A coupla thousand years ago, the story goes…Hercules was challenged to a wresting match by a guy by the name of Antaeus – who had never lost a match and after each victory he slaughtered his opponent. Thank the Gods, Hercules won. A problem, he realized during the match, was Antaeus got stronger every time he was thrown to the ground. So Hercules never let Antaeus touch the ground again. So. …We have our present day Antaeus, I think; but where is our Hercules? Are ‘We’ him?
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- …In a disturbed frame of mind I thought about: Years ago Joseph Conrad wrote a Book, “The Heart of Darkness” in which – at the end – deep in the jungle, the person the narrator had been looking for gasped his dying words: “The Horror. The Horror.” Then Francis Coppola updated the story and put it in Vietnam under the title “Apocalypse Now” – where Brando, dying, deep in the jungle, muttering “The Horror. The Horror”. My dark thought now is if we were to update this story one more time, we would not need to go into the jungle to find those dying words. ….Maybe my thoughts are clouded by what I perceive to be the ‘political’ reactions – Stateside – to the recent New York Court Case…or maybe it’s just Spring allergies.
- On the slightest touch of a lighter note, the thought occurred to me the biggest category of businesses in the world might be: Security Related Businesses. You have: Locks for your doors, cars, gun & rifle cabinets, a key for your safety box, which is in a secured vault, a key of your own – that no one else has – to start your car, and Passwords for your phones to keep all your information secure…you have dogs that bark, electronic and camera devices watching your house. You have: Neighborhood ‘Watches’, Armed Police, Armed guards, Guards to protect important people, private Security companies. You now have cyber attacks in the U.S. every 29 seconds and Bitcoins (whatever they are) disappearing by the Billions that all need to be figured out how to make secure…Don’t forget the FDA, FAA, CFPB, FTC – and other Gov agencies. Then again you have your Military to protect your interests…and the Military costs more, by multiples, than anything else in the world. Many other nations have these things… and so, my point is made. What does all this mean? I think it means we do not trust each other and, or, we do not like each other very much and maybe that is why we bury our souls into our I-phones and Netflix accounts. Maybe it’s the GOP’s reaction to the verdict in the New York Court Case that is addling my mind…Or, maybe it’s just Spring allergies.
Some Quotes:
- “It gets late early out there.” -Yogi Bera (speaking about the shadows over Left Field in the Boston Stadium.
- “Yes ‘n’ how many times can a man turn his head/ and pretend that he just doesn’t see?/The Answer my friend is blowing in the wind/ the answer is blowing in the wind.” – Dylan, “”Blowin in the Wind”, 1962
That’s it for this week. Perhaps sun will come out tomorrow and the winds will be blowing allergy free…and a fond “Hello” to Silas, wherever you may be.
