Gender:
Male

Age:
68

Location:
California United...

Member Since:
06.15.10

• ~Katana~43:
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This ain't my first rodeo. I been to war, been rode hard and put away wet, been to gang fights without my gang, divorced my wife and remarried her ten years later (go figure), lived through the best times this country's ever had, and seen some of the worst. My Pa was a gentleman and a real war hero, and my Ma was a good woman, but she could be meaner than a Croc-a-Gator. Now they both know the answer to the Great Mystery. I've got one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel myself. The country's changed one helluva lot over the past few decades, mostly for the worse in the ways that really count. We can't quit on it, we got to find a way to save it. It ain't gonna be easy. We're bein' dumbed down faster than you can say lickety split. America is the most contrary country that's ever been. The good outweighs the bad, and it's the common folk who've kept it alive. God damn the ass kissin', store-bought politicians, and anybody else who doesn't realize it's the blood of our soldiers who've made it possible for all of us to be here, enjoying and taking for granted the privileges we have. In case you're wondering what a Croc-a-Gator is, it's a critter with the head of an alligator on one end and the head of a crocodile on the other. It can't shit, and that's what makes it so mean. If you know history, you know we're livin' on borrowed time. I ain't complaining. It's been one helluva run. Peace. Out.

I

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;

Music. I'm listening to more country music lately, mostly alternative stuff. Comes with age I guess as you get closer to end of the tunnel. And I'll always love Miles Davis' old album, "Kind Of Blue", a miracle of jazz creation. Van Morrison is an icon. First heard him sing "Gloria" in 1965, loved him ever since, and he ain't done yet. Once in awhile, I get a wild hair up my ass and get a hankering for some real kick-ass rock 'n' roll. Brings back memories of when I had plenty of lead in my pencil, stayed up all night raisin' hell and still went to work in the morning. Like the blues, too, but I got to be in just the right mood. Blue, I guess. And on rare occasions I listen to opera. Somethin' about a guy like Pavarotti, the passion and the power get your respect and find a way to make your heart swell and your toes tingle. Oh...and a foot-stompin', raise your hands, clap and shout gospel song once in awhile is just plain good for what ails you.

Family. Do everything you can for your loved ones, but love them enough to draw the line when you have to. You know what I mean.

The Natural World. We're no longer a part of it--that's what makes it fascinating. Study it. Learn from it. Try to figure out what happened to us.

We're an aberration.

Attitude. When I get down at the mouth, I think about the helpless, disabled kids given birth by mothers on drugs, kids who'll never have any kind of decent chance at life. I think about people all over the world who have things a helluva lot worse than me. I remember how much free beauty and poetry there is in the clouds that I've suddenly stopped appreciating. It tends to set my ass straight.

Philosophy. Inevitably, either directly or indirectly, we bring harm to others. To atone for our misdeeds is the most vital duty we can perform. The essence of our survival is contained in striving to become more humane.

Occasional sports, nature stuff, the news once in awhile when I want to feel sorry for myself and the plight of homo sapiens, and an outdoor channel now and again. Mostly, the rest ain't fit for human consumption.

We all enjoy the movies, don't we? The trick is to develop enough expertise to separate the shit from the shine. In case you haven't noticed there's a helluva lot more of the former than the latter. Says something about our culture, don't it?

Mostly writers you never heard of. Robert Ruark, Corey Ford, Nash Buckingham, Richard Brautigan, B.S. Johnson, and a few you may know--Jim Harrison, Ralph Ellison, and W.P. Kinsella. Last, but not least, Hemingway's short stories and vignettes. Most quotable writer--John Fowles