That's what friends are for...
I can always count on my outspoken pal Johannes to toss my half-baked
ideologies into the woodchipper. On the phone this morning, I
mentioned that there are some people who go and get rich by being
shrewd and exploiting the marketplace and others who accidentally
become rich as a result of pursuing their passions much to the delight
of (paying) others. Reasonable, if not profound. (Actually, I stole
the line from some ridiculous horoscope, so, mind your sources). I
also said (again based on the horoscope) that of the two types, I
would definitely fall in the latter camp. Johannes was quiet until I
finished then said that this was a completely "redneck" thing to say,
and that anytime I have such thoughts I should "take a breath and not
say them." He said that most of us unsatisfied souls struggling to
realize ourselves end up being no more than useless self-flaggellators
lost in our own self-limiting mind games, and that he new a good shop
where we could all buy cat-o-nine tails and whip ourselves bloody on
the streets of LA. I suppose he was gently implying that one should
not entertain such "either/or" fantasies, or impose strict rules as to
how life should (must) unfold. It was a sobering remark. I am not a
masochist, but show me a person who couldn't benefit from a cold
(rhetorical) slap in the face every now and then, and I'll show you a
cadaver. Oh and, "The Squid and the Whale" is worth watching,
especially to see Jeff Daniels' brilliant dead-on portrayal of a
vainglorious, cheap, and royally self-deluded mass of urban leftovers.
No comments:
Post a Comment