When this employee finally returned from his long sick leave, he resumed his position with ease, whilst the boss returned into his office to resume his task of running his business. Little weaknesses and transgressions are overlooked or, at it’s worst, the person is reprimanded a day later in a fatherly fashion.

They do not seem to have the misfortune of employing a bad worker as they either instinctively select the right person or simply lead with positivism and good example.

There is a noticeable absence of fear or working-anxiety as each employee knows that he or she is a member of a smooth-running team!

THE IMTIMIDATOR

This type of person is basing the smooth-running of his business on fear. His demeanour is reserved to the point of haughtiness, his appearance is impeccable, his voice is artificially low and stentoric. He has an on-stage personality, geared to impress. His common phrases are peppered with ‘however’, ‘furthermore’, ‘if you only knew what we know!’ ‘I thought of that!’ is the common reply to a valuable suggestions put forward by a willing employee. Reports by an employees are interrupted with: ‘I know exactly what you you want to say!’ or a ‘We know all about that!’ are uttered with a reprimanding stare.

When real problems arise, he would give the harbinger of bad news a penetrating look and bark: ’I thought that has been taken care of!’

When in a difficult situation, he has the habit of staring straight ahead, at a spot on the opposite wall as if in deep concentration and utters words like: ‘that is not on!’ ‘No, we don’t do that!’ instilling fear and intimidation in his workers.

Without the presence of the fear factor, he believes, an organisation has no incentive to work efficiently and to achieve things for him. He feels, he must constantly instil this anxiety by destabilising people around him!

For example, when conversing with people who speak fast and have a quick mind, he slows down in his speech to the point of unnerving the other person. This is done with the help of slowly uttered phrases like: ‘What I said was……’ when, in fact, he had said nothing before on this particular subject. Therefore, this sentence is invariable followed-up by the biggest lie possible, putting the other person hopelessly in a depressed mood and increasing his fear of working for him.

Alternatively, with people who are taciturn in their speaking manner, he rattles-off his question fast and furiously. By the time this good worker answered one question, he has already asked him two more, throwing that person out of his concentration and ending with stammering and stutter. Upon which this employer leaves with an attitude of total satisfaction of having fear and the feeling of inadequacy re-enforced in a worker.

Should such an employer meet with an employee who is not afraid of him or at least an honest worker with a clean conscience, this is unacceptable to him. A situation will then have to be created where this decent worker becomes afraid of something……

In one case, such a worker received the constant warning: ‘If you make us the slightest trouble……’ Often this tactic is then perpetuated by the top boss’ immediate underlings who then continue to talk to this person in a manner of ‘If you think you can get away with……’

There are other repercussions for honest persons. When it is found out that an employee, for example, studies evenings, he is then considered an open threat. ‘You are wasting your time….’ He is then told often.

Alternatively, high achievements are being downgraded with disparaging remarks till such a person feels totally inadequate despite his achievements whilst the instilled fear keeps him in excellent performance.

We have now dealt with two diametrically opposite type of employers and in subsequent articles more and different bosses and their operations will be illuminated.

By researching the company we are trying to join, a lot of shortcomings are being identified and frustration, hardship and overwork can be avoided.

Peter Frederick

http://www.peterfrederick.org
http://www.life-on-the-road.com