There are so many differences in people. And yet we're all the same. Just a puzzle...such a popular puzzle. How many self-help books are there? How many self-help groups are there?
I watched a weightloss commercial this week. The woman was skinny and running on the beach. In ever so tiny letters was the disclaimer that these results demonstrated weren't typical. The commercial was saying it's own product was shit...fucking brilliant.
In December, I finally met, face to face, Helen, from Earth Angel Oils. She's such a wonderful human. There in the big building, where all of the natural healing people where selling their wares, she really stood out. Everyone else was so shiny with their wares...too shiny. Helen's booth was a bit disorganized, and she was disorganized, trying to help everyone, trying to personally talk with and touch each person. There was open food and water containers in her booth...Trying to eat and work. She was the only real person that I saw. She was the only person who wasn't in it for the money. She really loves what she does, she really wants people to be better. I spent a lot of money at her table, because I wanted to be better, and felt that I was really touched by her. As I went to another booth, I was dismissed for another human because I didn't look like I had the money for what the table was offering. Oh, I had the money, but I wasn't going to spend it with people who only wanted to money. People never learn. Never judge a book by it's cover. Who hasn't heard that?
But that Helen, was a real person. A cool person. How fortunate I was to meet her. She works hard so we can enjoy life. Amazing.
I've been making progress. A little better each day. But, who's in it with me?
I woke up this morning to news of dying dolphins and children who's homes are being bombed. People killing eachother because that don't read the book, they look at the cover. At this pace, we will all die. We have a country of rule makers who don't follow the rules. I'm feeling a little pessimistic today. Yes, it's there...like a little hard rock.
I often tell stories of my live in small town Texas. All the violence, all the time. At work, one guy that I work with thinks that I just attract with type of violence. He says that there's no way that this town existed the way I describe it. That it must just be me. He was analyzing me. I thought to myself, how bigger,more educated people had tried this already, and it broke their brain. But, go ahead.
He felt like if this was all true it would be on the news, on one of those spotlight news shows. I told him that it was too spaced out, the fights, the deaths, no one pays attention to that. I used Iraq as an example, we have had enough deaths there to wipe out an entire town in Texas. An entire town, just gone. We would pay attention if a town disappeared, but when it's spread out...it doesn't fade us a bit.
He thought it was only a certain "type" of people that fought. He was raised in the suburbs in Houston. Houston being a violent town...yet, he never saw any of this. Didn't my town have those kind of walls? Nope. To small to have walls. It's bigger now. But, when I was growing up, everyone redneck fought. Rich, poor, white, black, brown....didn't matter. Nothing to do, but fight and drink. I did admit that I used to skip school and go to the museum. I never saw any fights at the museum. However, I did see a fight or two at the old Texas Houses, outside part of the museum. Did that count?
He just couldn't believe that I didn't attract it, make it up. I told him how lucky he was to be sheltered and to shelter himself from the outside.
It's what we do, isn't it. I don't have to leave my neighborhood for anything. Groceries, church, carwash, coffee, movies...whatever I want right here, all the time. I never have to see anything. I never have to work for anything.
My boss is fond of the saying, if you want to play, you have to get in the game.
We spend most of our life never knowing.
I showed this work guy the death statistics of my small town, and the town we live in now. The small town has this town way beat. I showed him the domestic violence statistics. The small town wins again. Last week there were several public shootings....Bonus. God, Guns and Guts.
And today, I'm tired. And staying in. I'm not doing a goddammed thing. How's that for getting in the game?
No comments:
Post a Comment