Ken Downing
@kendowning.bsky.social
Writer, poet, new activist, home chef, photographer, and more. Posted photos are mine, unless otherwise credited. All writing is mine and may not be used without permission. I know it's hard right now, but let's find the beauty out there.
Imposter syndrome is strong within me, I am mirror-blind to my own image. If it were not for the #reflection I see in your eyes, I would doubt that I even exist. You make me a better person. Your example raises me to higher levels, as I strive to become who you believe I am.
#vss365
#vss365
November 27, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Imposter syndrome is strong within me, I am mirror-blind to my own image. If it were not for the #reflection I see in your eyes, I would doubt that I even exist. You make me a better person. Your example raises me to higher levels, as I strive to become who you believe I am.
#vss365
#vss365
The words up dry like an old creek bed, once a flowing stream. I bear with it, stumbling through this desert. Waiting for something to #reinvigorate my muse. Has she left me or is this just a spell of hibernation? I wish I knew.
#vas365
#vas365
September 22, 2025 at 2:22 PM
The words up dry like an old creek bed, once a flowing stream. I bear with it, stumbling through this desert. Waiting for something to #reinvigorate my muse. Has she left me or is this just a spell of hibernation? I wish I knew.
#vas365
#vas365
Three deaths within the space of two months, it's left me reeling. If introspection were a commodity I'd have cornered the market by now. My 'old friends' are now actually old (as I may well be too). Finding ways to honor them is no easy task. Works of service to others is what I've chosen to do.
September 18, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Three deaths within the space of two months, it's left me reeling. If introspection were a commodity I'd have cornered the market by now. My 'old friends' are now actually old (as I may well be too). Finding ways to honor them is no easy task. Works of service to others is what I've chosen to do.
Most people have not realized it yet, but the #stock market bears little resemblance to the economy that we actually experience. We watch the numbers rise for the billionaires gambling club, whilst not seeing our own fortunes being slowly drained off. What will we do when the money runs out?
#vss365
#vss365
September 18, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Another week passed, one of many - a jumble of days loosely connected in linear time. I had thought time was slowing, yet I've blinked again and another month is gone. Why must things speed up at the wrong end of our lives? It's gravity that pulls us closer to the finish line.
#FromOneLine 390
#FromOneLine 390
September 18, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Another week passed, one of many - a jumble of days loosely connected in linear time. I had thought time was slowing, yet I've blinked again and another month is gone. Why must things speed up at the wrong end of our lives? It's gravity that pulls us closer to the finish line.
#FromOneLine 390
#FromOneLine 390
If you grew up with the type of father I had, the legacy is that you're left #flinching at the slightest aggressive gesture. The memories may fade, but the body hangs on to the reactions that saved you from a whack or two. Muscle memory, a deeply engraved, life long historical record.
#vss365
#vss365
September 14, 2025 at 1:56 PM
If you grew up with the type of father I had, the legacy is that you're left #flinching at the slightest aggressive gesture. The memories may fade, but the body hangs on to the reactions that saved you from a whack or two. Muscle memory, a deeply engraved, life long historical record.
#vss365
#vss365
Our sacred #articles of freedom, now in the paper shredder. They do it slowly so we don't see the pile shrinking until it's too late.
"Yeah, they came for everybody else, but not me....right?"
Keep telling yourself that and maybe it will come true, but I wouldn't bet on it.
#vss365 Articles
"Yeah, they came for everybody else, but not me....right?"
Keep telling yourself that and maybe it will come true, but I wouldn't bet on it.
#vss365 Articles
September 5, 2025 at 12:48 PM
“Just a #Sparrow” you say? Why, because it’s not one of the beautiful rare birds? It doesn’t stand out from all of the others? They do the quiet work, the necessary daily tasks that are essential to life. Praise the mighty Sparrows, for they are legion and we may not be worthy.
#vss365
#vss365
July 28, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Sure, you met by #happenstance, but the rest was pure chemistry. No one made you linger, and it was all you could do to string together a coherent conversation. The butterflies in your stomach, the sweat on your brow. Something real was happening, something big. Something like love.
#vss365
#vss365
July 27, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Sure, you met by #happenstance, but the rest was pure chemistry. No one made you linger, and it was all you could do to string together a coherent conversation. The butterflies in your stomach, the sweat on your brow. Something real was happening, something big. Something like love.
#vss365
#vss365
He was the smarmy one at the bar, she spotted him a mile away. He set his sights on her, decided to make his move. (he really shouldn’t have) She kicked him right in the cummerbund, he dropped like a sack of rocks. Another downed wing-man, who likely learned nothing.
#vss365
#vss365
July 7, 2025 at 10:29 PM
He was the smarmy one at the bar, she spotted him a mile away. He set his sights on her, decided to make his move. (he really shouldn’t have) She kicked him right in the cummerbund, he dropped like a sack of rocks. Another downed wing-man, who likely learned nothing.
#vss365
#vss365
Two bodies found, in a lake nearby. One man, one woman, neither merits a name. Two bodies found, leads the news, no need for names. Human beings who lost their lives, drowned in anonymity. Life is tenuous except on the news, where each lost soul is fodder for monetization.
June 19, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Two bodies found, in a lake nearby. One man, one woman, neither merits a name. Two bodies found, leads the news, no need for names. Human beings who lost their lives, drowned in anonymity. Life is tenuous except on the news, where each lost soul is fodder for monetization.
May have to watch another channel for news since @nbcdfw.com has started running mini infomercials near the end of their newscast. Too much BS and not enough actual news.
June 19, 2025 at 9:59 PM
May have to watch another channel for news since @nbcdfw.com has started running mini infomercials near the end of their newscast. Too much BS and not enough actual news.
Shopping becomes political, so many #brands to avoid that I have to really look for what I need. No, I don't forget who you donated $ to, or who you sucked up to. No, I won't forget that you helped a traitor to democracy, or stood silently by and watched. No, you'll not get another dollar.
#vss365
#vss365
April 29, 2025 at 9:05 PM
@nbcdfw.com You know, it’s not really news if you just show us videos of situations without any actual information. The first two stories at 5:00 pm were simply videos to get attention, with no real news information.
April 28, 2025 at 10:06 PM
@nbcdfw.com You know, it’s not really news if you just show us videos of situations without any actual information. The first two stories at 5:00 pm were simply videos to get attention, with no real news information.
FYI for television news reporters; Stop saying “countless” for situations where what you’re referring to is easily countable. It makes you sound under-educated.
March 28, 2025 at 11:06 PM
FYI for television news reporters; Stop saying “countless” for situations where what you’re referring to is easily countable. It makes you sound under-educated.
This just in: The CDC is also going to begin a study to see if stepping on a sidewalk crack will actually lead to damaging your mother's spine.
You heard it here first.
You heard it here first.
March 10, 2025 at 1:48 AM
This just in: The CDC is also going to begin a study to see if stepping on a sidewalk crack will actually lead to damaging your mother's spine.
You heard it here first.
You heard it here first.
How long until you notice? My cautious nature is borne from the sting of many cuts before I knew you. I tend to keep my feelings #incognito for as long as I can, but these new ones are spilling over. Like trying to hide balloons, they pop out, refusing to be contained.
#vss365
#vss365
March 5, 2025 at 6:56 PM
How long until you notice? My cautious nature is borne from the sting of many cuts before I knew you. I tend to keep my feelings #incognito for as long as I can, but these new ones are spilling over. Like trying to hide balloons, they pop out, refusing to be contained.
#vss365
#vss365
You know who could end the Ukraine war today? Putin could, just by ordering his troops out of Ukrainian territory. It wouldn't have to be an embarrassing surrender, just a 'never mind' and go home. Ukraine doesn't want any part of Russia, so they'd be fine with it. Maybe Trumpf should tell him that?
March 5, 2025 at 6:42 PM
You know who could end the Ukraine war today? Putin could, just by ordering his troops out of Ukrainian territory. It wouldn't have to be an embarrassing surrender, just a 'never mind' and go home. Ukraine doesn't want any part of Russia, so they'd be fine with it. Maybe Trumpf should tell him that?
Laying in bed, well after midnight, when an idea comes. A beautiful mystery, full of intrigue and twists. I remember thinking that I should jot it down, but it was just so late. By morning it's gone, like a #fart in the wind. Never to be remembered for anything but a brief sound.
#vss365
#vss365
February 22, 2025 at 4:04 PM
If we weren't street racing back then, we were hanging out at the #reservoir. It was Folsom lake (yes, that Folsom) and in the summer the water was warm and inviting. Just me and Todd, or sometimes with a group, we always found a way to get into trouble.
#vss365
#vss365
February 20, 2025 at 2:59 AM
If we weren't street racing back then, we were hanging out at the #reservoir. It was Folsom lake (yes, that Folsom) and in the summer the water was warm and inviting. Just me and Todd, or sometimes with a group, we always found a way to get into trouble.
#vss365
#vss365
The light bends through the smokey sky, I see a reflection of how things might be. An #onslaught of inspiration floods my mind, touching something in me... long dormant. A warmth flushes my skin, I wonder if it's you, your thoughts touching my soul.
#vss365
#vss365
February 18, 2025 at 9:14 PM
The light bends through the smokey sky, I see a reflection of how things might be. An #onslaught of inspiration floods my mind, touching something in me... long dormant. A warmth flushes my skin, I wonder if it's you, your thoughts touching my soul.
#vss365
#vss365
Always writing, always reading, always learning more.
February 17, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Always writing, always reading, always learning more.
Taking a walk, appreciating the beautiful flowers along the way. Perhaps their sunny faces can #displace the gray mood that enthralls me. Swimming upstream is tiring, exhausting, and my energy replenishes slowly these days. I need to know that others are fighting too.
#vss365
#vss365
February 17, 2025 at 9:58 PM
We saw the #rockets all leaving that morning, and we thought 'good riddance!' They'd left the planet for Mars, and some pipe dream of a colony to themselves. Some of their minions were left behind, disillusioned and angry, maybe they'd finally start to see reality as we had all along.
#vss365
#vss365
February 1, 2025 at 2:32 PM