Category Archives: distraction issues

Sixty-Six for Sixty Six, Part VIII: Thin Skin

6
Posted by on in children, distraction issues, Social

February 21, 2017, Prescott- 

The young fitness center worker,

seeing people of a certain age,

makes a stink face and hides,

when one of us approaches the desk.

A boy of ten,

never acquainted with people of colour,

inveighs about how ugly he thinks they are,

until warned by the teacher

that this is an outdated way of thinking

and is a serious offense.

The President of the United States,

fearful of those who have differing opinions,

rallies those who care for him,

and succeeds in deepening divisions,

which he swore to end.

I go about my life,

needing no approval from anyone,

except my God.

Sticks and stones…..

 

Strength First, Beauty Second

2
Posted by on in distraction issues, Personal Values, Social, Striving

December 28, 2016, Prescott-

Just a few thoughts about the near-simultaneous passings of George Michael and mother & daughter, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher:  While I am among the first to notice a lovely woman, my interest in people, regardless of gender, age or body type, very quickly heads towards their story.  What moves someone?  What has he or she endured?  Where have they been in life?  In what is he or she interested? What has she or he achieved?  What are their goals and dreams?

We seem to have entered a Black Hole, of sorts, in which a sitting president and his family can be characterized as a bunch of sub-humans, by a public figure who is connected to the President-elect.  It is presumed, but by no means verified, that said President-elect privately upbraided said friend. A few days later, a celebrity responded to the news of another celebrity’s passing, by wistfully commenting on how beautiful he thought she was, when both were younger.  That’s all well and good, but judging a book by its cover tells one nothing.  The fact is, Carrie Fisher’s story, which she later chronicled, herself, is one for the ages. George Michael’s story, as physically appealing as he was, to many women and gay men,is both inspirational, and a cautionary tale, for anyone.  Ogling is now, thankfully, considered bad form.  My advice:  Notice, make a mental note, and either get to know the person or leave her/him alone.

Those are my brief thoughts about one way that we can all get along for the better.  May all who passed, in this most jarring year, rest in eternal peace.

Poisoned By These Fairy Tales

12
Posted by on in Community, distraction issues, Historical, impediments, Striving

December 11, 2016, Prescott-

Don Henley included that phrase, in his song, “The End of the Innocence”, in 1989.  It was partly a reaction to what he regarded as the excesses of the Reagan-Bush the Elder years.

I think of it, instantly, whenever an outlandish conspiracy theory surfaces.  I have my own take on such theories, which are always based on fear-gone-wild.  They are a natural outgrowth of the complex levels of secrecy, employed by so many in the power structure.  Nature, and the human mind, abhor vacuums.  Where there is no explanation, a person will provide one of his/her own.  When no credible explanation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy was offered, in which all questions were suitably explained to the public, all manner of explanations began to surface.  It was not long, before every unusual or unsettling event, from the Apollo 13 landing, to the airplane crashing into the Pentagon, was questioned, as to it’s ever having even happened.  Even the wanton slaughter of 26 people, in Newtown, CT, was denied by people with a fair audience- as if 20 children and six adults could actually be alive, and visible, one day- and have never even EXISTED, the next.

Yes, this nation is poisoned by fairy tales- both those invented from whole cloth and those made up by people working for God-knows-who, the end result of which is total, rampant confusion.  Now, we will have four years, during which a man with little political experience has the primary job of leading us out of a wilderness, to which many of his own supporters, and a goodly number of his foes, helped to guide us, in the first place.

May he succeed, even if, especially if, he is not initially so inclined.

Not Kneeling or Lying Down

4
Posted by on in Community, distraction issues, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Poetry, Spiritual, Striving

December 1, 2016, Prescott-

I was raised to stand for what I believe.

Others may believe as they will.

None, though, will force me to toe a line,

which I cannot abide.

Those who spout foolishness,

those who maintain a false equanimity,

between good and evil,

will not get a hearing in my court.

I believe in the basic capacity for people

to work together and build a better world,

with all that there is,

in the way of raw materials.

I do not, nor ever will, however

believe in the right of the created

to assume equality with the Creator.

This is my response to those who say,

“But they mean well.”

There are no good intentions,

coming from an egomaniac.

My idea of good intention

is consistent, hard work

and consistent love for

the weak,

the vulnerable,

the dispossessed.

Differences

4
Posted by on in children, distraction issues, Education, Social

November 30, 2016, Prescott-

Little one wanted to play,

and hang on me.

200 other students needed me to be on task.

He got on the bus, and got a reassuring hug.

I tended to my task.

Another bus driver blared his horn,

so I would stop everyone else,

and let him go first.

He waited for three pedestrians

and two other cars.

No one fell apart.

Much was made of a person’s “right”

to read the works of a very foolish man.

I have too much to do, already,

so I’ll pass.

Besides, the literature in question

is poisonous, insidious.

I like tuna, on a salsa tortilla,

hummus,

mint brownies,

heartfelt female singers,

and crisp, clear weather.

Others prefer their Big Macs,

a river of catsup,

Oreos,

techno pop

and the climate-controlled

indoors.

We thrive.

 

Keyholes

9
Posted by on in Community, distraction issues, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

November 26, 2016, Chula Vista-

We went to see the film “Doctor Strange”, this evening.  It’s a highly entertaining account of mystics being able to bend time, space and matter- for good or for ill.  One of the characters mentions to Dr. Strange that, in being concerned with his own ego, he is seeing the universe through a keyhole- and imagining his view to be all-encompassing.

So many of us seem to be seeing the world through keyholes of our own device.   The two extremes in out national politics have been doing so, for sometime. The keyholes seem to be also getting smaller and smaller.  It is also apparent that the backdrop, behind the door, is getting dimmer and dimmer.

Any time in history, when people feel totally disenfranchised, has been fraught with severe pendulum swings.  The decline and fall of Imperial Rome, the French Revolution and its aftermath, and the fall of the Soviet Union  are each an example of this, albeit differing in severity.  Jacobin France is one of the deadliest examples of people looking at the world through keyholes, and seeing nothing but enemies- even in the faces of those who were their allies, only a short time before.

It is no coincidence that the leader of a White Supremacist splinter group identified his personal role model as Napoleon Bonaparte.  This, to me, is a clear indication of the intentions of his particular entourage.  Sowing chaos, in this large and disparate society, may seem impossible- but look to Rome, and to Russia.  It only takes a relative few opportunists to bring it about- and with the advent of false news reporting, the mayhem can come about rather quickly.

Once again, to be safe, at any given time, is to be vigilant beforehand.  I do not see the answer to our nation’s current growing pains to be drawing our wagons into  tight circles, such as supremacist or nativist fantasies, or safe zones.  The real solution, in my humble view, is wider inclusion.  There will never be a time when I cut off my conservative friends to curry favour with people on the Left, or vice versa.  I will not shun my friends of colour or of sexual identities that aren’t my own, just so that my White and heterosexual friends are assuaged- or vice versa.

It’s time to open the door, for a broad view.

Unwitting Problem Solver

2
Posted by on in children, distraction issues, Education, Inspiration, Social

November 22, 2016, Prescott-  

We had a two-day work week and, as ever, many children were wound-up, in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday.  Some were excited because of a good time ahead.  Others were agitated, because of the harrowing conditions, or sheer boredom, that await them for five days.

A little guy who just wanted to play, while waiting for his bus to completely load, led us to ponder the safety issues that would ensue, were he to just be left to his own devices, during the wait for a student who is released later than our class.

The answer was obvious, and our students’ time in the classroom will be increased, starting Monday.   Since they are more comfortable in the classroom than they are sitting at the bus dock, I anticipate a decline in the agitation and ennui that have been surfacing, in ways that only unsettled children can express.

This leads me to again draw the conclusion that listening, even to the most seemingly counter-intuitive ideas, can bring a surprisingly simple solution.  The boy in question will be praised as a big helper, when school resumes on Monday.

Dakota, 2016

10
Posted by on in distraction issues, Spiritual, Striving

November 21, 2016, Prescott-

Beneath a pale moon,

above sacred ground,

misguided footsteps

go on the offensive.

In a battle over water,

the liquid itself

becomes a weapon.

Icy water, cold hard rubber

and pepper spray

all make for a rude awakening.

There are no dead,

in the wake of

the raid by the new cavalry.

The dead hearts are

miles away,

in a corporate boardroom.

Lunch Pail People

9
Posted by on in Community, distraction issues, Social

November 5, 2016, Prescott-  I sat down for breakfast with friends at the local lodge of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), enjoying pancakes, with scrambled eggs, bacon and a sausage link- for less than what Denny’s would charge for same.  It was my first visit to the lodge, which sits a scant 1,000 yards from my house.

A disparate crowd comes to breakfast here- a retired district court judge, a diesel mechanic, the city’s mayor (once in a blue moon), a retired Army major and a former jet pilot, for starters.  The organization draws more female veterans than does the American Legion.  It is also meeting some success in attracting younger men, who have served in our recent wars.

When I checked my social media feeds, after breakfast, I spotted a photo of my second eldest paternal uncle, proudly giving his younger daughter’s hand in marriage, some thirty   years ago.  He passed away, not long afterward, but the  expression of pride on his face is timeless.  He was an electrician and  carpenter, most of his adult life.My parents, as well as  uncles and aunts, on both sides of the family, were , by and large, members of the lunch pail crowd- people who played by the rules, mostly worked the same jobs for decades, and took a lot of heartache in stride, because there seemed little other choice.

The people with whom I took breakfast this morning are, likewise, those who are trying their best, every day, to live life as they always have, and are seeing a multitude of changes, some good and some not so beneficial.  The lives of lunch pail people are turning upside down.  Many of them are buying into the hype, offered by one candidate or accepting, as truth, the white noise and innuendo regarding both main candidates.

I trust that, as the election fades into the background, those who work hard for a living will remember that it is only by standing firm, together, that the people of this nation have ever made any real progress.

Coming Attractions/Distractions

4
Posted by on in distraction issues, Inner Struggles, Social, Spiritual, Striving

November 2, 2016, Prescott-

Today, I was to report to jury duty- until I wasn’t.

I went by HR and dutifully reported that fact,

and took the day as a religious Holy Day,

which it was.

Baha’u’llah’s birth was commemorated,

having occurred on this day, 199 years ago.

As it’s marked, according to the Lunar Calendar,

next year’s bicentenary will fall in mid-October.

What the nation needs, in this time of turmoil,

is a champion.

So, as rain falls in Cleveland, and the two best teams

in baseball are tied, at the end of the 9th inning,

the nation will wait for its champion.

There are no champions visible,

in the political realm,

but who’s keeping tabs on that?

Kirk Douglas, God willing,

will turn 100, soon.

I wish him the best.

Now, I look forward

to two hard-worked days,

and a refreshing drum circle,

to end this long week.