Ffolkes,
I’ve been bitten by a tsetse fly….in the past three days, I have slept as much as I’ve been awake, but not in a normal pattern. About every 5 hours I start yawning and looking for my pillow, and go down for a 2-3 hour nap. Then I’m up to almost midnight, and up again at 5 AM, wide awake. It’s a bit strange, almost like some of the weird hours I kept when studying for finals at Berkeley.
I don’t know if they still do this, but one schedule I tried, thought up by a friend in the cooperative dorm I lived in, was perfect for finals week. One would go to bed (for the day) at about 3 PM, getting up at 10 or 11 PM, to start studying all night. At dawn, with the study material still fresh in the mind, one goes to take the final exams for that day. Afterward, a small meal, engage in a bit of business or recreation, then back to bed for the day, and up again at 10. A reverse cycle, as it were, and once accustomed to it, one became almost used to working in the quiet of the early morning hours, and always having an open seat wherever one went, as everyone else in the world was asleep.
But it got kinda lonely, too….it’s not a good schedule for anyone who wants a social life……thank goodness for no more final exams (except, of course, the ultimate final exam, requiring no study, and which everyone passes…..)
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“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” — H. L. Mencken
Mr. Mencken’s insight was first published back in the early twentieth century, and was actually less of an insight as it was an eerily accurate observation of American politics in the last hundred years. Since the end of the World War II, (the last time Congress actually declared war, as justified in the Constitution) our country’s leaders have involved us in at least five “police actions” (Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iraq again), all supposedly necessary to protect us from the evils of communism, tyranny, or terrorism. Hundreds of thousands of young Americans have been sent to their deaths in far away places, all to make the old men back at home feel more comfortable in their insulation from reality.
I’m not the first to take note that young men die because of what old men believe, and hopefully I won’t be the last. This country has been hijacked by the 1%; they are no longer even trying to conceal their control over the rest of us. They have forgotten what one of their own said about 50 years ago: “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” — John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963), 12 March 1962 For myself, I intend to enjoy watching the 1% reap the whirlwind they are creating……. which is a cleverly disguised euphemism for helping the whirlwind spin faster…..
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“It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.” — H.L. Mencken
Some days, H. L. just makes a lot of sense. I admire his perspicacity, and his unadulterated courage to say exactly what he believed, without compromise. A hundred years from now, his words will have the same weight, but hopefully, won’t be a common response to what is real. It would be nice to make this sort of joke a thing of the past, but I don’t see much chance of human nature changing anytime soon, so common virtues will probably remain uncommonly sparse among the denizens of human society…..
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What happens to your fist when you open your hand? — Zen Buddhism
In one sense, this koan is but a simple puzzle; the answer, obviously, is that the fist goes to the same place that our lap goes when we stand up. Now, you may ask, exactly where is that? Good question…..so, what do you think the answer might be? Another response might be, the fist is transformed, changed from a state of limited purpose to one of unlimited possibility. A fist can only be used in a small number of ways, but the open hand has few limits to its utility. Perhaps one might say that the fist moves from the realm of reality to the confines of memory, abiding there until needed again.
This is the beauty of a Zen koan; it poses a question that sends the mind on a journey toward illumination, suggesting little-known paths in our own minds that can lead us to deeper knowledge of ourselves, and of reality. It is not the easiest path to self-improvement or self-growth, but then, the human mind gets lazy if things are too easy. We do better if we push ourselves, at least a little, and goodness knows we all can find ways to do better in life…..anyone who doesn’t think so is only fooling themselves…..
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Farewell, Love, and all thy laws forever:
Thy baited hooks shall tangle me no more;
Seneca and Plato call me from their lore,
To perfect wealth my wit for to endeavor.
In blind error when I did persevere,
Thy sharp repulse that pricketh aye so sore
Hath taught me to set in trifles no store
And scape forth, since liberty is liefer.
Therefore, farewell: go trouble younger hearts,
And in me claim no more authority;
With idle youth go use thy property
And thereon spend thy many brittle darts:
For hitherto though I have lost all my time,
Me lusteth no longer rotten boughs to climb.
— Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542), Farewell, Love
Sir Thomas must have had a really bad break-up to get this despondent and cynical. But he sure made a good poem out of it; I hope that was solace for him in his despair……
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“When they took the fourth amendment, I was silent because I don’t deal drugs. When they took the sixth amendment, I kept quiet because I know I’m innocent. When they took the second amendment, I said nothing because I don’t own a gun. Now they’ve come for the first amendment, and I can’t say anything at all.” — Tim Freeman
I sincerely hope that y’all don’t get tired of hearing about this, because I have every intention of harping on it until the Bill of Rights has been restored. If you weren’t able to figure it out before now, I’ll make it clear…. I’m pissed. I’m royally and truly pissed off at our so called leadership; they have led us straight into voluntary slavery, and we have no one to blame but ourselves. I’d be glad to discuss this with anyone who can present a logical argument, or even an illogical one; we all have to find our fun somewhere.
If you don’t think you’ve lost any of your freedoms, try saying the word “bomb”, in any context, while standing in line in public. And get ready to spend the next hours in police custody, trying to convince them you’re not a terrorist about to blow up a bank. Think I’m kidding? Read the news……
“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
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Well, here’s another fine mess I’ve created. I’ll have to start handing out brooms with each day’s offering…..ah, me, “..
I think I’d better go back to my DESK and toy with a few common MISAPPREHENSIONS…” — Zippy the Pinhead
T’would be best for all, methinks…..y’all take care out there…..
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.
gigoid
Kowabunga!
gigoid 
Sorry Gigoid, you’ll get no arguement from me..
I have been sitting in my comfy chair in Oz somewhat bemuzed by the antics of a government who have (in my understanding; and looking from afar) run its state from the lofty seat of fear, intimidation and a power similar to ‘days of old’ when the Church held that lofty position in times past. It defies common sense to me that many allow others to hold such sway over them….. Forgive my intrusion into your concerns; after all I am an Australian and, not being one of the family it may be hard to allow me an opinion; we all know that blood is thicker than water. However, you may be somewhat comforted when I state that yours is not the only country suffering such slavery….. Here in Oz……. 😉
P.S. tsetse fly bite is usually fatal if treatment is delayed…. for future reference please wear long trousers, long-sleeved jackets and socks thick enough to stop the insects biting.. However, yours is a sad tale…. I’d suggest that you rest; your body is calling the shots, and it currently knows best… 😉
Carolyn….(is that right? Did I make the correct connection, or is your name not Carolyn?) Any who….thanks for stopping by, and commenting. Yes, I’m pretty disgusted with not just the beloved ruling class, but with the so-called Americans who have completely ignored what is going on. I’ve seriously considered taking a vacation to Australia, then disappearing into the outback to finish out my years on walkabout. It would probably be more entertaining than watching my country go to the dogs….
As for the tsetse…..it was a joke, of sorts. We don’t see a lot of tsetse’s here in Northern California; I’m probably suffering from emphysema from breathing the polluted air. Either that, or all the material I’ve been writing for the past 13 months is catching up to me, and I’m just plain fagged out. Since I’m retired from working, I’m fortunate to be able to nap whenever the urge strikes, and I do. I’ve said before that I’m essentially a hedonist, and I have no shame….always figured it was a waste of my time. Thanks for the advice about how to deal with the fly, should I ever actually encounter one. Hereabouts, I worry about particulate matter in the air more than bugs; they’re pretty mellow in this area.
Thanks again for the comment; I’m glad you enjoyed the piece….perhaps one day, I’ll get a chance to visit down under, and say hello to you, and your dancing husband…. 🙂 Take care…..
Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits.
gigoid
You’d be ‘more than welcome’ here in Oz; although I don’t quite know about the ‘outback thing’. Many would disagree with me however, some things are more romanticized than others; don’t you think? Spending a ‘little’ time out there in the red earth would probably bring back thoughts of comfort, armchairs, phones, cooking stoves and showers.
We do not have tsetse flies either so you could leave home safe in the knowledge that the only sleeping sickness suffered would be a natural one.
And yes, I do enjoy your ‘pieces’. Signed: You’ve got it right…! Carolyn 😉
Take care….. your body needs you….
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Sterling….you are certainly welcome, to whatever help my words might give you; I’m glad I could help with your impending despair, and having a part in turning your path aside from that feels very good. I wasn’t certain at first how your comment applied, as it has been some days since I wrote that piece, but I think I understand, and I’m glad what I wrote helped. Come back anytime, and comment again; I always enjoy dialogue with new readers… take care….