A semi-regular attempt to address some of life’s minutiae that might otherwise be overlooked…..

 

 

 

I am well aware that a) my sense of humor can be strange, and b) sometimes humor doesn’t always translate well in written form. Having said that, I become quite perturbed when allegedly intelligent people don’t get something obviously meant in good fun. I use my Instagram strictly for memes, and twice in recent weeks funny memes have elicited comments from people who took them way too seriously. I know both commenters quite well. One is a person that was a good friend for three decades until we had a falling out a few years ago. I’m sure he would tell you it was over political differences, but the truth is I got fed up with his attention seeking and the total lobotomizing of his funny bone. This is a man who used to be the class clown but now gets offended about everything like the fragile snowflake that has come to symbolize his ilk. The other commenter was an even closer friend until he stopped talking to me for reasons that are still a mystery. I sure wish I could’ve had some insightful discussions with him last year. He always has been a bit more on the serious side, so I wasn’t as taken aback by his reaction to my post…just disappointed because I thought he understood me better. At any rate, the point is that perhaps we all need to lighten up and laugh more. Stop taking everything so seriously. 2020 was a total dumpster fire, and the new year is starting out just a little shaky…we need to take refuge in God (obviously) and try our best to have some fun. If you aren’t willing or capable of doing that then maybe it’s best I keep my distance.

 

 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…I’m not a protest kind of guy. I’m just not. Neither am I a mathematician, but I do understand the Law of Averages, and when you have a large gathering of people it doesn’t matter how peaceful the protest is meant to be or how respectful it begins…eventually the old saying “it only takes one bad apple to spoil the whole bunch” comes into play, which is unfortunate. I simply do not believe protests, in general, are productive. A group of people get together, make speeches, chant, sing songs, or whatever else (it’s not a situation I am familiar enough with to know exactly what goes on)…to what end?? Are people under the delusion that they’re righteous anger will change anything?? One of my favorite Dadisms from my father is “you may not get your way but you can have your say”, and I agree. However, there is a way to do that and a way not to do it. I am not opposed to a little rebellion on occasion…sometimes one just has to raise some hell. But mostly I believe in protocol & process. The problem is that even the most noble purpose loses the moral high ground when such events turn violent, which recent history tells us happens more often than not. And that’s all I have to say about that.

 

 

Webster defines escapism as “diversion of the mind to purely imaginative activity or entertainment as an escape from reality or routine”. It’s something we all need on occasion, and it comes in different forms. During the pandemic I have noticed several of my more outdoorsy friends getting out into nature…hiking, fishing, hunting, boating, etc….and I really wish I could do more of that. Sadly, my disability precludes participation in many such activities, so for me books, TV, music, & movies have always provided the necessary distraction. The issue…for several years now…has become the compulsion for such entertainment to dip their toe into the pool of reality. After the recent hullabaloo at the U.S. Capitol in DC I decided to tune into The Tonight Show, knowing exactly what to expect. Jimmy Fallon did a cold open full of hand wringing, indignation, & faux sadness. He began by saying something to the effect of “these are difficult times to do an entertainment show”, and I thought to myself “No…it’s really not. You go out there and tell jokes. You make us laugh. That’s why you make the big bucks…because it is allegedly what you are good at.” And to be fair, Fallon is generally quite good at it, moreso than any other current late night host. It was predictable but aggravating, because it seems like nowadays, when we really need that escape, when, as Billy Joel might say, we need to “forget about life for awhile”, the people who we count on to help us do that are more interested in virtue signaling and making speeches. I haven’t been as much of a bookworm the past few years as I had been, but perhaps now is the time to read more.