Recent discussions between Jed and Kyle pertaining to the "friggin mile" thread inspired me to post my own wacky interpretation of recent events. So, into the fray I go.
<shameless personal essay> Death of A Dream in the Land of Opportunity A New Age (Buddhist) Fable As interpreted by Steven Vincent Johnson Recent planetary events have managed to stir up both elation and considerable uneasiness among many souls currently incarnate in the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave. Some of those incarnated souls are in fact feeling downright alarmed. One could say that recent political developments had not been hinted at in the any of the brochures they had read that convinced them to take a spin in the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave. Everyone that has a smattering of kosmic-Cense makes plans before embarking upon their next Wheel-of-Fortune spin, to paraphrase an ancient Buddhist concept. We make assessments of the current environment. We take a look at our own long-term goals and match them up to the environments and circumstances we see unfolding across the planet. Finally, based on these assessments we decide precisely where our next vacation will unfold. We take all the necessary shots, make sure our passport is current. We stop our Kosmic MailBox, (the Sunday newspaper too), call the taxi and head for the airport. "Transmigration Airlines, flight 777 to Oakland, California, is now boarding at gate 7." Time to climb on board the vessel! First scheduled stop: Kindred Hospital, Obstetrics – SF Bay Area, 2800 Benedict Drive, San Leandro, just south of Oakland, California. Several decades later in the midst of our vacation things seem to be progressing nicely. It appears that we planned the trip well. All the brochures and rave testimonials (plus a few regrettable slide shows forced on us from recent returnees) all agreed that the Land of Opportunity is the place to go to if one wishes to plunder. Of course, none of the brochures worded it as such. The word "plunder" was never used in any of the brochures. Most used phrases like "...the best country on the planet in which to manifest your goal of getting rich – and if you're lucky, v-e-r-y rich!" Chalk it up to shrewd advertising. These celestial Ad agencies know their craft well. They were after all hired by crafty outfits with their own agendas, like Transmigration Airlines Incorporated. Keep those vessels loaded! The Ad agencies have done just that, supplying crop after fresh crop of eager souls all savoring over prospects of doing their share of the plundering. But then, someone totally unexpected buys a ticket on TA Inc. He has vacationed in similar lands before. He plundered, and got plundered, probably more times that he would like to remember. For some odd reason he feels compelled to return, to embark on another Spin of the Wheel. What could this returning vacationer possibly do or possibly get out of planning another vacation in a place where he has already played the game of plundering to death. Surely he would prefer to vacation elsewhere. It would appear that he feels compelled to return for a specific reason. It would appear that he feels compelled to suggest to the other vacationers that perhaps there might be another way of enjoying a spin in the Land of Plenty. Perhaps there's plenty of "plundering" to go around for everyone. Perhaps plundering all the gummy bears directly into ones personal pocket isn't the only yardstick in assessing whether one has actually won at the Wheel of Fortune. Unfortunately, many of the vacationers will have none of that. They don't like this unexpected newcomer's suggestions. They are in fact terrified that someone new with a different agenda than theirs might actually jump into the swimming pool... THEIR swimming pool. They don't like it one bit that this newcomer would suggest things that had not been advertised very clearly in the brochures they read. What this vacationer suggests... well, shoot, that's NOT why I came here for! Good Grief, they exclaim, if this vacationer gets his way, where will we go to continue our plundering! Wait a minute! Time out! They begin to retaliate. Schemes are drawn up. Some proclaim that this new vacationer is a socialist, that he's actually a "Mue-slam" in disguise. DON'T BE FOOLED, they chant over and over! The contradictions of sticking all these labels together under one advertising campaign doesn't seem to matter – particularly that in one sentence some might label this vacationer a socialist while in the very next sentence attempt to insinuate that he's reeeely a "Mus-slam", which pretty much has been interpreted to mean his ulterior motive is to establish a strict religious Theocracy in the Land of Opportunity, and of course, a non-Christian Theocracy. And if none of those rotten eggs stick there always the final trump card to be thrown: He doesn't even need a tan. No fair! I demand a refund! Sorry, read the fine print. All TA transactions are final. You're round trip ticket sez you're not due to arrive back Home for several more decades. Do you best to enjoy your vacation stay in the meantime. Oh, by the way, all those gummy bears you got stuffed in your pockets... (c) 2008, Steven "Grasshopper" Vincent Johnson Brought to you by Kung-Fu Press </shameless personal essay> -- Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
