My guess is nobody noticed, but just in case you did, I wanted to let you know that I took the last two months off from writing. I was not experiencing writer’s block (known as Verbiage Expulsion Dysfunction in medical circles) but rather was battling a bad attitude. My mother used to say “if you can’t say something nice about somebody don’t say it” and frankly, I just could not think of one damn nice thing to say. I had been struggling with the national news getting me down and just when I thought I had a handle on my emotions Michael Jackson went off and passed on. I think we saw that one coming. Anyway, I was trying to get positive and just could not get out of my rut. So, I listened to dear ole mom and didn’t say anything. However, I felt compelled to write this month and thought I would just rattle off a few “random thoughts”. Here goes. We struggle with the present…we look to the future with uncertainty…we look back at the past with a fuzzy perspective. What do you mean by fuzzy you say? We romance that which wasn’t so great. So I am driving down the street the other day and I see a bumper sticker for McCain / Palin and I says to myself, “myself, the election is over and those folks need to get over it.” A few miles down the road, I see a Kerry / Gore bumper sticker and it dawned on me that this a very common occurrence. And to be very honest with you, I don’t get it…they look like sore losers. If your team does not win, you need to move on. Work hard on the next election, campaign, game, whatever…but let the past go (writer’s note: I am preaching primarily to myself here). Move on…heal thyself…put your energy into something that will change the world – at the very least, take a kid fishing. Pay it forward.
On another topic, what is up with people talking at the movies…the movies are too darned expensive these days (even with my senior citizen discount) and they usually aren’t worth the shekels. But the least several times that I have gone and have had people around me talking to each other during the movie. They run the “friendly reminder” prior to the show and you think they would get it. Kids texting, adults talking, phones ringing and on and on. I start with the dirty look, graduate to loud sssshhhh’s and eventually change seats. None of it seems to work. Woe is me.
Next rant – Major League Baseball games…baseball used to be a quiet sport (now, I think fly fishing has the lock on this market) and we would go to games, keep score, converse, and enjoy a hot dog and a beer on a summer day. Now, we have big screens everywhere, images flashing, music blaring, stuff being shot into the stadium and more. I feel like I am watching the MTV version of baseball and the whole experience is on steroids (well now…maybe it really is on steroids!). I find myself going to less and less games. It is more about the money than good baseball fans. Most folks are not even watching the game. If you are watching on television, you have the guy behind home plate in the expensive seats talking on the cell phone and waving at the camera. Does he realize how stupid he looks? Apparently not.
And now, for my final rant…folks that make a conscious decision to run red lights…not only do they run the risk of getting a ticket, but they could kill somebody. In fact, they do kill people. It is absolutely nuts! I will just say this about that – if somebody runs a red light and hits me, they better kill me or die, because if I can crawl out of my car and make my way to them, I will finish the job if necessary. Okay…now I feel better that I vented.
Now for the good stuff – if you need some therapy (and I apparently do!), take yourself fishing. Better yet, take somebody you care about with you. Even better, take a young person. You think about that…TL
