Ffolkes,
Through a film of excruciating pain, he writes…..

Another little tagline on pain….”Pain is our least favorite, and best, teacher.”  I’m sure most of us have had some experience with physical pain. Women who are mothers speak of the pain of childbirth, supposedly like no other. I cannot judge that, having no point of reference with which to compare. But I will say this; even the pain of giving birth cannot be any worse than a badly infected tooth. On a scale of 10, it feels like about 12. There is no escape; breathing makes it worsen, and we can’t stop breathing. The entire right side of the face is sore and tender, and any inhaled cold air is like a shot of electricity right into the nerve. It throbs, and every heartbeat brings a new surge of pain.

Having an old back injury, I’ve been dealing with continuous pain now for about 16 years. My doctor treats the pain with Norco, a double dose of Vicodin in one pill. When the back pain is bad, even the Norco can be ineffective. But for the most part, as long as I pay attention to the teacher, I can operate normally. But when the tooth pain is added in, it is not as efficient. It’s as if I wasn’t taking anything at all; the tooth pain just starts growing, and blows right past the Vicodin stop sign. The pain grows and grows until I feel like screaming and tearing out my hair (as if I had any extra to lose at this point). It won’t stop, and it won’t go away. The only way to deal with it is deep meditation, where one can completely shut out the external and internal stimuli. But that can be a hard state to get into when your nerve-endings are all screaming at you in a crescendo of pain.

Then the moment arrives…..the extra medication finally hits the blood, and the pain begins to recede at long last. The feeling that is engendered at that moment can only be described as one of exquisitely fulfilling relief. The entire system gives a huge SIGH as the muscles in the body begin to relax and the tension of fighting the pain is reduced. When the pain is severe, there is a roaring in the ears, the sound of your world crashing down around you as the pain takes over. But when the pain recedes, it grows quiet. It is almost orgasmic in the sense of release that comes when the pain is no longer in control, and with the brain’s amazing power of selective memory, it is as if it never were. That feeling is freedom. Pain is oppressive, and the release from its clutches is as sweet as honey on homemade bread. More on this subject on another day…..

It’s probably too early in the week to start on politics, but as time passes, we grow ever nearer the Presidential electoral farce that is acted out every four years, and this particular event in 2012 promises to reach for new heights of asininity. The tagline states a premise that is unfortunate, but all too true. Those of the public who are caring, reasonable, honest, and intelligent will once more be subjected to a series of complaints, lies, accusations, lies, assertions rooted in ignorance, lies, promises, and more lies, all intended to convince us that we should choose the perpetrator to be the one to lie to us for the next four years. And therein lies the conundrum we face…..

If we don’t vote, then the people who get elected are put in office by those people who believe the lies, and we have no say in the matter, and no right to complain, only the right to feel smug about being right. But if we vote, then we are falling into the category of fools who believe whatever a talking head tells them, and complaining only adds confusion and controversy to an already unstable scenario. But rest assured, no matter who is voted in, they are NOT looking out for your interests; they are looking after their own.

So, you may ask, how do we fix it? Hell, I don’t know, at least not offhand, and I probably shouldn’t suggest the old system get thrown out if I don’t have anything in mind to replace it with. But my patience with the whole system is growing less with each passing year, and with each new atrocity promulgated by the deliberate ignorance of our beloved ruling class. I have suggested before that it may be time for the Second Revolutionary War for the people who live in this country, and I won’t withdraw that idea. We fought against an oppressive government in the late 1700’s, for the right to determine our own destiny without the interference of a corrupt governing body. It seems to me that the folks we have been sending to D.C.  are just as oppressive as George II, taxing without any input, and legislating us until we bleed. So, are we lesser men than our forefathers? Or will we stand up for the few freedoms we still possess? Only time will tell……

I love women. All women. Tall, short, thick, thin, doesn’t matter much. Just a look of intelligence and humor in the eyes is enough for me to be interested. This love for women is probably a characteristic of the survival instinct, an essential feature of guaranteeing the future of the species. Regardless, it is a part of my nature that I have no problem accepting, being both genetically and educationally disposed toward creating a family. I have goals for my self, that have nothing to do with other folks, even women, at least not directly. But all of those goals assume, or at least approve of, the presence at my side of a distaff companion, a partner, a lover, a friend.

Now, in my later years, I find myself living without a companion, an uncommon state of affairs for me. And one that I hope will not continue forever. However, I am finding it to be a kind of relaxing vacation from the everyday effort needed to maintain a relationship with a woman. The above tagline is pretty accurate, as far as it goes. I’m almost 61, and I can’t say I understand women any better now than I did when I was 11. Even though I’ve spent a good portion of those 50 years in the company of women, the limits described by the tagline continue to hold true. But, that is part of the charm, for me. Life with a woman is never boring, and if it ever gets to a point where it is, I would suggest extreme vigilance, ’cause the other shoe is about to drop……but even then, it’s not going to bore you. As unfathomable as they are, I wouldn’t want it any other way, because the unpredictability of their nature is what makes them so fascinating to me……

Well, ffolkes, that’s enough narcissism for one day…..let me know if you like, or don’t like, the new format, ‘kay? Kay! Thanks….y’all take care out there…..

—
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.

gigoid

Kowabunga!