All the World is My Friend...

Yesterday, I got into a friendly discussion about friends, which quickly devolved, into something else, something a little bit less friendly, and maybe a bit sad.

What is a friend?  "A person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations."

I am a lover of words and definitions. So I stuck to my guns. When I think of "friend" I am not thinking of my Dear Soul Mate, or members of my family. My friends would be the few souls I have met in my life that I have no relation to whatsoever, except for meeting them, and finding some amazing connection that surprisingly bonds us for life.

Over the many decades of my life, I think I can count 3 Human Beings I have met who would fit that description. One lives in another country (Poland), one lives in another state (Kansas), one is a person who I've known since high school, who lives a few towns away, that I haven't actually seen in the flesh in over 15 years.

But, you know, maybe I am being too militant in my definition of "friend?" I realize I may be technically correct, but, that stance may actually isolate me, and piss off some folks who I know and love dearly.

So this morning I declare that all the Human Beings in the world are my friends! Some of these friendships are easy. Some are difficult. Some are barely even existent.  Some friends are so contrary and gnarly, they actually resemble ENEMIES! Such is the way of the Human Thing!

"The Thing..."

When it comes to creative work, I find the best strategy, is to just do the work. Put your head down, or, well, okay, maybe hold your head up high ("fuck them all"), and, plunge right in, damn the torpedos. One of my acting teachers once told me the key to being an actor was the determined bullishness, to really, really want to do the work, and to do it, no matter what, no questions asked. She implied, "talent" wasn't the thing, talent was maybe even beside the point,  it was "doing the work," and pushing forward with a determined relentless, like that Shark in "Jaws," that was actually the most important thing. I still think it's the best advice I ever got, and can applied to pretty much everything I've ever done in the creative realm; acting, writing, directing, guitar-playing, songwriting, singing, performing, etc.  As creators we have no power over how things will be perceived, or accepted. We can't demand popularity or attention. And if we are doing the work for popularity and attention we are most likely lost. I think it's best to think of it all as a mission, a calling, sort of like a priesthood.  We do the good work, because we must, it's the most important thing we can do, it is a distillation of the best of us.  Do the work. Do the fucking work.  Always be doing the work. Do it to the best of your abilities. Put your heart, head, soul into it. By doing the work, we create the best version of ourselves. Inspired and inspiring. That's the thing.

More in the Kit-Bag!

When you are feeling good, you know, when the "oppressions of the mind," have lifted, and the golden light of day comes to dance on your noggin, you realize you have much more in your kit-bag than "wondering," (see previous post). I'm thinking of things like laughter, love, dreaming, imagining, conjuring. We human beings possess this amazingly wonderful thing called "clear consciousness."  We need to cultivate it, and fully realize the power and the glory of CLARITY! How to cultivate clear consciousness? I recommend a dedicated meditation practice, a determined application of silence, a healthy distance to the hurly-burly of day to day existence. Refuse to have your buttons pushed by the button-pushers, they are not your friends.

Wondering...

To the Wonder...

I don't think we are  here to figure it all out. We want to, but that isn't really the thing. Life. It isn't something to be solved, it is something to be experienced. We are here to be Aware, Alive, Awake. To experience what we can experience to the max. So many mysteries. So much unknowing. We are enveloped in the great Cloud of Unknowing, and we feel our way forward in the dark. We do the best we can do with the resources we have at hand. That's pretty much the scenario. We are left to Wonder, and at the same time, we keep our eyes peeled and do our best to just carry on. 

It Takes A Long Time to Make a New Monkey...

This post from Kevin Drum totally resonates with me. He is reviewing a book about Economics that I definitely won't be reading. But then he explains why we shouldn't be too surprised or disappointed when Human Beings fail so often at being BETER HUMANS. The simple explanation? We are Clever, Tricky, Monkeys with Lots of Shiny Toys!

Generalities. 

Maybe if a generality is stretched as far as it can go, you can get to some Universal Truth? Not sure. But, I think much of my world-view matches up with Kevin's so, you know, this pretty much rings true to me...

Yep. We Human Beings seem to forget we are glorified Monkeys. We want to pretend we are above and separate from NATURE and our natural, primitive heritage, but it's takes a long time and many many villages to make a new Monkey. We are still just getting started.

The King & The Serf...

One minute you are The King, the next minute you are The Serf. It often rolls out like that in this thing we call "Life." Bouncing from one Status to another. Kind of head-spinning. You just have to deal with the deal. Be aware at all times. The status change is always one beat away. You just have to ride it. Don't cling. Don't worry. Be the King or the Serf to the max. Be the best you can be in the moment to moment. 

Be the Flower...

I listened to two Scientists talk about the Universe and the possibility of many, many, many Universes, and then, they shifted focus and they chatted about the immensities of Time. Yikes. I spun out for a brief time grappling with IMMENSITIES! My little head nearly exploded.What to do with all that Scientific chatter?

I think about being a Human Being. I think about being a flower. I think we are just like little Flowers, like Lilies in the Field. We sprout up, we point out heads towards the sun. We do our flower thing for as long as we can, and then we recede, we falter, we transform, we lay back down, we become mulch.

It's all quite humbling.

We have our little place in the Grand Scheme. We do our thing. Our time is brief. We must get our heads around that. How best to do it? Flower. Be the Flower. Let the Universe or the many Universes do their thing. It's all OK. I mean, it has to be OK, right?!

Finally Hit Bottom...

Did we need to plunge into the deep, dark muck of the perilous depths of corruption and stupidity, to happily discover that there is a bottom to the total, vapid, mind-numbing, soul-killing degradation to which we are all susceptible?

Maybe so. 

And if we do finally hit bottom, collectively slimed, disheartened and diminished, maybe we discover to our delight, that we can rebound, we can swim up to the surface where there is fresh air, golden light, good cheer, sweet kindness, bold love, and a decent chance for a better life?

Maybe truth and transparency (see previous post), can help us realize our wishes for a better day? Let the loud, no-nothing, corrupt, stupid ones fall as far as they can fall; maybe, just maybe, gravity, consequence, the rule of law, common sense, karma, responsibility, all things good and right, will finally come knocking.

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Yes.

Justice. Happiness. Equality. Fraternity. Hope. Wonder. Things working out.  

That would be very nice, indeed.

"The Future will find you out."

 

The Best...

Simple, less wordy, brief...

the best things in life:

apple pie

good coffee

sweet, intimate conversation

laughter, love

people you've known all your life

you know, the ones you can't imagine living without

you know, you wouldn't even be here without them

blood of your blood

we are all related, we all come from the same family tree

but some folks are right on your branch directly

you know them, they know you, like no-one else in the world

a few hours together

rich, soulful, life-affirming

the best...

Hate Hatred...

You hate to see...

injustice

unreason

cruelty

stupidity

willful ignorance

false witness

untruth

blatant lies

prejudice

racism 

hatred

Random Lines from a Zig-Zag Existence...

These sentences blew thru this weekend...

Fuck Fear.

The Rule of Law is Not Assured.

You have good Genes.

Let's try it, and see.

I come from a long line of dead people.

Mr. Loud Talker is talking softly.

Pretty sure I pissed him off, again.

Let's not go there now.

Let's go for a sit-down.

I have no idea.

I hope it all works out.

We are on the road of Destiny.

Experimental Nature...

Lately, I have been thinking about my life as a long-form experiment. Trying things. Seeing what feels right,  trying to discover what seems to work, and discarding those things that don't feel right, and don't seem to work. A process of attention, and elimination. A process of weeding out.  Everything is up for evaluation. Does it work? Does it feel right? Does it make my life better? I am stream-lining. Eating well. Always in motion. Trying not to waste my time thinking of the Past or the Future. There are complete thought-trains I don't need to take. My focus is near, not far. Living within my means, living within my skin, keeping my mind focused and crystal- clear. Speaking less. Trying not to impose my judgement on things, but always trying to be aware of the experience of things. I try to cultivate discipline in all things. I notice the moments of a day, see what nourishes my being. I feed my head and my soul. I try to always move towards clarity, and clear-consciousness. I notice the emotional roller-coaster inside my body, and marvel at the power of the storms that bubble up. I navigate, float, try my best not to drown in the ocean of emotion. Every thought, every emotion is just another momentary element that is demanding my attention. I pick and choose. Try things on for size, try to figure what enhances and what diminishes. I experiment. 

Business Model = RAGE!

So much of our culture and social media atmosphere is about button-pushing, emotional-tugging & tossing, outrage-making. We are all so easily riled up, made cloudy-headed, and gob-smackingly, stupefied. Major media outlets, major broadcast networks, mainstream political parties, bad-actors, conspiracy-mongers, assholes of all stripes, a vast, mutant legion of creeps, spend massive amounts of time and energy, you know, a relentless, fucking 24/7, doing their best to take possession of our heads and FUCK US UP. It is actually a very successful business model, to make the citizenry emotionally broken. Empires have been created on fear, outrage, confusion, general pissed-off-ness.  It takes will and courage, and gumption, and discipline, to refuse to take the bait, to tune it all out, to refuse to play their fucking soul-killing game.  A bit of space and silence is required. You can step back and observe the monster without being engaged by it. You can watch the Bullshit roll out, you can step around it, refuse to be enveloped by it. You need a little bit of healthy distance &  studied alienation. You can observe, watch the soul-killers, liars & fabricators do their thing. Some of them will pretend to be your friend. They are not your friend. You don't have to succumb, give-in, or participate in the charade. You can be aware, alive, awake to another way. No doubt. Level-headed, common sense-ical, feet on the ground, roll up your sleeves, and see the world right in front of your nose as it really, truly is. Breathe-in/breathe-out. Find a sunny clarity and calmness. It's all OK. The world is a beautiful, wondrous, complex and contradictory thing. No rage required. 

"It's All Too Much" - George Harrison

I know there are some folks, probably uncounted numbers of folks, who think that all the problems on our little, spinning, blue, planet EARTH, are all related to OVERPOPULATION! I think that is probably not a wrong assumption. Too many people running around on this ball of confusion. There are battles for resources of every kind. We have a population AND a distribution problem. We, as a species, really ran with that biblical idea: Be Fruitful and Multiply. Yikes! Every day, it turns out that people are a problem, and it seems that the people and problems multiply every damn day. There is too much new news, too many opinions, too much conflict, too many agendas. As Bob Marley once sang: "So much trouble in the world..." Yes. Well. What do about it? Who knows? A little "family planning," might be in order. Thinking, you know, less is more.  It's a tricky thing. As we know, Human Beings are complicated, they don't like to be told what to do. Everyone is just carrying on like it's party time, all the time. Something has to give, but not sure what gives first. I put on my optimistic, progressive, blue-bubble glasses this a.m. (the coffee brew this morning is called "Love Buzz"), and I think, it will all work out. One way or another. I mean, probably so, right?!?

Life Coaching Myself this A.M.

Sometimes I am just "Life- Coaching" myself...

What have you learned Sunny Jimmy?

1.Small steps. Also, watch your step. EVERY STEP COUNTS. Every step is Adventure!

2. Do the hard things first. Get them out of the way early. Don't think about doing them, just buckle down and do them.  Do them early, in the beginning  of the process, when you have the most energy to bring to the tasks.

3. Practice discipline. Don't do things because someone else tells you to do them. Do them on your own. Be disciplined in everything you do. Also, try to have fun, make a game of even ordinary, simple tasks.

4. Pay attention. Listen. Watch. Observe.

5. Don't worry about "what others think." They most likely aren't even thinking about you. Listen to your inner voice, your intuition. You do know what is right, what is essential, what is good. Lean that way.

6. Don't always say what's on your mind. Just because you think it, doesn't mean you should say it. Be disciplined in your thinking and SAYING. This will save you lots of pain and heartache down the road. No doubt.

7. Avoid the Assholes at all costs. Smile. Wave. Say "hello" but GET AWAY from the Assholes as quickly as you can. They will bring you down, they will slime you, they want to hurt you, they will steal your Soul and try to crush it. 

8. Notice what works, and be willing to experiment, and to try new things. Always.

9. Be the thing you want to be. Act like you are the person you' aspire to be. Do things you love to do. Be the action, be the thought, be the desire. Just do it. By doing, you become. Always be in the becoming phase of life.

Personal Biases...

Yesterday, I thought about my own, personal biases (see previous post). No doubt we all have them. Where do they come from, nature or nurture, or a bit of both? 

Probably a bit of both. Some simple ideas about my own biases:

I am biased against - bullies, racists, fundamentalists of all religions, know-it-alls, televangelists, con-men, hucksters, folks who promise eternal life, and those who warn against eternal damnation, Nazis, White-Supremacists, MAGA-Lunatics, Republicans, Greedy & Selfish People, People who only care about money, Libertarians, Authoritarians & the Lemmings who follow them, small-minded folks, general stupidity, Injustice, Conspiracy-Minded-Ness, purveyors of Doom & Unreason, Glass-Half-Full People.

I am biased towards - Zen, creatives, progressives, novelists, poets, play-wrights, rock & rollers, Democrats, Free-Spirits, Underdogs, Unions, Common-Sense, Clarity, THE LIGHT, Positive Attitude People, Glass Half Full People, Dreamers, Believers in Human Rights for All, Citizens of the World, Vegetarians, Meditators, It Takes a Village Folks, Problem-Solvers, Roll Up Your Sleeves Can Do Damn the Torpedo Folks.

No Debate...

This, "The World is Not a Debating Club," from Kevin Drum is SO OBVIOUS and TRUE it's almost invisible to us Human Beings...

This explains so much. Why will the crazy-ass MAGA-hordes follow that fat, loud, creepy, guy who still refuses to admit he lost an election, and is still fleecing them of their hard-earned $ for the BIG LIE?

It's all about emotion. Hate. Racism. Money. Status. They seem themselves in that Fat Con-Man.  They are impervious to facts. And, really, we are all persuaded by Human Beings being Human just like us. We seek out people, listen to people, follow people who make us feel good, who confirm our biases, who make us feel smarter and more powerful.  

It's so obvious. The human ocean of emotion. But just like one fish asking another fish, "What's Water?"  We are blind to our own biases.

Buckets of Rain...

Sometimes it really is all about the weather. Yesterday it was "buckets and buckets" of rain. I mean it was truly Biblical. I was sort of waiting to see if Charlton Heston would show up in his Moses garb. I was in a large, expensive mansion on the lake. All windows in every direction. So I observed the rain-fall in maximum vivid detail. Pretty happy to be dry, safe and sound. The lake was rocking. The trees and grasses were deep-green and drenched. The usually busy lakefront path was deserted. It was like all the humans had vanished from the face of the earth ( or at least this patch) for the day. A cold front moved in. Everything transformed. I listened to records (The Stones, Led Zeppelin, Dylan, Willie Nelson, Mogwai, The Who) all day. And hung out with my little furry friend. We ventured out a couple times, huddled under a massive, black umbrella. That was quite the day, no doubt. Buckets. Buckets of cold, hard rain.

Still Waters Run Deep...

Sun & Shade. Light and Shadow.

Sunny one day (see previous post), a bit gloomy the next.

I am reminded of terms such as "psychological scars" and "traumas in the body." I think anyone who has lived, has experienced both to some degree. Some of us more than others. I think luck and circumstance have a lot to do with it. The challenge for us all; how do we react in times of trauma, stress and doubt? And, then, of course, we all experience loss; in some ways a well-lived life is one's personal history of loss. See Nick Cave's  "What is the Point of Life?" for some elucidation on loss.

Anyway, yesterday, late afternoon I had a bit of a corrosive conversation with a close friend. Nothing earth-shattering, but it sent me into a tail-spin of doubt. A little journey to hell. Funny it really was a nothing conversation, but it opened a door to some deep-seated memories of failure and futility, and those memories, surprisingly, were still alive in my consciousness, alive in my body, buried deep, waiting to be re-experienced. None of my tools for meditation or relaxation were of any help. 

So later that night, I tossed and turned in a big fluffy, comfy bed. What should have been a fabulous, restful sleep, was a bit of a boxing match in my head. I was both the one throwing punches, and the one receiving them too. Who knew?!

Still waters run deep.  Yes, indeed.

The Pure Realness of Things...

Yesterday I fell into a sunny haze. It was quite agreeable. Total motion pretty much all day, except late afternoon, when I found a comfy lawn chair in a leafy backyard paradise, put some headphones on, and listened to The Who's magnum opus, and r&r masterpiece, "Quadrophrenia" (1973). Rock roll as good as it gets. No doubt.

Back to the motion, lots of places to be, lots of walking, walking, walking. It was warm, sunny, blue sky, no humidity, with a nice breeze off the lake. Lots of familiar faces, lots of smiles and "hellos" everywhere. I was totally alive, aware, awake in the moment to moment. 

No judgement, pure experience. Sometimes I can get there. Yesterday I did. It's probably the best way to spend one's time on the planet. I think we Human Beings often let our heads get in the way of the pure, real-ness of things. Our heads get clouded with all kinds of conflicting phenomena; feelings, thoughts, judgement, guilt, worries, fears.

Yesterday it was all about letting go, letting things flow and unfold. I rode the day like a cloud. I was transparent, light, pure light. Late evening, over the lake, an enormous, burnt-orange moon, full-blooded, sat on the eastern horizon. It was breath-taking. Improbable. Amazing. A reminder that we live in a strange, hard to comprehend wonderland. Sometimes we just need to open our eyes, our hearts, our heads and let whatever comes, fully engage and animate our beings.

Long Live the Queen...

Death. It's the Big Kahuna. The Big Enchilada. The Big Conundrum. Nature shows us that it is natural, just another part of the process of life. But, for us Human Beings it is a major conundrum. We are conscious, painfully aware of our inevitable "road to oblivion," life, that substance that appears to us to be so precious, is also quite limited. Here but for a brief time and then vanished, vanquished, gone.  "A Candle in the Wind." Or maybe better to think, we are transformed into something we know not what. Death, right, it happens to everyone, so in that way we truly are equal; Kings, Queens (born into the roles), Celebrities, Rich, Poor, the Young, the Old, the Great In-Between. The death of anyone diminishes us all, shows us the way of life and living. But maybe also we can take heart? Yes, another one gone, that is the way of life, but what to do? Carry on the best we can. Enjoy the moment, enjoy the day, do what we can to fill our hearts, our heads, our souls with joy and love, embrace a fierce aliveness. Alive, Aware, Awake. Nothing is certain, nothing is given, all is up for grabs in the moment, which can snatched away in the blink of an eye. The Queen is Dead. Long Live the Queen.

A Tabernacle & Raccoons...

OK. That was weird, and quite gratifying. We went to a "sound-bath" event last night. Two musicians led us in a guided meditation with an array of instruments providing the soundtrack. It was a complete sonic journey, a total sound-healing. A beautiful evening. We had ridden our bikes over, brought our yoga mats with us, bungie-corded to the back, which we then rolled out over impressive Oriental carpets in a small, comfy storefront space. There were about 15 folks there. 

We are long time meditators and creative visualizers, so as soon as we laid back, and closed our eyes, the visions started coming. The tones were captivating, soothing. I totally gave up to the moment. What did I see? Hard to explain. I found myself under a blue sky, spread out in an African Savannah, surrounded by tall grasses. There was a floating Golden Tabernacle, and couple of playful Raccoons. I kid you not.

Later, the rains came, how did they make it rain? I don't rightly know. The meditation lasted for about an hour and a half, but it really didn't seem that long at all. No time and space. Total MOMENT. Afterwards, we chatted with a few friends. Everyone seemed happy, relaxed, pretty amazed by what just happened. Some folks had visions, some just let go. This morning I still feel a bit of an afterglow of peace, and a renewed openness. Still, I have to laugh. A tabernacle and raccoons? WTF?!

Performer's Nightmare...

Performer's Nightmare: Big show. Packed house. I have misplaced the set-list. I am playing a borrowed guitar. I have no clue what I am going to play, or to sing. The audience has gathered. All eyes and ears are pointed in my direction. I have to go to the bathroom. I put the guitar down on the stage and run downstairs. I get lost. I can't find the bathroom, or my way back to the stage. I navigate thru dark hallways. I run back on stage, nearly step on, and crush, the guitar. I pick the guitar up, it's tiny, unlike any guitar I have ever played. I  strum it, the sound coming from the guitar is strange, watery, weird. Someone finally hands me a set-list. I realize I don't know any of the songs. I am sweating. I improvise. I play a very simple chord progression and just start singing words off the top of my head. It all sounds like nonsense to my ears.  The audience applauds. They are wild, enthusiastic. I am confused. Befuddled. I look across the room, all I see are eyes, "Dark Eyes", you know like that Bob Dylan song: "Oh, time is short and the days are sweet and passion rules the arrow that flies, A million faces at my feet but all I see are dark eyes."

Change & Motion.

Everyone is starting from a different place. Everyone's experience is completely unique. We all enter and leave on our own terms (maybe), and at our own time (when your time is up, it's up!). It's a wonder we can relate to each other at all. And everything we encounter is basically a moving target; the Universe, the Planet, the Culture, the Peoples of the Earth. Our bodies are always growing, morphing, evolving. Our personal narratives are growing, twisting, turning, folding back in all the time. We tend to think that our own personal narrative is essential, but if we are honest with ourselves, it becomes clear fairly early, that our personal narrative is just one tiny drop in a awe-inspiring, massively-tangled-web of interlocking oceans of narratives. We can't step into the same river, or ocean, twice. What to make of it all? Change is the by-word. Motion too. Everything has it's reason and season. It's that kind of Universe, one open to all comers.

Vow to Embrace the Particular and the Specific...

Yes. A little explosion of insight flashed in my head yesterday (see previous post). It may be an overstatement,  I am prone to overstatements, but I began to think that all of my difficulties in communicating with other folks, all of the arguments, the grand, and petty, disagreements I have found myself engaged in over the years, have been related to the specific vs. general thing. As they say, "The Devil is in the Details," but it is in the details where the truth will be revealed. And the details usually deepen & complicate the story. If we stick to specifics and avoid generalities it seems clear that the complexity and richness of life will descend upon us. The Universe is more interesting, baffling, and wondrous than we can imagine. Human Beings are too. We are a complicated, tricky, confounding, sometimes impressive, and sometimes disappointing Species. Speak in generalities and you are most likely betraying your prejudices, your stereotypes, your fears; you are imposing your limited knowledge upon a greater, richer understanding. I think, I too have gotten most in trouble when I have argued some wide-ranging generality in the face of a more complicated, very detailed and specific reality. Going forward, I vow to stick to the particular, to reach out for vivid detail, to search out the contradictions, the complexities, the stubborn facts that don't necessarily conform to my hazy-lazy conceptions of the world. Maybe it's a way to open the door to the wonder, the mystery, the complicated nature of Life? Be super-specific in all things.

Specific Truth Becomes a General Lie...

 “The true enemy of man is generalization.” ― Czesław Miłosz, Testimony to the Invisible: Essays on Swedenborg

The Universe is so large and complex, and interesting, and the World of Human Beings is so contradictory and confounding, and especially when Human Beings speak of human behavior, I think it pays to be  "specific," "the condition of being peculiar to a particular individual or group of organisms." Be as specific as you possibly can. There you will find complexity.

Being as specific as possible gets us closer to the truth. Taking specific cases, and then extrapolating sweeping generalizations might be fun and interesting, and who knows, maybe sometimes instructive, but there is also the danger that the more general you get, the closer you are to obscuring & hiding the truth; you basically end up revealing your own biases & prejudices. A specific truth becomes a general lie. Or something like that. 

I tend to hate generalizations. I also hate the tendency to "sum up." It seems lazy and off-target, and leads to a certain blindness to the richness of life. I mean, that's just me, just living my own specific little life.

Every Damn Day...

The Seven Deadly Sins: "According to the standard list, they are pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth, which are contrary to the seven capital virtues."

Well, yes, believe in sin or not, I mean, you can see that the above list would make for a difficult Journey in Life.  As they say:  The Wages of Sin = Death. Right, we all earn those wages every day, every act, every thought, every desire and intention. Of course, we all die. Sin or no sin. That's pretty much a given, unless there is something we don't know, which, who knows, maybe? Reincarnation anyone?

I don't know if there is an accounting anywhere else except in our bodies, maybe our souls? My motto: everything counts. All that "sinning" adds up. What are sins? The stupid shit we do; the things that harm us and harm others too.  You can see it in a Human Being's eyes, in their bodies, in the way they move, the way they carry themselves, you can see it in everything they do.  The accumulating years, the accumulating sins stick to us like fly-paper.

We all contain "trauma" in our bodies. Some of it is brought on by circumstances beyond our control, some of it is brought on by our own determined actions. You can sin your way through life, no doubt, so many of us do, but of course, you will pay the price. I am not thinking of an afterlife. Not thinking of  Eternal Damnation. You pay the price NOW, every damn day, in every way. You can turn your life into a living hell. Yes, indeed, no doubt.

The Right Words, At the Right Time...

“Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundation of our republic.” - President Joe Biden

We were surprised to discover that the big three networks, CBS, ABC, NBC were not broadcasting President Joe's "Fighting for the Soul of America" speech last night. Our local PBS station didn't broadcast it either. We did listen to it on NPR radio.

It was definitely a great speech. So of the moment. I agreed with EVERY WORD! Common-sensical. Level-headed. The right words delivered at the right time. I kept saying "Yes, of course."

The American Dream is an idea. One I have lived with my whole life. Sometimes things go my way, sometimes not, but I have never given up on the idea of Democracy, the Rule of Law, Human Rights, Progress, Fairness, Equality.

Yes, of course we need to turn away from Political Violence, and the retro-grade, Fascist MAGA Republicans. They do not represent USA. They have given up on the great idea of our American experiment. 

Most of us have not given up. We are still engaged, still dreaming, still working towards a better union. We all need to stand together to defend Democracy. President Joe said it all in one speech. Clear. Concise. Riveting. Perfect. I believe in the power of words. Words delivered in the right place, at the right time. It was that kind of speech.

The Kindness...

We came from all corners of the country to help a friend in need. A hot afternoon at the public storage facility, a dead-drop, zombie space where folks store the wilted, desiccated remains of an eventful, now sort of on the wane, life. The "geezer brigade" descending from the clouds to offer a helping hand.  A r&r "Wild Bunch." Men I haven't seen in awhile, r&r refugees, a singer, a couple of guitar-players, a radio dj, a devoted fan, seeded across various States, in various states of dress; blue-jeans, t-shirts, rumpled, funky shorts. Faces unseen since well before the pandemic, and the lockdown year. We were all a bit more grizzled, frazzled, worn, beat, some of us on the stringy, missed-a-few-meals, thin side, some of us on the slightly paunchy & debauched side. Some of us with long straggly hair, tied back in knots, or wrapped in fading colored bandanas, or under crumpled and dirty baseball caps. Made in America Men. Blue-Bubble politics. At first glance, we were all a bit unrecognizable under the long, graying locks, and scraggly hair, the overgrown stubble; a certain, determined, ornery, unkemptness. We had gathered to help move about twenty boxes of treasured vinyl records from storage into a waiting vehicle to transport across State lines. Not so difficult. Enough backs, arms and hands to make the task fairly endurable. There was a cloud of bleak sadness over the scene. Everything cheap and hard. A long-time friend down on his luck, at his wits end really, coming to claim his property. How many of these vinyl treasures would he be able to turn into cold, hard cash at auction? None of us had a clue. Lost mementos from another era, mostly records from the 60's & 70's. An era that we all carried in our bones. It all seemed sort of futile and uncertain, and hard and decidedly unfashionably grungy. Someone actually mentioned Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot." After a half hour, the bending, stretching and loading was done. Boxes stuffed into a sagging vehicle. Then a few kind words, like smoke signals, offered to all; awkward hugs, fist-bumps, and handshakes. Everyone headed off in different directions. A motley pack of Lone Wolves, r&r flotsam and jetsam, brought together by a friend, so ghostly already, dispersing into the hot breezy afternoon. Maybe we all could see a bit of ourselves in that same sad homely parking lot?  That was my thought alone. The sun blazed hot, the cars rolled out, and pointed off to different destinations across the heartland. If any of us spoke afterwards it was about something else, anything else.