Interesting days!
Two things, or rather three:
One, the calm, intelligent, humane way Obama has responded to the predictable attacks reminds me of what impressed me about him when I first actually sat down and watched him on TV. Compared to Clinton and McCain, it’s like he’s from another planet: THIS ONE!
Two, it looks kinda nasty on the financial blogs. Whatever you do, don’t read any of them. They’ll just make you feel stupid that you didn’t sell your house in 2005, buy gold, and live in a tent. (???) Well now, wait a minute.
Three, my wife announced yesterday that she realized she had “always led an unconventional life” and actually felt good about herself in that regard. [GREAT HOLY MOTHER OF ALL BEINGS!!! Who am I to be so blessed?]
That’s enough, go about your business.
UPDATE (Sunday night ): Looks like something’s up with number two. But never fear, the bankers are in charge! Er…well then, the Bush administration is in charge! No, that can’t be right. Hell, maybe I’m in charge and just forgot! We’ll see.
Related posts:
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s kinda funny the way our personal finances and the state of the country and the vibes from the zeitgeist all seem to swim together. “Seem” is the operative word. We think when we’re up or down it’s not not just you or me, but all of us. And if we’re up, we’re all the way up, headed for paradise on a wave that lifts all boats, even our own leaky little rowboat. If we’re down, well, the whole world is going to hell, so why not join the crowd and just wallow in the misery of the human condition. I feel that way too, Johannes. I think my own ups and the downs correspond to those of my friends and neighbors and the country I live in. But the dirty little secret is that the universe doesn’t care much what you or I think. It’s going to do its usual thing of overwhelming us with misery or lifting us to the skies with joy, no matter what we think or do. And what happens to you or me doesn’t have much to do with what happens to anyone else. Do I care whether the stock market is up or down? Do I care about the latest scheme of the government to better my life? No, these are the agendas of financiers and politicians. Give me a sound mind and an uncomplicated heart. To hell with the the phoney baloney.
But Ken, if we separate you out from the Universe, where will you be?
I reckon I’m part of the universe (it’s big-hearted of me, I know, to make that concession!), but there’s not a masterplan to be discerned in the inexorable grinding up of all us itsy bitsy little parts into whatever weird and wonderful shapes we’re each destined to take. Call me a cock-eyed individualist, or just call me cock-eyed. It don’t matter.
“You must have faith the Universe will unfold as it should.”
-Mr. Spock, “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country”
(that’s right – Mr. “Logical” Spock said THAT!
)
(KJ: since you have explicitly declared yourself to be a “cock-eyed individualist”, you MUST see at least some of “The Prisoner”… on the surface it’s this surreal ’60s espionage drama, but dig down further and it’s really a deeply felt allegory celebrating “the right of the Individual to be Individual” (direct quote from the final episode “Fall Out”) in the face of soul-crushing conformity & mindless groupthink. it may be too weird and “far out” for you to deal with, but you should at least give it a try.
it’s only 17 episodes and readily available on dvd.)
John Farr, you should strip down naked and run outdoors and dance wildly to the Mud God in gratitude for your wife. For her to “feel good” about her unconventional life is a truly great blessing. Otherwise – and trust me on this – you’d still be caged in Maryland or, perhaps worse, living in self-imposed solitary confinement in an adobe hut with mad dogs at the door and buzzards overhead.
Treasure her.
Gregory: Oh, I trust you on that, all right. This is f*cking huge, especially coming after all we’ve been through already. I’m the luckiest man in the world, no cliché,
You’re preaching to the choir here, but I don’t mind a bit.
Next step: getting a house where she can have her baby grand…
An Obama observation: I had a “Yard Sale” (no, I didn’t sell the yard) this weekend and have an Obama sign in front of the house. A remarkable number of folks came by and made positive comments. Remarkable because this is a VERY Repub neighborhood. But what I noticed was that the OLDER folks were, the more likely they were to tell me that they were for Obama. There are NO McCain yard signs. Nada. Lots of Ron Paul bumperstickers, though, speaking of individualism. He seems to be striking a chord in Austin. Maybe they’re confusing him with Les Paul.