Brad Moses

Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source. Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of “de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum” (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC. This book is a treatise on the theory of ethics, very popular during the Renaissance. The first line of Lorem Ipsum, “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..”, comes from a line in section 1.10.32.

BRAD

Talk about gifted — Egad!
The man is so good that he’s bad

So many talents . . .
Beneath them such balance . . .

The bad man, of course, must be Brad

An athlete with strength, grace, and poise,
He excelled in a sport with no noise.

What moves and what poses
Were displayed by this Moses

Long Horse . . . First Place . . . West Coast Boys

Awesome, this masterful Moses!
Impossible gymnastic poses
Floor ex and tramp
And long horse – a champ —
What thrilling enthrallings he throws us

Awesome, those flips and those twists!
The strength of those legs, arms, and wrists!
Brad Moses, he sticks it!
Butt? Man, he kicks it!
Check out those air-pumping fists!

This Moses has hair by the masses —
He’s tonsorially tops in his classes
The length! And the loft!
The swirls! And so soft!
The lasses would like some free passes

With his great interpersonal skills
And the clearest and strongest of wills —

The deals he closes,
Our salesman Moses,

Would give any company thrills

He’s an artist with hands and guitar —
To find better you’d travel quite far

The licks he disposes,
This maestro named Moses,

Place Brad on a superstar par

Arising from deep, deep inside
They sweep to the surface like a tide*

The songs he composes,
Our musical Moses,

Will touch people’s hearts worldwide

On top of it all, he can sing —
What a joy when he’s doing his thing

The vocals he shows us,
This crooner named Moses —

May his vocal chords once again ring

There’s a special technique that he uses
To awaken his musical Muses

As the Muses of Moses
All know: Where he goes is

A place where no Muse ever loses

Brad’s got a partner in crime
In the marriage of music and rhyme
The hits we’ve created!
The world — how it’s waited!
Face facts — now is the time!

And his daughters, who make him so glad,
Show other bright facets of Brad

From headses to toeseses
He adores them, these Moseses,

And his daughters themselves say, “Not bad!”

What a range of experiences he’s had!
Midlife he was what? An undergrad?

In computers? This Moses
Must learn by osmosis

(But please — lighten up just a tad!)

Whenever he’s mosied on down
He’s brought a great light to this town

But the greatest of woes is,
One misses this Moses —

So please, no more fooling around**

But now he’s rejoined the community
Poised for the great opportunity

He runs for the roses
Our thoroughbred Moses —

He runs for the garland of unity

Experience-wise, he’s so clear
The Self is so lively and near

He rarely dozes,
This Rishi named Moses —

A good man to have around here

The best of his character traits:
He’s growing through four higher states

Fate predisposes
Beloved Brad Moses

To stand with the greats among greats

His career path has been quite unique
And now it’s been reaching its peak —
The experience sublime
Of the Self beyond time —
The experience the wise ever seek

His experiences are true Number One
His inner light shines like a sun
The blossoms of Brahman
With Brad growing common —
This lifetime should get the job done

His namesake, the Moses of old
Gave God’s laws to the people, we’re told

The truths Brad discloses,
Our pure knowledge Moses

Should just the same way be extolled

This Moses amazes, amuses
This Moses has rhythm, not blueses

If anyone messes
With Moses, he blesses —

This Moses whom everyone chooses

Brad is as good as they get
He’ll say he’s indebted — and yet

Whatever he owes us,
This gentleman Moses,

Is nothing compared to our debt

And today he is still a mere lad
And younger each day, we might add

For the kindness he shows us
The gifts he bestows us
The fair winds he blows us —
He only proposes
And never opposes —
In bliss he reposes
Soon to float, one supposes —
We’re happy he knows us,
Delighted he chose us —
Pure Being encloses
This great, Holy Moses,

This great, Holy Moses named Brad

April 6, 1993

* This line includes words from a song we wrote together called “Heaven”

** Refers to Brad’s moving away from Fairfield several times and leaving me lonely and lost.