All of which being said, I am compelled by my own nature to wonder, how the fuck we ever wandered this far out of the trees? C.S. Lewis, I believe, once made the lament,

“Five senses; an incurably abstract intellect; a haphazardly selective memory; a set of preconceptions and assumptions so numerous that I can never examine more than minority of them – never become conscious of them all.  How much of total reality can such an apparatus let through?” — C. S. Lewis

Add in this most-accurate assessment of the human mind’s ability to perceive the universe, and one has to feel a sense of astonished surprise, not only that we have created a world-wide society, but, have done so without ever achieving any sort of world-wide understanding of our own nature….. To observe the antics of the naked apes who infest the surface of this planet, is very similar, in “look and feel”, to watching an old Roadrunner cartoon on Saturday morning. In fact, watching the Roadrunner makes much more sense than much of what I see passing as socio-political activity around the world….

Did y’all ever wonder, as I did, about the two most puzzling things to me about Wile E. Coyote? First, why, when he was obviously the stupidest creature on the planet, was he called “wily”, a word which, even at age four, I understood couldn’t possibly apply to the stupid beast….. I mean, even if he WAS indestructible, (our first lesson in the fiction vs. reality issue…. How many of US could live through a 5000 foot fall, followed by the arrival of a five ton rock on our head? Hell, it would give Superman a moment of pain, if he couldn’t fly….

Second… Why didn’t the idiot ever just start ordering FOOD from the Acme Co.? It seemed to me, as a young, already half-trained consumer, if the company made that many different products, of such amazing variety and complexity, how easy would it be for them to deliver some fried chicken, or even fried rattlesnake, which, I am told, tastes like chicken… But, then, doesn’t everything but beef and lamb taste like chicken?….

But, NOOOO…. Mr. Smart Guy Coyote keeps ordering weapon after weapon, none of which ever worked the way he expected. Which comprised our second lesson in reality vs. fiction, though, as it turns out, that’s pretty much how ANY corporation operates….. S’trewth, swear to god….

SIGH…. I’m doing it again, aren’t I? Ranting in the intro, when I tried to start out looking for ironic humor…. See where good intentions will get you? Oh, well, next I’d have to move on to more lamentations about human nature, and how virtue has all but disappeared from the public arena… Hell, I even found the perfect pearl to go with such a discussion, showing EXACTLY what happened, at least, here in the US…. It is also from C.S. Lewis, one of the more flexible-minded, and, honest Christians to ever pick up a pen… He said, regarding virtue, this:

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty or mercy which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful until it became risky.” — C.S. Lewis  _The Screwtape Letters_

But, that’s a rant for another day, unless, of course, we pick this up in the third section. Who knows at this point? If I did, well, I’d say so; that means simply that I haven’t decided yet. Nonetheless, and, notwithstanding, such is now moot, as Guido has entered the cockpit (don’t even think it….), and we’ll be taking off any moment…. Let’s just do so quietly, and calmly, just as if we knew what we were doing here, okay?….

Shall we Pearl?….

Bonus!….. Enjoy, ffolkes…. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt, even if you have perfect pitch…… As is my habit, the compilation I picked simply had the most attractive picture, for my taste….

Oops. Forgot; broke my 8-ball a long time ago. Oh, well. I think I’m not in a mood to rant at the moment. Hang on, & I’ll go see if I can find something to tip the scale in one direction, or another… Don’t worry, I’ve got a Tardis, and this isn’t real…. so, it’s like, you’ll never notice I was gone….

Okay, got it. That actually didn’t take long at all…. Of course, I COULD be lying, but, we wouldn’t want to pick up any bad habits…. It took only a moment, to find this:

“The land of the free!  This is the land of the free!  Why, if I say anything that displeases them, the free mob will lynch me, and that’s my freedom. Free? Why I have never been in any country where the individual has such an abject fear of his fellow countrymen.  Because, as I say, they are free to lynch him the moment he shows he is not one of them.” — D. H. Lawrence

Now, if THAT isn’t a great start to pick up where we left off above, I don’t know an oyster from a mussel. And, I do. Know the difference, I mean. In fact, I also know, being a chef, while mussels, steamed in white wine, fish stock, garlic, and a bit of butter, lemon juice, & parsley, is as close as people ever really get to heaven, only oysters, those ugly, yet somehow noble bivalves, can make pearls. Besides, the only way the oysters themselves are REALLY edible, is breaded, deep fried, and smothered with a LOT of Tartar, or seafood cocktail sauce. Otherwise they’re a lot like eating old shoe leather, unless eaten at ONE specific moment upon cooking. Before, or after that moment, they are virtually inedible… Even for those with ALL their teeth…

But, hey, pearls, you know? Which brings us back to the completion of this section today. I’ll quit fooling around, amusing as it may be, (or not; not my call….), and get to the meat of today’s piece.  I’ll start with an old graphic pearl from one of my most consistent sources for wise, witty comments, to wit:

Rather than expose y’all to any more of my own negative conclusions, I’d like y’all to read the following article, which my news reader provided to me, and with which I can only agree wholeheartedly. It’s brilliant, to be honest, and, if there is any justice in the world, will go viral quite soon…… It’s by an author named Elizabeth West, and she has hit upon some strong truths…. Don’t try to decide from reading the title; just trust me, & go read it. You won’t regret it…. Not even if I close out the section with my own take/interpretation, (though voiced with a power of expression I can only dream of achieving some day….) of the most probable, ultimately final decision Reality is going to make about the human race… Ms. West might convince you otherwise…..

Well, it’s done. All that remains is to go post it, which will be harder than usual today…. I put a lot into this one, even though the poem isn’t new, and the major rant belongs to another author. Nonetheless, I don’t believe I can do this any better than this turned out, so, I hope y’all enjoyed consuming it as much as I enjoyed putting it together…. I’ll be back tomorrow, to see if I can do it this well one more time….Why not? That would make a total of at least four, over four years…. Not bad, for an amateur…

Spoiler alert: Things ’round here may change some in the near future…. Y’all stay alert, y’hear?…. It could mean your sanity, and mine…. Oops. Maybe not yours…. really. I mean that, or, rather, I didn’t mean that…. Well, never mind, you’ll see….. Just, be careful, okay?…. C Ya.