Category Archives: 100 words or less

Visionary or Idiot?

I worry, sometimes, whether I am some kind of visionary or some kind of idiot.  Both see things not as they are but as they believe they are.

Then it struck me, with some kind of mixed relief:  it’s quite possible to be both a visionary and an idiot.

Zombies

We are surrounded by zombie movies, books, zombies on TV.   The reason for this is ever more clear: we are surrounded by zombies in real life.

You want a straight answer?   Ask any question, then listen.  

“nnnngggghhhhh, ngggggghhhhhh….. nggnnnnnggghhhhh……” comes the drone.  Then watch your ass and get ready to run.  If they bite you it’s all over.

Take A Break, it’s Broken

The dilemma’s got sharp horns.   I’m desperate for a break, a week off, not to worry, not think about the toils of the immediate future.   Everyone I know is on vacation (except for my sister, back in her stalag in South Florida where the six year-olds return early).

Push a rock this big and heavy up a hill, how does one take a break, exactly?  

My resting pulse is 59, lulling me to think the bike riding is helping heart and lungs.  The blood pressure monitor lights up with the rictus, snake eyes, silent killer, smiling that deadly smile.

Image

Do the math

Intelligent
Strong sense of fairness
Sense of humor
Musical inventiveness
Conscious gentleness
Ability to express self
Decent listener
Love of spontaneity
Fairly robust constitution
Decent people skills
Good coordination
Patience

Generosity 
Talent for presenting ideas
Introspective
Conscientious
Considerate                       
_____________________
Tragic fucking case

Moving the chains

Football as a metaphor for life– smash mouth, knee to groin refs don’t see, rain, mud, sleet, hail, hostile or indifferent crowd.  Moving the chains, trying for the first down, fourth and four, a ridiculous gamble if it backfires.   Now the wet grass is ice, now it’s quicksand.  Slowed down footage of the run, the hit, water flying in a shower of frozen droplets at jaw shuddering contact.  Broken rib, the knees hitting the frozen field, we have…. they’re trotting on with the chains to measure and… short by two feet.   Better luck next time.

Insight

You do not usually get it looking to the subjectivity within.  It comes from without– sometimes you get the comment from a knowledgeable stranger that turns a light on in a dim corner.

“Oh, that’s a great idea,” says the stranger, “but I had no idea of it from your messaging.”

Good to know, you think, it’s called messaging.  And back to the drawing board to make it clearer still.

Food for thought

There are big differences between thoughtless insensitivity and cruelty.   Thoughtlessness happens quite often, and it can be considered an accident when it does.  Mindfulness is rare, we live in a world of clashing, competing distractions.  Everyone is sometimes thoughtless.  The best of us apologize when our thoughtlessness hurts somebody else.

Cruelty is planned to inflict pain.  It is almost always done out of a sense of justice, but there is little justice in cruelty.  Cruelty is dreamed up by people who suffer, and it leads to more suffering.  Bad shit, cruelty.