“Things do not change; we change.” Henry David Thoreau

Over the course of my years of writing, I don’t know how many times I have made asinine pronouncements about what I was going to do or not do. One that comes to mind immediately is making a big deal out of quitting pot, because God doesn’t get high, my rationale. A couple of months later, I forgot to mention I was back at it with a vengeance. I actually did stop a while ago and didn’t feel it necessary to blow the word trumpets this time. 

Gorillas like to beat their chests and I applaud their prowess. I, on the other hand, feel the need to apologize whenever I step into the realm of prognostication. The mind is a funny thing, it keeps changing and I seem to be continually embarrassed, thinking there is some certainty regarding tomorrow, or the next minute, for that matter.

Ah, why am I bringing this up now? I am so glad you asked. I have sincerely grown tired of writing about myself, especially because I am not all that interesting to begin with. I am guilty of using my modest, word prowess to paint a flattering picture of myself and I would like to apologize. 

You probably won’t believe this, but I never go backwards and read my stories, not even the prior week. I now have 452, sitting in a looseleaf binder on my dresser and I only open it up to put in more stories. I am also not an idiot and I remember some things about them. I wrote in the last story, I was tired writing about myself and wanted to switch my focus to the world we all share. Like quitting pot, it sounded like a good idea at the time.

Two things happened to fuck all that up. On a recent afternoon, I was standing at a reservoir, not catching fish, my favorite past time. I looked around at where I was and immediately thought I have tell you about it, because it was so wonderful. The next morning, I went outside with my cup of coffee and looked at the rising sun, a small ritual of mine. Putting those two together, there was no way I could ever write without including me in every story. Who I am is why I write and what I write about, no matter the subject. Duh?

In the midst of these mini-revelatory moments, I have been accumulating some stories that I felt the need to share with you. Some are important and others are insane. I feel a little like Jon Stewart, without the cameras and paid writing staff. It is just me and a world that is completely nuts. 

I am pretty sure I haven’t done this before, but I alway seem to be wrong in these matters. I want to share some stories with you, peppered with commentary, if you can call it that.

I got a story about two famous people and they are both fucked up, but for completely different reasons. Steve Buscemi, an actor I really, really respect, was walking in his NYC hometown and for no reason he was assaulted, punched in the face by some homeless dude, who didn’t even know who the fuck he was. Buscemi is a real New Yorker, not some carbon copy faker and I really admire him.

Now, on other side of serious, we have Paris Hilton, who had two children via surrogate, which is totally cool. However, “she bought a prosthetic stomach and wore it around the house for the day, wanting it to feel real.”

Let’s stay in the realm of fantasy for just one more minute. According to Politico, while addressing a room of judges, attorneys and other court personnel, Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas repeatedly denounced his critics and called Washington a “hideous place.” “Certainly my wife and I in the last two or three years, it’s been-just the nastiness and the lies, it’s just incredible.” 

ProPublica reported, in a Pulitzer Prize winning series, Thomas received and failed to report a series of luxury gifts over two decades from Texas billionaire, Harlan Crow, amongst others, like private jet and super yacht trips and an RV, yes an RV. His wife is on the record, supporting the fable of a fixed election for Biden. I mean she has been all over the place with it. What the fuck do you have to do be a “hideous” person and “liar” Clarence?. You blame Washington! Oh hell, he is only a justice on the Supreme Court!

THIS JUST IN: SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SAMUEL ALITO FLEW THE US FLAG UPSIDE DOWN IN THE DAYS BEFORE BIDEN’S INAUGURATION, A SIGN FOR “STOP THE STEAL”, A BATTLE CRY FOR THE JAN. 6TH INSURRECTION AT THE CAPITOL. Oh hell, he is only a justice on the Supreme Court!

This next series of stories completely blew my mind, arguing about the number of people killed in Gaza. Earlier this week, the UN reduced the number of people killed in Gaza. Initially, the numbers were 34,755 people, with more than 9,500 women and 14,500 children. Subsequently, the numbers were reduced to 4,959 women and 7,797 children.

On Monday, the UN clarified and told Fox news the number of fatalities in Gaza remains unchanged, at more than 35,000. Israel, for the first time, estimated the civilian death toll in Gaza at 16,000. Israeli government spokesperson Avi Hyman also told Fox News that for 221 days, his country has been “condemned globally because of a fake and fabricated civilian death toll created and disseminated by Hamas.” 

Are you fucken kidding me? Arguing about the exact number of the thousands of women and children killed in Gaza is insane. One child, your child, is one too many. 

Looking at the morning sun, coffee in hand, how can I be separate from all this? I have no idea, but these very special moments mean the world to me, in spite of the world itself.

The insanity of this is far from over. Sen. Lindsey Graham compared the Israeli war on Gaza to the US decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan during World War II, telling Israel to “do whatever you have to do” to finish the military campaign. On Meet the Press, he argued that Israel would be justified in slaughtering civilians in Gaza. 

Equally as moronic and disconnected, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, ripped anti-Israeli student protesters as being ignorant of Middle Eastern affairs. “They don’t know very much at all about the history of the Middle East, or, frankly, about history in many areas of the world, including our own country.” This is from a chick, who didn’t even know her husband was getting blow jobs in the Oval Office! Although, she probably did, which is even worse.

Let’s go to Central Asia for more crazy and Kazakhstan. Their former economy minister, Kuandyk Bishimbayev (spell check went nuts) was sentenced to 24 years in prison for the torture and murder of his wife. Government data showed that the country records around 300 domestic violent complaints daily and more than 80 women die from domestic abuse every year. Then, I looked at US numbers. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, an act of domestic violence occurs every 15 seconds in the United States, with four women losing their lives daily.

I don’t know what I’ll do next week, because I haven’t finished this week yet. These kind of things happen on a daily basis and even if you choose to ignore them for your own peace of mind, it’s still happening. I just want to do a few more and then I will be done. I’ll slap them together into one paragraph, because I am running long. OK?

Malaysia unveiled plans this month for “orangutan diplomacy”, gifting this critically endangered species to countries purchasing its palm oil. This oil is hugely popular and found in everything from shampoo to ice cream. It is a major contributor to deforestation, a global warming culprit. Speaking of climate, Florida Gov. DeSantis signed a law to delete most every mention of climate change and global warming. He said the law would protect the state from “global zealots”. Taking this week’s award for dumb, Donald Trumpf, asked the oil industry to give him $1 billion toward his campaign, in return for massive deregulation of the industry and at least $110 billion alone in tax breaks.

After all this, I am not exactly sure what point I am trying to make.  Being happy and filled with joy at the rising sun or the solitude of a reservoir is medicine for my soul. On top of that, I am very much in love with a wonderful and fascinating lady. Then, I read all the stuff I shared and much more and what the hell am I supposed to do with it?

I don’t know and that’s the truth. I can tell you it makes me love the sunrise and that reservoir and my lady even more. I know that. Just before sending this, I realized I left out my ritual, morning Zen sit, which I couldn’t live without. On the cushion, I tap the reset button and engage each day as if it is my first. Now, I am done!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1292459/episodes/15093128