Photos

 

What would we do without photos? It is a graphic reminder of a time and space that relates to life.

There was a time when having a camera was a luxury. To get a photo one had to go to a photographer who had a camera then stand still until the image could be transferred to film (or plate?). Then the photographer had to process the image from negative to paper so everyone could see.

I wasn’t around in the Civil War, but I’ve seen photos. I wasn’t at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked, but I’ve seen photos. I never met my father’s brother or his mother or the man I was named after, but I’ve seen photos.

There are graduation photos. There are wedding photos. There are baby photos. There are vacation photos. There are pet photos.

Where are the funeral photos? Where are the divorce photos? How about a nice stack of eviction photos?

Photos are taken to remember our good times, but we are still fascinated by the media photos of murders and disasters and wrecks and war. The more grotesque the more we crave them.

There are also wonderful photos of landscapes and places you will never travel too but you can view. There are faces of people you will never meet but if you did they won’t look the same because we’ve all gotten older from when the shutter clicked.

Now that everyone has a camera with them capturing the moment in still or motion colored images (with sound) and immediately post it on social media for everyone around the world to enjoy and comment on. With all the digital filters that used to take training for f-stop and contrast and brightness and depth of field, etc. it is point-and-shoot.

I don’t have volumes of photos. Carrying a camera was just another load and processing film was expensive, so I stopped taking photos. There are a few treasured memories but most of the ‘snap shots’ have been lost through the years.

Are they memories or evidence?

What would you do if you were rich?

 

Tired of hearing about a dysfunctional political system, climate change, virus spread and death? Tired of filling out surveys of ‘what was the best dish your mother made’ or ‘what would your pirate name from the color of your shirt and the last thing you ate’ or ‘would you marry the person you took to the prom’?

So watching billionaires with nothing else to do than take a cruise into outer space, what would you do if you were rich?

Not just well off or wealthy, but stinking rich with more dough than you could ever imagine. No need to check your bank account because the 0’s run off the screen.

Don’t worry where it came from. Maybe you won the lottery or a rich relative passed down their leftovers or more devious terms, YOU ARE FILTHY RICH!

Now what do you do with all that money?

It seems those who appear on the ‘Rich & Famous’ buy cars and houses and yachts and travel around the world.

Oh, with all that dough, you immediately become ‘famous’. Where now no one knows who you are or even care, once you got a fat wallet reporters want to know your every detail and you can’t move without getting a photo taken. You will be fodder for the press.

First you can park that old jalopy and get yourself the car of your dreams with all the bells and whistles. Drive it off the lot ‘sold’ but it will still start to devalue. Want a truck? Get one of them two. How about an off-road vehicle? Even wanted to ride a motorcycle? How about a camper…no a bus? Every rich person needs a stretch limo.

There is no enough space on the curb parking for all these vehicles, so now you need a place to park them. A garage the size of next week will do.

Now you need a house to attach to the garage.

This isn’t a remodel or a fixer upper, but a design from scratch This will require an architectural firm because you don’t know enough about wiring and wall structure. Want a big kitchen? No problem. Separate bar? Sure thing. Vaulted ceilings? You bet. How many bedrooms would you like? Each with it’s own bath? In-door pool? Matching outdoor pool? Golf course? Bowling alley?

Once the walls and floors are up, you need to show off your fine taste with interior designing. Biggest screen televisions in every room. Surround sound system in every wall. A grand piano and maybe a harp? Museum worth artwork and floor to ceiling mirrors.

Now that everyone knows what you look like, you can’t run down to the corner convenience store in an old sweatshirt and a pair of jeans to pick up a 6-pack of PBR. You got to look the part of a person of means. That means tailored suits (nothing off the rack – that is for commoners) and fancy shoes. There is plenty of room in the walk in closets for a million hangers. Don’t forget to get quaffed for the latest style and probably a manicure wouldn’t hurt.

Do you have a ‘significant other’? Do you have children? This is going to change the entire family too. “No, we can’t afford that” will disappear from your vocabulary.

Speaking of family, you will suddenly be overwhelmed by cousins, aunts, uncles, long lost brothers and an array of folks you’ve never seen on the ancestry tree. You are going to have kinfolk all with their hands out.

Plus every organization, foundation, non-profit and even religious houses of worship will come begging. If that is not enough, politicians will be on bended knees wanting to fill their coffers.

What you need is a financial advisor, maybe several with accountants, lawyers, bankers and investment and tax advisors. Even with all this money, you can fritter it away in no time if you are not careful.

You will also need a posse or entourage. You are now known to be rich so to keep from getting robbed or kidnapped, you will need security. Probably a secretary to keep track of your schedule, a driver, a pilot or two, the captain and crew for the yacht.

Whether you have one or more homes, they will need gardeners to keep the grounds tidy, maids to keep the floors clean, a kitchen crew to prepare your meals and at least one butler to lay out your daily wear and attend to you immediate needs. The garage will require mechanics to keep all the vehicles in tip-top shape. The plane will need a hanger and a crew to keep it ready for your beckon call.

Then there are the ‘hangers-on’. They might be old friends or people who you find interesting but they want to be in your inner circle. They want to share in your luxury and attend your gala events without any compensation.

If you have that much money, you got to have parties. Invite all the celebrities and expect an invitation to their parties. Be sure to take lots of selfies to post on your fan page.

Then it is Tuesday morning.

Your special brewed coffee is cooling on your bedside table. If you prefer orange juice to tomato juice it will be freshly squeezed. There is no running out to get an Egg Mac muffin for your chef will prepare you an omelet from French hen eggs on freshly backed muffins from the finest English flour.

You can check the news online or have a stack of printed media to go through but it is Tuesday and nothing is happening.

Wander out to the pool but the sun is too hot. Don’t feel like a ride in the Lamborghini because there is no place to go. Too early to drink and only the staff to talk to.

Crash on the sofa and binge on Netflix. Even the rich get bored.

What if?

 

There are no ‘do over’s’ but one can only imagine a ‘what if’? What if it had been the other way around?

What if my mother died before my father? He was already ill so how would the family handle it? Would we have done what he did with his father?

What if you had married the other girl? Would it have been a quicker divorce or still lasting? Would there have been children?

What if you had accepted that job in North Carolina or the one in Washington D.C.? Would you have burnt out or become rich?

What if you had flunked out of high school? What if you had flunked out of college? Would you have been drafted and gone to Vietnam? Would you have gone underground or travel to another country?

What if you had chosen music over art? Would you be playing the chittlin circuit at the Holiday Inn? Would you have had a hit record or just wound up cleaning dishes in a hole-in-the-wall club?

What if I had died before she did? What would she have done? Would she remarry? Would she have children?

What if there had been no Kennedy assassination? What if there had been no 9/11? What if there had been no Vietnam, Iraq, Gulf… wars? What if there had been no pandemic?

What if….

How was your day?

 

Today is Sunday, July 25. It is sunny here. It is a bit more humid today but not bad temperature for summer in the city. There is a slight breeze and a few soft clouds.

My day was routine for a Sunday. I rode out early to avoid the traffic and donate some more books, then off to the store to restock. Gave a compliment to my blue apron friends and passed off the zip cart to the women in the red car who lives a block away and attends as often as I do but we’ve never spoken before.

How was your day?

Did you go to the beach? Did you go to church? Did you cut the grass? Did you have family members come by for a grill on the deck? Did you wake up with someone you don’t know? Did die in a car crash? Did you get married? Did wear your mask? Did you shoot your gun? Did you protest? Did you save a life? Did you donate some books? Did you dig in the dirt? Did you listen? Did you create? Did you appreciate where you are and who you are? Did you lend a hand? Did you learn? Did you exercise? Did you get drunk? Did you buy a car? Did you have sex? Did you pick your nose? Did you adopt a kitten? Did you have a baby? Did you eat too much? Did you sleep under a bridge? Did you get sunburned? Did you get pulled over? Did you take a nap? Did watch television? Did you fuss? Did you drive around? Did read a book? Did you pray? Did you get beat up? Did you stand at attention? Did you talk like a pirate? Did you hook a fish? Did you make a wish? Did you have a kiss? Did you tie your shoe? Did you make a poo? Did you walk the dog? Did you pick up a frog?

Don’t know what you did, but for this Sunday I feel I’ve done something good. Even got a smile from a pretty face and that is just gravy.

Have a good day.

Hot Times @ the Tummy Temple

 

So it is summer. Summer is hot.

The day starts earlier to try and catch the last few breezes from the evening before the sun starts to bake.

Just like the ladies who walk their dogs with baby carriages or do their workout before the automobiles awake, I plan to greet the day early but am already sweating.

Two fuzzy faces meet me expecting breakfast and by the time I can bring out the blueberries, there are three faces. The spread seems to satisfy for the moment as I part for places known.

A big ‘home improvement’ truck starts to block my way but I’m at a time when the morning rush hour is over and I can make my way slowly, carefully and safely.

After a breakfast I see if my vertigo has changed any. Each pedal is not in a rush and maybe done out of memory. Smile at the passing jogger or nod at the new mother for I don’t wear my mask while riding.

Arriving without incident, I lock up at my favorite stop sign and prepare to enter the only air-conditioning I will experience all day.

When I’m putting on my mask (safe than sorry) some unknown guy walks up to me and says, “Can I ask you something?”

At quick glance he seemed confused or abandoned. He had no luggage or dog as the wanderer from yesterday.

I walked by and said, “No!” for it was too hot to interact with a stranger.

Once in the door, another stranger broke up a conversation about my bike and how when he was young lived on Church Hill and would ride his bike to movie row on Broad Street and just leave it on a lamppost without a lock and it was there when he came out. I relate different times and go looking for a zip cart. Don’t know how I attract these folks?

As I walked pass the giant windows I noticed the guy with the foreign accent walking by outside. We recognized each other in our own searches.

I didn’t alert the Tummy Temple team because he didn’t seem threatening, just lost.

I did my usual ventures, forgetting popcorn (bad daddy) but accumulated enough hydration for another day and with a few adjustment to the screen, satisfied the computer to spit out a receipt.

Going back to pack up the pony there were several women looking worried. One was on the phone and another showing anxiety in the direction of the man dressed in black that was back on the platform.

One woman went into the door. The other women climbed into her mobile metal monster. The man in black was walking across the parking lot.

I unlocked, strapped on my gear and checked for traffic before taking off. The man in black was at the end of the parking lot looking confused and holding his head. He started south and then turned north. Our paths will intersect.

I got to my turn and he walked past with no interaction or recognition. He seemed to be trying to figure out his next decision and I knew my way.

These types of accouters with strangers can have residual reactions.

Should the passing police car picked him up? Should I’d stopped and listened to his story? Should I have offered him money? Should I have called for assistance? Did he have a weapon?

Legal?

 

The use of recreational Marijuana, grass, green, hash, pot, weed, dank, reefer, Mary Jane, chronic, nug (nugget), bud, herb, flower, skunk, dope, hay, blaze, boom, rope, ganga, hemp, hashish (whatever you call it) is now ‘legal’ in the commonwealth, but not so fast.

The use, sale, and possession of cannabis over 0.3% THC in the United States, despite laws in many states permitting it under various circumstances, is illegal under federal law. As a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970, cannabis over 0.3% THC (legal term marijuana) is considered to have "no accepted medical use" and have a high potential for abuse and physical or psychological dependence. Cannabis use is illegal for any reason, with the exception of FDA-approved research programs. However, individual states have enacted legislation permitting exemptions for various uses, including medical, industrial, and recreational use.

Still the legislators made a law and the governor signed it that it is NOW legal to process an ounce of marijuana and or grow a few plants. That does not mean you can walk around toking a dobie in public or rolling a few joints to sell.

This acceptance of what people have been doing for years in the shadows is only intended for private enjoyment. It is also a reaction of being pulled over by the cops for a loose license plate and when you roll down the window and the smoke pours out, the cop can’t say, “You got any marijuana in there?” Still not sure on DUI violations?

So now you can sit back with your rolling papers or water pipes or bongs (all legal paraphernalia that can be used for tobacco…wink, wink) and zone out on “Welcome Back Kotter” or “Good Times” without fear of ‘the man’ busting down your door.

Still there is a question of where do you get this ounce or seeds to grow?

Selling this ‘stuff’ is still illegal, so unless it falls out of the sky, there is no place to acquire what is now legal.

The legislators have set a deadline of 2024 to figure out how to money on the sales of marijuana. It is a difficult problem but has been done in other states.

From what I’ve read, the sales of a legal substance in a state, yet illegal by federal law, are a cash crop. Banks and credit cards cannot be used across state lines so it is pay as you go with a greenback dollar.

I’m a child of the 60’s. I inhaled and enjoyed it. I purchased from friends of friends and never questioned the quantity or quality. My friends and me used it as the ‘cocktail of choice’ for years until it became dull. I used it daily until my wife got paranoid and hid it and couldn’t remember where it was stashed. Nickel and dime bags were becoming too expensive to lose.

So now in this year of our Lord 2021, marijuana is legal for recreational consumption, but there is nowhere to attain the product to consume.

I know everyone is concerned with taking down statues and putting in bike lanes while in the backrooms politicians, merchants and financial minds are scheming a method to fill the coffers with what has passed by for years.

It gave me a thought and I posted it on social medial.

 

It seems I broke the rules of ‘terms and agreement’ that I agreed to 13 years ago. I crossed the line.

I’ve been ‘un-friend’ and have ‘un-friend’ others over comments misunderstood or just blatantly offensive. The past year I’d cleaned out the closet. I’ve even been blocked.

So now I was in the principals office being warned that another infraction could get me expelled.

I certainly understand social media trying to balance common courtesy with outrageous hatred, but ‘freedom of speech’ has always been hard to handle.  

At this time in life, I have little time left for nonsense. No need for diatribes or soliloquy, just get to the point.

I will post this tonight.

If Mister Zuckerberg or his AI censors feel I’ve broken the code of respectful speech and sequester me, so be it.

See you on the other side.

Attendant

 

We love to eat.

No matter where we go, we got to eat.

I was listening to a story of a ‘flight attendant’ and what she experienced on her flights. I could sympathize with her for I too, was an attendant.

Not on an airplane or a boat or even in a restaurant. (The wait people who take our orders, fill our drinks, deliver our meals, clear the plates, present our bills and bring us change are attending to us).

I was an attendant on the railroad.

Before there was all that fancy dining cars on short trips from here to there, you got to you seat, rolled up the window, lit a cigarette and watched the world go by. Like any public transportation, once you were aboard you were out of control. The train went where the tracks lead and could only go faster or slower. A passenger was an astronaut into the unknown. Perhaps read a book on the bumpy ride? Maybe take a nap?

What better to do when there is no lap top computers or Wi-Fi or cell phones or on-board television or even air-conditioning, than to eat?

My job was to load an aluminum gurney with pre-wrapped stale sandwiches, bags of chips and cans of cola and a semi-warm coffee urn to meet the train at the platform as passengers parted and de-parted offering them substances from their long ride. It was all a cash deal.

The worst part were the troop trains taking recruits to Camp Lejeune. They were excited about a big adventure. Would throw them sandwich through the windows and charge them $5 for a half pack of cigarettes as the train was pulling out. Saw too many of them coming back in boxes.

Sometimes I’d be assigned to work the train.

Pack up my load of ‘food’ you can only buy in vending machines, lift it up to the end of the car and wait for the train to take off. After a few minutes of getting my ‘sea legs’ I’d open the door and push my wanton pleasures down the aisle.

It is amazing what people will pay for questionable quality with only one bathroom?

On the return trip whatever was leftovers. I could park the cart on the last car and hang out in the caboose with the ‘real’ railroad guys.

I did get to ride the rails for free and learn about social science and psychology.

I was a ‘railroad attendant’.

The Body

 

It is an amazing thing we all have.

Before our first breath, this shell called the body we use forms and arranges all the parts in the same places and it expands. Most come with two hands with five fingers each to do everything from writing and drawing to playing an instrument or throwing a ball and two feet made for walking.

The body has an internal pump that keeps our gas (blood) flowing through an intricate piping system.

Another piping system has a hole at one in for input and a hole at another end for output. It is a fascinating system of digesting everything from an apple to pizza to alcohol and extracting the good stuff to keep the body fueled and disintegrating the rest to extricate and make room for more.

The body has a respiratory system to breathe in the air around us and blow out stale air. It speeds up when the body is active and slows down when it sleeps, but it is always working.

The body has a control center that directs all the pieces to work properly. The control center can multifunction from reading words to enjoying the sound of birds to smelling flowers to jogging while not running into a tree, then all these parts are connected by a web of electrical wiring that would baffle any engineer.

The body has an internal structural frame to carry and protect all the other parts. The frame allows the body to stand, walk, pick-up heavy objects, and wear a hat.

When all the parts are working properly the body wakes up, goes through the daily events then rest with a yawn. While you sleep, everything is still working but at a slower pace to re-coop for the next days adventure.

Like every machine, parts break down after wear and tear. Some parts can be patched and some parts can be replaced, but in the end the pump stops and the body starts to decay.

The best part is the body is delivered in this elastic package called skin. It stretches as the body grows up or out. It can be patched and heal but wrinkles with age. It also comes in a variety of colors.

We may not all think the same thoughts or speak the same language but we all have a body. And the blood all bleeds red.

Footnotes

 

Footnotes[1]

(RICHMONA, VIRGINLAND July 4^th) - There was a study[2] done by a committee[3] of experts[4] who reviewed the data[5] to resolve the problem[6] that was presented at the open forum[7] to the public presentation[8] to offer solutions[9] and possibilities[10] that can be funded[11] or be forwarded for further analysis[12] and computer reconstruction[13] of the data accumulated[14] over the period of time[15] before expiration[16].

As stated by Wilber “Will” Smoosher[17] “This report is not the complete and final for there is always more to discover and as esteemed Doctor Williams[18] said, “There is always more to know that we don’t know” So in conclusion[19] to our questionnaires[20] we[21] are in the summation[22] of our deliberate investigation[23] or all the facts”

“$2million more than in 2020 were appropriated and assigned as apposed to the $15million already in the pipeline to form committees, have forums, lease or purchase office space and furniture, hire and assemble staff and accommodations, set up networks, in accordance to specifications and technical requirements to assimilate and define the necessary calculations to objective comparisons with transparency and….”[24]

As the following charts show the relational reference of people using skateboards to newspaper subscriptions. 

 

“It is like the chicken and the farmer”, said the renowned Wally Zinkerpoo[25]. “The chicken can lay the eggs but the farmer drives the tractor. No matter the mobility training or discrimination disparity, the chicken will never be able to drive the tractor; though the chicken can wear glasses[26].”

“Whether the farmer can learn to lay an egg is still under discussion[27]”.

Additional funding[28], resources[29], time[30] and data studies and calculations[31] a possible feasible answer to these questions could be, at some point in time, suggested as defined by the restrictions of information at hand[32]

So in conclusion, the future looks brite for the welfare of all depending on climate change[33], economic adjustments[34], political instability[35], and population migration[36], with our gender identity[37], sexual preference[38], critical race theory[39] and environmental pollution[40].

Until next time….

---

[1] References to explain what a thought means.

[2] Online profile survey from TikTok, circa 6/8/2020-7/1/2020

[3] A limited number of people who could fit into a boardroom.

[4] Those who have a title that sounds important or possible intelligence.

[5] Accumulation of words and numbers

[6] There is always something that causes anxiety

[7] Where great minds gather for discussions

[8] Power Point

[9] Assumptions

[10] Variations

[11] Break out the checkbook

[12] Thought about

[13] Google

[14] Pile of printouts

[15] Deadline

[16] When the money runs out

[17] Director of Smoosher Assumptions and Conclusions, LLC

[18] Doctor of Probable Mental Problems at the Hospital of Hope in Lural Canyon, CA.

[19] About time to end this thing

[20] Excel spreadsheet

[21] The afore mentioned

[22] Guesswork

[23] Wasting time

[24] BS, so we stopped listening

[25] Associate Professor Americus of Studies and Research @ Geo Washington Jackson Johnson Community College in Symetric Falls, Utah

[26] Colloquialism

[27] Speculation

[28] We want your money

[29] Hiring more people

[30] No deadline, this needs to drag on

[31] More research

[32] What?

[33] Is it hot in here?

[34] Go into more debt

[35] You voted for them

[36] Wandering around

[37] Are you a boy or are you a girl?

[38] NSFW

[39] Get real history

[40] Too bad Earth, we were not good to you