South Of Someplace

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

The Rewards Of Practice

I love the feeling of confidence that comes from knowing how to do something so well that, when a challenge comes, I will have no doubt in my mind that I can overcome it. And when the opportunity is presented and I deliver efficiently and effectively, that is the greatest feeling in the world. It is a feeling that can only be achieved through practice, lots and lots of practice.

Bitterness

Bitterness is a weight that you don’t need to carry and a curse that does no good to share.

Moon Shot

In order to send people to the moon and bring them back to Earth safely, scientists and engineers had to solve problems that had never been solved before, problems that bordered on the impossible.

Providing healthcare to the entire population is not like sending humans to another planet. It won’t require a single scientific breakthrough. The administrative problems have already been solved. Many countries provide healthcare for all of their citizens, and they do so at lower costs per capita than the healthcare that Americans purchase today, and with demonstrably better results. The only thing that’s lacking is the political will to challenge the companies that are making astronomical fortunes in the for-profit healthcare industry and to convince the public that they will be better off when their healthcare decisions are no longer controlled by boards of directors who are trying to maximize their company profits.

Aiding The Opposition

Candidates who have no hope of being elected president should be mindful of the damage that they do when they attack the policy ideas of the frontrunners. Intra-party bickering helps the opposition.

Believe In Yourself

Believe in yourself

Be a little arrogant

If you find it helps

Believe in your dreams

No one knows the splendid gifts

That you have to share

Believe in your mind

Know that you can comprehend

Anything you try

Believe in your heart

Live your passion, make your art

Love is the best part

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Hard Truth In America

Colin Kaepernick knelt at the beginning of football games to protest excessive and often deadly police violence against Black people. You have to wonder why when a Black athlete protested harm coming to Black people, a bunch of White people twisted the meaning and claimed that he was “disrespecting the country.”

No, actually you don’t have to wonder why. A racist lives in the White House today. The border patrol detains brown people in cages that aren't fit for animals. Is anyone surprised that there was backlash when a Black person had the guts and the audacity to protest institutionalized racism?

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Sunset Island

There is an island

Far, far away

Where broken dreams

And unsatisfied love

Retire

To live out

Their twilight years

The air is warm

And the beach and the water

Are beautiful

But when the sun sets

There’s no color cast

In the sky

Only the bleak, heavy gray of regret

And the haunting, mournful emptiness

Of sadness

Outsider

I went to see Steve Miller and Marty Stuart last evening. It was a beautiful outdoor venue in perfect weather, and the sun was setting as the concert was getting under way.

I had a funny thought as I was waiting for the show to start: I can’t remember the last time I was surrounded by more laid back, middle-aged White people. The crowds in New York typically aren’t so homogeneous.

The strange things is that, although I was definitely in my demographic, for some reason, I still felt like an oddball. I never feel as though I fit in, even when the crowd looks a lot like me. Being an outsider is my default state. I have an idiosyncratic soul.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Art And Expression

Art is not about perfection. It’s about passion. It’s about connection.

If you feel something in your heart and you express it honestly, even if the delivery is a little rough, you will move people. You will touch their souls, because they will recognize something about themselves when they experience what you have shared.

If someone criticizes you or your expression, smile and nod and realize they don’t understand it. Perhaps they have not gone through an experience like the one that inspired you. But I guarantee that if, one day, they have a similar experience, they will understand exactly what you were trying to say. The meaning will come to them clearly and immediately. When that happens, they will realize that you knew what you were doing all along despite their lack of appreciation.

Be bold. Express those thoughts and ideas that are important to you, even if the expression is raw and unpolished, even if some people don’t understand it. Art does not have to be glamorous, nor does it have to be widely accepted. It just has to be real and heartfelt.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Wars Of The Future

If wars are to be waged in the future, instead of fighting over who gets to pull more carbon out of the ground, the battle should be over who isn’t doing enough to keep it out of the air.