Grape Kool-Aid

    I don't even have to think about it any more.  I have tried them all.  Strawberry....cherry....pink lemonade....tropical punch.   I have settled on grape.  I have even begun a campaign to produce Grape Kool-Aid cologne. Imagine the heads that will turn at the night clubs.   The bathroom attendant can toss the Cool Water.   I might even bathe in it if it wouldn't turn my skin purple.   Imagine the pleasured recognition as I pass people in the street.  Smiles....only smiles.    And then wonder and curiosity.  The familiarity vague but true.  " Doesn't that man smell like....like.....ummm....I know!! .._- Grape Kool-aid!?!?!!!".
     Yes.  It's true.   Grape Kool-Aid has an almost universal appeal.  It cures tooth-aches and head wounds.  Quenches thirsts.  A cold glass of it can make you warm inside. Gives you that big...bright....happy...ear to ear Kool-aid smile!  Buy a packet today!   Put a few powdered pinches in your pockets.  Sprinkle some on your dashboard.    Watch the world change around you.
       Grape Kool-Aid.  I'm not even kidding.  Grape Kool-Aid.  It's the answer!

Die! Dale Carnegie, Die!

   

    Eternal flame requires eternal fuel.  The lucid logic drawn from humility and experience and expressed in Dale Carnegie's work,  had been used as a tool for business leaders for the better part of  a century.  It's relevance seemingly immortal as the simple logic was cast in type and reprinted for worldwide consumption.

 Finally,  the flame of his work is being snuffed by a new understanding.  Simple binary code.

     The need for understanding of human relations is now irrelevant. Positive motivations wreckless and innefficient.  Productivity  more efficiently accomplished through fear...coercion....intimidation.  Faces and handshakes replaced by spreadsheets and typeface.  Global courtships only imagine the reality of human flesh. The masses  too large to discern an individual.
     Even early slave owners understood that it was more efficient to work a slave to death ,  than to try to keep him into his old age.
      The awesome efficiency of the numbers.  The quickest way from A to B....is to cut through your humanity.  Dale Carnegie has been the ball and chain that has kept this age's  awesome efficiency from reaching it's full potential.  He must finally die...

Unending Desire!

Hunger......when  occasionally satisfied...sets a mind to wander. It begins a fateful journey we must all take.     
Creating new hungers, ...new thirsts,  that must be fed and quenched.
 For a mind's emptiness longs to be filled with something.....
And though forever filled it forever yearns in an endless paradox of emptiness.
     And so it becomes that we must be fed from the human menu of insatiability.
 Often what we have been given ...or fed....becomes a right, and not a desire.

   
......Desire.  ....the mind's own witless creation.
A stream that must be swum across,  so that we may rest on one desirable rock...and another....and then another.....the climactic opposite shore sometimes coming into fair view,...   and then fading away in the fog.   A fog becoming so dense at times .... obscuring the next rock.
  And then we leap...or swim...or wade through murky waters to each new steadying rock. 
 When the fog of the obscure unknown finally lifts,  we find that winter has overtaken the landscape....and our desires turn back to rocks already leaped upon.

   
The bottomless pit and pain of hunger.  Of desire.  The soothing sweetness of satisfying it...
                  forever fleeting.

It is more our nature to be hungry,  than to wallow in sinful contentment.

Swing Low

 America's emerging economy had always depended on slave labor.

 But one day, the inner voice that had been crying out could be muffled no longer. Cursed conscience...creator of sin...finally chiseled a path from subdued subconscious to surface in a Civil War. 

Sweet emancipation!  Freedom found !  

250 years had passed in America's history before we finally weighed the economic benefits of robbing human souls against human dignity and freedom.

      

Alas, how will the fuel behind our economic engine be replaced?  We will never again stoop to the hypocrisy we allowed in the name of our economic well-being. After all...this is America!  Land of the free!
      

As we rose in economic power, we began to understand a simple fact : MONEY BUYS FREEDOM. 

Maybe it is okay to trade our wealth in values for economic wealth. Instead of earning freedom, we'll just buy it.   Whatever the cost.
       

Forever fighting conscience....that evil leech...creator of our sin...,  we have moved the slave labor to other lands. China...Mexico   ....whoever we can buy into slavery.   Propping up our economy while turning a blind eye to the sad reality that we STILL depend on slavery for freedom.

      

And who is next?  Who will be the next poor souls used as slave labor to keep this "economy" alive?   Why....it will be you...and me...and all of us who have slowly but surely succumbed to the oppression of taxation.  You are already captive in indentured servitude to "the system".  Insidiously changing your values of freedom through incrementalism and assimilation.   

"We"....are the next slaves that will prop up this American economy......

Do Your Job

"   Hey,  I was just doin' my job...."
I have heard this phrase chimed time and time again .   It has become a rationale for some of the most horrendous inflictions of human injustices.

 Your "job" ...somehow linked to your value here on earth...has become "who you are"....in the perception of your own mind and in the mind's of others. Fireman= Hero.  Garbage man= Zero.   What is one of the first things a new acquaintance will ask upon meeting for the first time?    "So,  what do you do?"....
Whatever it is that you do...don't let prestige or power,  inadequacy or weakness allow you to become what you hate.  Whatever fantasies you have let comingle and intertwine with the label of your job,  should not define you.  Define what is right within the guidelines of your heart.  You are not your job, even though it provides you with a feeling of self-worth.  Think back to times you have done the wrong things ,  yet you were able to rationalize....only because you could say......"Hey, ...I was just doin' my job....."

Row Your Boat

     Discover the invariable link between fantasy and reality. Within it is a moment of truth. As we fondly reflect on life's memories,  or haphazardly gaze into our future....we embark on a journey...of fantasy. When we bring these memories to our mind's forefront... the here and now,....that moment is true...and cannot be disputed.  Unfortunately, that moment has since past with the last stroke of this pen...
      We were given the freedom of a  simple choice......to row your boat towards the light,  or to  slump your  shoulders, give up, fall asleep and drift into darkness. The gentle streams lulling you as whitewater approaches.

       Merrilly!   Merrilly!!
" If you ain't makin' waves.....y'aint paddlin'! "   (modern American Socrates, T. Nugent)
       The voice of dissent is a necessary one.  You must contantly stick your paddle into the muck to keep from running aground,....feverishly stroke to avert tragedy, and every once in awhile,  wave your oars in the air so those traveling your straits can throw you  lines of inspiration.

     "Merrilly, merrilly.....Merrilly, merrilly!!  Remember that between your life' s memories, and it's fantasies of the future lies a moment in truth.  You are in that moment.....

Obama to Mitt Romney: " Will you marry me!?" ...

     Bypassing the legal wrangling of civil union, Barack Obama let his true feelings be known this weekend , and offered wedded bliss to his once political adversary Mitt Romney.

 Tearful Mitt , overcome with emotion, blindsided and floored by the proposal, stumbled for words ...but quickly accepted when promised the wedding would be at the White House on Inauguration Day 2013.  Ensuring a co-presidency in the spirit of Bill and Hillary Clinton,  Romney lauded the strategy,  and promised that he could accept the ideal of marriage without love.

Obama, ever the romantic, swore that he could learn to love Mitt,   and would like to begin a family with him by adopting Newt Gingrich.

Michelle Obama, at first jealous and enraged  upon hearing of the proposal, softened a bit when Hillary Clinton suggested a 3- way marriage with her and former co-president Bill Clinton .  Bill quipped "  Love without marriage just ain't right"......."marriage without love.....that's what it's all about , man ".  He promised Michelle and Hillary that they could take turns at the podium,  should their adventure catapult Hillary to the White House in 2016.

The Emotion of Numbers

                                                                  

                                             I like numbers. 

 

There have been many times in my life that I have taken sanctuary in them. 

They have no bias of their own. 

They exhibit no frivolity or emotion, and are not proliferous of their own accord.  

They are...Sanctuary...from the chaos that is the ebb and flow of the human mind and the human condition.

                        But they also have no heart or passion.

          It is this heart and passion that can skew their innocent truth.

   

It has always been a basic premise when interpreting statistics....to explore their inverse. 

 Little bits...and sometimes large bites ...of truth lie there in waste. 

The truth is not seeded by someone else's emotions, drive, opinions, bias, or by their cursed indoctrination. 

You may choose what you want to believe...and wrap a statistic around it for validity. 

                                           But it still may not be true.
   

 "There are lies,  there are damn lies,  and then there are statistics..."  (Samuel Clemens)

High End Skills

Your skill set. Steadily honed and molded throughout your years. A mind that has endured an evolution.  From a shapeless grey lump of clay working with bear claws and stone knives to a heaving breathing life form created by societies desires. High end skills...streaking across bright blue skies at high altitude while everyone else takes a pony ride. Capable of reaching your destination at speeds unknown to those below you. Finely tuned and efficient...you are approaching genius in your field!

But when the engines start to sputter....when the wings are shot off your plane....when your co-pilot  wants his shot at the yoke,...and you find yourself nose-diving in a flaming fireball....your skill set becomes obsolete.

    But you brought your parachute,  and land softly and on dry land.  Your mind of clay left in the kiln has hardened. Your high-end skills more useless than those stone knives and bear-claws.
     You begin to realize that your survival depends on how well you can hit a hammer.

Old Age is Wasted on the Old

• "Youth is wasted on the young".   Most of us have become familiar with this common and cliche'd adage. We understand it's sentiment.  "Oh!  If I knew then what I know now......!"

But it is not a truth. Youth ...and all of it's wonderful naivety...innocence...deserves it's time .
  Old age is wasted on the old,  if they do not appreciate their time....
I would not take a day of that wonderful youth and scourge it with the obfuscation brought and burdened with time . Or take away the wonder of new experience...the fulfillment of learning...the recklessness and passion of love.

Old age is wasted on the old...if they are envious and unsatisfied with  their arrival there.  They can relish the experience that youth can only yearn for.  Embrace this  moment.  It is yours,  and can be had by no other.

Proving Grounds

 

 Your greatest act as an American citizen might not be what you think it is.   You vote. You pay your taxes.  You obey the law. You enlisted. You served. You fought.You don't complain. You returned your shopping cart.    You are a "good"  American.
 

   But your greatest act as an American might be one of civil disobedience. Proof....solid and true...that you would stand up to tyranny ,  and that those certain unalienable rights endowed by your Creator,  are ...in fact..above the law. That many, many of your fellow citizens...jailed in the name of the law....perhaps should be free?  That a life may be ended against the laws of your Creator,  but within the laws of your American citizenry?

     So after you are done playing model citizen,  understand you have done the easy part.  Risk jailtime?  Maybe just a little?  I don't blame you for being scared. For returning to the safety and comfort of "model citizen" .   Don't give in to satanic impulses that might drive you over the edge.  Snuff the flame and quiet the burning embers with the blanket of your complacency.  Which is more American?  To ignore your God-given rights in the name of your American citizenry?  Or to invoke those rights in an act of civil disobedience....?

The Battle for Naivety

   Innocence  lost. Oh, how we should anguish in the day that the wicked curse of knowledge invaded our purity. If only we could recapture that special time. A soul unencumbered...smiling happily without the tumorous complication that erupted when the quest began.

The unquenchable thirst. The insatiable hunger.  Forced to shake hands with this evil and feel it's cold embrace. The unquestioning radiance of your innocent soul slowly dimmed by dark gray clouds. Your naivety bursting from the heavens trying to make it's way back home.

     The rest of your life will be your personal  battle for naivety. For a return to the innocence that was somehow gifted you through the light of your consciousness. It is a battle you MUST fight, and fight to win.  The alternative is all consuming relentless eternal hell.
     Learn to love your naivety. Revisit it whenever you can find it again.  It is a child lost in thickets of curs-ed knowledge, the pure radiance of his soul mired in the thorny briars.
      Knowledge obscures truths found only in the soul.

What Makes A Grown Man Cry

A grown man.  Stoic and unflinching. Confident and steadfast. Accumulated knowledge...experience..wisdom.   Able to anticipate and prepare for almost any circumstance. Blocking and channeling the chemistry that might lead to a tear's production. Guiding the torrents of would-be anguish to his reservoir of strength.

Silvering hairs proof that his crying days are over. Childhood days when he ran to his mother over a simple skinned knee. The pain he felt taken away by her loving embrace.  Skinned knees are nothing now. Deep wounds and battle scars he can handle on his own.  A testament to his acquired mental strength.  He is a man now.

  But what can make a grown man cry...are the days he must watch his mother die.

A child again, as his mother, frail and weakened,  reaches for his silver covered head and consoles him once again with her undying love.  Salted tears breaking the levies,  and he is a boy again in the arms of his mother....

The Wrong Guy, by chance?

Helplessly searching for solace ,  and acting on a whirlwind of emotion...we sometimes desperately seek out  "someone to blame".  Injustices. Tragedies. Murder...Death....Sickness...Accidents.  Quick to malign anyone within vengeance's reach,  to quiet the burning rage or deepening sadness. We are always looking for someone to condemn....

We all know that it is a murderer who is to blame for his unthinkable deed.   We can't find him.  But dammit!  SOMEONE must be held accountable!                                         The guy whose gun was stolen. The clerk at the Walmart. The nurse who didn't perform cpr. The ambulance driver who got there in 9 minutes instead of 6. The owner of the parking lot with inadequate lighting. The sleeping security guard. The manufacturer of the R.I P. bullet.  The 911 operator. The cops who can't find the guy. The system that let him out on parole.

You've got the Wrong Guy!

In these these seemingly unfair, unjust, painful circumstances...remember the bad guy!
There is a perpetrator....and it is not "everyone I can get my hands on"....
There are circumstances of Fate...Accident...and Life,  where there was no malice. Sometimes the only thing you are a victim of,  ....is Chance.

It's time to stop blaming the Wrong Guy.....

Put Up Your Dukes

 Shocking insolence.  Degrading insults. Boisterous belligerence. Insulting innuendo. Exploited fear.  Defamatory tones. Dishonored beliefs. Threats to your way of life. Duty, Honor, Country.
      Your culture.  Who you are. What you believe. Your family.Your marriage. Your friends. The innocence of your children. Your future.  Validation of your past. Defense of your race. Disgraced religion. Oppression. Repressed power.  Life, Liberty, Happiness.  Brotherhood of man. Demasculization. Scorn and jealousy.  Virtuous vanity. Temporary insanity. Anger and rage. Greed. Lust . Hate.  Cohesiveness. Order. Society. Civilization. Love. ......Disease.
     Dammit man! Put up your dukes....and fight!  Raw and instinctive emotion jolting you into action. Unknown justifications with known virtue. Ending in battle wounds ...pain ....or ultimate death .  Hopeful of victory.   Sanctified causes blinding the mere notion of defeat...
      " You never really know what you are fighting for...until you lose...".  Ernest Hemingway

Finding It Hard to Apologize

Probably the biggest reason people don't say "I'm sorry".....is because they are NOT.    You can wait around for your deserved apology,  or imagine that "they ARE sorry,  but it is just too difficult for them to voice that sentiment."  Deep....deep down inside,  it is probably their pride (you conjecture).... that keeps them from uttering those emotional and empathetic words .....those words that will evoke true forgiveness....cage animosity ...and prove love and humility.  But you never hear them say it.
But the truth is that the biggest reason people don't say "I'm sorry"......is because they're not!

Who are they?

       Almost daily, I hear how they have messed things up.  How "they" aren't doing enough. How stupid "they " are.    How "they" have spent way too much money!  How "they" have regulated too much" . How "they" have regulated too little.  How "they" won't give us a home, a life, a chance, or universal healthcare.  How "they" have corrupted the system. How "they" only care about the money. How "they" lack the morals we all hold dear.  How "they" have no regard for the little guy and cater to the rich. How "they" gave us a ticket we didn't deserve.
       We have summarily relinquished ourselves from blame.  We have relieved our common conscience by creating a common evil entity for which to blame our sins.
       "They".... are us.   "They"... are a mirrors reflection....that through some strange cerebral ocular regeneration,   sees absolutely nothing. It can't be me.  It must be them.
      We are supposed to be running the show!   Why then,   are we not blaming the current state of affairs on ourselves?  Why have we created an unknown entity for which we can assign blame?
  

   We have lost our way. Values of liberty and freedom have been replaced by security and greed...not just on Wall Street,  but in each of our personal lives. Being the richest country in the world is not what makes us the greatest nation in the world. Our wealth will always be in the values of freedom and liberty that set off an explosion in our human soul. Our own little-big bang