Author: tallthinman72

For Starters

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Daily writing prompt
If you could host a dinner and anyone you invite was sure to come, who would you invite?
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Assuming this would be a meal hosted by my wife and I, I would invite our siblings and spouses, kids and spouses and grandchildren, a few college friends, Paul McCartney, Bobby Orr, Billy Joel, Pete Buttigieg, Desi Lydic, Rachel Maddow, Paul Simon, Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Greta Thunberg, David Brooks, Jonathan Capehart, Amna Nawaz, Geoff Bennet, and the cast from The Big Bang Theory. It’d be a catered buffet at a local community center.

Distillation

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Daily writing prompt
What do you think gets better with age?
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Certain relationships, one’s appreciation for being alive, i.e. slowing down and savoring a moment. Maybe you stop worrying so much about some things, while other things emerge– the sand in the hourglass dynamic helps one clarify, become more proficient at prioritizing, saying no and saying yes. Relationships move up the list in importance, and maybe the need to keep up with the Joneses fades– because that was always an unwinnable rat race, anyway.

Maybe as one ages, one gets better at discerning what’s real, what feeds the soul.

Home to Roost

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How could people be so flippant with their choices? Did they do any homework, any soul searching? What the hell did they think they were going to get with a vote for Donald Trump? Could they possibly have been convinced that he had an ounce of sincerity in him—apart from the sincere vindictiveness that drives him? How easily they were deceived! And now the whole country, maybe even the world, has to pay.

It’s all a tragic travesty, a real piece of shit, because it’s not just Trump we need to worry about. It’s all the others who are propping him up and riding his coattails.

There is a point…

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We should all be lamenting the loss of dependable sources of information, of anyone who can give us a straight answer on anything. Besides AI, there are too many wordsmiths who can generate smart-sounding rebuffs and bytes, words that cover asses without really saying anything but are supposed to suffice as expert opinions and rational explanations.

Money is power. Vested interests find a way to get their way and their voices heard, and there is no such thing as common sense. Values are compromised for a song, people are discounted and stepped on. Getting one’s way and maintenance of lifestyle seem to be all that matter.

Then again, I suppose it will always be difficult to accept answers that don’t feed our expectations and assumptions. But anyone worth their salt will be able to sift through the convoluted, contrived responses and recognize the bullshit when they hear it.

I watched a recent TED talk featuring Al Gore talking about his pet topic—the environment—and I was at once impressed by his level of preparedness, with all the charts and graphs and the body of knowledge he has at his disposal, but was also a bit turned off by his loud gravelly voice and breathless, sing-song delivery that had me wishing he would stop and take a breath, change the cadence.

I suppose the passion takes over, facilitates the delivery. The topic stands on its own as timely and relevant and of first order concern, and Gore has been on this mission for a long time now.

What I’m trying to say is people on both sides of the environmental crisis come to the table with their own ammunition, arguments and counter-arguments. I prefer Gore’s take on things. I discount the arguments of the petrol giants as mere self-interest and alarming ignorance. They should know better. They should adapt or die. They have always had the means to see the writing on the wall and retool, and they’ve chosen not to. They could be leaders in a vast new sea of opportunity, and they’ve chosen to drag their feet.

Given the chance, the rest of us will have to show them the way.

Managed Expectations

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Daily writing prompt
What are you most excited about for the future?
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My first thought was spending time with the grandchildren and watching them grow. But then I remembered who’s President and the ghastly crew he has around him, and that excitement gets tempered quickly. Maybe what I’m most curious about– not necessarily excited– is seeing if people awaken in time to the disaster in progress.

A Slice of Heaven

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Daily writing prompt
What’s the most delicious thing you’ve ever eaten?
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Nothing fancy, just a good meat and potatoes meal– lean pot roast, with mashed potatoes and gravy, maybe some fresh local corn off the cob, and some green beans (I can’t remember all the details– it was almost 34 years ago), probably some bread or rolls, and a tasty dessert.

I just kept shoveling it in, and eventually got sick to my stomach from eating so much. I think it was the chocolate pudding that put me over the edge. It’s the only time that’s ever happened.

Quid pros…

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A snap of the fingers. That was easy.

What kind of deal did the two fugitives work out? “Drop some bunker busters and I’ll call it even. I’ll agree to a ceasefire and you can get your peace prize.”

I’d be surprised if it didn’t go something like that.

The Why

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Daily writing prompt
How important is spirituality in your life?
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I’m in this weird place where I yearn for that space in my life that allows for the possibility of something we can’t see, something that brushes up against or brings us in touch with a benevolent force or higher power. This used to be filled by church involvement– as a parishioner since birth and later as a pastor for 26 years. But lately, I seem to have either lost my way, or awakened on a new path where I question everything, including the existence of God.

Spirituality is very important to me– I need to know that there’s more to this existence than what’s currently meeting the eye. But I’m wondering if it’s always been more a chasing after wind than anything based on some sort of reality.

I’m not looking for a designer spirituality that gets me in touch with some inner… whatever, something that “works for me,” but rather something that satisfies longings, that corroborates theories and feelings, that hints at something bigger than what we get in this earthly life, that feeds the hope that there has to be something more. I thought I had found this in all those years when I considered myself a Christian, but now I’m not so sure. There’s been too much misery and waiting, while the world burns and people vote in useless “leaders.”

I see no reason why such a thing has to be fraught with such mystery, and with strings attached.