I Have A Suggestion For You

Are you bored with your life? Are you surprised that it is what it is?

You thought you would do better. You thought you would have more money. You thought that you would have more fun. But it didn't work out that way.

You are stressed out, worried, disappointed, and disillusioned. And bored.That's no fun at all.

But of course, at this point in your life, there is not a whole hell of a lot you can do about it.

You need to spark your brain. Shock yourself out of where you are to a place so far from your reality that you actually forget about your reality. For a little while.

Try this.

Watch True Romance (1993) on a Friday night, watch Scarface (1983) (Pacino version) on Saturday night. By the time you finish Scarface you will be a new person with a new perspective and unlimited inspiration. At least until Monday morning.

First of all, consider the cast of True Romance. Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Brad Pitt, Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer, James Gandolfini, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport. Can you even believe that?

Outstanding.

Both films are over the top plot-wise, and especially violence-wise. But that's what you need. You need to get outside of yourself, and you need your stomach twisted into a knot. Who knows, these movies are so outrageous that maybe it will make you grateful for your tiny life by way of comparison. An unintended consequence.

Please be careful - there is some violence in these movies that just might be too much for your delicate sensibilities. If so, immediately flick the channel to Dancing with the Stars. I wouldn't blame you. I have watched these movies dozens of times, and certain scenes still turn my stomach. And I LOVE violence.

Please report back to me. If my suggestion changes your life - good or bad - I would like to take credit.

I Hope No One Ever Says These Words to Me

 "I'm the Anti-Christ. You get me in a vendetta kind of mood, you will tell the angels in Heaven that you had never seen pure evil so singularly personified as you did in the face of the man who killed you."

Christopher Walken (Vincenzo Coccotti) to Dennis Hopper (Clifford Worley) in True Romance.

The Workingman's Lament

 "A heaviness settled on him that didn't lift as the long, dull days stretched on, spent in toil that offered neither mental challenge nor reward."

From Horse, by Geraldine Brooks

Now More Than Ever

Now more than ever, I am struggling to find peace of mind.

James Taylor's voice helps.

Enough to Be on Your Way

 "So the sun shines on this funeral

Just the same as on a birth

The way it shines on everything

That happens here on earth

It rolls across the Western sky

And back into the sea

And spends the day's last rays

Upon this fucked-up family"

And later on in the song:

"They brought her back on a Friday night

Same day I was born

We sent her up the smokestack

Yes and back into the storm

She blew up over the San Juan mountains

She spent herself at last

The threat of heavy weather

That was what she knew best

Oh it's enough to be on your way

It's enough just to cover ground

It's enough to be moving on"

And:

"Home, boy, build it behind your eyes

Carry it in your heart

Safe among your own......................

So long, old gal"

Grappling with life and death in a heartfelt and poetic way.

James Taylor, Enough to Be on Your Way

I Sing Pretty Good

Had to run out to do errands.

Had to go to Lowe's to snag a barbecue grill cover before the massive rain storm rolls in. Armageddon, baby - keep your head down.

The old cover has a gaping rip in it, which I've been ignoring because procrastination is my strong point. In fact when I lifted it off, my poor grill was wet.

Had to stop by Walgreen's to pick up drugs for Carol. I just love the way that sounds.

It is 74 degrees. There is a pleasantly insistent breeze. Brilliant sunshine. Windows down, sun roof open.

So the errands didn't hurt as much as usual. In fact, they didn't hurt at all.

And then...................................I dialed up Classic Vinyl. A Hard Day's Night comes on.

Holy shit - suddenly 62 years of my life melted away. I was young again. I was smiling - until I started singing.

I sing pretty good. Maybe as good as a Beatle. I should have called them up and asked to join the band. Of course I was 10 years old at the time - I don't think my parents would have gone for it.

In any event, on September 25, 2026, I was cruising down the road, happy.

The magic never dies.

A Saturday Morning in September

 It was a fine September Saturday morning, the kind of day that deceptively teases a longer life for summer, while the truth is oncoming winter with all its misery.

Johann felt peaceful, he was day dreaming, giving his mind a break from poisons and terror. Tom popped into his head.

Tom was a guy who ripped through life on his terms and at his speed. He didn't drink, he didn't smoke, religion guided his every thought. He exercised relentlessly - running, hiking, climbing mountains - the man was in shape.

He was intense and quite disciplined, but he had a sense of humor. A sly, sneaky, delicious sense of humor.

Cancer killed him at the age of 70. For no particular reason. The man did everything right, he improved the world through the sheer force of his personality and his goodness, and cancer killed him anyway. He should have lived to be 97.

Johann compared his life to Tom's and came up short. Embarrassingly short. He did nothing, accomplished nothing, controlled nothing, achieved nothing. He was less than. The only attribute he ever perfected was whining. That, and wasting time. At these, he excelled.

He began to feel morose. He was much closer to death than he would have liked. The major drawback to whining and wasting time is that time itself is relentless. It doesn't stop, it doesn't wait, it doesn't give you a chance to catch your breath and change direction.

As Johann began to feel sorry for himself, to wallow in self-pity, inventing hollow excuses, it suddenly occurred to him that Tom's story was as inspirational as it was sad. Johann still had time. He could do, he could move, he could re-invent. With just a little of Tom's focus in his mind, Johann could change his life.

He was energized. He got up, shook off the wallowing, and started to consider options, determined to change his life in ways that would deliver him to pride and peace.

That's how you win the game.