It's sad, actually horrifying, what people can get themselves into because of addictions, usually alcohol.
Today, I was planning to help out a recent acquaintance, actually my neighbor to the rear, by taking him to Jerome for a court date. We were to leave about 9am. At 9:15 I went over to see what the holdup was to find the lady who rents the place cleaning and spraying to get burn odors out. Seems the guy who was staying there is an alcoholic who got drunk and nearly burned the place down last night with something that caught fire on the stove. So, he was arrested and taken to jail.
Later today, I was going to drive his truck back from Camp Verde where it is stranded due to him being arrested there for a little hit and run resulting in a broken mirror, his license taken away, etc. I was just trying to be a good neighbor and help someone I hardly knew out just out of human concern, even though the whole day promised to be a gigantic pain in the you know what. That's just the way I roll, as the saying puts it.
The guy is a former marine veteran and seems to be a conscientious and hard-working guy. "Semper Fi" is one of his favorite and habitual phrases. I really wish there were something I could do to help him, but it's completely beyond my means and capabilities. Alcohol has completely ruined his life since everything he owns is in that parked truck because he had decided last weekend to move to Black Canyon City to get away from a situation he didn't like where he had been living. I suspect they got fed up with his drunkeness, but I can't know for sure about anything.
Oy Vay! What messes we humans can get ourselves into over a simple chemical and a genetic compulsion to consume it.
It's tragic!
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
HUMAN POTENTIAL
It's down to three contenders tonight for Dancing With the Stars finale, and they're all good. The real contest is between Meryl and Maks and Amy and Derek. Hard to choose, but my votes went to Meryl and Maks. We'll see what happens this evening.
I appreciate having something like this excellent program to take my mind off what's wrong with the world. A little inspiration goes a long way sometimes. I certainly need it.
It's truly inspiring to see what human beings can do when they really pull out all the stops and give it their all. There are very few truly lazy people in the world. Most will rise to their potential if they have a decent chance. It's such a tragedy when children are put down and their spirits broken before they even get an opportunity to show what they're really made of.
The marvels of genetics are truly amazing. Every baby that comes into this world is so full of potential and I often wonder how much true potential never gets to be. There wouldn't be space to accomodate it all, So, we should cherish every little life that comes along and strive to develop it to the full.
I appreciate having something like this excellent program to take my mind off what's wrong with the world. A little inspiration goes a long way sometimes. I certainly need it.
It's truly inspiring to see what human beings can do when they really pull out all the stops and give it their all. There are very few truly lazy people in the world. Most will rise to their potential if they have a decent chance. It's such a tragedy when children are put down and their spirits broken before they even get an opportunity to show what they're really made of.
The marvels of genetics are truly amazing. Every baby that comes into this world is so full of potential and I often wonder how much true potential never gets to be. There wouldn't be space to accomodate it all, So, we should cherish every little life that comes along and strive to develop it to the full.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
WHAT'S WITH THE "CROWN?"
I was just reading on the Banned by HWA blog the touching tribute to a former worldwider who has gone the way of all flesh. He was, apparently, one of the more genuine adherents to that theological aberration.
What struck me was his widow's belief that a "crown" is laid up for him.
I have no doubt that he was an exemplary person who did his level best to live a good and loving life. He's not alone. Most people have a desire to live that kind of life, and many succeed to some degree. We certainly all aspire to the goal if we're decent human beings.
But, why does everyone aspire to have a "crown?' What's the great attraction of having something that signifies absolute rule over other creatures? When I was in Worldwide, that was the ever-present "carrot" suspended in our plodding gaze to keep us hyped up as we traversed one "gun lap" after another. We practically orgasmed over the prospect of being rulers over this messed up earth and being able to be that "voice behind them" every time they were about to mess up.
It's still going in all those laughable splits and splinters that remind me of the divisions of protestantism we used to so self-righteously ridicule.
What comical denizens of primatedom we are! Might as well laugh about it. All comedy harks back to the stupidities of reality.
What struck me was his widow's belief that a "crown" is laid up for him.
I have no doubt that he was an exemplary person who did his level best to live a good and loving life. He's not alone. Most people have a desire to live that kind of life, and many succeed to some degree. We certainly all aspire to the goal if we're decent human beings.
But, why does everyone aspire to have a "crown?' What's the great attraction of having something that signifies absolute rule over other creatures? When I was in Worldwide, that was the ever-present "carrot" suspended in our plodding gaze to keep us hyped up as we traversed one "gun lap" after another. We practically orgasmed over the prospect of being rulers over this messed up earth and being able to be that "voice behind them" every time they were about to mess up.
It's still going in all those laughable splits and splinters that remind me of the divisions of protestantism we used to so self-righteously ridicule.
What comical denizens of primatedom we are! Might as well laugh about it. All comedy harks back to the stupidities of reality.
Monday, May 12, 2014
HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL
As a compulsive history buff, I tend to dwell on what the hell is wrong with the world and how did it get so damn screwed up. I'm not alone in that but a lot of people think they know and most of them haven't a clue.
We started to get screwed up when crafty con artists and would be mafia-don-type leaders set out in early societies to lord it over their fellow primates and appropriate to themselves the lion's share of everything so they could live in opulent ease while the lesser peons (I like to picture that as literal pee-ons) groveled along in abject subservience, having to bow and scrape to their now exhalted masters.
The myths of religions and manufactured imaginary gods kept everybody in properly cowering fearful mode because none of those gods could be seen. They just lurked there in the imaginary but oh so powerful background and every time some disaster came along, either individually or enmasse on the whole populace, the bombastic gurus were quick to make sure everyone knew it was because they had angered one of those oh so powerful entities.
By the time things had evolved into the Roman Empire, that marvel of crass militaristic oppression and amalgamated chaos, so many cultures and religions had been absorbed that the plethora of supreme gods and saviors extant became a confusing morass of bombastic and mutually condemnatory, duplicatory and totally confusing and divisionary empire endangering stupidity that old emperor Constantine had to do something to get the "family" straightened out, At least, he was pragmatic enough to know that all that confusion was bad for the overall family business. Any respectable "don" with a lick of sense could have seen that.
The answer! Imperial decree, of course!
By decree backed up by a still very impressive and ruthless military, he ordered all those warring religious "authorities" to hie their behinds off to Nicacea and have themselves a conference and they'd better get it settled once and for all what was to be the only religious faith and doctrine to be tolerated in the empire.
It took months of arguing and fighting, but what came out as an amalgamation of the most influencial and dominating of the "leaders" present is what the western world struggled along under as the Catholic Church through all those oppressive times we refer to as the "dark ages." All the scientific progress made in the ancient world was pretty much buried under a totalitarian system of superstitious ignorance and oppression.
Human progress came to an almost total halt for more than a thousand years! That's what religion does for a society!
Not too long after that, a deranged camel jockey called Mohammad came on the scene and soon set up a competing religion known as Islam and through terror and ruthless conquest, it imposed itself on a great deal of the world and still lusts for the rest of it.
The enlightenment did a lot to reverse things in the western world, but the minions of superstition and groveling obedience to imagined all powerful beings still holds the majority of people in our country and many others in its oppressive sway. Reason is kicked to the gutter and replaced by stupid fairy tales while the rich and powerful love to have it that way. People who have no idea how to really think and reason are easier to keep under control.
It has always been so and the miserable course of history shows what is the inevitable result any time "faith" takes over. I'd like to be optimistic, but I have qualms when I look at the real situation.
We started to get screwed up when crafty con artists and would be mafia-don-type leaders set out in early societies to lord it over their fellow primates and appropriate to themselves the lion's share of everything so they could live in opulent ease while the lesser peons (I like to picture that as literal pee-ons) groveled along in abject subservience, having to bow and scrape to their now exhalted masters.
The myths of religions and manufactured imaginary gods kept everybody in properly cowering fearful mode because none of those gods could be seen. They just lurked there in the imaginary but oh so powerful background and every time some disaster came along, either individually or enmasse on the whole populace, the bombastic gurus were quick to make sure everyone knew it was because they had angered one of those oh so powerful entities.
By the time things had evolved into the Roman Empire, that marvel of crass militaristic oppression and amalgamated chaos, so many cultures and religions had been absorbed that the plethora of supreme gods and saviors extant became a confusing morass of bombastic and mutually condemnatory, duplicatory and totally confusing and divisionary empire endangering stupidity that old emperor Constantine had to do something to get the "family" straightened out, At least, he was pragmatic enough to know that all that confusion was bad for the overall family business. Any respectable "don" with a lick of sense could have seen that.
The answer! Imperial decree, of course!
By decree backed up by a still very impressive and ruthless military, he ordered all those warring religious "authorities" to hie their behinds off to Nicacea and have themselves a conference and they'd better get it settled once and for all what was to be the only religious faith and doctrine to be tolerated in the empire.
It took months of arguing and fighting, but what came out as an amalgamation of the most influencial and dominating of the "leaders" present is what the western world struggled along under as the Catholic Church through all those oppressive times we refer to as the "dark ages." All the scientific progress made in the ancient world was pretty much buried under a totalitarian system of superstitious ignorance and oppression.
Human progress came to an almost total halt for more than a thousand years! That's what religion does for a society!
Not too long after that, a deranged camel jockey called Mohammad came on the scene and soon set up a competing religion known as Islam and through terror and ruthless conquest, it imposed itself on a great deal of the world and still lusts for the rest of it.
The enlightenment did a lot to reverse things in the western world, but the minions of superstition and groveling obedience to imagined all powerful beings still holds the majority of people in our country and many others in its oppressive sway. Reason is kicked to the gutter and replaced by stupid fairy tales while the rich and powerful love to have it that way. People who have no idea how to really think and reason are easier to keep under control.
It has always been so and the miserable course of history shows what is the inevitable result any time "faith" takes over. I'd like to be optimistic, but I have qualms when I look at the real situation.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
AUTOBIOGRAPHIES ARE GREAT!
I bought a book Saturday -- George Carlin's autobiography, Last Words -- for $1. I love autobiographies and especially about people I love and look up to, like George Carlin. He's sharp. He's irreverent. He's totally honest and above board. Especially, his knack for saying it exactly like it is. I respect that. Too bad he's now among the dearly departed.
I don't know how long it will take to get through the book, reading a little every day but I'm certainly going to finish it. People are so damn interesting and when someone as interesting and unique as George tells his story, it gets downright spellbinding.
We really should be fascinated by everyone we meet because, if we could know their story, it would usually be fascinating. Maybe some lives could be a bit dull, but even that would contain lessons in avoiding dullness.
Biographies are good two, but they have the disadvantage of being secondhand, someone else's take and interpretation of a person's life.
I like it firsthand.
I don't know how long it will take to get through the book, reading a little every day but I'm certainly going to finish it. People are so damn interesting and when someone as interesting and unique as George tells his story, it gets downright spellbinding.
We really should be fascinated by everyone we meet because, if we could know their story, it would usually be fascinating. Maybe some lives could be a bit dull, but even that would contain lessons in avoiding dullness.
Biographies are good two, but they have the disadvantage of being secondhand, someone else's take and interpretation of a person's life.
I like it firsthand.
Monday, May 5, 2014
MEMORIES TIME
(From Facebook.)
Time to get going on this day. I need a haircut and have an eye exam scheduled. We'll see how those old lamps are doing.
My son called last evening to see how I'm doing. It's comforting to know your children care about you as you steadily decline. I now have a problem with my right knee which tends to lodk up when I stand still for a long time doing something. I'm trying to figure out the machanics that cause the problem. Probably just an old, sloppy joint. I guess I need to consult a specialist. We're kind of like old machines that develop bad bearings with use. A knee operation definitely does not appeal to me.
I can't complain. Nearly eighty years of vibrant health and physical agility. I've never spent even an hour in a hospital bed and hope to keep it that way. I have that die with your boots on attitude.
It's still frustrating though when I have to take slopes slowly and couldn't feel safely balanced on a step stool yesterday when I was putting a new chain on a ceiling fan. Had to go get the A-frame aluminum ladder so I could lean against it. A lack of testosterone does a lot more damage than just diminished to absent sex drive. It affects everything!
I now know what "the juices drying up" means. It's more than figurative language. We come into this world wound up and the spring gets tighter until we pass that quarter century mark. Then, it's a steady downhill trip that isn't too noticeable at first. Just fifteen years ago, I could still square dance up a storm and work long days.
It's that "memories" stage of life.
Time to get going on this day. I need a haircut and have an eye exam scheduled. We'll see how those old lamps are doing.
My son called last evening to see how I'm doing. It's comforting to know your children care about you as you steadily decline. I now have a problem with my right knee which tends to lodk up when I stand still for a long time doing something. I'm trying to figure out the machanics that cause the problem. Probably just an old, sloppy joint. I guess I need to consult a specialist. We're kind of like old machines that develop bad bearings with use. A knee operation definitely does not appeal to me.
I can't complain. Nearly eighty years of vibrant health and physical agility. I've never spent even an hour in a hospital bed and hope to keep it that way. I have that die with your boots on attitude.
It's still frustrating though when I have to take slopes slowly and couldn't feel safely balanced on a step stool yesterday when I was putting a new chain on a ceiling fan. Had to go get the A-frame aluminum ladder so I could lean against it. A lack of testosterone does a lot more damage than just diminished to absent sex drive. It affects everything!
I now know what "the juices drying up" means. It's more than figurative language. We come into this world wound up and the spring gets tighter until we pass that quarter century mark. Then, it's a steady downhill trip that isn't too noticeable at first. Just fifteen years ago, I could still square dance up a storm and work long days.
It's that "memories" stage of life.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
CINCO DE DRINKO
It's "cinco de drinko" weekend. I'm not too enthusiastic about taking any long drives and the enforcement teams will be all over the place. A lot of chicanos are going to end up with legal problems, and I sympathize with them.
Why?
Because most of them have a good dose of native american genes in their system, making them desirous of and totally helpless against the curse of the alcohol europeans brought to these shores. Many of european ancestry have a similar problem, but not anywhere near as overwhelming as the problem those of native ancestry face. I know. I'm stepfather to a full blood native american my wife adopted at birth. He's spent most of his life since mid-teens behind bars due to his overwhelming addiction to alcohol. He's there right now.
Another proof, as I see it, that evolution is an actuality. There certainly was no intelligent guidance behind a situation like this.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I can take that chemical or leave it, and usually leave it because there is no overwhelming compulsion in my genetic makeup to lead me to lust after it. A 30-pack of beer will last me around six months and the harder stuff sitting on a shelf in our pantry often sits there for months and years. I've got two-year-old rum waiting for the next eggnog season, but it's the eggnog mix that I really like. I have pretty much a take it or leave it attitude toward the rum part.
So, I have an attitude of pity and compassion toward those who are stuck with a chemical compulsion. It makes for a thorny problem and we're stupid if we think draconian punishments and persecutions are going to solve anything. It only makes for more and worse problems. I liken it to the justifications some people make for torture. It's really a similar attitude.
Why?
Because most of them have a good dose of native american genes in their system, making them desirous of and totally helpless against the curse of the alcohol europeans brought to these shores. Many of european ancestry have a similar problem, but not anywhere near as overwhelming as the problem those of native ancestry face. I know. I'm stepfather to a full blood native american my wife adopted at birth. He's spent most of his life since mid-teens behind bars due to his overwhelming addiction to alcohol. He's there right now.
Another proof, as I see it, that evolution is an actuality. There certainly was no intelligent guidance behind a situation like this.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I can take that chemical or leave it, and usually leave it because there is no overwhelming compulsion in my genetic makeup to lead me to lust after it. A 30-pack of beer will last me around six months and the harder stuff sitting on a shelf in our pantry often sits there for months and years. I've got two-year-old rum waiting for the next eggnog season, but it's the eggnog mix that I really like. I have pretty much a take it or leave it attitude toward the rum part.
So, I have an attitude of pity and compassion toward those who are stuck with a chemical compulsion. It makes for a thorny problem and we're stupid if we think draconian punishments and persecutions are going to solve anything. It only makes for more and worse problems. I liken it to the justifications some people make for torture. It's really a similar attitude.
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