Confessions of a White Hat by Ed Galing

Confessions of a White Hat by Ed Galing ( Alternating Currentc/o Propaganda Press POBOX 398058 Cambridge, Mass. 02139) propaganda.x.press@gmail.com $5

I speak to 91 year old Hatboro, PA. poet Ed Galing on a regular basis, and I am amazed that despite his advanced years his mind is still sharp, and he continues to regale the small press with his prolific output of poetry and prose.I am also glad that a local press: Propaganda Press, headed by Leah Angstman, has published a new chap from Ed. Ed has written extensively about his days as a boy on the streets of the Lower East Side of NYC, his stint as an occupation soldier during World War ll, and life in Amercia as a Jew, family man, and the many roles he has played in the expanse of his lifetime. His latest book "Confessions of a White Hat" deals with his time as a naval reservist in the post World War 11 Cold War era. In characteristic Galing style he gives the reader the taste and texture of the Navy-life as he knew it. Here Galing describes the milieu,and the sensibility of his place and time:


The Begining


we are a motley
crew
as motley as
you could ever wish
for; fresh out of
other branches
of the service,
after world war
two,
the Reserves
wave a silver
platter before
our eyes;
ex marines
soldiers
coast guard
Waves
we all clamber
on board,
not willing to
forget the
military yet;
the cold war
is still on;
unrest in other
parts of the
world.
Russian Bear,
i had to be nuts
but six months
after i get out
of the Army
i am now a
member of the
Naval Air
on Active Duty
at an air station
four miles from
home,
and the fat is in
the fire once
again.

Just Because by Ed Galing

everyone who wants his
name to be known
should write
his or her own obituary.

do not wait
for others to write
about you,
this is not a
good idea.

they will
not do
your name
justice.

no one knows "you"
better than yourself,
so while you are alive
sit down
and begin to
write your own obit.

make it a good one.
put in all the
wonderful details
that made you what
you are.

omit disasters,
do not mention pitfalls,
dwell only on your accomplishments,
how beloved you
were while alive,
and all the good
things you did.

send it to your newspaper
omit the date of your death

fill that in much later.

--Ed Galing