A Chip on His Shoulder

A CHIP ON HIS SHOULDER

Author Unknown

He always has something to grumble about,

    Has the man with a chip on his shoulder;

The world to the dogs is going, no doubt,

    To the man with a chip on his shoulder;

The clouds are too dark, the sun is too bright.

No matter what happens, it is never right;

When peace is prevailing he is spoiling to fight,

    The man with a chip on his shoulder.

A portrait of R. (which could stand for rogue),

a man with a chip on his shoulder

(and "The Devil's Idiot")

Photo copyright 2005 Evelyn M. Gilmer

The Devil's Idiot

Ambrose Bierce identified an idiot as "A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant and controlling. The Idiot's activity is not confined to any special field of thought or action, but 'pervades and regulates the whole.' He has the last word in everything; his decision is unappealable. He sets the fashions of opinion and taste, dictates the limitations of speech and circumscribes conduct with a dead-line."

A portrait of  R. (which could stand for rogue), the definitive, aforesaid idiot

(Photo copyright 2005 Evelyn M. Gilmer)

The source of the quotation above is The Devil's Dictionary (1911) by Ambrose Bierce.

I Have Lost My Younger Brother

I HAVE LOST MY YOUNGER BROTHER 

After Luke 15:18-19 and 21

(New King James Version)

My younger brother is

An abusive, arrogant rogue.

He has sinned and has sinned even more

Against heaven and before me,

And he is no longer worthy

To be called my brother.

The crimes he has committed against me 

Over a period of many years

Include assault and battery,

Theft and vandalism.

Is there a limit to the number

Of crimes he would commit against me?

My younger brother is

An abusive, arrogant rogue.

He has sinned and has sinned even more 

Against heaven and in my sight,

And is no longer worthy

To be called my brother.

Matthew 18:21-22

(New King James Version)

Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"

Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

A portrait of my kid brother R. (which could stand for rogue),

the (childish) brother whom I have lost

(Photo copyright 2005 Evelyn M. Gilmer)

The Devil Is on the Prowl

Kit Fox is on the prowl? So is my accuser (and my abuser), the devil.

(Cover illustration copyright 2006 Roger Gilmer)

From the Common English Bible:

1 Peter 5:8-9

Be clearheaded. Keep alert. Your accuser, the devil, is on the prowl like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith. Do so in the knowledge that your fellow believers are enduring the same suffering throughout the world.

To learn more about the Common English Bible, click here.

A portrait of the author of Kit Fox is On the Prowl.

He is "The Devil's Idiot," 

a man with a chip on his shoulder.

I call him Rogue.

(Photo copyright 2005 Evelyn M. Gilmer)