Copious Amounts

Copious Amounts

 

I am going into the New Years 2016 with a split-vision perspective, and remind myself that the world as I know it is an acquired taste.  Seems silly to me that I would blow myself up like a puffer fish and try to scare the big fish away, but is what I am doing these days.  Seems I am dropping back and punting, putting the ball in somebody elses hands, and let them run the distance for a score, or for some other goal that is just not realistic for me at the time and place I find myself in these days.

 

Find myself with copious amounts of humor and humility and humble estate in a wind-swept landscape of my own making.  Having said that, I brace myself against the winds of change, and accept the challenge.  And what might that challenge be?   For starters I suggest that I go it alone, side stepping the incongruities of time warp and just not feeling it, as I am faced with a new plane of reality that comes with smart phones and dumbed-down humans, forced to taking things as they come, for better or worse.

Each day coming up with new ways to deal with the situation as it parades itself in front of me, demanding full attention, regardless of my position in this techno-illogical of man-made constructions that tend towards legitimacy because they appear and you acknowledge it.   And that’s it.  Social media and you making your presence known, and often it leaves me wondering, “Do I know you?”  “What does this have to do with me?”

 

And of course this discussion could go on in copious amounts of word flow, except for the very fact that I have little time or energy for any of this.  You see, I have acquired one or two more devices, and each operates as a separate universe until itself.  A Kindle Fire and it came as a gift over the holidays.  Another was a tablet Kit Kat Android Tablet, with camera front and back.  And if that isn’t enough to throw the mind into delirious spin, I will continue to collect the down side of materialism as Sales and Returns add up, and on my table sit the trophies of the holidays, unwrapped.

Okay.  One last thing before I drown myself in sorrow, or as it happens in your neighborhood, the next best thing which might be drinking our favorite cocktail on New Year’s Eve.  Just reading where I can celebrate the coming of 2016 in a very special way.  Seems the USA Today is reporting that Olive Garden in Times Square is charging $400 per person for New Year’s Eve tickets.  Reading more details I find that that includes a bathroom and a buffet and an open bar, meaning it’s a pay-as-you-go Drink situation, and it costs more and more, and that of course depends on you and your budget and appetite.  Seems like in copious amounts you can party and celebrate and for New York City is relatively cheap, if you don’t worry about taxi or hotel expenses after midnight on one of the busiest times of the year.

 

It has taken me two days now to complete this blog.  Wanted it done by January 1, 2016.  Have a couple of days to get this posted, but of course I wanted it completed now.  Not sure what I should finish with.  Do not want to be dismissive of imparting both positive energy and also a grand gesture that New Year’s with family and friends drinking copious amounts of champagne and watching college football game is most important and must be done in grand style. 

Am I looking forward to 2016?  Yes and No is the answer I present here and now.  Yes, because it means I am alive and that speaks for itself.  No, because the celebration encapsulates the point that I must wash over all of this with copious amounts of alcohol and other stimulants that fortify all this as having a good time.  So that is where I am.  Familiar with the rituals of bringing in the New Years, and familiar with doing all this with the help of a designated driver, as I must not break the law, nor get a DUI, or even injure others or myself, all in the name of welcoming 2016. 

The things we do to celebrate leaves me breathless.  And yes, welcoming in the New Years can be done without drinking or drugging and all that.  Most will ignore what others do and say concerning New Year’s Day 2016.  Even so I encourage the opportunity to share this blog with you.

Copious Amounts in this case amounts to next to nothing, as I sit on my couch in a stupor on January 1^st, asking myself.  “What day is it?  Did the Eagles win?”  And that’s when I reflect back to    Times Square and the night before, and Olive Garden and being together to watch New York City drop the ball, and because it is not perfectly clear what really happened, I just have to ask for a second time. 

“Did the Eagles win?” 

 

And now it comes to me that they probably didn’t, as Philadelphia NFL just fired their coach Chip Kelly.  This is a football fact that has nothing to do with you, nor do you have interest in.  Leaving me to think that New Year’s and Football and things like that are not even related to each other at all.  And if we think this way, then it leaves me with copious amounts of yesterday that I just need to discard and not include in my baggage in the year 2016.  And yet, I am an old fashion person.  Will not feel like the job is complete until I wish you a Happy New Years.

Happy New Years.  2016.

 

Now I am done and has me thinking.  “I need a drink or something.”  Because life without you and without football is incomprehensible to me.  And there you have it.  Modern times all over the globe and it has me wondering, “Where did 2015 go?”

Happened so fast, and now I sit dizzy and wondering.  Did the Eagles Win?  Chip Kelly and he just lost his job.  And millions say, “ Eagles, Bears and Lions.  What exactly has this to do with me and a Happy New Year’s 2016.   And I possible could attempt to tell you, but then realize this is an international blog and site, going world-wide to spread the message, and for the most part the significance of it all is lost, or just lost in translation, and it is true.  We do not speak the same language.  Words flow in copious amounts, but leaves me sitting on the couch, asking.  “What just happened?  Do I care?”

Football and New Year’s celebration is still a few days in the future.  I feel better now.  Conversation about the future is senseless and about football, once what was important is no longer the case as we venture off-planet and into outer space, knowing that on the moon and on Mars, they don’t even have a team.  So no reason to go there, but we do.  And that leaves me thinking.  The year 2016 and where are you?   And more importantly I wonder.  “Are we there yet?”  And one more.  “Are we having fun?”   

High Winds Inhibit Me

High Winds Inhibit Me

I’ve had my day and now must move aside and let others experience the holidays and December activities and then of course 2016 and the New Year’s Celebration.  Spending a week or two contemplating a certain relaxation response, without going into the impulse of spending.  Commercialism and the American Way that tends towards making all of us a full fledged consumer.  Consumer of the Arts.  Like my Van-go and tooling around the city looking at decorated yards, with lights that could consume power better used elsewhere, but then again, want to be in a giving mood, and give the benefit of the doubt to most things material and inspired by the selfish gene.

Think of others and not of the self, and yes that seems to be appropriate this time of year.  So I did light candles and thought of those more and less fortunate than myself.  Decided that we are blessed if we have electricity and an internet connection and the devices that make all this a superb communication hub.  So we get together, mostly with words, but now that the camera phone is central to most of us, the graphics add to the mix, and color our world.

 

Originally I had thought to write about how through the course of a year, that the majority of those 365 days are filled with challenge.   Try not to think about the severity of things, and how we create a lot of the difficulty we face.  Decide to leave that to the professionals to right the course of a river overflowing its banks and having boundary problems.  Human and we all have problems.  Stylize and simplify and realized many years ago I could not contribute in blog format each and every day, if the conversation was only about me.

 

Worked the puzzle and decided that there must be universal topics we could share, and leap over the facts of our individual existence and individual localities.  Along with that I added pictures, in the event my words were misunderstood, as I did see Bill Murray’s presentation in Lost in Translation , and that did influence me.

How to remove myself from center stage and yet still be interesting enough for others to relate with me, and come back.  Mee  Mee Mee was not the style I chose.  At the same time I could only be factual and personal to a certain degree.  Too much and I would spend most of my time saying, “No I am not available.”   “No, coming to spend a week with me at my place is not an option.”  So I added entertainment to my routine.  If it amused me, I thought it might also add a smile to your day.  And so for many years I followed this style of blogging.  Personalized to the degree that total strangers could relate.  But then, something changed.

Can’t wrap my head around it.  Has something to do with social media and facebook and meeting people using the web to get your name and image and brand out where you could connect.  Not sure which convergent zone surrounded me and my old ways.  Before I realized it, writing was a way for others to identify a personality they wanted to connect with.  And before we know it,  the practice becomes intrusive.  “Let’s meet.”  And there I was, caught in the middle.  Hate to say, “ No.”  Dislike creating walls and boundaries, and to have to say I learned the hard way the limitations of meeting the people in person that comment and say,

 “ Personalize this.”

 

As is my routine, I woke up this morning and read the banners on google news.  Staring me in the face was something about a Vertical Landing and how something like this had never been done before.  That got my attention and wanted to title this blog, Vertical Landing, and then go on to talk about how difficulties throughout a normal year, tend to turn our world inside out.  Meaning, difficulties are experienced by us, and then some turnout to have a happy ending.  The ones that continue to be difficult and have negative impact on us, seem to get less and less face-time.  Meaning, we like a good story and fantasy serves a purpose when we just can’t change things and it is bad.

 

So here I am, wanting to write about such things without being morbid, as this is the holiday season and we want all to be joyful and fun.  Entertain me.  Surprise me.  Wrap my world in colorful lights and paper and put a bow on it.  That’s what we want.  So Vertical Landing would not be so much about bring a first stage booster rocket back to earth for a recycle experience, but rather about experiencing things and good or bad, landing on our feet and moving on.  With laughter and delight in the presence of others.  Doing the happy dance.  Near the Christmas Tree and under the mistletoe I find myself with like-minded people out for a good time.

 

High Winds Inhibit Me  is a phrase I attributed to Charles Lindbergh, the pilot who did the first transatlantic flight back in the day when it was still an extra-ordinary thing to do.  Then came the hero stage and after the kidnapping and death of a family member.  After things happen and you no longer can be in public without revealing personal history and the humanistic things that happen, where do you go, what do you do and most importantly, what is to be said when you give the world your true self and then find yourself violated.

 

To avoid a long conversation about such things, you learn the hard way to be out there, and yet at the same time use simple phrases to change the subject.  So saying, “High winds inhibit me.”  And since that happened I can’t really be the person you thought me to be.  How do you deal with delivering a message like that, with overstepping the boundaries of the platform you happen to be on?

 

Am sure that most have learned how to avoid things like this.  Not me.  I am an innocent.  I write.  I post.  I let a little time settle in around us, and then I do it over and over again.  Write .   Post.  And land on my feet.  Experience a vertical landing to some degree.  Upright and cheerful.  Saying all the right things.  Well probably not, and this is known if you have been following my blogs since 2006 or there-a-bouts.  But now going into 2016 I am looking for a proper way to keep my distance, but at the same time put myself out there for public consumption.  And at the same time stay out of harm’s way.  Still working on the proper delivery system for a package as complicated as this.  Tis the end of the year.  Say, “Happy Holidays All.”

 

And skip around the factual stuff.  Come back in 2016 and work the problem.  Which happens to be:   High Winds Inhibit Me.  And I must be careful in passage from the public to the private and back.  Vertical Landing and a safe platform is what I seek , while at the same time including others.  Including you is part of the stage I want to make wonderful and grand, without of course adding to the chaos that comes with mass consumption and people focused on wine, women and dance, and things like that. New Year’s Party and celebration.   So here I am promoting all of us having a good time, and yet keeping a safe distance at the same time.  Wonder how we do it, when things get personal.  Is my puzzle for today.   Cheers.

Discount The Holiday

Holiday Discount In Reverse

 

Am looking out the window at midday and notice that there is more rain in the garden just a rooftop level down from where I am standing than there are flowers in full bloom.  Extend my eyes out a little further and realize I can barely see the water’s edge, which is but two blocks away and a normal part of the path of urban scenery my eyes often take, when the sun is out and it is hard not to respond to the glint of light coming off the miles of water that are in front of high mountains on the horizon. 

 

Today I can barely see to the water’s edge and the impact of raindrops tapping on my window, are but a gentle hint that staying inside on this day might be a good idea.   Had plans, as we all do but now think it might make sense to alter my priorities and take advantage of the fact that I have a choice here.  Relax and finish lunch.  Then use the resources I have to reconfigure my activities, and put on a happy face.  Understand that Rome wasn’t built in one day, and when you have a rain-day staring you down, one can stay dry by just finding something else to occupy one’s expendable hours, before others come home and say, “What’s for dinner?”

 

Ends up I see the promise and how a rain-day can benefit me.  Seems yesterday was an exercise day and I left my energy on the running track and in the exercise center where my intent was to sweat off some pounds before the holiday treats found a place upon my waistline.  Is a familiar thing to hear this time of year.  How we want to enjoy the special meals and treats and wine and song, but do not want the downside of extra poundage slowing us down.

 

And this is a good time to put the raincoat away, sit in a comfortable chair and tell you my thoughts about how Holiday Discounts will impact the way I spend an obvious rain day inside without going totally bonkers.  It all starts with staring out the window, feeling the drops of rain as I crack the window open, and shiver as the outside wraps itself around me, and suddenly I find it wise to change my plans. Sit and write and feel satisfied that you can do this.  Find a topic and proceed.    Holiday Discount and how all of this impacting me, is the point of this blog.

 

Of course it is known he is easily blown off course and the expected results often differ from the expectations we come up with by focusing on the Blog Title he presents.  Blowing rain and I close the window.  Get a towel and dry off.  Minimize the impact of rain on my skin, and settle down for an afternoon inside contemplating something I visualize as the Holiday Discount,  and how things change over the course of my day and month and year.  Yes it is true, the month of December is flying by. 

 

And the holidays and the home decorations are highly visible as I look around and put myself where you are, mentally and with the help of the visual internet see an alternative world out there, all done up in lights and decoration.  My spirits rise.   Am content to remain inside for now.  Watching how this blog develops and takes shape.

Not sure if a Discounted Holiday means that I will save money and get off cheap with the things that happen this time of year.   November and there was Black Friday and Cyber Monday and then the circulars and flyers that come in the mail.  A reminder that where I live, the merchants and business people have a big stake in how prosperity influences the neighborhood and local community.  Yes, I live in a commercial state where the mind is reminded daily, it takes money to live.  And November and December are the big months to boost the bottom line.  This I know as all the advertisements point in the direction of conspicuous consumption.

 

And on top of this is the headline about the world in general, and gearing up to blow things up over near the holy lands, where once we prayed for peace and people living in harmony.  But that is the holiday discount, and it is not the way I had visualized it.  My job for the moment is to sidestep reality and fantasize over the endless possibility of happy and joyful moments, out on the street where people walk by, with shopping bags full.  The shopping cart, online or over at the Target store is full and the lines are long.  Good reason to turn up the volume for some commercial free Christmas and Holiday Music.

 

Best to not be upset because it is raining.  Stop being too serious and pop a cookie into the mouth, take a sip of something warm, and raise one’s awareness that the promise of the Holidays are near.  Tell the kids to take off their shoes, make sure the cat is not wrecking the Christmas Tree dispay, and yes, understand that Discounting the Holidays is not a bad thing.  Make the best of traditions and learned activities, like shopping online and waiting in expectation for the UPS Delivery Man to appear.

 

Stop fussing.  So what if it is raining.  Rinse and Repeat.  Spread the cheer around.  Enjoy the timeout, where you can grab a hot chocolate and look at the tree and the lights, say a prayer for those in passing, and in general for a world that needs to sort itself out, discount the bad things that have occurred, and from this point on, Let one’s mind and heart sing out.  Glory be the blessings of this season.  Concentrate on the good things one can do, and yes if you must or just want to, draw inspiration and positive vibes from the message we send to each.  Live in peace.  Do no harm.  Love one another.  And realize,  a little rain will not prevent you from having a good day.

Having said all this, I find myself pleased in the present moment.  Holiday discounts do not have to be massive to make a difference.  And yes,  accepting a raincheck will not hurt you.  Is how it is for me.  I check myself, acknowledge the rain, and step back, for now.  This too will pass.  And besides, it is not a big deal that you and I are separated by a long line at the checkout counter.  Later we will laugh about it, stand under the mistletoe and receive a kiss. 

And that is what I live for.  Being with you.  Being happy.  And yes, I like it when I can stay dry and am able to celebrate the moment, without a holiday discount impairing me and keeping me from maximizing the pleasure when I am here with you.  So that is the message.  Come Home for the holidays.  I miss you. Put it on my credit card if you must, but Come Home.  Now is the time.

 

Cesspool Delight

CESSPOOL DELIGHT

 

I might be wrong, but the power of the present moment comes with getting the attention of the reader in a time when all are busy, the holidays are just around the corner, and for some they light a match and then light a candle or many candles and the accumulative light of the collective gives power to the present moment.  Lighting up the room with your smile is a good starting place for a blog with a dubious title.  Do intend to finish this without stinking up the place, and in the bathroom lighting a match often works to keep it all without discord and foul smelling circulating air.  Perhaps, it will work here.

 

And as I continue it occurs to me that Cesspool Delight is less about living in the city, where pipes lead to the center of purity and my act is cleaned up, before others notice how unpleasant it is, in the early stages of the day.  But in the city, we have the sanitation department, and if it works for you, then perhaps it’s the solution I seek as I watch decay set in and I get older, 

day by day.

 

There was a time when I didn’t live in a city.  Life for me was strictly the great outdoors.  Rural Existence and perhaps I learned at that time the difference between an open air cesspool and an outhouse and then as the years went by, experienced refinement by having something called a Septic Tank and a drainage field, and all of this processed the excrement’s of life in a productive and efficient manner, and at the same time helped me clean up my act, get healthy and live longer.  So here I am.  Talking about cesspools and taking delight in the passage from rural existence to the person I am today.

And who is this person of today.  Can start by saying, “ I now live in the center of a growing mid-sized town and have the time to sit and blog about such simple topics as the one before you.”  Not sure what this might have to do with you, but then again that is not my point here.  I blog to complete my sense of being.  If I talk about things, it might work as an ordering process that clarifies and cleans things up, so that I can begin my day without stepping in a pile of crap. Crap that I produce, because I am made that way.    Making sense of it might not happen, but then again it might make perfect sense to find your way out of the wilderness and into civilization, and in doing so, have better health and more quality of life.   Thinking about it now, I will take a moment of silent reflection and give praise to The Sanitation Department.  Done.

 

Done.  Now I feel better.  Feel like I have rid myself of a heavy load in the proper way, and am thankful that this truly is the way it is for me.  Taking care of my needs and taking care of the planet at the same time, gives me relief and cheers me up, knowing that I am about to begin a new year, 2016, and doing so on a positive note and puts me in harmony with the song I want to sing, once I join the chorus.  Tra-La-La-La-La.

 

Light and music and celebration and all this resonates within.  Helps me elevate myself and see the world as a better place.  My world and is it a cesspool or a playground ?  Perhaps that is all up to me, or wait, am I missing something?  Rural or Urban.  Does it matter where we find ourselves that our existence is predetermined by the things around us?  Forget about such things when I am on the World Wide Net and reach out into a very complex world and planet-state.  Write a blog and forget that my little place in the world is not like yours.  Cesspool Delight might have nothing to do with you.  And if this is the case, click and move on.  This is not for you.

 

Truth is, when I write a blog I want it to be universal and have a little substance for all that read it.  But am realizing that goal might truly be impossible to achieve.  Real life threatens the thoughts I convey here.  Creates a disturbance in the minds of others, ones that I can not see and certainly can not relate with.  Hence a form of verbal decay and thought disrepair.  Certainly is not The Cesspool Delight I mention in the title.

What if,  It is not for you? It saddens me to have to repeat a sentence like this.  Want all to be happy and joyful.  Want the best for you.  But the truth is that that is a private thought I am having just now.  Real life dictates a different outcome, and when taken to the universal extreme, produces results that are certainly different than anything I can envision.  Hence my limitations are showing.  Dictates that I stop now.  Put away this blog and wander off.   Go online and look up the address of the Sanitation Department.

 

Is how I will spend my day.  Giving thanks to those who have made life better for me in 2015.  And before the day ends will light a candle and close the bathroom door.  Oh wait.  Close The Outhouse Door and make my way back to the Big House.  Depends on where you are, what a person might do.  And because I wander off, it just is a To-be-determined-later- situation.   Urban or Rural and yes, it makes a difference.  It truly does.