This is going to be a full on rant...If you are a fan of Christmas, and the horrible music that accompanies it, you might want to stop reading now. Also, I wrote this on my iphone...spelling might be an issue.
WHAT THE FUCK IS THE DEAL WITH EVERY SINGLE RADIO STATION IN THE US PLAYING ALL CHRISTMAS ALL THE TIME???
Ahhh, I feel better now. Sorry but that outburst was completely necessary. Every year around Thanksgiving they all start the heavy rotation of the same Christmas carols I have heard since I was a child. It makes me want to go to the nearest radio station studio and throw a jingle bell rock through the booth window,drag the DJ out, and run over his grandma with a reindeer.
I was sick of Michael Jackson screaming about Santa Claus coming to town in 1981. That song is not like a fine wine. It does not get any better with age. Despite being a Bruce Springsteen fan, he did not do any better. Dont even get me started with Biebers take on it. These were the thoughts running through my head as I sat in traffic on 95 yesterday.
I kept hitting the seek button desperately hoping one radio station had a program director who felt the same way I did. Twenty minutes of hitting the button had me seething with something that bordered on rage. I admitted defeat when the station landed on Mariah Carey screeching out some terrible Christmas torture. If I were Nick Cannon I do believe I would partake in the Cobain solution.
Every year some recording artist decides to make his/her mark with a Christmas album. They always hype the album as some original twist on an old favorite. It's the same damn song as last years artist recording his/her "original" twist. Re-packaging "White Christmas" every year since the damn song was written does not make it any better. That's right...I AM a mean one Mr. Grinch. I would much rather take a Holiday In Cambodia.
"How can you hate Christmas?" has been asked of me more than once. My unapologetic answer is "it's pretty easy". Spend 5 minutes watching the idiots trample/pepper spray one another so their precious child can spend the rest of the year playing the latest Grand Theft Auto. Spend twenty miles, and several hours, in traffic on an interstate listening to the same five Christmas carols recorded by different artists on every single station. Buy an 800 dollar plane ticket that costs 250 on any other day.
"Well it's all about family"
Another favorite line uttered by Christmas lovers everywhere. I love my family. I love my girlfriends family. I love spending time with both. What makes December 25th the end all and be all of family days??
"Well it's for the children"
Don't even get me started on that one.
"It's a celebration of the birth of the son of God"
Really?? I stopped believing that when I was 11 and asked a Sunday school teacher how it was possible that a woman could give birth without having sex. Im pretty sure IVF was not an option back then. Not to mention all the other aspects of that story that defy science.
Christmas, and all the trappings of, makes me want to hibernate like a bear. On any other day of the year if you find a fat dude crawling out of your chimney, said fat dude would be getting a load of buckshot and an ambulance ride. Apparently breaking and entering is OK on December 25th. Tell me I am wrong!
The spirit of giving, family time, and general niceness should be everyday, not just amplified to sickening dimensions on 25 December. I am the anti-Christmas...Scrooge incarnate. Send the spirits of Christmas past, present, and future...I will take them all!
My past has zero regret, my present is more incredible than I can possibly imagine, and my future is completely unwritten...but it looks like it's shaping up to be pretty awesome. Merry effin Christmas everyone...
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Lowes Drops the Ball...
My views on Islam are complicated, and conflicted. That is a painfully honest admission. My views on religious freedom and everyone’s inherent right to worship as they choose are not. Our country came to be because a group of people were fleeing religious persecution in their own country. Religious freedom is so important that it is covered in two amendments the 1st and the 14th. The 1st guarantees the free exercise of religion. The 14th prohibits discrimination and guarantees equal protection of the laws for every person, including on the basis of religious beliefs. The founding fathers thought that was pretty important.
Lowes, a big box hardware/materials store, portrays itself as an All-American store. Their advertising is big on red, white, and blue and patriotism (at least during the patriotic holidays). It is a great store with a huge selection. If you can’t find it at Lowes it probably doesn’t exist. OK that may be a bit of an exaggeration but I think I made my point. Indeed, the chain of stores is a monument to capitalism and the principles of American ingenuity. So I was astounded to read that they decided to pull their advertising for a TV show that depicts hard working American families on the Learning Channel. You would think any corporation would be chomping at the bit to put their name to a show that depicts the societal norm for families. A mother, a father, and children all living under one roof in a "traditional" family atmosphere on TV is a rarity. Likewise, you would think the "family values" folks would be singing the praises of an actual family doing family things on TV. Especially in an age that portrays "reality" as drunks living in a beach house, children objectified in pageants,and Kardashians being Kardashians.
Apparently "family values" actually means "family values as long as you don’t call God Allah". Or, in other words, religious freedom is cool as long as you are not Muslim. It saddens me to see that in this day and age a hate group disguised as a quasi religious/political organization can influence a company like Lowes. It is truly reminiscent of the days when the Klan controlled municipalities with their message of hate disguised as Christianity.
The Florida Family Association is a "Christian" organization whose main purpose is to bash homosexuality. Apparently they think being gay is a sin. They also think being Muslim is a sin. David Caton, their executive director, is a self admitted porn addict who was "cured" by praying. He spends all his time perusing TV shows to make sure they are wholesome. When he finds something he deems not wholesome he gets his followers to bug advertisers to pull advertising on these unwholesome networks. The funny thing is Islam also forbids homosexuality, and porn. Hate is hate, and the Florida Family Association is without a doubt a hate group of the highest order. For Lowes to comply with their message of hate speaks volumes of the people that run that company.
We are ALL endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights...among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I did not see any footnotes listing exceptions in that part of the Declaration of Independence! If happiness is two dudes cuddled up on a couch in a home they share, then who are they to decide that that is wrong? If happiness is spending time with your family reading the Q'uran, and attending services at the Mosque, then who are they to decide that is wrong? Who is ANYONE to decide that is wrong? It really is not even a question of tolerance, but common sense. Our forefathers set forth the principles that this country was founded on. People have fought, and died defending those principles. They should be defended across the board without exception. Shame on Lowes for bowing to hate, and bigotry. I wont be spending any of my money with Lowes anymore, and I encourage everyone to do the same.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Can I Get a Witness...(to leave me the hell alone)
You would think being in such close proximity to a Mormon church I would be safe from the solicitations of the Jehovas Witnesses...No such luck. I have had four groups of witnesses come to my house in the last 3 weeks. Ok, that is not entirely true. I have had three seperate groups of witnesses show up, and one was a duplicate. Apparently my "not interested" was interpreted as "not interested right now" so they came back for good measure. While I admire the tenacity of the duplicate group, that knock on the door is not any less annoying.
I was born into a catholic family, and I attended catholic schools. I was an altar boy, I was confirmed, and I went to confession every month when I was a kid. When it became apparent to me that the catholic church had a policy of hiding pedophile priests, I stopped being catholic. People laugh when I say this, and think that I just stopped going to church. I stopped being catholic. I emailed the Vatican and asked how to officially end my participation in the Catholic church. I was given a short list of instructions, and a note from a concerned priest asking why I wanted to leave the church. I politely explained my reasons, and thanked him for his concern. I emailed the parish where I was baptized, and had my name removed from the baptismal records. I stopped being catholic...officially.
Now if I can do that with the religion that I was born into, how do you think I feel about perfect strangers knocking on my door asking me if I know Jesus? The answer is, it offends me like a Yankees fan in Fenway. OK so the flip side is that these perfect strangers are just looking out for my eternal soul...I get it. You dont have to knock on my door to tell me. Their concern for my soul is their business, and I really dont want to hear it. Maybe they are looking for a new poster child since Michael Jacksons father clearly is not good for public relations. Maybe I should be flattered?
Admittedly,all I really knew about the Jehovas Witnesses were that they knocked on doors, and distributed copies of "The Watchtower" magazine. Before sitting down to write this I decided to do a little research. What I found just reinforces the indisputable fact that I have zero business being a member of that faith. Next time they come around, and they will, I will engage them in discussion. I promise you they will leave thinking that I will spend eternity as a department head in hell.
Here are a few bullet points I intend to share with them next time they come a knockin'.
1.In order to be baptised into the faith you have to answer a series of 80 questions in front of a panel of elders.
I have always been a horrible test taker so there is one strike.
2.You can't have a tattoo.
That counts me out.
3. You must give up vacations in order to attend the annual convention.
My guess is that convention is not held in a cool place like Vegas. Furthermore anybody that knocks on my door thinking I am going to give up vacations to attend religious meetings had best go back to the drawing board in the thinking department.
4. You can't buy girl scout cookies.
This one needs no commentary...nuff said.
5. Heaven is limited to 144,000 Jehovas Witnesses
I dont have to worry too much there but WTF? That is like blowing yourself up in the name of Allah and finding out that it isn't 72 virgins for every martyr but 72 virgins total. They ran out of virgins years ago. Really though, what if you are running late, and get to the pearly gates at spot number 144,001? I would cause a hell of a scene!
There are several more do's and donts I could spout off, but what is the point really? I have been polite with every single group that has come to my door. Not anymore! I am thinking pretty seriously about heading to Powells Books to see if they have a copy of Anton Laveys satanic bible. Don't get me wrong, I am not considering satanism as a religious choice. Think of it as a literary equivalent of a whistle for telemarketers. I just want to see the look on a Jehovas Witness' face when I bust out that satanic bible and ask them if they know satans plan for us. My guess is that I wont have to ask them to leave, and they wont be coming back anytime soon.
I was born into a catholic family, and I attended catholic schools. I was an altar boy, I was confirmed, and I went to confession every month when I was a kid. When it became apparent to me that the catholic church had a policy of hiding pedophile priests, I stopped being catholic. People laugh when I say this, and think that I just stopped going to church. I stopped being catholic. I emailed the Vatican and asked how to officially end my participation in the Catholic church. I was given a short list of instructions, and a note from a concerned priest asking why I wanted to leave the church. I politely explained my reasons, and thanked him for his concern. I emailed the parish where I was baptized, and had my name removed from the baptismal records. I stopped being catholic...officially.
Now if I can do that with the religion that I was born into, how do you think I feel about perfect strangers knocking on my door asking me if I know Jesus? The answer is, it offends me like a Yankees fan in Fenway. OK so the flip side is that these perfect strangers are just looking out for my eternal soul...I get it. You dont have to knock on my door to tell me. Their concern for my soul is their business, and I really dont want to hear it. Maybe they are looking for a new poster child since Michael Jacksons father clearly is not good for public relations. Maybe I should be flattered?
Admittedly,all I really knew about the Jehovas Witnesses were that they knocked on doors, and distributed copies of "The Watchtower" magazine. Before sitting down to write this I decided to do a little research. What I found just reinforces the indisputable fact that I have zero business being a member of that faith. Next time they come around, and they will, I will engage them in discussion. I promise you they will leave thinking that I will spend eternity as a department head in hell.
Here are a few bullet points I intend to share with them next time they come a knockin'.
1.In order to be baptised into the faith you have to answer a series of 80 questions in front of a panel of elders.
I have always been a horrible test taker so there is one strike.
2.You can't have a tattoo.
That counts me out.
3. You must give up vacations in order to attend the annual convention.
My guess is that convention is not held in a cool place like Vegas. Furthermore anybody that knocks on my door thinking I am going to give up vacations to attend religious meetings had best go back to the drawing board in the thinking department.
4. You can't buy girl scout cookies.
This one needs no commentary...nuff said.
5. Heaven is limited to 144,000 Jehovas Witnesses
I dont have to worry too much there but WTF? That is like blowing yourself up in the name of Allah and finding out that it isn't 72 virgins for every martyr but 72 virgins total. They ran out of virgins years ago. Really though, what if you are running late, and get to the pearly gates at spot number 144,001? I would cause a hell of a scene!
There are several more do's and donts I could spout off, but what is the point really? I have been polite with every single group that has come to my door. Not anymore! I am thinking pretty seriously about heading to Powells Books to see if they have a copy of Anton Laveys satanic bible. Don't get me wrong, I am not considering satanism as a religious choice. Think of it as a literary equivalent of a whistle for telemarketers. I just want to see the look on a Jehovas Witness' face when I bust out that satanic bible and ask them if they know satans plan for us. My guess is that I wont have to ask them to leave, and they wont be coming back anytime soon.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Inspiration...
People,for the most part,rarely inspire me. I think the last time I was inspired by a person was when I met, and worked for, an author/activist living under a very credible threat from Islamic fundamentalists. She wrote a story about her life growing up in Islam. Her words were so inflammatory in some circles, that she was condemned to die for them. Her life was turned completely upside down. She had to move several times, and she had to have security with her everywhere she went. She continues to write today...her courage in the face of mortal threat is incredibly inspiring. She is the most courageous person I have ever met.
I just read an article entitled Occupy Earth, written by a 19 year old girl named Samantha Silverman. I am not much of a supporter of the methods of Occupy Portland (I know I sound like a broken record), but I do strongly believe in a need for change. Her article sums it all up in a very concise manner. I dont forward links often, and when I do it is usually through text to a small number of people. I thought this article was so well written that I feel compelled to share the link here.
http://www.portlandoccupier.org/2011/11/22/occupy-earth/
If you are having trouble figuring out what all this Occupy business is about, I suggest reading this article. I was very impressed. I was closing my account with Bank of America anyway, and admittedly I was going to go with another big bank for convenience sake. I spent the morning researching my choices, and then I read this article. I dont think the big banks will miss me much. I may be making some other changes in my life as well. My banking choices are just a start.
I just read an article entitled Occupy Earth, written by a 19 year old girl named Samantha Silverman. I am not much of a supporter of the methods of Occupy Portland (I know I sound like a broken record), but I do strongly believe in a need for change. Her article sums it all up in a very concise manner. I dont forward links often, and when I do it is usually through text to a small number of people. I thought this article was so well written that I feel compelled to share the link here.
http://www.portlandoccupier.org/2011/11/22/occupy-earth/
If you are having trouble figuring out what all this Occupy business is about, I suggest reading this article. I was very impressed. I was closing my account with Bank of America anyway, and admittedly I was going to go with another big bank for convenience sake. I spent the morning researching my choices, and then I read this article. I dont think the big banks will miss me much. I may be making some other changes in my life as well. My banking choices are just a start.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Final Solution????
When did the entire world take a stupid pill? Having spent some time on the Portland Occupier site this morning I am forced to ask this question yet again. I asked that question shortly after reading yet another attempt to compare the "atrocities" of the evil corporate giants, to the actual ATROCITIES brought about by Adolph Hitler. I was at the bank last week, and I am pretty sure the vault was not doubling as a gas chamber. The last time I checked GM did not use their bail out money to set up concentration camps. I am pretty sure I would be able to tell if the wholesale slaughter of innocent people were taking place at my insurance company's regional office. I am a fairly observant guy, but I could be wrong.
Comparing the practices of corporate America to the ATROCITIES of the Nazis in Germany just to make a point is an insult to the memories of the millions slaughtered. Again, I could be wrong...but I did not read anything on the Portland Occupier site saying that all the people arrested were carted off to camps on boxcars because that is what the nazis did to people who disagreed with them.
I am not saying the the Occupiers dont have a legitimate gripe...they do. But, I want to hear accurate factual points, not the sensationalist crap I read earlier today. If I want to hear bullshit rhetoric with very little facts I can turn on any of the debates that are so widely covered by the evil networks piped into my house by the nefarious cable company. Therein lies my problem with most "movements". Trading a broken system for a bullshit system is not a solution. Neither is trashing a park, vandalizing a bank, or setting off firebombs in our city. Seems like the message being heard the loudest is that it's OK to burn the bridge despite the fact that you're standing on it.
There is no doubt that I strongly disagree with the methods used by Occupiers (Portland). I think most of their methods are just passive aggressive posturing lacking in both substance and conviction. If you really want a message to be heard, you take it to the person that you want to have hear it. When bringing that message make damn sure that every bit of it is fact. That way nobody can ever say that you misrepresented anything. Truth is absolute and needs no defense. Save the nazi comparisons until such time as they are appropriate. Should a time arise when those comparisons are appropriate then we would all have a lot more to worry about than the totally fixable problems going on in the world now.
Comparing the practices of corporate America to the ATROCITIES of the Nazis in Germany just to make a point is an insult to the memories of the millions slaughtered. Again, I could be wrong...but I did not read anything on the Portland Occupier site saying that all the people arrested were carted off to camps on boxcars because that is what the nazis did to people who disagreed with them.
I am not saying the the Occupiers dont have a legitimate gripe...they do. But, I want to hear accurate factual points, not the sensationalist crap I read earlier today. If I want to hear bullshit rhetoric with very little facts I can turn on any of the debates that are so widely covered by the evil networks piped into my house by the nefarious cable company. Therein lies my problem with most "movements". Trading a broken system for a bullshit system is not a solution. Neither is trashing a park, vandalizing a bank, or setting off firebombs in our city. Seems like the message being heard the loudest is that it's OK to burn the bridge despite the fact that you're standing on it.
There is no doubt that I strongly disagree with the methods used by Occupiers (Portland). I think most of their methods are just passive aggressive posturing lacking in both substance and conviction. If you really want a message to be heard, you take it to the person that you want to have hear it. When bringing that message make damn sure that every bit of it is fact. That way nobody can ever say that you misrepresented anything. Truth is absolute and needs no defense. Save the nazi comparisons until such time as they are appropriate. Should a time arise when those comparisons are appropriate then we would all have a lot more to worry about than the totally fixable problems going on in the world now.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Fond Memories...
I went to Cleveland for a year. I was hired for 6 weeks, and the job ran for a year. I have been to a lot of bad places, and Cleveland is by far the worst. I hated it so much I had T-shirts made for the team listing the top 10 things I hated about it. I was absolutely miserable while working there. High maintenance clients, very little security work, and I put out a lot of fires caused by the hotel staff. So many fires that watching the bumbling of the hotel staff started to amuse me to no end. At one point we had 160 rooms in a 200 room hotel...I think the bill was around 2 million a month when the expenses were tallied up.
Regardless of how much money my client was spending the first answer when presenting a request to hotel staff was always no. Granted, some of the requests were pretty outlandish. But, outlandish or not, no should not be in your vocabulary when a guest paying well into the millions every month asks for something. As a matter of fact, if you came to my house and paid me 2 million a month to live there you can drop a steaming crap on my dining room table during Thanksgiving Dinner and I would probably just smile and clean it up like nothing happened. OK, not really but you get the point.Finding good things to focus on while in Cleveland was rough. So good became a relative term.
I make no secret of the fact that I love watching stupid people act stupid. If their stupidity causes injury or arrest I am amused even more. If their stupidity causes injury AND arrest even better!! You may be thinking wow this guy is a serious asshole! There is no shortage of successful arguments to be made attesting to that fact. I make no apologies. I think stupidity should be painful, and folks doing stupid things should be exploited for the amusement of the not so stupid. I should point out that I apply these rules to myself as well. The folks at our hotel offered a lot in the way of amusement during our long days of boredom. So many in fact that I am sure I can write a book based on my 366 days there.
If you worked in a hotel and a man came to check in wearing a bathrobe, a pair of pants with handwritten epithets all over them, a t-shirt, and a trumpet would you check him in? Before you answer that consider this...he was having conversations with people only he could see, he was somewhat menacing to the front desk clerk, and he smelled bad...really bad. In any other 5 star hotel in any city he would have been turned away. Not in Cleveland. The Cleveland Ritz Carlton had no qualms about putting him on the club level right down the hall from my clients suite. I cant thank them enough for that!
"I WILL KILL ANYONE THAT COMES TO MY DOOR!!!" was the angry exclamation I heard shatter the tranquility of the club lounge. Not something I hear everyday in a 5 star hotel so I was immediately enthralled. I walked down the hall to the lounge expecting the worst...I was secretly hoping that some deranged gunman would just end the misery of Cleveland for me. I was disappointed to find no deranged gunman, just the club lounge concierge with a concerned look on her face. The shouting had come from a room right next to the lounge. In addition to the shouting it sounded like a UFC title fight was going on in said room. It was pretty bad.
Hotel security arrived pretty quickly (Off duty Cleveland PD moonlighting). Not knowing what was on the other side of the door, she asked my partner and I to back her up until the Cleveland PD got there. As bored as we were in Cleveland, we were happy to oblige. She knocked and this little man opened the door. He was polite, articulate,lucid, and pleasant. He gave zero indication that he was in distress. He was so convincing that he caused all of us to question our senses. He politely thanked hotel security for checking in, and assured her that there was no problem. We all stood there in puzzled amusement watching the exchange come to an end...and then he closed the door!
I wont repeat the string of racially insensitive profanities that came out of that room as soon as the door closed, but I will give credit to the hotel security person for not taking the door off the hinges and conducting a gravity experiment from the top floor. It was pretty bad, and she just took it in stride. She casually turned to us and stated " Oh yeah...he has to go!". Cleveland PD arrived pretty quickly. The hotel manager was on hand to observe, and he deftly routed guests around the scene with the skill of Obi Wan Kenobi. With a french accented "nothing to see here" he jedi mindtricked the hell out of a few people on that floor.
The first cop on scene was greeted with a HUGE snot projectile, and a loud FUCK YOU from the little crazy man in the room. A little advice...bad idea to open a door to law enforcement with fuck you and a lung oyster no matter how unhappy you are to see them. It is just not a good ice breaker. I don't think the little man expected what came next. He tried to slam the door in the cops face only to be rushed by his 5 cop friends coming out of the service elevator. I have never seen anyone tackled as hard as this little guy was tackled. It took about 1 second for the hallway to clear of law enforcement as all of them rushed into the room.
I would have loved to have heard the commotion from the room directly below. I bet it sounded like a drug fueled pachyderm orgy. Crazy dude got hit so hard he shit himself. Seriously, he pooped...peed too. At some point his lip was split, and his nose started bleeding but man he kept fighting. The fight to subdue him was shortened considerably when he started spitting blood on the cops. Matter of fact I think he got two full spits out before a no nonsense Cleveland PD veteran issued him an ultimatum.
"You spit on another police officer, and I will break your arm"...spitting sound followed quickly by a dull snap and a blood curdling scream! That veteran of the Cleveland streets was a man of his word. The fight ended completely and they got him in custody. Thus ending the most fun I had had in Cleveland to date. I am not sure what became of the guy, but he had graffiti ed everything in the room. Tagged up the windows, the walls, the desk. In the bathroom he had used his own blood to tag up the mirror. The smell was incredible as well.
Some of you may be thinking that this is just a horrible story. Terrible for the hotel, sad for the crazy guy, sad for the folks that have to clean the room etc...I totally get it. When I look back on it now I feel all of those things...kinda. But, while living in the bitterness of my experience in Cleveland I laughed. It is a testimony to the absolute shittiness of Cleveland that the only thing I could find to take joy in was the folly of my fellow man. I fear I would be lacking in conviction if I did anything other than laugh though. Sure the desk clerk could have avoided all the ensuing problems by refusing service but that would have been the smart thing to do...plus it would have deprived me of a great deal of satisfaction at the expense of my fellow man...
Here's to the idiots...thank you so much for being idiotic!
Regardless of how much money my client was spending the first answer when presenting a request to hotel staff was always no. Granted, some of the requests were pretty outlandish. But, outlandish or not, no should not be in your vocabulary when a guest paying well into the millions every month asks for something. As a matter of fact, if you came to my house and paid me 2 million a month to live there you can drop a steaming crap on my dining room table during Thanksgiving Dinner and I would probably just smile and clean it up like nothing happened. OK, not really but you get the point.Finding good things to focus on while in Cleveland was rough. So good became a relative term.
I make no secret of the fact that I love watching stupid people act stupid. If their stupidity causes injury or arrest I am amused even more. If their stupidity causes injury AND arrest even better!! You may be thinking wow this guy is a serious asshole! There is no shortage of successful arguments to be made attesting to that fact. I make no apologies. I think stupidity should be painful, and folks doing stupid things should be exploited for the amusement of the not so stupid. I should point out that I apply these rules to myself as well. The folks at our hotel offered a lot in the way of amusement during our long days of boredom. So many in fact that I am sure I can write a book based on my 366 days there.
If you worked in a hotel and a man came to check in wearing a bathrobe, a pair of pants with handwritten epithets all over them, a t-shirt, and a trumpet would you check him in? Before you answer that consider this...he was having conversations with people only he could see, he was somewhat menacing to the front desk clerk, and he smelled bad...really bad. In any other 5 star hotel in any city he would have been turned away. Not in Cleveland. The Cleveland Ritz Carlton had no qualms about putting him on the club level right down the hall from my clients suite. I cant thank them enough for that!
"I WILL KILL ANYONE THAT COMES TO MY DOOR!!!" was the angry exclamation I heard shatter the tranquility of the club lounge. Not something I hear everyday in a 5 star hotel so I was immediately enthralled. I walked down the hall to the lounge expecting the worst...I was secretly hoping that some deranged gunman would just end the misery of Cleveland for me. I was disappointed to find no deranged gunman, just the club lounge concierge with a concerned look on her face. The shouting had come from a room right next to the lounge. In addition to the shouting it sounded like a UFC title fight was going on in said room. It was pretty bad.
Hotel security arrived pretty quickly (Off duty Cleveland PD moonlighting). Not knowing what was on the other side of the door, she asked my partner and I to back her up until the Cleveland PD got there. As bored as we were in Cleveland, we were happy to oblige. She knocked and this little man opened the door. He was polite, articulate,lucid, and pleasant. He gave zero indication that he was in distress. He was so convincing that he caused all of us to question our senses. He politely thanked hotel security for checking in, and assured her that there was no problem. We all stood there in puzzled amusement watching the exchange come to an end...and then he closed the door!
I wont repeat the string of racially insensitive profanities that came out of that room as soon as the door closed, but I will give credit to the hotel security person for not taking the door off the hinges and conducting a gravity experiment from the top floor. It was pretty bad, and she just took it in stride. She casually turned to us and stated " Oh yeah...he has to go!". Cleveland PD arrived pretty quickly. The hotel manager was on hand to observe, and he deftly routed guests around the scene with the skill of Obi Wan Kenobi. With a french accented "nothing to see here" he jedi mindtricked the hell out of a few people on that floor.
The first cop on scene was greeted with a HUGE snot projectile, and a loud FUCK YOU from the little crazy man in the room. A little advice...bad idea to open a door to law enforcement with fuck you and a lung oyster no matter how unhappy you are to see them. It is just not a good ice breaker. I don't think the little man expected what came next. He tried to slam the door in the cops face only to be rushed by his 5 cop friends coming out of the service elevator. I have never seen anyone tackled as hard as this little guy was tackled. It took about 1 second for the hallway to clear of law enforcement as all of them rushed into the room.
I would have loved to have heard the commotion from the room directly below. I bet it sounded like a drug fueled pachyderm orgy. Crazy dude got hit so hard he shit himself. Seriously, he pooped...peed too. At some point his lip was split, and his nose started bleeding but man he kept fighting. The fight to subdue him was shortened considerably when he started spitting blood on the cops. Matter of fact I think he got two full spits out before a no nonsense Cleveland PD veteran issued him an ultimatum.
"You spit on another police officer, and I will break your arm"...spitting sound followed quickly by a dull snap and a blood curdling scream! That veteran of the Cleveland streets was a man of his word. The fight ended completely and they got him in custody. Thus ending the most fun I had had in Cleveland to date. I am not sure what became of the guy, but he had graffiti ed everything in the room. Tagged up the windows, the walls, the desk. In the bathroom he had used his own blood to tag up the mirror. The smell was incredible as well.
Some of you may be thinking that this is just a horrible story. Terrible for the hotel, sad for the crazy guy, sad for the folks that have to clean the room etc...I totally get it. When I look back on it now I feel all of those things...kinda. But, while living in the bitterness of my experience in Cleveland I laughed. It is a testimony to the absolute shittiness of Cleveland that the only thing I could find to take joy in was the folly of my fellow man. I fear I would be lacking in conviction if I did anything other than laugh though. Sure the desk clerk could have avoided all the ensuing problems by refusing service but that would have been the smart thing to do...plus it would have deprived me of a great deal of satisfaction at the expense of my fellow man...
Here's to the idiots...thank you so much for being idiotic!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Sleepless in LA County...
Watching the LA county prosecutors office spike the proverbial football on the news last night started me thinking. In the history of LA media circuses, the conviction of Dr. Murray seems like low hanging fruit. They could not convict cops for beating a man on video (Rodney King), they could not get OJ (despite DNA), they couldn't get Michael Jackson(despite several allegations), and Lindsay Lohan (although convicted every time she steps into a courtroom) seems to share the un-jailable trait of John Gotti in his younger days. So what do you do when you fall short in a series of high profile cases?? Easy...go at the sure thing!
I have a lot of experience with eccentric rich folks. By eccentric I actually mean bat shit crazy. I have been awaken by 3 am phone calls from various clients with OUTLANDISH requests that need to be taken care of immediately. I had a client ask me to track down Tom Hanks once...at 3AM in a hotel in Cleveland. I cant imagine being overtaken by an uncontrollable urge to talk to Tom Hanks at 3AM. That same client woke me up a week later to find some edible gold flake...from a bakery in Germany. Occasionally I have had younger clients ask me about drugs...anything from Ecstasy to erythromycin. Balancing the "I want to keep my job" with the "I don't want to break the law" can be tough. I take each request on a case by case basis, but my normal answer is usually No because common sense usually prevails over whatever financial windfall I am offered.
It does not take a degree in medicine to know that normal people don't inject anesthetics to sleep. From 2004 to about 2006 I had the worst insomnia you can possibly imagine. It never crossed my mind to hire a doctor to keep me on a surgical plane of consciousness during the evening hours. How does one even broach that subject? I know what my doc would say if I called him up and asked him to come over to knock me out, observe me to make sure I don't die in my sleep, then wake me up after I get my beauty rest. It certainly would not be " Sure Rob...happy to...be right over".
Michael Jackson was a lot of things. He was a talented musician, a target for tabloids, a mega star in his younger days, and a drug addict. There I said it. A drug addict with a huge amount of cash, and nobody around to actually say things that needed to be said to him. Sad if you really sit and think about it. Dr. Murray saw dollar signs. Doc Murray by virtue of being a doctor should have taken one look at Jackson and sent him on his merry way.
The DA's office in LA must have been ecstatic during the tumultuous days after the death of Michael Jackson. A collective sense of "we finally got one we can win" must have invigorated that office like a B-12 mega dose revitalizes an "exhausted" rock star. They attacked the case with the zeal of a dingo eating a baby. No more will we see the image of OJ mouthing the words "thank you" after hearing his not guilty verdict. Now we will see the look of dazed incredulity on Dr. Murrays face as the sheriff is removing him from the courtroom in handcuffs. Truth be told, if common sense had prevailed Murray would have told Jacksons people to find someone else. A clear victory for the law but another nail in the coffin of good judgement...I wonder how well Conrad Murray will be sleeping.
I have a lot of experience with eccentric rich folks. By eccentric I actually mean bat shit crazy. I have been awaken by 3 am phone calls from various clients with OUTLANDISH requests that need to be taken care of immediately. I had a client ask me to track down Tom Hanks once...at 3AM in a hotel in Cleveland. I cant imagine being overtaken by an uncontrollable urge to talk to Tom Hanks at 3AM. That same client woke me up a week later to find some edible gold flake...from a bakery in Germany. Occasionally I have had younger clients ask me about drugs...anything from Ecstasy to erythromycin. Balancing the "I want to keep my job" with the "I don't want to break the law" can be tough. I take each request on a case by case basis, but my normal answer is usually No because common sense usually prevails over whatever financial windfall I am offered.
It does not take a degree in medicine to know that normal people don't inject anesthetics to sleep. From 2004 to about 2006 I had the worst insomnia you can possibly imagine. It never crossed my mind to hire a doctor to keep me on a surgical plane of consciousness during the evening hours. How does one even broach that subject? I know what my doc would say if I called him up and asked him to come over to knock me out, observe me to make sure I don't die in my sleep, then wake me up after I get my beauty rest. It certainly would not be " Sure Rob...happy to...be right over".
Michael Jackson was a lot of things. He was a talented musician, a target for tabloids, a mega star in his younger days, and a drug addict. There I said it. A drug addict with a huge amount of cash, and nobody around to actually say things that needed to be said to him. Sad if you really sit and think about it. Dr. Murray saw dollar signs. Doc Murray by virtue of being a doctor should have taken one look at Jackson and sent him on his merry way.
The DA's office in LA must have been ecstatic during the tumultuous days after the death of Michael Jackson. A collective sense of "we finally got one we can win" must have invigorated that office like a B-12 mega dose revitalizes an "exhausted" rock star. They attacked the case with the zeal of a dingo eating a baby. No more will we see the image of OJ mouthing the words "thank you" after hearing his not guilty verdict. Now we will see the look of dazed incredulity on Dr. Murrays face as the sheriff is removing him from the courtroom in handcuffs. Truth be told, if common sense had prevailed Murray would have told Jacksons people to find someone else. A clear victory for the law but another nail in the coffin of good judgement...I wonder how well Conrad Murray will be sleeping.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Occupied (Or how to go camping,get stoned, and run a city)
This is going to make some people angry...
I wish I could sit in a park all day and bitch about the injustices in the world. Dont get me wrong, in examining the convoluted messages coming out of Occupy Portland I have heard a lot of complaints that I completely agree with. I just dont see how sitting around in a park is going to accomplish anything other than sitting in a park. It is about as effective as a bunch of people sitting in my living room except my living room is comfortable and smells better. Additionally sitting in my living room carries no danger of being stabbed with a used needle.
The parks are a public space, in other words they are owned by the good citizens of our fair city. The damage done to the parks will cost us money that could be spent elsewhere. I mentioned that on the Occupy Portland website and my remarks were called slanderous because I did not cite proof of the money being spent. OK valid point. I made that remark based on the myriad of headlines proclaiming that the city is bleeding money to accomodate the Occupiers. My counter would be prove to me that sitting in a park is working.
"How did you get this number" has been the opening lines of several personal assistants for CEO's of various corporations. The answer is not always straight forward but it is never "I found it in a park while I was sitting there with a sign". The folks running the corporations dont give a fat rats ass about folks trashing a city park. Want to make a point? Go to the corporate headquarters of BofA and "Occupy" the parking lot.
"We are standing in solidarity with the Occupiers of Wall Street" is a phrase I have heard thrown around a lot. That's great...I totally understand that. Shortsighted and lacking in conviction but if that makes you feel like you are accomplishing something then by all means I wont stop you. But, if you really want to make a difference then stand with them on Wall street. It's obvious that there are a lot of people with a lot of spare time so why not go to New York? The folks occupying Wall Street have a great idea...they are in the financial center of the US. Take the gripe to the folks that can make a difference.
The freedom rides helped to bring massive change to this country. A group of people who wanted to right the wrongs that were sanctioned by the law of the land took direct action and made change happen. Conviction and appropriate action...and every last one of the folks on those buses are unsung heroes who walked the walk as opposed to just talking the talk. If all of the protesters occupying public spaces all over the US were to show up on Wall Street people would take notice. It would still put a huge burden on the taxpayers though. Now if all of the protesters occupied the corporate headquarters of Bank of America the financial burden would be on Bank of Americas private security...not the tax payers. If the folks that run the joint cant get to work things will change.
Making change happen peacefully is a challenge. Not an insurmountable challenge by any stretch, but I don't really see anyone in Portland stepping up to that challenge. Sitting in a park is easy...
I wish I could sit in a park all day and bitch about the injustices in the world. Dont get me wrong, in examining the convoluted messages coming out of Occupy Portland I have heard a lot of complaints that I completely agree with. I just dont see how sitting around in a park is going to accomplish anything other than sitting in a park. It is about as effective as a bunch of people sitting in my living room except my living room is comfortable and smells better. Additionally sitting in my living room carries no danger of being stabbed with a used needle.
The parks are a public space, in other words they are owned by the good citizens of our fair city. The damage done to the parks will cost us money that could be spent elsewhere. I mentioned that on the Occupy Portland website and my remarks were called slanderous because I did not cite proof of the money being spent. OK valid point. I made that remark based on the myriad of headlines proclaiming that the city is bleeding money to accomodate the Occupiers. My counter would be prove to me that sitting in a park is working.
"How did you get this number" has been the opening lines of several personal assistants for CEO's of various corporations. The answer is not always straight forward but it is never "I found it in a park while I was sitting there with a sign". The folks running the corporations dont give a fat rats ass about folks trashing a city park. Want to make a point? Go to the corporate headquarters of BofA and "Occupy" the parking lot.
"We are standing in solidarity with the Occupiers of Wall Street" is a phrase I have heard thrown around a lot. That's great...I totally understand that. Shortsighted and lacking in conviction but if that makes you feel like you are accomplishing something then by all means I wont stop you. But, if you really want to make a difference then stand with them on Wall street. It's obvious that there are a lot of people with a lot of spare time so why not go to New York? The folks occupying Wall Street have a great idea...they are in the financial center of the US. Take the gripe to the folks that can make a difference.
The freedom rides helped to bring massive change to this country. A group of people who wanted to right the wrongs that were sanctioned by the law of the land took direct action and made change happen. Conviction and appropriate action...and every last one of the folks on those buses are unsung heroes who walked the walk as opposed to just talking the talk. If all of the protesters occupying public spaces all over the US were to show up on Wall Street people would take notice. It would still put a huge burden on the taxpayers though. Now if all of the protesters occupied the corporate headquarters of Bank of America the financial burden would be on Bank of Americas private security...not the tax payers. If the folks that run the joint cant get to work things will change.
Making change happen peacefully is a challenge. Not an insurmountable challenge by any stretch, but I don't really see anyone in Portland stepping up to that challenge. Sitting in a park is easy...
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
My Friend...
Dave's remains were found in Moab over the weekend. A heartfelt thanks to the people who helped to get the word out while he was missing. My thoughts and prayers are with Daves family. I believe that Dave is in the company of friends and family who have gone before us. He is OK now. I will miss him.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Ronald McDonald grew some balls (and then got a little carried away)
The headline read McDonald's cashier arrested for beating unruly customer with a metal rod. Taking the headline at face value I had visions of a deranged cashier having a violent fuck my life moment, and taking it out on some late night customers in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not an unreasonable assumption by any stretch.
The video shows something a bit different. The video shows a clearly deranged customer and her friend terrorizing said cashier. She slapped him (assault), and then climbs over the counter presumably to slap him some more. The entire time she is threatening him verbally. The casier, who is clearly under attack, retreats towards the back and grabs something to defend himself with. Here is where it gets a tad controversial. The cashier comes out swinging and the girl goes down. Her friend starts feeling a bit froggy so she gets hit as well. Hard I might add.
Right up to this point I was rooting for the cashier. Judging from the pre-beating behavior observed on video I can safely surmise that these women were not strangers to terrorizing service industry folks. Something real or imagined set these unbalanced women off, and I am positive they thought they could get away with giving him a bit of street justice. They gave little thought to consequence when they crossed the threshold of the counter, confident that they were going to get away with what they were attempting to do.
I wonder what would have happened if the cashier had not defended himself. It is clear on video that the talking part of this confrontation was over and done with. The fight had started, and the primitive part of the brain that controls fight or flight was in charge. He probably would have been beaten by the two women in a commercial kitchen where improvised weapons abound.
Let me digress for a bit. When I was an angst ridden teenager I fancied myself a pugilist. I usually reserved my violent behavior to times when I was too drunk to fish, let alone fight. I lost more than I won. With age comes wisdom, and a balancing of the raging hormonal changes that all teenagers go through. I was insane to say the least. I am lucky several times over...I never got shot, and I was never beaten into the hospital but that was pure chance. In short, I never ran into my McDonald's cashier. I did learn a lot of valuable lessons during my teen years. One of them was "No matter how tough you think you are...there is always someone tougher". Don't get me wrong, that was not the only lesson brought about by my tumultuous teen years. But, that is the one I found myself thinking about while watching the video of the cashier and his two tormentors.
There had to be a point during the confrontation where the loudest, and scariest, of the tormentors had what people in recovery call "a moment of clarity". My guess is during the split second between the appearance of the metal rod, and the connecting of said metal rod with her face she had enough time to register the enormity of the mistake she made when she crossed the counter. A hard, and humbling, lesson to learn and frankly some people don't survive that lesson. She may not according to CNN. Should she survive with her brain function intact my guess is she will never mouth off to a McDonald's employee again, let alone attack one.
OK, so you may be thinking that I find the cashiers actions acceptable. I do...and I don't. I think it was perfectly acceptable to defend himself metal rod and all. She had already demonstrated enough violent behavior to warrant the use of force. Had I been the cashier I probably would have swung for the fences. His justifiable use of force train came off the tracks when he continued beating them after the threat had clearly passed.
The cashier went from victim to victimizer after the first two swings. In doing so he will probably learn the "no matter how tough you think you are, there is always someone tougher" lesson in jail where I am told that lesson takes on a whole new meaning. Do I feel sorry for him...no not really. Do I feel sorry for the women who were beaten into submission...no not really. Their actions brought about the beating, and the cashier had a choice. He could have stopped after his attackers went down. He chose not to.
In my profession we have an unwritten code of conduct called "big boy rules". The jist of the concept is that we are all adults capable of making decisions AND accepting the consequences (good or bad) of that decision. A pretty simple concept that places an emphasis on consequences. Operating in big boy rules mode makes it impossible for me to feel any sympathy for any of them. Is it unfortunate that none of the parties involved will ever be the same again? Yes...but they all made their beds...Tough lessons learned the hard way.
The video shows something a bit different. The video shows a clearly deranged customer and her friend terrorizing said cashier. She slapped him (assault), and then climbs over the counter presumably to slap him some more. The entire time she is threatening him verbally. The casier, who is clearly under attack, retreats towards the back and grabs something to defend himself with. Here is where it gets a tad controversial. The cashier comes out swinging and the girl goes down. Her friend starts feeling a bit froggy so she gets hit as well. Hard I might add.
Right up to this point I was rooting for the cashier. Judging from the pre-beating behavior observed on video I can safely surmise that these women were not strangers to terrorizing service industry folks. Something real or imagined set these unbalanced women off, and I am positive they thought they could get away with giving him a bit of street justice. They gave little thought to consequence when they crossed the threshold of the counter, confident that they were going to get away with what they were attempting to do.
I wonder what would have happened if the cashier had not defended himself. It is clear on video that the talking part of this confrontation was over and done with. The fight had started, and the primitive part of the brain that controls fight or flight was in charge. He probably would have been beaten by the two women in a commercial kitchen where improvised weapons abound.
Let me digress for a bit. When I was an angst ridden teenager I fancied myself a pugilist. I usually reserved my violent behavior to times when I was too drunk to fish, let alone fight. I lost more than I won. With age comes wisdom, and a balancing of the raging hormonal changes that all teenagers go through. I was insane to say the least. I am lucky several times over...I never got shot, and I was never beaten into the hospital but that was pure chance. In short, I never ran into my McDonald's cashier. I did learn a lot of valuable lessons during my teen years. One of them was "No matter how tough you think you are...there is always someone tougher". Don't get me wrong, that was not the only lesson brought about by my tumultuous teen years. But, that is the one I found myself thinking about while watching the video of the cashier and his two tormentors.
There had to be a point during the confrontation where the loudest, and scariest, of the tormentors had what people in recovery call "a moment of clarity". My guess is during the split second between the appearance of the metal rod, and the connecting of said metal rod with her face she had enough time to register the enormity of the mistake she made when she crossed the counter. A hard, and humbling, lesson to learn and frankly some people don't survive that lesson. She may not according to CNN. Should she survive with her brain function intact my guess is she will never mouth off to a McDonald's employee again, let alone attack one.
OK, so you may be thinking that I find the cashiers actions acceptable. I do...and I don't. I think it was perfectly acceptable to defend himself metal rod and all. She had already demonstrated enough violent behavior to warrant the use of force. Had I been the cashier I probably would have swung for the fences. His justifiable use of force train came off the tracks when he continued beating them after the threat had clearly passed.
The cashier went from victim to victimizer after the first two swings. In doing so he will probably learn the "no matter how tough you think you are, there is always someone tougher" lesson in jail where I am told that lesson takes on a whole new meaning. Do I feel sorry for him...no not really. Do I feel sorry for the women who were beaten into submission...no not really. Their actions brought about the beating, and the cashier had a choice. He could have stopped after his attackers went down. He chose not to.
In my profession we have an unwritten code of conduct called "big boy rules". The jist of the concept is that we are all adults capable of making decisions AND accepting the consequences (good or bad) of that decision. A pretty simple concept that places an emphasis on consequences. Operating in big boy rules mode makes it impossible for me to feel any sympathy for any of them. Is it unfortunate that none of the parties involved will ever be the same again? Yes...but they all made their beds...Tough lessons learned the hard way.
Monday, September 26, 2011
I Live in a Post Facebook World
While perusing Facebook this afternoon, I had the sudden realization that Facebook is really dumb. I just think that maybe there is more to life than the paragraph status updates that have substituted for friendship in the age of social networking. I was also bothered by the fact that I was starting to think of each experience as a status update. Breaking life down into short paragraphs is a disservice to life, and what passes for modern literature. Electronic vignettes scrolling down my screen with snippets of the daily experiences that my friends are having is no substitute for sitting down and having a conversation.
I recently had the pleasure of attending the weekend IOP beach party/wedding reception of an old friend. I spent an entire weekend connecting with people I love in the real world. I got to hear about the trials and tribulations of old friends, and interact with them face to face. We laughed, and talked about a pre computer life. We were all friends in the early 90's. Nobody had a cell phone, and the only computers we had were in the College of Charleston Library. These people became closer to me than family. We all happened to be in the same place during a time in our lives when each others company was a matter of survival. Being with them again evoked the same feeling of belonging I had when we all first came together. Made more special by the fact that I was able to share this experience with the woman I love.
Needless to say it was a special weekend. Considerably more special than reading a bunch of status updates and having that pass for a bonding experience. So I found myself reflecting upon that while I tried to navigate the significant changes in layout that the good folks at facebook saw fit to inflict upon us. As I read update after update complaining about the new look, I found myself growing amused and disgusted at the same time. Amused that this electronic opiate has changed the way society interacts, and disgusted that I was just as addicted as everyone else.
I would rather have real experiences, in the real world, with the people I love. Blogging gets a pass merely because it is a very convenient way to keep a journal. So my post facebook world begins. I feel a little like I am venturing into some post apocalyptic frontier, and I am sure I will have to get used to living my life the "old" pre-facebook way. I dont, however, think that will be much of a problem. Judging by the amount of laughter experienced with my old friends, I think I will slip back into my old lifestyle pretty easily.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
PLEASE HELP FIND DAVE!!!!
My friend has been missing since 29 June 2011. The people who love him are very worried about his well being. Please share my link with anyone and everyone!!!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Perception vs. Reality
I have come to the conclusion that the constant bombardment of traumatic images from every corner of the world is terrible for my mental health. News media outlets constantly stream images of unprecedented human suffering. It seems to me that they try and out do each other for sensational headlines. I have had enough. The heart wrenching images from Japan, the bombings in Libya, the protests in the Middle East.
The media outlets distort fact, and quote out of context to make the story conform to what the author of the story thinks it should conform to. People don't report on the truth...they report on what their idea of the truth should be. Well my glass is full and I am saying when. In times that appear as dark as these I think it is my moral obligation to seek out some light. I am generally fairly cynical. I don't hold my fellow man in very high regard, and I think maybe the stupid folks have outbred the smart folks.
I thought long and hard about that tonight, and I have come to the conclusion that with a steady diet of the above mentioned, it would be impossible to think anything else. So what to do about it? Do I blame the media, and everyone else that perpetuates the media hype? Sure, I could take that route. But, I don't think any satisfaction will be gained from that. It will just be business as usual. I can say a heartfelt fuck you to everything and everyone, and withdraw into solitude. Give up on the world and just isolate myself with the bitterness. I have thought about that more than once. People do that every day, and quite frankly I think that is just the easy way out.
I have lived through a lot. I have seen, and experienced things in my life that even I have trouble believing. I have experienced more loss in a month, than some people experience in their entire lives, and I just keep picking myself up and plugging away.
While contemplating all of this I took stock. I have a fantastic home. I live in one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen. I have a woman in my life who truly loves me unconditionally. Her family loves me, my family loves me, and I have friends that would be by my side at anytime no matter what. In short, I have a life that some people can only dream about.
So keeping that in the forefront in thought and action combats the negative...in fact it just plain cancels it out. Sure there are horrible atrocities being committed everyday. But, there are great things being done by people of all walks of life regardless of religion, status, nationality, or race. Spreading positive, reporting on someone helping their fellow man, taking the time to provide a service for someone in need. These are all things that can be done by everyone everyday. Keeping that in mind can allow me to take responsibility for my own part in the great scheme of things...change my outlook, focus on the beauty, and spread that word. Maybe we are not all going to hell in a hand basket...Bob Marley said "The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively". You can chalk that up to the musing of a guy that smoked a lot of weed, and sang songs for a living. But he believed it wholeheartedly, and his conviction was tested several times. He was steadfast in his beliefs...walked the walk as well as talking the talk. So I am going to try that route. That might be the answer for me...it might not but it is something!
The media outlets distort fact, and quote out of context to make the story conform to what the author of the story thinks it should conform to. People don't report on the truth...they report on what their idea of the truth should be. Well my glass is full and I am saying when. In times that appear as dark as these I think it is my moral obligation to seek out some light. I am generally fairly cynical. I don't hold my fellow man in very high regard, and I think maybe the stupid folks have outbred the smart folks.
I thought long and hard about that tonight, and I have come to the conclusion that with a steady diet of the above mentioned, it would be impossible to think anything else. So what to do about it? Do I blame the media, and everyone else that perpetuates the media hype? Sure, I could take that route. But, I don't think any satisfaction will be gained from that. It will just be business as usual. I can say a heartfelt fuck you to everything and everyone, and withdraw into solitude. Give up on the world and just isolate myself with the bitterness. I have thought about that more than once. People do that every day, and quite frankly I think that is just the easy way out.
I have lived through a lot. I have seen, and experienced things in my life that even I have trouble believing. I have experienced more loss in a month, than some people experience in their entire lives, and I just keep picking myself up and plugging away.
While contemplating all of this I took stock. I have a fantastic home. I live in one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen. I have a woman in my life who truly loves me unconditionally. Her family loves me, my family loves me, and I have friends that would be by my side at anytime no matter what. In short, I have a life that some people can only dream about.
So keeping that in the forefront in thought and action combats the negative...in fact it just plain cancels it out. Sure there are horrible atrocities being committed everyday. But, there are great things being done by people of all walks of life regardless of religion, status, nationality, or race. Spreading positive, reporting on someone helping their fellow man, taking the time to provide a service for someone in need. These are all things that can be done by everyone everyday. Keeping that in mind can allow me to take responsibility for my own part in the great scheme of things...change my outlook, focus on the beauty, and spread that word. Maybe we are not all going to hell in a hand basket...Bob Marley said "The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively". You can chalk that up to the musing of a guy that smoked a lot of weed, and sang songs for a living. But he believed it wholeheartedly, and his conviction was tested several times. He was steadfast in his beliefs...walked the walk as well as talking the talk. So I am going to try that route. That might be the answer for me...it might not but it is something!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Roadtrips In Fast Cars...
"Hey man I think I am going to buy a Maserati and run the gumball rally"-Jason Grenevitch
That was the start of a casual conversation in Jason's office. I had no effing clue what the gumball rally was, so Jason hipped me to it, and we rolled out to a car dealership. I am the first to admit that I have a fairly surreal life. I have been to a lot of strange places, and have experienced A LOT of extraordinary things. Accordingly, I am not surprised by much. This was no exception.
As we gazed at an automotive masterpiece before us, Jason was already laying down the pros and con's of buying a Maserati. A little side note here...if you want someone to put forth a convincing argument for pretty much anything Jason Grenevitch is the guy to do it. Not being the one to pee on any ones parade, I egged him on enthusiastically. I really had no argument against it. He laid it out in a logical manner, and it all sounded great to me.
A week later I get a text... all it said was "In the driveway". Knowing exactly what it meant I laughed out loud. His argument was good enough for his wife so he bought the damn thing. Let me tell you...it is a GORGEOUS ride. Smooth lines, flawless interior, low miles...not flashy, it just exudes subtle confidence. A 400 plus HP machine that will easily exceed the 100mph mark without much of a strain. A car just as at home going full throttle on the open road, or cruising leisurely on Sunday afternoon with the family.
Cut to Feb 21, 2011
I get a text yesterday morning..."Google Gold Rush Rally". Fifteen minutes after I get the text, I get the call..." June, Denver to LA, 100 cars, we are in it!" I literally jumped up and down with excitement. So now I find myself preparing for an adventure that I never even imagined myself doing. I am going to take part in a rally that starts in Denver and ends in Los Angeles. Oh yeah there are stops in between...Park City, Vegas, Scottsdale, Los Angeles. Driving a high performance Italian luxury ride from Denver to LA, surrounded by 99 other exotic cars. It's not the Gumball, but it's definitely practice for the Gumball!
I should point out that my top three favorite movies when I was a kid were:
1. Star Wars (needs no explanation)
2. The Cannonball Run (Burt Reynolds, Dom Delouise)
3. Smokey and the Bandit (Burt Reynolds, Sally Field)
Notice that two of those movies have to do with fast cars and open road?? I told my brother Johnny about my latest adventure...his response " Are you going to dress like priests? "
SO that is how it comes to pass...We are going to be taking part in the 3rd Annual Gold Rush Rally from Denver to LA. We are driving Jason's Maserati Quattroporte, and I am quite sure that the experience will be second to none. I am definitely going to be posting more about this, and I am going to keep a daily online journal detailing our experiences. It is going to be CRAZY....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
