Here for the Holidays. Original Song.

Here for the Holidays
Paul Klusman
(For guitar chords see further below)

I'll be here for the holidays
I'll be here with you
Snow flakes are flying
Keepsakes are warm
But I'll be here with you

I'll be yours through the Yuletide Season
I'll be at your side
Greetings through letters
And the telephone line
But I'll be at your side

I'll be home on New Year's Eve
When midnight comes around
Out with the old
In with the new
Quiet without a sound

I'll be with you days and nights
I'm with you never fear
We'll weather the winter
And hope for the spring
And lucky another year

With luck another year

Here for the Holidays
Paul Klusman
(Including guitar chords - see comments for YouTube video singing and playing guitar)

Intro
G/Em7/Am/D7
Strum 2 measures G

I'll be here for the holidays     G/B7
I'll be here with you                Am/E7/Am
Snow flakes are flying            Am/E7
Keepsakes are warm             Am
But I'll be here with you          G/D

I'll be yours through the Yuletide Season     G/B7
I'll be at your side                                          Am/E7/Am
Greetings through letters                              Am/E7
And the telephone line                                  Am
But I'll be at your side                                    G/C/D

I'll be home on New Year's Eve      G/B7
When midnight comes around       Am/E7/Am
Out with the old                              D/D with 1st string 3rd fret
In with the new                            Am/Am with 1st string 2nd fret
Quiet without a sound                    G/D/D7

Fingerpicking instrument break same as previous verse except no D7 at the end.

I'll be with you days and nights       G/B7
I'm with you never fear                    Am/E7/Am
We'll weather the winter                  Am/B7
And hope for the spring                   G/A7
And lucky another year                    Am/D/G

With luck another year                     C/Am/G

Winter Thermo Cat

Late in the year as days grow short
As nights grow long and colder
A creeping shadow on my soul
Another year I’ve grown older

November’s gale chills the bone
December’s sky is gray
The summer sun now is spent
Winter comes to play

What heat may bring for remedy
Against the growing gloom
A tiny furry space heater
In a corner of the room

Soaking there in a sunbeam
Solar power technology that
Energizes this heat sink
This thermodynamic cat

The pockets of energy contained within
The fluffy insulation
To store the sun now visiting
Through morning’s short duration

Tuck the nose under a paw
Tidy as you please
For the stingy master of the house
Keeps a chill seventy degrees

And when the sun sinks towards the west
When no more light is found
My faithful feline furnace
Asks to come around

Whereupon my lap he settles
To seek what heat may be
For warmth that we may share
My winter cat and me

Spooky Snoring Cat. A Halloween Tale.

As late one day as the light grew dim
As the sky was gray and somber
The limbs of the trees danced in the breeze
Their shadows grew ever longer

As still was the house as silent was I
As creeping was the gloom
Then a slight vibration in a singular location
From the other side of the room

A sound I heard and then again
Then thrice and four times more
I turned in fright and there the sight
Of my cat and nothing more

’Twas my cat and nothing more

HIs whiskers twitched in a far off dream
Snoring in deep repose
Asleep in his chair completely unaware
Filtering oxygen through his nose

“Awaken!” said I in an urgent cry
Bring your senses now to bear
For spirits haunting and I am wanting
Even now in this darkening lair

Alert Predator

Your sharpened eye your senses true
Your triangular pointed ears
Discern what might with coming night
Be cause of all my fears

Leaves are swirling out my door
Omens on the brink
Ravens gathering squirrels scampering
Dishes piled in the sink

Rise up cat and join the fight
We two must act as one
Defend the light against the night
Lest we be undone

By creeping foes in the darkened corners
Of betrayal and of treason
For you and I the time is nigh
Of this most ominous season

Presently I turned with steely eyes
Back to my cat wherefore
Now at the end my drowsy friend
Was there asleep once more

My cat was asleep once more

Hello you’re supposed to be this great hunter

Attuned to everything

With razor claws an the ends of paws

Ferocious predator king

It’s fine.

Just keep on sleeping it’s fine.

Don’t worry about me you just relax.

Don’t want to wake you.

Don’t… want to wake you.

You hear the can opener just fine.

You’re there for the can opener EVERY time.

Ferocious hunter!

Ferocious predator!

I suppose I’ll do the dishes then...

Thunderbirds over my house.

Two F-16 Thunderbirds are flying over my house this morning to promote an airshow this weekend. I have mixed feelings about this. As an engineer/pilot/aviation nerd this is one of my all-time favorite airplanes, particularly as you see it here with no bombs or missiles. It represents a milestone in aircraft performance and flight control technology. It is known to be one of the most powerful and best handling jets of all time, and I once heard a pilot describe it as the most fun airplane he had ever flown. It was first deployed in the late 1970s and remains an effective combat aircraft today. But as much as I admire the F-16 I wish there wasn't a need for it.

General Dynamics F-16C

When I was in my early 20s I wanted to be a military pilot and flying the F-16 was my greatest ambition. I interviewed with two Air National Guard units that flew F-16s and was considered a strong candidate for pilot training. I didn’t make the cut the first year I applied, but I was encouraged to submit an application the following year. For purely selfish reasons I decided to not pursue being a military pilot after those first interviews. I felt a small personal stunt plane would be just as much fun as an F-16 and far less of a commitment than signing up for military service.

Pitts S-1S

So many years later I have come to understand that our military has not always been employed in the interest of “Freedom and Democracy” as we were all told growing up. We have a dark and sad history of imperialism and bullying other sovereign nations around the world. I find it ironic that today any friction with China is tempered by our economic ties, and the opposition we provide to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is by way of indirect military aid and cash. It is pretty safe to say no United States Air Force F-16s are flying over the skies of Ukraine right now.

I understand the need for a strong defense, but I honestly believe our imperialist history and bloated military industrial complex are compelling evidence of something far more sinister than a “strong defense.” Military competition does push the envelope of technology, and earlier military jets gave us the Concord which I think represents the ultimate hotrod. The flight control system of the Space Shuttle very likely had lineage with the F-16, but then again so much of the technology of the Space Shuttle came out of the 1960s Space Race, a far more noble competition.

Empires rise and fall, and I believe it is time for the US to follow in the footsteps of the UK and pull back our control and domination around the world. After shutting down George W Bush’s two costly failed wars our military budget is increasing not decreasing. I find it maddening that we spend literally millions of dollars to have pilots fly F-16s around for fun while halting free vaccines for Covid-19. This horrible virus has killed over a million people in the US alone and continues to kill well over 100,000 per year. As a cancer survivor it feels particularly galling to have these planes flying over my house while I anticipate an upcoming vaccine booster that the Federal Government now refuses to cover.

Still, the F-16 is one gorgeous airplane.

Poetry. About a hungry cat.

The Song of Cat Hunger

By Paul Klusman

The saddest bowl near the corner of regret

in the kitchen of despair
Sits empty and barren for all to see

as my cat bears witness there.
How tragic the sight how somber the scene

how bitter before sad eyes,
That the world may know this hungry soul

who calls with mournful cries.
For wanting fed how long the wait?

it's been an hour at least!
For keeping hope in the heart of this

gentle and noble beast,
That providence bring after eternity

of starving pitiful, poor
The bountiful feast inhaled with glee,

then barfed upon the floor.