No use at all. You see, I don’t have anything at all to write about. Not that that particular issue is new, or even a surprise. It is, however, extremely inconvenient, seeing as how NONE of today’s Pearl is already done. Nope, got nothing done yesterday, as I was busy with the war against the world, which decided to turn up the heat yesterday. The literal heat, that is; at 4 PM yesterday, I was sitting in front of my small fan, with all the doors and windows open to catch any stray air movement, and realized the prediction I’d read that morning was not right; it seemed much hotter than 90º F. I checked the current temperature, to find it had climbed to 100ºF! Outrageous!….

It isn’t supposed to get this hot here; we’re only a quarter mile from the Bay. But, don’t worry, there’s no such thing as global warming, is there? Shit. If this summer is any indication, we are in for a world of hurt in coming years, as the weather becomes more and more unpredictable, having been disrupted out of its normal operation by the addition of hundreds of millions of tons of particulate matter to the atmosphere, causing unknown, and unpredictable changes to occur in the ecosystem of the planet, which we do NOT understand in the slightest…..

Oh, well; there’s nothing we can do about it now. I suppose I’ll have to get going on my massive display of cheating (I’m late again…). Since that’s the case, let’s use this old #4 again, to get things going with a bit of dispatch. You remember how this one works, right? You tighten your belts, and we do this…..

Shall we Pearl?….

Today’s video section is canceled, simply because I’m too lazy to go look for one. Here is a picture, instead.

From 2/5/2013:

“Reality can be hazardous to your health.” — Smart Bee

This one is probably not a surprise, nor is it something rare, or uncommonly known. Hell, it only takes a couple of years of living on this planet before this knowledge becomes second nature to us; we know it almost instinctively. This, I think, is part of why it is always a surprise to us how the process of growing older is much more difficult than we imagined…. It is also why we always end up, at one point or another, saying to ourselves, “Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me this?” It may not be a conspiracy, but the end result is the same, because nobody is talking, and if they had any compassion, they would be….

Your guess as to why this is would be as good as mine, and I’m not sure it matters; what matters is that they don’t, and it isn’t included in any of the manuals we receive about Life and How to Live…. Actually, I don’t know about y’all, but my manuals were all lost in the mail, and I never got any of them… We WERE supposed to get them right? I mean, there is a God, by all reports from the rest of society, and according to dogma and stuff, we’re His responsibility, right? So, where’s my manual?…. Where is yours?….

“The Bible is true this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” — Jordan Henderson

Okay, so if there aren’t any manuals, and the only folks out there offering to help are those who are doing so out of their own desire to control other folks, then how do we learn to accept all the hardships that come with growing older? Well, let’s see…. As I sit and consider that question, it keeps growing larger in scope, and the number of potential answers approaches infinity, so, I guess I need to narrow the focus a bit…. Hmm, break time…. gotta cogitate on this one….

“Men spend their lives in anticipations, in determining to be vastly happy at some period when they have time.  But the present time has one advantage over every other – it is our own.  Past opportunities are gone, future have not come.  We may lay in a stock of pleasures, as we would lay in a stock of wine; but if we defer the tasting of them too long, we shall find that both are soured by age.” — C. C. Colton

Okay, that isn’t a bad insight, all in all…. but, it doesn’t quite fill the bill for our discussion, for while it acknowledges the power of aging, it doesn’t offer any solutions, or advice, other than in a passive, negative sense…. More, please….

“Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.” — J.K. Rowling, The Beginning, — Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2000, — spoken by the character Albus Dumbledore

Hmm… a clue, I think, of the direction we are seeking to find…. a bit more fine tuning, I think….

“Bear, do not blame, what cannot be changed.” — Publius Syrus

Another clue…. we must be on the right track….

“Never give an inch!” — Smart Bee

Okay, we’re almost there, cuz the pearls are getting shorter, and deeper, always a good sign….

“I’m not a lawyer, but I play one on the guitar.” — Smart Bee

Well, see, I told you…. the perfect ending to a discussion of Reality, and how we deal with it over time….. In other words, ffolkes, you can’t really win, in the sense for which we are seeking to find a reasonable justification… The game is rigged, and it’s the only one in town…. But, it also implies that we can still walk away a winner, we just have to change the rules in our own minds….

In short, ffolkes, we’re on our own out here in Reality, and aging can either be a burden to bear, or an advantage to take…. It’s all up to us, ultimately, and we not only shouldn’t worry about whether or not there is anyone who can relieve us of this responsibility, but should understand that the act of doing so only makes the issue more difficult….

So, buck up, ffolkes…. Yes, Life gets tough, but, if we are smart, we can get tougher….

“I love ROCK ‘N ROLL!  I memorized the all WORDS to “WIPE-OUT” in 1965!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Originally from 2011, last posted on The Feast of All Fools, April 1, 2013:

A few random thoughts on the meaning of insanity, and by implication, sanity…….all came from one dive. Pearl after pearl on the same subject kept presenting itself for my perusal, so after a few, I just gave up & collected them. So here they are, all with a bit to say about those among us who perceive reality from a whole different place than you or me….. (My comments are in parentheses, like this one…. )

‘What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art.’ — Augustus Saint Gaudens (1848-1907), Reminiscences

If sanity were dollars I’d be bankrupt. — Smart Bee

“I come from a long line of Southern psychotics and an environment where madness is currency and conversation is blood sport.” — Elizabeth Ashley

According to figures from the Justice Department, the average rapist serves only 5.2 years on jail, and the average murderer serves only 8.6 years. By contrast, the average time served for possession of LSD is 10.1 years, and many Americans are serving mandatory minimum sentences of 20 to 25 years for possession or sale of marijuana. — Smart Bee

(Insanity comes in many guises…… your choice as to which is real, and which is delusion….)

Avoid reality at all costs! — Smart Bee

We now return you to our regularly scheduled program…..

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This is one of those Pearls we can firmly place in the “boy, I’m glad that’s done!” category, with a huge sigh of relief. I had some doubts (go figure) whether I’d get it done at all, so, being done is a good outcome, as far as I’m concerned. With my usual casual disregard for convention, we’ll just leave things right there, and come back tomorrow to try again. I’ll see y’all then, ffolkes, as long as all the fundies are wrong, and we are not in the End Times…. If we are, well, have fun in the Rapture…. or, whatever happens, in the fairly likely event there is no such thing….