The Crossover Highway

[EVillageProwler]

Michael,

 

Your prose reminds me of a very famous American poet, William Carlos Williams, but for two things: he's a poet, and you have more of a stream of consciousness thing going for you in your writings...

 

 

EVP

 

[Clankeye-migration]

I love William Carlos Williams. And I love it when someone gives me an excuse to post a poem. This one by Williams is called The Crowd at the Ballgame, and has always struck me as one of the most fearful descriptions of "the crowd" mentality. And this can certainly apply to coins. For Kool-Aid drinkers everywhere:

 

The crowd at the ball game

is moved uniformly

 

by a spirit of uselessness

which delights them --

 

all the exciting detail

of the chase

 

and the escape, the error

the flash of genius --

 

all to no end save beauty

the eternal --

 

So in detail they, the crowd,

are beautiful

 

for this

to be warned against

 

saluted and defied --

It is alive, venomous

 

it smiles grimly

its words cut --

 

The flashy female with her

mother, gets it --

 

The Jew gets it straight -- it

is deadly, terrifying --

 

It is the Inquisition, the

Revolution

 

It is beauty itself

that lives

 

day by day in them

idly --

 

This is

the power of their faces

 

It is summer, it is the solstice

the crowd is

 

cheering, the crowd is laughing

in detail

 

permanently, seriously

without thought

 

WCW

 

 

 

[EVillageProwler]

Thank you so much. I had forgotten how much I enjoy poetry...

 

EVP

 

[Architecht]

The Genius of the Crowd by Charles Bukowski     There is enough treachery, hatred, violence, Absurdity in the average human being To supply any given army on any given day. AND The Best At Murder Are Those Who Preach Against It. AND The Best At Hate Are Those Who Preach LOVE AND THE BEST AT WAR --FINALLY--ARE THOSE WHO PREACH PEACE   Those Who Preach GOD NEED God Those Who Preach PEACE Do Not Have Peace. THOSE WHO PREACH LOVE DO NOT HAVE LOVE BEWARE THE PREACHERS Beware The Knowers.   Beware Those Who Are ALWAYS READING BOOKS   Beware Those Who Either Detest Poverty Or Are Proud Of It   BEWARE Those Quick To Praise For They Need PRAISE In Return   BEWARE Those Quick To Censure: They Are Afraid Of What They Do Not Know   Beware Those Who Seek Constant Crowds; They Are Nothing Alone   Beware The Average Man The Average Woman BEWARE Their Love   Their Love Is Average, Seeks Average But There Is Genius In Their Hatred There Is Enough Genius In Their Hatred To Kill You, To Kill Anybody.   Not Waiting Solitude Not Understanding Solitude They Will Attempt To Destroy Anything That Differs From Their Own   Not Being Able To Crate Art They Will Not Understand Art   They Will Consider Their Failure As Creators Only As A Failure Of The World   Not Being Able To Love Fully They Will BELIEVE Your Love Incomplete AND THEN THEY WILL HATE YOU   And Their Hatred Will Be Perfect Like A Shining Diamond Like A Knife Like A Mountain LIKE A TIGER LIKE Hemlock   Their Finest ART

[MarkFeld]

No wonder this board is referred to as the more peaceful of the two!

[Clankeye-migration]

Yes, Charles "Love is a Dog From Hell" Bukowski. Very powerful, Arch. See what you started, EVP?

 

 

[EVillageProwler]

Perhaps this will lead to our settling our verbal disputes with a touch of poetry rather than with blunt, caustic prose.

 

EVP

 

[keithdagen]

There once was a man from Nantucket......

 

[Clankeye-migration]

I kind of like that idea. I always thought that some of the longer threads should have some kind of final summation. A couple good appropriate poems might be nice. A quote, a song lyric. Something to put it to bed. Okay, okay, I'm only half serious. I always find it interesting, though the way a thread will morph. For instance, it seems your thread at CU has taken a turn towards estate planning now. And, in turn it started some off-shoot threads like TDN's thread about advice on liquidating coin holdings. Watching the twists and turns can be an awful lot of fun.

[EVillageProwler]

Mr. Ostrich-head just reared his *gly head across the street...

 

Now it gets interesting!

 

 

EVP

 

[Hoot]

Thanks to Clankeye and Arch for the poetry! It is in the hearts of darkness in each and every one of us!

 

Hoot

[snizzenfixit]

Gene's Machine

Gene Gene made a machineJoe Joe made it goArt Art blew a fartand blew the whole damn thing apartPhil

[Guest]

Keith,

 

When you went to downgrade the Ike did you contact them before you

sent it in? I'm thinking of doing the same thing and want to know if I have

to include information like what I think the market price is and such.

 

-KHayse

[MarkFeld]

K - there is no need to include information on market pricing until/unless the decision is made by NGC to lower the grade of the coin.

[keithdagen]

I did contact Rick specifically beforehand, because it was suggested to me that only the luster was impaired, and what the coin really needed was a nice bath before a reholder. That's why it burns me so. I e-mailed him, he reponded, requested the coin be sent to his personal attention, and it was returned reholdered with no explanation, even a sorry, we can't do anything.