"Random Scraps" , Gusseyed Up and Re-Posted

This was one of my early posts when I first created my blog. I had not read it in years; maybe not since the day I first posted it. Having re-read it now, I thought it might be worthy of a re-post with some trinkets and slight editing.

Here is "Random Scraps" from June 9th, 2006 - Including my immediate thoughts and some slight editing after the re-read.

Lunatics rule, the rest of us drool
Lunatics run amok. Scattering the quiet and calm in every direction. They stand up and scream for the sake of the noise made. They attack our senses and rattle our souls. Hammering nonsense into directives and rules. They focus on the ridiculous and bend our wills to stupid endeavors. And all the while we are distracted by their manic gyrations, the real threats loom. Growing silently patiently waiting for their turn at the front.

            20 years Later - Nothing seems to have changed ; at least not for the better anyway. The new  lunatics have taken the reins now, promising us the same promises only in new packaging.

Okie Overdrive
Dropping down out of the mountains, I shift into okie overdrive. 70,000 pounds of 18 wheeled momentum gathers steam and I grin as the speedometer creeps up to 90. I hold the wheel loosely, letting the truck find it's own way down the three lane wide super slab. The scenery picks up the pace as it zips by my window. But wait. Oh shit! Some curves ahead. Hugging the inside of the first turn, my hands tighten on the wheel as the truck begins an 18 wheel drift to the outside. A foot of space and a puny guardraill is all that pretends to protect me from a 200 hundred foot bummer of a plunge. 

Just as I begin to think it is about time to revisit my past and make peace with my maker, the road curves back and I jam hard into it and ride it out. Easing on the brakes, I pass the bail outs at 80mph still barely in control. One more curve and another drift toward the abyss. Cannot brake now. Cannot engage the tranny, I hang on and hope those new radials live up to their rep. I touch the trailer brake. All I see in my mirrors is smoke and I have to let up. The road straightens some, so I try to find high gear. Grind the gears, double clutch, touch the brake, grind the ...finally the shifter hooks up. Whew!, I ease her down, shift down, and as the engine screams in pain I begin to slow down as the road flattens into the valley floor. Shaking, I pull over to the shoulder and stop. I check my britches. I also check off that stupid trick from my list of fun things to try.

No rose colored glasses here. I almost paid the highest price for being stupid on that night run from Las Vegas to Los Angeles back in 1977.

            20 Years Later - Those stupid moments on I-15 driving south to Los Angeles often cross  my mind. Whenever they do, I will shake my head and wonder who or what might have been looking out for me. ........... Which is why I don't discount the possibility of a higher intelligence having something to do with us and what we are doing to ourselves. 

I just hate the faith based networks we set up to pay homage to that possible higher intelligence; which when I think about it, Hah! Higher Intelligence? If they exist at all, they should be called the "Lower" or "Not Much Intelligence Agency", given just how sadly Humanity is turning out. Somehow, we keep movin on in spite of ourselves.

The Blue Jay
I wanted to kill that fucking Blue Jay. It pounced on that poor sparrow and began pecking it to death. I rushed to the rescue but pulled up short. My emotional knee jerk reaction turned to resignation at the brutality of the natural world. I chased the Jay away and peered down at that poor young sparrow. One wing obviously mangled and useless, it gazed at me from a bloodied eye socket. The eye now in the Jay's stomach I guessed. Nothing I could do. Let nature run its course. I turned and walked away. Looking back, I watched a crow that must have been hanging around, swoop in and take it. With a small taste of satisfaction, I grinned crookedly and thought, "Well, at least that damn Blue Jay didn't get it."

The rest of the day, the violent end of the sparrow popped into my thoughts. I was not sure why it affected me so. But the lesson of that food chain moment had made a point. A re-run of sorts on how the World really works. Life is never secure nor truly safe. Hazards exist and predators lurk.

               20 Years Later - I still on occasion will remember in detail the dying sparrow with the empty eye socket; serves as a constant reminder of just how much of a crap shoot Life is.

Be Sociable and Kind........ But don't be Blind................. Later

___________________________

I should do this more often. Listen to the music before I have finished the post. Today, I walked back some years to a time that seems now an idyllic fantasy world I made up. I know we  had problems, but now I wonder if those problems were just stepping stones on the ever rougher pathof stepping stones I have tred on to get to the here and now. 

Perspective. Writng and specifically writing after taking trips down memory lanes are all about perspective. And what seems to affect perspective the most? The passing of time does. 

So, moving on now, I should have done this more often was originally meant to be about listening to music without straining to find a tune that would fit for whatever arbitrary reason I originally had. Just listen to the music and one will strike the right key. ...... I'll know.

I punched up a mix list Youtube had created from the gajillion songs I have played in the last so many years on their platform. I stopped it when this Metallica / Megadeth & the WHO mashup tried to pass by. Here is "Eminence of Holy Wars & Creeping Death". Given the names of the bands involved, I shouldn't have to say it.......Play it as loud as you can stand and then punch it up a notch or two.