When I was in high school biology class with the one and only Ms. Dettmer I can clearly remember her holding up a jar filled with water that had a plant with an extensive root system filling the glass and in her thick German accent saying "Dis plant vould not live vitout da root system! Do you zee dat everything in nature has itz roots! Every ecosystem dat has adapted to zee environment has roots you can zee and zome you cannot see! Every food chain from da smallest plankton to da biggest vale is all about a root system!" Now Ms. D had a bit of trouble with the English language and my German at the time was limited to two hours a week, mostly because Heidi took German too but I got her drift. Everything in life has a root cause...everything... and as I have gotten older and more observant I see that the root cause of every challenge is where true and lasting change can take place....but first one has to have the courage to dig thru alot of dirt to get down to the nitty gritty of what is...and why it is...what it is.
For humans, our belief systems are like the branches of a tree, shooting out in every direction according to what we believe to be true. The world is filled with forests that have all manner of tree in them, each vying for their place, the nourishment and to keep their roots intact. For example-take a look...a hard look...no a real hard look at the roots of your political views. If you are dirt honest with yourself the chances are that how you see politics is something that you observed, learned or heard growing up. As a kid growing up in the 60's and 70's in Chicago my dad was a dyed in the wool Daley Democrat..Hizzoner the Mayor Richard J Daley had been in power for many years and the talk around our table is something that fed my roots-that Chicago was the greatest city in the world...that its the city that works...that if you needed a new garbage can the alderman was a call away...and to be a Daley Democrat..well...that's just the way it was. So my roots grew and grew and got connected over and over again...a belief was born. When Daley died and others took his place over the years, I could not BELIEVE it...did not match up with what my roots told me was the way of things. The city would fall apart...the alderman would not take a call...what then? Of course the city did not fold, the garbage got collected and eventually a new belief formed...not everything I believed was true...unless I made it so. It took years to begin to form new roots, new beliefs politically and go against the grain as it were when I felt it time to do so. Roots are neither good nor bad...they are just roots.
Each of us is governed by the roots that we have sunk deep into the fertile soil of our minds and by doing so we have acted on those roots as if they are the absolute truth-even though they are only true because we continually think they are. Someone has roots that said they should always clean their plate because there are starving kids in China grows up to be overweight and may not even really understand why. A marriage falls apart after one partner's beliefs are rooted in feeling not good enough because of birth order and spends a lifetime making that belief true, even though they once again end up miserable and no matter what the other partner says or does cannot change the behavior so deeply rooted in perception kept alive by belief. Every racist has its roots...every Christian...every..body has their roots..Sometimes these are toxic roots that have to be dug out over a long period of time, for if left deep in the soil of the soul, they continue to send negative, non-life affirming branches into every area of life. As the season to tend the yard is upon us you can mow down all the dandelions and it appears they are gone-but give it a few days and bang...there they are again. Pulling them out by the roots is the only way to truly change a landscape...be it your yard...or your life. Every problem our country has...and every problem in our lives..have their roots...that if go unexamined or unchallenged or unchanged...creates havoc in our lives. You cannot fix a problem at the effects of it...you have to be at the root cause for transformation to take place.
But alas most do not want to pull out the roots...because it hurts so frigging much. For the most part humans would rather endure the short fixes that appear to solve the problem..moving...drinking..eating..shopping..gadgets... that change nothing in the long run and it only increases the pain that comes from being afraid to do the ultimate root canal...on the soul and the unwillingness to dig in the dirt creates pain that radiates out to every branch and every leaf. Its good to remember that the roots that need to be pulled out...aren't yours anyway..they were fed and watered by someone else in the formative stages of life. So you don't have to blame yourself...or even those that encouraged or discouraged the growth pattern that no longer serves. Your only mission...should you choose to accept it is that the spade is in your hands..and no other. No one else can dig out your roots for you. Not even Ms. Dettmer.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Believe it or Not
When I say that I am "blogging my way to sanity" you can rest assured that its a true statement. We live in a world that by all accounts- appears to be slipping from sanity-to insanity. Webster's defines insanity as a "mental disorder" but thats as far as it will go. I suppose we would need a collective "sane zone" that would be determined as a place that is mentally stable or at least a code of conduct or movement that is accepted by the masses-a group of people number to be determined- that agree upon a basic course of human action that allows for each to express themselves-without doing harm to another. Harm of course would also have to be in the eyes and ears of the one being harmed-because each of us have our own built in lines of sanity that we adhere to. What determines the lines? Belief.
Osama Bin Laden is dead. He was shot in the head twice and once in the chest by an elite Navy Seals team while he was living in Pakistan. Apparently his public persona needed him to be on the run and living among caves and bombed out camps to keep his terrorist followers motivated that he was just like them-even though nothing could be further from the truth. He was the son of Mohammed Bin Laden a wealthy businessman and his mother was Mohammed's tenth (10th) wife-the lovely Hammida al-Attas. Mohammed was off to his 11th wife so Osama's parents divorced and he was then raised with three half-brothers and one half-sister when his mother remarried. Little Osama was lost in the shuffle.
Osama was raised as a devout Muslim. From 1968 to 1976, he attended the "élite" secular Al-Thager School where Osama studied economics and bussiness adminstration at King Abdulaziz University. Some reports suggest Osama earned a degree in civil engineering in 1979, or a degree in public administration in 1981. Other sources describe him as "hard working,"but having left university during his third year without completing a college degree. At university, Osama's main interest was religion, where he was involved in both "interpreting the Quran and jihad" and charitable work. He also wrote poetry. No really..he wrote poetry but then again so does Charles Manson.
Somewhere in all of this-a belief was born that the only way to set the world right and restore the Muslim world was to eliminate threats to it-anything that did not fit his version of what had been written centuries before had to go-and like most who confuse force with power, he was able to enlist young Muslim men that live on less than a dollar a day that salvation and favor would be found by becoming an "Army for Allah" and set about using humans as mortars for his crusade. On 9/11 his fate was sealed as the mastermind of the attacks on US soil which placed him on a list of men that throughout history changed the course of life as we know it. Hitler, Stalin, Hirohito, Leopold..take your pick. All those names and more have two things in common- 1) Somewhere along the line their wiring got crossed and they began to see the world from an insane perspective and 2) They all brought about their own demise by their beliefs and for the most part never thought it would happen. They all felt they were above their actions until sanity and perservence took them out, some by their own hand others by a Navy Seal.
The world is a better place without Bin Laden, but by no means is it safer. We can do the celebration "we got em" dance but truth is right now-somewhere out there is another Bin Laden or Timothy McVeigh who isnt getting enough attention or parents are divorcing or is getting slapped around or molested or whatever. It might be seeing the photo of Bin Laden who they believe died in a sacred jihad and is now banging away at 70 virgins is just the thing needed to have one of them say..." I want to be like him..."
I had never heard of the 70 virgin thing until after 9/11 but could imagine how some kid with nothing and longs for something would think that blowing himself up in the name of Allah would guarantee him a ticket to some serious skin would not think twice. Heck I had people I have known all my life believe that President Obama was born in Kenya and no amount of proof could change their minds. Every belief we have is constantly reinforced by our behavior-unless it is changed...and of course the only person that likes change is a wet baby.
Bin Laden died 65 years later to the day that Hitler pulled the trigger on his Lugar which has some wondering about the connection between the two. While the differences are obvious, Bin Laden at 6'5 and left handed with a serious kidney problem towered over the 5'6..uh left handed one testicled dictator. Wait a minute..65 years...Bin Laden was 6'5 and Hitler 5'6 both left handed...both sported some sort of facial hair..and had problems in the same basic anatomy set up. Hmmm..sorry for the detour.
Bottom line is that we live in a world of beliefs that have been either handed down from generation to generation or are born in an instant when in a moment someone takes an old belief and applies it to a new situation...like flying planes into buildings or executing millions of Jews. Both Osama Bin Laden and Adolf Hitler had another thing in common-they both believed what they were doing was right. Both have followers that still believe they are. We believe differently. We must...to remain sane.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Rome, USA
"We are up Shit Creek"...sorry... but I always wanted to start a paragraph with those words. Up Shit Creek is usually followed by "without a paddle" indicating that there is some situation we are facing that is akin to floating along in a river of excrement of some sort and the solution is not within our reach-we cannot extract ourselves without a paddle...we cannot navigate our way out of the situation we have gotten ourselves into-either individually or collectively. Five minutes or less of the morning news confirms the fact the humanity is in serious trouble from environmental disasters, economic collapse, political scandal, war, famine, religious intolerance, and the best contestant being kicked off America Idol...Shit Creek is a real place with real problems and someone somewhere either forgot to give us a paddle, took away our paddles or we gave up on using the paddle and have decided the effort to paddle one more time is not worth it...of course Shit Creek winds its way to Shit City and you know what that's all about.
Back when Romans were on a binge to conquer the world they boasted modern day technology like..roads..sewer systems...public baths...made great contributions in architecture...and of course you have Rome to thank for the NFL..coliseums that holds thousands watching our version of gladiators at battle. For nearly one thousand years Rome ruled the world...but fell apart not because they did not appease their Gods or were overrun by the hordes of heathens or from some great plague carried on the back of rodents. Rome fell not because of the walls that kept enemies out failed..it was the enemies within that ended the great civilization.
Edward Gibbon wrote the classic "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" and in that work pointed to five main causes of breakdown in the Roman society that led to the collapse. Lets see if any of what brought Rome to a fiery end is taking up space in America today. 1) Families began to fail and fall apart due in part to the changing of societal norms. 2) Taxes were pushed higher and higher over time and used on superficial programs instead of maintain things like education and infrastructure.3) The over promotion of sports and the increasing brutality of the games began to shift focus from the lessons of sport to the business of sport. 4) Decadence became acceptable, from screwing in the streets to massive orgies...sex became a focal point with lead to the 5th factor-a loss of connection to a higher power that was pushed aside in favor of the gods they had created..wealth at all costs...trinkets, idols and estates..."things" became more important than "truth."
The parallels are so obvious I would be wasting time to point them out. Technology has given us access to all that spelled the end for Rome at the push of a button. In 21st century America we think we know everything because we have everything-and even when we have what we want- we want more. We lust for what we do not have..and so often fail to be thankful for what we do. The 1st step in making our way out of shit creek is to accept that we put ourselves in Shit Creek-and for a species that has a hard time admitting to just about anything being our responsibility that's a tall order.-You are responsible for your part. The 2nd step is to understand we already have the paddles but... why should I use mine if other people aren't going to pitch in an use theirs? Paddle anyway-The 3rd step-take someone with you-not by telling them-forcing them or berating them-but by example. 4th step-Shit Creek exists because we keep filling it up with all sorts of crap-politically and professionally and personally. Stop adding your shit. Finally the 5th step is simple. If you want to stay out of shit creek choose the people in your boat carefully. Birds of a feather and all that...not easy to do in a corporate environment-or even the people you hang with-but you have a choice. Its not falling in shit creek that will kill you-its swimming in it every day that will take you out.
The Romans thought they were invincible. They were wrong. Start paddling.....
Back when Romans were on a binge to conquer the world they boasted modern day technology like..roads..sewer systems...public baths...made great contributions in architecture...and of course you have Rome to thank for the NFL..coliseums that holds thousands watching our version of gladiators at battle. For nearly one thousand years Rome ruled the world...but fell apart not because they did not appease their Gods or were overrun by the hordes of heathens or from some great plague carried on the back of rodents. Rome fell not because of the walls that kept enemies out failed..it was the enemies within that ended the great civilization.
Edward Gibbon wrote the classic "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" and in that work pointed to five main causes of breakdown in the Roman society that led to the collapse. Lets see if any of what brought Rome to a fiery end is taking up space in America today. 1) Families began to fail and fall apart due in part to the changing of societal norms. 2) Taxes were pushed higher and higher over time and used on superficial programs instead of maintain things like education and infrastructure.3) The over promotion of sports and the increasing brutality of the games began to shift focus from the lessons of sport to the business of sport. 4) Decadence became acceptable, from screwing in the streets to massive orgies...sex became a focal point with lead to the 5th factor-a loss of connection to a higher power that was pushed aside in favor of the gods they had created..wealth at all costs...trinkets, idols and estates..."things" became more important than "truth."
The parallels are so obvious I would be wasting time to point them out. Technology has given us access to all that spelled the end for Rome at the push of a button. In 21st century America we think we know everything because we have everything-and even when we have what we want- we want more. We lust for what we do not have..and so often fail to be thankful for what we do. The 1st step in making our way out of shit creek is to accept that we put ourselves in Shit Creek-and for a species that has a hard time admitting to just about anything being our responsibility that's a tall order.-You are responsible for your part. The 2nd step is to understand we already have the paddles but... why should I use mine if other people aren't going to pitch in an use theirs? Paddle anyway-The 3rd step-take someone with you-not by telling them-forcing them or berating them-but by example. 4th step-Shit Creek exists because we keep filling it up with all sorts of crap-politically and professionally and personally. Stop adding your shit. Finally the 5th step is simple. If you want to stay out of shit creek choose the people in your boat carefully. Birds of a feather and all that...not easy to do in a corporate environment-or even the people you hang with-but you have a choice. Its not falling in shit creek that will kill you-its swimming in it every day that will take you out.
The Romans thought they were invincible. They were wrong. Start paddling.....
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Growing Pains
When my son Andy was about 12 or 13 he used to wake up in the middle of the night agonizing about the pain in his knees. His cries would of course bring dad to the rescue with little to offer in the way of relief and I would say "Andy, you are having growing pains-meaning that someday you will not be the height you are now but much taller. In order to become your full potential you are going to have these pains now and then." Later on I came up with a novel idea called "The Magic Towel" that I created and insisted to both kids that it held the secret to pain relief. When the pains came I would take out the cloth that was nothing more than an old kitchen towel, and wrap it around their knees until the pain subsided and then it was back to bed for me.
I am reminded of growing pains when it comes to the current (current meaning ongoing for the most part) budget "crisis" in Washington. We are all in pain on many fronts, at the gas pump, at the grocery store, in our schools and in no longer foreign lands as we remain in Afghanistan 11 years and counting not to mention ongoing operations in Iraq and support in Libya. The pain felt by our soldiers and their families is the same pain they has always been dealt with by those who serve. Woulda been great if the "War to End all Wars" had actually worked but once humans found out how much can be made off a government contract (uhh 7 billion dollars for an engine on an airplane the does not exist) the war thing became a profit thing... America is in serious debt with more zeroes than I care to count. The last time the checkbook had some extra cash in it was in 2000-when Clinton left office (Bill not George.)There are of course are those that cite somehow the previous administration of Bush (George H) had a ripple effect making wild Bill look good for the 8 years he was in the big chair-but the bottom line is that the jobless rate was about 4% and there were more jobs than humans to take them when Willie left. The next 8 years GWB rode in like a Texas Tiger and by the time he left 2009 we had deficit of 1.3 Trillion due in large part to 9/11 and chasing down the still at large Osama Bin Laden (how does a 6'5 bearded turban wearing kidney dialysis patient who is the most wanted man in the world still run amok?) Afghanistan-Iraq and a host of other wonderful joy filled excursions (main street bailing out Wall Street) that all have to be paid for by US. So Pres O enters the fray 24 months ago and tries to bring some sort of civility to the squealing two legged that we elected up near the Potomac and despite his intellectual yearnings the kids on both sides of the aisle have decided not to play nice and the government as we know it might end up shutting down...or it might not. Both sides of course have "THE RIGHT ANSWER" and blame throwers on are full blast. All this is causing pain for our soldiers, their families whose paychecks (meager as they are) might not be worth the paper they are printed on and not to mention that if they shut the lights off in DC most of the animals in the national zoo will not get fed (lions and tigers will I am told-so they don't end up eating the zebras in the next pen.) So as MSNBC and Fox line up their respective go-to talking heads on how both sides are right- I had a thought....
Lets get a magic towel! Yeah we could go out and buy a bunch of towels and head off to the nation's capitol..march past the Washington monument.. "I cannot tell a lie.." and right past Abe in his really big chair "A house divided cannot stand" and then over to the Senate and House and in the midst of all the "the other side is causing the American people undue pain" blather simply take the towels (not big ones-a hand towel will do) and gently..ever so gently shove the towel into the rear anal area (or ass) of our elected officials. This will do one of two things immediately.. 1) Won't have to hear anymore "America is bankrupt and I KNOW HOW TO FIX IT BUT YOU DON'T" crap and 2) It will force them to stop speaking out of their asses in use other parts of their anatomy-perhaps their ears to listen twice as much as they talk.
There are no easy answers here. It took alot of incidents-some unseen-some foreseen and even more behind the scenes (how many mobile homes purchased at triple the going rate for Katrina are still unused?) to put us in the financial pickle we are in. What is needed is a commitment from both sides to find common ground and chip away at the debt in a way that causes the least pain possible. For every government cutback-someone loses a job. For every social program that goes unfunded someone misses a meal or after school program. For sure there is waste enough to go around but the biggest waste is the time spent by Democrats and Republicans trying to use this issue...and come to think of it every issue- as a proving ground for their ideology.
We are a very young country by world standards-and growing up as previously mentioned is not without its pains....but one day we have to learn to stand on our own two feet and get past what hurts and accept the fact that the only way to become a grown up is to start acting like one.
I am reminded of growing pains when it comes to the current (current meaning ongoing for the most part) budget "crisis" in Washington. We are all in pain on many fronts, at the gas pump, at the grocery store, in our schools and in no longer foreign lands as we remain in Afghanistan 11 years and counting not to mention ongoing operations in Iraq and support in Libya. The pain felt by our soldiers and their families is the same pain they has always been dealt with by those who serve. Woulda been great if the "War to End all Wars" had actually worked but once humans found out how much can be made off a government contract (uhh 7 billion dollars for an engine on an airplane the does not exist) the war thing became a profit thing... America is in serious debt with more zeroes than I care to count. The last time the checkbook had some extra cash in it was in 2000-when Clinton left office (Bill not George.)There are of course are those that cite somehow the previous administration of Bush (George H) had a ripple effect making wild Bill look good for the 8 years he was in the big chair-but the bottom line is that the jobless rate was about 4% and there were more jobs than humans to take them when Willie left. The next 8 years GWB rode in like a Texas Tiger and by the time he left 2009 we had deficit of 1.3 Trillion due in large part to 9/11 and chasing down the still at large Osama Bin Laden (how does a 6'5 bearded turban wearing kidney dialysis patient who is the most wanted man in the world still run amok?) Afghanistan-Iraq and a host of other wonderful joy filled excursions (main street bailing out Wall Street) that all have to be paid for by US. So Pres O enters the fray 24 months ago and tries to bring some sort of civility to the squealing two legged that we elected up near the Potomac and despite his intellectual yearnings the kids on both sides of the aisle have decided not to play nice and the government as we know it might end up shutting down...or it might not. Both sides of course have "THE RIGHT ANSWER" and blame throwers on are full blast. All this is causing pain for our soldiers, their families whose paychecks (meager as they are) might not be worth the paper they are printed on and not to mention that if they shut the lights off in DC most of the animals in the national zoo will not get fed (lions and tigers will I am told-so they don't end up eating the zebras in the next pen.) So as MSNBC and Fox line up their respective go-to talking heads on how both sides are right- I had a thought....
Lets get a magic towel! Yeah we could go out and buy a bunch of towels and head off to the nation's capitol..march past the Washington monument.. "I cannot tell a lie.." and right past Abe in his really big chair "A house divided cannot stand" and then over to the Senate and House and in the midst of all the "the other side is causing the American people undue pain" blather simply take the towels (not big ones-a hand towel will do) and gently..ever so gently shove the towel into the rear anal area (or ass) of our elected officials. This will do one of two things immediately.. 1) Won't have to hear anymore "America is bankrupt and I KNOW HOW TO FIX IT BUT YOU DON'T" crap and 2) It will force them to stop speaking out of their asses in use other parts of their anatomy-perhaps their ears to listen twice as much as they talk.
There are no easy answers here. It took alot of incidents-some unseen-some foreseen and even more behind the scenes (how many mobile homes purchased at triple the going rate for Katrina are still unused?) to put us in the financial pickle we are in. What is needed is a commitment from both sides to find common ground and chip away at the debt in a way that causes the least pain possible. For every government cutback-someone loses a job. For every social program that goes unfunded someone misses a meal or after school program. For sure there is waste enough to go around but the biggest waste is the time spent by Democrats and Republicans trying to use this issue...and come to think of it every issue- as a proving ground for their ideology.
We are a very young country by world standards-and growing up as previously mentioned is not without its pains....but one day we have to learn to stand on our own two feet and get past what hurts and accept the fact that the only way to become a grown up is to start acting like one.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Its Just A Buck
Its been awhile since I have lost so much shoe leather on a city street. This past week in New York has me eating more and losing more weight at the same time-one cancelling out the other to a degree which is my next book..." Walk Your Ass Off"....and as I cruise up and down the narrow streets of The Big Apple I am struck by the diversity of cultures, the push and pull of the crowds, the vendors with music blaring selling everything from Statue of Liberty erasers to half price tickets to a strip joint to the high end stuff like cameras and computers. Its how they make a living and live their lives...every day of the year. As I watch the sea of humanity devour the concrete I wonder how all this happened...watching a cabbie nearly take out a delivery guy on a bike or high school kid tell me that there are some fine young breasts with my name on them for only $25 bucks at the peep show has me wondering if we are really the greatest hope of the planet, the top of the food chain and the most intelligent life in the universe or are we just another species that procreated and got outta control and took over our host planet like so many parasites. Sometimes seeing the Divine is a hard thing to do when all around you is chaos, stress, despair and pain.
I was heading up 8th street from an early feeding and making my way through the drizzle and wet wind, stopping once in an Army/Navy store looking for a ball cap to prepare for the predicted shitty weather tomorrow. Nothing suitable so off I go toward the apartment I am staying in and just as I round the corner going to 52nd street I see a sign that says "What the F**K its just a Buck.." and seated next to the miniature billboard is a woman...a young woman covered in coats and assorted blankets with various bags strewn about and a medium sized black Labrador dog in a half sleeping bag next to her. In front of them was a small red dog dish with a few coins in it. People hurried past her ahead of me, making sure not to look too long and all the while the seated woman was doing what appeared to be a crossword puzzle. As I made my toward her my instinct was to dip into my pocket-grab the change leftover from my meal and deposit it in the dog dish. As I came closer The Voice says.."just watch."
I made my way past her and stood in the drizzle watching her and the dog from about twenty feet away. I watched they way people looked at her...this young woman who is someones daughter...this young woman who might be a sister or auntie...this young woman...who has chosen on some level to sit in the rain with her dog and do crossword. Some looked at the sign and laughed...others shook their heads and most just did a quick downward glance as if they wanted to make sure it was a person they did not know from another time. One guy dropped a few bucks in the bowl..and went on his way. Then a cable TV truck pulled up on the street behind her and two guys got out. They talked on the sidewalk about some cable problem and then one guy got back into the driver seat and started doing paperwork-the other guy went into a building. Then it happened.....
"Hey..Hey..Hey you.." said the man in the van. "Yeah" said the girl. "Whats the deal..how long you been out in the rain?" She responded.."Six hours I guess...might be a little more than six hours now." The dog looked at the girl as if approving of the time period. The van man said nothing more but continued to do paperwork.. "just watch.." A few minutes later he rolled down the window and said "Hey..girl..Hey you..do you need an umbrella?"....She stopped doing crossword and turned to him..."yeah...yeah...that would be good." Van Man reached behind his seat and produced what appeared to be a brand new umbrella in a sheath..a promotional item perhaps. He tossed it to her..and in one deft move she opened it up, blue and white..."its perfect" she mumbled. She tilted on her arm against the wind and rain..the dog curled itself up tighter in the sleeping bag...the other cable guy came back and got in the truck and off they went. It took me a few minutes to realize what I had seen...what I had witnessed...what I had been taught...what we want...and what we need are two very different things...and we always get what we need...but its not usually the way we want it..."just watch."
I was heading up 8th street from an early feeding and making my way through the drizzle and wet wind, stopping once in an Army/Navy store looking for a ball cap to prepare for the predicted shitty weather tomorrow. Nothing suitable so off I go toward the apartment I am staying in and just as I round the corner going to 52nd street I see a sign that says "What the F**K its just a Buck.." and seated next to the miniature billboard is a woman...a young woman covered in coats and assorted blankets with various bags strewn about and a medium sized black Labrador dog in a half sleeping bag next to her. In front of them was a small red dog dish with a few coins in it. People hurried past her ahead of me, making sure not to look too long and all the while the seated woman was doing what appeared to be a crossword puzzle. As I made my toward her my instinct was to dip into my pocket-grab the change leftover from my meal and deposit it in the dog dish. As I came closer The Voice says.."just watch."
I made my way past her and stood in the drizzle watching her and the dog from about twenty feet away. I watched they way people looked at her...this young woman who is someones daughter...this young woman who might be a sister or auntie...this young woman...who has chosen on some level to sit in the rain with her dog and do crossword. Some looked at the sign and laughed...others shook their heads and most just did a quick downward glance as if they wanted to make sure it was a person they did not know from another time. One guy dropped a few bucks in the bowl..and went on his way. Then a cable TV truck pulled up on the street behind her and two guys got out. They talked on the sidewalk about some cable problem and then one guy got back into the driver seat and started doing paperwork-the other guy went into a building. Then it happened.....
"Hey..Hey..Hey you.." said the man in the van. "Yeah" said the girl. "Whats the deal..how long you been out in the rain?" She responded.."Six hours I guess...might be a little more than six hours now." The dog looked at the girl as if approving of the time period. The van man said nothing more but continued to do paperwork.. "just watch.." A few minutes later he rolled down the window and said "Hey..girl..Hey you..do you need an umbrella?"....She stopped doing crossword and turned to him..."yeah...yeah...that would be good." Van Man reached behind his seat and produced what appeared to be a brand new umbrella in a sheath..a promotional item perhaps. He tossed it to her..and in one deft move she opened it up, blue and white..."its perfect" she mumbled. She tilted on her arm against the wind and rain..the dog curled itself up tighter in the sleeping bag...the other cable guy came back and got in the truck and off they went. It took me a few minutes to realize what I had seen...what I had witnessed...what I had been taught...what we want...and what we need are two very different things...and we always get what we need...but its not usually the way we want it..."just watch."
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Watch The Gap
For the past week I have been ensconced in New York City, sitting on on SiriusXM Radio on the Martha Stewart Living Radio Channel which has been quite an experience since its been 15 months since I sat behind a microphone with any regularity and nearly five years or more since I did the 3 hour a day back to back to back thing on LIVE radio...which is the only way to be...LIVE.
Stayed in Manhattan a couple nights but for the past few days been bunking with friends about 25 miles or so outside of The Big Apple which entails taking a train back and forth each morning and evening. When I am home in Upper Michigan the mode of transportation is by automobile...here throngs use the railways to commute and its a pleasant 40 minute ride or so right next to the Hudson River which is truly a remarkable landscape to behold. I imagine the first native people of the area living and thriving along its banks, fishing and hunting and its as if I can almost see the smoke from their fires across the river on the bluffs. Incredible.
Of course there are other sites to see, serious graffiti on dilapadated buildings, human refuse and junk strewn along the inner portions of the tracks next to the residential side of the rails, homeless shelters built askew into the stone walls marked with black paint and more crushed glass bottles than you can count. Leftovers from construction projects, dead animal carcasses and piles of unknown garbage have built up over the years like a monument to our existence. We throw so much away...but not really away.
As I sat waiting for the train to do its thing a mechanical voice kept warning me to "Watch out for the Gap"..that half a foot no-man's land between the floor of the train entrance and the platform you are stepping to or from. Its printed all over the train and on the back of the ticket.."Watch The Gap" is the cry of the day and I sat envisioning hundreds of lost souls that somehow became very thin and slipped into the crevice of no return, the emptiness, the chasm of treachery that seems to swallow passangers and never give them back. I guess slipping between a railroad car and a stationary platform could do some serious damage and no doubt a lawsuit of some kind prompted the signage..but "Watch For The Gap" has other applications too.
The gap between what those early people on the Hudson experienced as home and the transit system that now occupies the shores of the river has been filled...and not always for the better. As I look out over the mighty waterway and think of how important this river is, to commerce and transportation, boating and education I cannot help but also see the utter disregard by the latest inhabitants of the Hudson...those that dump waste, chemical and otherwise..rundown buildings and rotting junk heaps along with the most destitute among us...living among that filth.
The gap of what was..and what is...is something we really do have to keep a watch on.....after all the signs have been ignored...that gap maybe something we cannot recover from. If we always do what we have always done...we will always get what you have always got....
Stayed in Manhattan a couple nights but for the past few days been bunking with friends about 25 miles or so outside of The Big Apple which entails taking a train back and forth each morning and evening. When I am home in Upper Michigan the mode of transportation is by automobile...here throngs use the railways to commute and its a pleasant 40 minute ride or so right next to the Hudson River which is truly a remarkable landscape to behold. I imagine the first native people of the area living and thriving along its banks, fishing and hunting and its as if I can almost see the smoke from their fires across the river on the bluffs. Incredible.
Of course there are other sites to see, serious graffiti on dilapadated buildings, human refuse and junk strewn along the inner portions of the tracks next to the residential side of the rails, homeless shelters built askew into the stone walls marked with black paint and more crushed glass bottles than you can count. Leftovers from construction projects, dead animal carcasses and piles of unknown garbage have built up over the years like a monument to our existence. We throw so much away...but not really away.
As I sat waiting for the train to do its thing a mechanical voice kept warning me to "Watch out for the Gap"..that half a foot no-man's land between the floor of the train entrance and the platform you are stepping to or from. Its printed all over the train and on the back of the ticket.."Watch The Gap" is the cry of the day and I sat envisioning hundreds of lost souls that somehow became very thin and slipped into the crevice of no return, the emptiness, the chasm of treachery that seems to swallow passangers and never give them back. I guess slipping between a railroad car and a stationary platform could do some serious damage and no doubt a lawsuit of some kind prompted the signage..but "Watch For The Gap" has other applications too.
The gap between what those early people on the Hudson experienced as home and the transit system that now occupies the shores of the river has been filled...and not always for the better. As I look out over the mighty waterway and think of how important this river is, to commerce and transportation, boating and education I cannot help but also see the utter disregard by the latest inhabitants of the Hudson...those that dump waste, chemical and otherwise..rundown buildings and rotting junk heaps along with the most destitute among us...living among that filth.
The gap of what was..and what is...is something we really do have to keep a watch on.....after all the signs have been ignored...that gap maybe something we cannot recover from. If we always do what we have always done...we will always get what you have always got....
Saturday, March 26, 2011
The Almighty....Dollar.
My experience in reading other blogs is that you can pretty much say anything you want-just like in real life-and don't have to defend or respond to that which you blogged-anything goes and whether people agree-disagree or don't care is up to them-kinda like real life too. So at the risk of ticking off alot of my..lets say...Christian friends or devout believers I want to know why there is a fee associated with connecting to God's favor and blessings? Why is a sacrifice demanded of some sort? Why is it that the upper channels on cable are filled with really loud men wearing really loud suits with really big watches and pinkie rings shouting their interpretation of someone else's interpretation of something that was interpreted thousands of years ago and insisting that unless you send a gift or tithe God might spend more time on your neighbor's prayers than yours?
I am fascinated by the messages that are trotted out to the masses, those longing for salvation and redemption, those lost and lonely and the forgotten and unforgiven...that somehow you have to please God by sending in a check or sowing a seed or as one guy on the tube this morning said "show God you trust him enough by sending in your last dime if need be so God can increase your good a thousand fold." The same man spent four or five minutes converting old Hebrew words into today's language and insisting that " if you use the original word in its root form God will hear you more clearly, thus fixing your problems all that much faster." The studio audience shook their collective heads in approval. Ok...so 1) The thought that God is male says it all for me-I suppose you could use the argument that "God created MAN in his own likeness and image" as a leap off point for the male dominated God stance-which beckons this question- where does that leave the women folk? No one...NO ONE knows-what gender if any- this incredible force is or is not-seems to me fairly confining to make God one or the other-male or female but that's just me. 2) Trust. To imply that the all knowing..all being...all powerful God of the Universe will somehow "trust you" more if you tape a dime to an index card and mail to a church reduces God to the level of a telemarketer or banker as if there is a ledger somewhere on cloud just left of The Pearly Gates with your name on it inscribed by the Creator... "John...hmmm really wanted to help him and his daughter get thru that kidney transplant thing easier but ya know he never forked over enough green stuff to cover his blessings." 3) Nice to know that God prefers old Hebrew words to all the other languages that people pray to him (or her) in. Going to take a college course on it and really watch the favors roll in. When I turn on the tube and catch one of these God Squad stumpers continually pushing and pushing for more money the concept of "In God We Trust" on our currency takes on a whole new meaning.
For me-if the God these prophets are talking about is as they portray then they have minimized and shrunk God down to such small proportions that God has taken on the human like qualities of judgement (homosexuals are bad and going to Hell) favor (if you give me something I will give you something-there is no free God rides here bub) and anger (if you don't continually remind me that I am God then bad things are going to happen to you- and God will enjoy watching you suffer.)
Interesting to me that the TV pulpit is filled with humans professing to be mouthpieces for the Almighty but have seemingly forgotten to watch their own reruns. Benny Hinn, self professed "soldier for Christ" lives in a 3 million dollar mansion and leases a private jet. Jim and the late Tammy Faye Bakker blew millions of followers dollars on a lavish lifestyle including air conditioned dog houses all the while professing that "God loves givers not takers." Jimmy Swaggart must have forgotten his own words when he was caught with a prostitute...twice. Ted Haggard, President of the National Association of Evangelicals and associate one of President George Bush regularly railed against homosexuals saying that the gay lifestyle was a one way ticket to Hades. Turns out that Ted was testing his theory one could say but meeting with a male prostitute and engaging in lewd behavior on a frequent basis. Nice.
There are many that do "God's work" in the far corners of the world and we hear little of them. They are not boastful or bragging, on private jets or making sure their dogs are cool in the summer. They are not saying one thing and living another...they are not asking for anything but giving much. They become quiet and listen to "the still small voice" and act accordingly. They feed the hungry, they clothe the naked, they hold the sick and dying. You really want to covet God's favor? Leave a bigger tip for your waitress...say thank you to someone that helped you out. Take the coins out of your ash tray and give it to the woman on the street corner. Pick up some garbage. Visit a retirement home and hold the hand of someone forgotten by family..become a Big Brother or Big Sister...if you are really worried about getting good seat in the hereafter..there at least six billion opportunities to be a positive influence in someones life.. that will go a long way to securing your place in Heaven by doing things differently here on Earth. Stand in the sunshine and give thanks for being alive and remind others of the same gift...and you won't even have to do it in old Hebrew...God, wherever she or he or it is...will hear you...and its free...no strings attached.
I am fascinated by the messages that are trotted out to the masses, those longing for salvation and redemption, those lost and lonely and the forgotten and unforgiven...that somehow you have to please God by sending in a check or sowing a seed or as one guy on the tube this morning said "show God you trust him enough by sending in your last dime if need be so God can increase your good a thousand fold." The same man spent four or five minutes converting old Hebrew words into today's language and insisting that " if you use the original word in its root form God will hear you more clearly, thus fixing your problems all that much faster." The studio audience shook their collective heads in approval. Ok...so 1) The thought that God is male says it all for me-I suppose you could use the argument that "God created MAN in his own likeness and image" as a leap off point for the male dominated God stance-which beckons this question- where does that leave the women folk? No one...NO ONE knows-what gender if any- this incredible force is or is not-seems to me fairly confining to make God one or the other-male or female but that's just me. 2) Trust. To imply that the all knowing..all being...all powerful God of the Universe will somehow "trust you" more if you tape a dime to an index card and mail to a church reduces God to the level of a telemarketer or banker as if there is a ledger somewhere on cloud just left of The Pearly Gates with your name on it inscribed by the Creator... "John...hmmm really wanted to help him and his daughter get thru that kidney transplant thing easier but ya know he never forked over enough green stuff to cover his blessings." 3) Nice to know that God prefers old Hebrew words to all the other languages that people pray to him (or her) in. Going to take a college course on it and really watch the favors roll in. When I turn on the tube and catch one of these God Squad stumpers continually pushing and pushing for more money the concept of "In God We Trust" on our currency takes on a whole new meaning.
For me-if the God these prophets are talking about is as they portray then they have minimized and shrunk God down to such small proportions that God has taken on the human like qualities of judgement (homosexuals are bad and going to Hell) favor (if you give me something I will give you something-there is no free God rides here bub) and anger (if you don't continually remind me that I am God then bad things are going to happen to you- and God will enjoy watching you suffer.)
Interesting to me that the TV pulpit is filled with humans professing to be mouthpieces for the Almighty but have seemingly forgotten to watch their own reruns. Benny Hinn, self professed "soldier for Christ" lives in a 3 million dollar mansion and leases a private jet. Jim and the late Tammy Faye Bakker blew millions of followers dollars on a lavish lifestyle including air conditioned dog houses all the while professing that "God loves givers not takers." Jimmy Swaggart must have forgotten his own words when he was caught with a prostitute...twice. Ted Haggard, President of the National Association of Evangelicals and associate one of President George Bush regularly railed against homosexuals saying that the gay lifestyle was a one way ticket to Hades. Turns out that Ted was testing his theory one could say but meeting with a male prostitute and engaging in lewd behavior on a frequent basis. Nice.
There are many that do "God's work" in the far corners of the world and we hear little of them. They are not boastful or bragging, on private jets or making sure their dogs are cool in the summer. They are not saying one thing and living another...they are not asking for anything but giving much. They become quiet and listen to "the still small voice" and act accordingly. They feed the hungry, they clothe the naked, they hold the sick and dying. You really want to covet God's favor? Leave a bigger tip for your waitress...say thank you to someone that helped you out. Take the coins out of your ash tray and give it to the woman on the street corner. Pick up some garbage. Visit a retirement home and hold the hand of someone forgotten by family..become a Big Brother or Big Sister...if you are really worried about getting good seat in the hereafter..there at least six billion opportunities to be a positive influence in someones life.. that will go a long way to securing your place in Heaven by doing things differently here on Earth. Stand in the sunshine and give thanks for being alive and remind others of the same gift...and you won't even have to do it in old Hebrew...God, wherever she or he or it is...will hear you...and its free...no strings attached.
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