Did You Call Me Stupid?

If you have to ask me if I called you stupid you can almost guarantee I did and that you already knew it.

There are times in which I might engage in some minor obfuscation for the purpose of plausible deniability but those are rare.

If I am moved to offer that kind of insult chances are I want you to know where I stand and how little I think of you otherwise I won’t engage in that manner.

Civil conversation is preferable and more likely to engender a change in belief or behavior.

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I have almost completed Bryan Cranston’s autobiography and Heather Cox Richardson’s book about How The South Won The War.

The former is an easy read and far lighter than the latter. Cranston is a Valley kid like me and as a writer I appreciate his commentary on his approach to storytelling from an actor’s perspective.

Richardson’s book appeals to the historian in me and is a good reminder about that much of what we see today is not new. Some things never change and some things never seem to be learned.

Do You Want To Hear My Truth?

The question to me isn’t solely about who deserves to hear it but also who wants to listen.

I remember walking across the rooftops of the Old City of Jerusalem listening to my friend David tell me about pouring his heart out to a girl.

He was infuriated because he felt like she didn’t listen and didn’t care.We discussed it again a few years later while he flew us around Southern California in a small Cessna.

We were in our early twenties and felt certain that maturity would impact that in a positive way and that it couldn’t happen again.

My old pal left us in ’98 but if he were here and it came up I probably would mention life experience had proven that might not change, just ask some of our divorced friends.

I miss flying with him and I sometimes wonder if I would do it now being more conscious of mortality than I was then.

It is easy to feel like a big shot when your 3,000 miles above the water and headed towards Catalina Island or looking down on Santa Monica pier.

What’s Old Is New

This song is about 48 years old and the lyrics remind me again that is what is old is new. That is neither profound nor particularly insightful but sometimes it is good to have a reminder.

Sometimes you need to see that what you are focused on in the present is something that happened in the past too.

Maybe it is the kind of thing that helps remind you that if you make no changes in your approach and or systems the same challenges you have always faced will continue to show up.

Or maybe it is proof that no matter what you do some things will never go away because they are part of the human condition.

Both can be true and though some things may be part of the human condition there is no reason not to try to make things better.

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Thanksgiving 2021 is now in the books, one step farther from the old days and one step closer to the future that will be.

The present involved a pleasant evening though I find myself feeling stuffed and in need of some treadmill time prior to going to sleep.

But before I hit the machine I’ll check out the latest Black Friday update to see if anything catches my eye in a more serious manner than “I’d like to have one of those one day.”

Doubt I’ll come across anything I absolutely need today but it won’t hurt to take a gander, besides Chanukah starts in a few days and there is probably a gift or two that still needs to be purchased.

Hell, might even put up a blog post elsewhere about some of this and see what sort of nonsense that leads to. Could be interesting.