"All's Fair in Ambivalence and Water Sports"

The 'Golden Rule?'

I have my own version;

the 'Golden Shower Rule.'

"Don't piss all over me,

and I won't piss all over you."

***

Wake-Up Call: Thinning the Herd

The repellent savagery and 'Big Hot Mess' that is Life
may not be as readily evident in America as it is, say,
in the starving regions of West Africa or other more
impoverished global stages in the 'third world.'

But aside from the prestige and pretense of the upper
crust regions, there are plenty of American slums, drug
dens, homeless populations, horribly impoverished
neighborhoods, that all point to the illegitimacy and failing
of the American Dream.

These days, there's a greater likelihood of finding these
dire situations than of finding happy-go-lucky dream
achievers. (But please, Johnny-come-lately Veep runners,
tell us alllll about the 'opportunities!')

There are multitudes of uninsured living without assistance,
the disabled struggling without funds or care, the under-
employed striving to do right and still not make it, college
grads with no opportunities, addicts with no help or counseling
available to them, and so on.

People 'Living' the barest of existences, horror stories really.

We overlook them easily..it's hard to look directly into
the sun and still be able to see.

When there's nothing to be done, it's easier to ignore
the image or notion that offends us.

Inner-city violence , drug overdosing, spread of disease,
millions of miserable self-destructive, self-hating
homosexuals (Thank you, religious Overlords!), racism
and separatism still quite alive and thriving, and all of us
conveniently geographically and emotionally distanced
from one another, worshipping our new god of autonomy
and independence.

We avoid the dark for as long as we can, immersing
ourselves, distracting, comforting, medicating, consuming,
until we are irrevocably finding ourselves in the midst of
the tale, or no longer able to lay witness to the invisible
around us.

There is a storm coming, and it's going to be bad.

The landscape will change radically, and much of what
we all 'know' (assume) to be true will be torn asunder.
...revealed for the false hope it ever was.

Not everyone will survive the transition.
Already, T.P.T.B. are pushing through for the 'lowest of the
lows' to be done away with; lack of care for the terminally
ill, lack of proper treatment for the mentally ill, no treatment
for returning vets with disorders, no assistance for those
without jobs or resources, and so on.

We cut the school staffs and the social programs when those
areas are ill-equipped to handle any more surrenders.

The new status quo is going to shock the Bejeezus out of some.

What goes up, must come down, though.
And the bill has finally come due.

*****************************************************

"To scare myself with my own desert places."

Living in the South is like being in the desert. Not in the most
obvious sense, as with the heat and bothersome bugs and
perils of snakes and other horrific critters... although that's
here, too.

No, in the south it's dry.
Slow.
Boring.
Dirty.
Uncomfortable.
And Nothing grows here, either.

The only way to get some excitement is to have heatstroke
or suffer from the effects of a mirage.

"Why not move?" A simple enough query.

Would if I could.

Times are tough, obligations plentiful.  But that's not all.

All the Kerouacs and world travellers and adventurous sorts...
all the 'Kumbaya' and openness to discovery....all that 'hitch
your wagon to the stars' and 'the world is my oyster' stuff makes
for great movies, and it sounds like a pip.

But.

But it's mostly great when you're in your twenties.
Maybe your thirties.

Works great at any age when you're well-off financially, or
have places to stay should/when problems arise.

Works great when your body's in great shape and your
options are plentiful.

But my world's grown smaller and less-populated, habits
have become history, and I know what I know.

Making the most of what you have should be an Olympic
event--it sure takes a ton of hard work, sacrifice and training.

Perhaps I'm merely drained of all soul and adventurous
spirit from my long and arduous journey through the swampy,
intolerant, unflinching environs of the South.

Those words and glares and 'sublimated' threats are as
sticky as an armpit at High Noon.

Maybe the whole point of venturing out of the desert is
the hope that--against the odds--there is something
beyond these limited borders, which have now afflicted
our minds, too.

If only we can overcome the fear that the torture to come
is worse than the torture which has kept us in place.

********************************************************

The Blend is the Thing

Nobody has the life they planned.

People might have portions or segments of

a desired life or lifestyle, if they're extraordinarily

lucky.

But mostly even those folks are making do

with the cards dealt, accommodating the

unforeseen darkness and the different form of

light that appeared.

We can make peace with things as they are.

We can work overtime to avoid the reality of

loss and pain and despair and struggle.

We can find new interests and aspects to embolden us.

We can take satisfaction from rare moments.

We can be content with our best efforts.

But nobody holds magic in their hands...

not for more than a short, fleeting moment

of time.

No one has their heart's desire;

the appearance to the contrary is often just

a ploy to make others jealous, and to fictitiously

'hold the cards' as means of compensation for

the real thing.

No matter how Rico Suave' or Paul Perfect folks

pretend to be, they have the same dark demons

they're running from as every other sad-sack bastard

on the planet.

Maybe that can help you sleep better at night.

***

The Voices We Can't Shake: Inner Scripts

All of us have an inner voice--or voices--that either rule us,
guide us, or ride along with us.


What differs is whether or not we are conscious of the noise,
whether it works for or against us, what the origin of the voice(s)
are, and whether or not we have a desire to change it.


How do we alter a (typically) lifelong habit when we decide to change?


Even the being aware of needing to change, to disregard the over-
bearing societal influence to comply, for example, implicates the
level of sway it has over us. (If we begin to think or act in direct
response to said existence, we are still essentially controlled--or
at least affected--by its presence.)


To disregard or discard the influence of others or Other, and become
singularly focused on individual desire...one's own need, at
expense of all else...distanced from all else....by means of failing
to even register anything else...that is a great achievement.


Complete self-absorption and self sufficiency is the ultimate key
to survival.

*****************************************************

The New Pendulum Swing

 

"Pretty pleases" and well-written speeches aren't

going to change jack in this world where greed and

business and money and power rule.

There is no moral compass to appeal to within

the hearts of the governing 1-to-2%.

There is no equality within the courts; justice and

public opinion are for sale to the highest bidder.

We the impoverished or powerless have no standing;

the corporations and the elite own the judges, the

lawyers, the courts, the police, the media,

the military, the money.

This is war.

There is only survive or fail, live or die.

Destroying what they own is the only thing that

reaches them...the one thing that they understand.

Violent take-down of the Powers-That-Be is the

only recourse remaining.

Can we mobilize and commit before it's too late?

***

"Curiouser and curiouser..."

This upstanding young lady
(defying aerodynamics and gravity, obviously)

is listed by the Internet as wearing

a "Fashion Police" costume.

Well, it looks more like Fashion 'Ho to me.

'Fashion Pole Dancer' possibly.

She didn't receive her paycheck this week;

good thing she's standing on that street corner.

I wonder is she can substitute that street lamp.

(For the pole dance, silly! Sheesh!)

Shouldn't that police tape be wrapped

around various parts of her criminal

offenses?

She doesn't even need a car with air bags.

Is she asking someone to read what the ticket says?

I wonder what the police's official position is?

***