Learning is Play

This is dedicated to my mom, Christine Davis.  Was written for Mother's Day readings at Mama's Crowbar, haven't read it there yet.

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Hi, mom
how are you?

How was your day
What are you reading
What are you thinking?

How's dad
how's my sister

Good childhood
pretty easy.

Montgomery
pretty quiet

Watching TV with my sister

Already changing channels
Constantly
Enjoy needling my sister

She enjoys needling me
We still do

No one knows how to get under your skin like family

Family knows you in ways no one can

Memories of you at birth
at 8, at 15, at 22 ...

Memories of who you were not who you are

Memories of Eddie

Of being Eddie Einstein
Of being a mad scientist

I am still a geek
Still love play
Still love nerdy things

Science on Saturday
At Princeton Plasma Physics Labs
A new talk every week,
advanced stuff,
interesting stuff

Mom always having me learn
Always having me grow
Always treating me as an equal in conversation
Giving me her love of learning

Giving me a love of exploring
exploring myself
exploring the world
exploring knowledge

Curious
always curious

First words
"What's That"

Always wanting to
learn with play

To learn with play
Learning can be fun
Learning is fun

Reading is fun
Gaming is fun
Talking is fun.

Playing with books
Already at 3.

Star Wars Read and Learn LPS
The old ones books with a record to read along.

Reading is play
Words are play
Learning is play.

Science is play.
Math is play.

Still love to play
Will always love to play.

Dance, sing, play puzzles

Learning
Figuring out patterns and puzzle
Figuring out things

Puzzles
Dominion, Carcassone, Magic, silly things

Thanks, mom
Thanks for reading
Thanks for believing
Thanks for the emotional support
Thanks for the financial support.

I love you.

Hey, Charlie

I have been holding off on this poem for a little while.  Was going to try to perform it live first.

Decided I would like to have the words.

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Hey, Charlie
Madness isn't funny

Mania isn't funny

It's not WINNING
It's not tiger blood
It's not a joke

Hitting women is wrong
Making yourself a spectacle is wrong
Running away from your life is wrong
People depend on you.

Give yourself time.
Get yourself help.
Heal yourself.
Center yourself
Ground yourself.

Get better.
Seriously, get better man.

Seeing someone go mad on tape is much, much too hard to watch.

Seeing it person is harder

Seeing it in the mirror is the hardest of all.
Madness ain't easy.

Get some rest
Get better
Heal thyself.

Breathe
Get some air
Get some space
Find your center

Let yourself settle
Let yourself normalize
Let yourself breathe
Let yourself breathe

Breathe with me
water breath

Big breath in,
long breath out

Big breath in,
long breath out

Breathe, dude
Relax, you don't have to be everywhere
You don't have to always say yes
Calm the fuck down

Your life isn't a joke

Apologize, repent
Cry if you need to
Let your friends help you
Let people help you

If you need to see a doctor

If you need to admit yourself,
Have doctors help you rest
Have doctors help you normalize

Life is hard, very hard
Madness is so many times harder.

Watching someone self-destruct isn't funny.
Your life isn't a show.
It's not theater.

Celebrities aren't our playthings
Despite what Perez Hilton or the National Inquirer thinks
They are people, people with issues
Sometimes serious ones.

Charlie, breathe ask for help
Get help, normalize yourself
Center yourself, breathe

Don't do anything you will regret later

Stop trying to win.
Life is not a game.
Life is not about winning.

Start trying to live your life.
Find who you are
Calm down
Relax
Be who you are.

With love,

Edmund