Daily Archives: June 1, 2012

Do You See What’s Coming?

by

0


WW2 - Dog Tags

WW2 – Dog Tags (Photo credit: PhilBailey Photography)

Two older men walked down the street after enjoying an evening meal.  They had talked about all the amazing things they had done when they were young.  Both had been soldiers.  And each had his fair share of hand to hand combat in the war.  As they walked they talked about the marvel of old age.  “It’s good to have been able to take part in that war”, one said.  “We sure showed them!”  The other one replied.  20 seconds later they both lay on the pavement.  Four young men had pulled them into an alley, beat them unconscious, and robbed them.

All their previous valor gone, they lay in their own blood.  And those who could testify to every blow were running away laughing.  The former days were gone.  Now the victory lay in the hands of heartless fools.

This nation has had its good meals like that.  And now we’re walking down the dark street, as we create the new history, happily enjoying each other’s company.  Think about it.

We Never Get Past 17

by

0


Books

Books (Photo credit: henry…)

I am an older man now.  And I realize that I am just one step above the idiot I was when I was 17.  It’s curious how we never seem to “grow up”.  We all remain little kids playing tricks with our bodies.

We balance our lives according to need.  And most of us get pretty good at it.  While some people act as if they were really “grown ups”, they betray their self perception every day.  It is a hard thing to come to the realization that what I think I am is a far cry from the truth.  But isn’t it necessary to make a truthful accounting to ourselves regarding what we really are?

When the lights go out and we are laying there thinking about the day, which one of us can say he or she lived a perfect life in a perfect day?  Stupid things were said or done.  Thoughts filtered through our mind that shouldn’t have been there.  And misunderstandings seem to rule every relationship.  We talk to each other.  But it’s like we only make guttural noises.  Oh they understand us alright.  But they understand us from their own perspective.

This leads me to the central thought this morning.  Why do we glorify those who can couch “truth” in poetic terms?  I mean, one man will say “We are all sinners.”  And no one will listen to what he just said.  Another man will say the same thing with 300 pages of a book.  And in everything he says he never says “We are all sinners.”  People buy his book and laud his great skill.  They even pay $35.00 just to read the book.  Now this just leaves me mystified!

It’s like a madness among men.  They won’t listen to truth given freely.  But they will gladly go spend their hard-earned money to hear someone say what is true (provided the author has hidden the truth carefully, like one who hides the pill for a child in a gob of jam.)   The better the author is at hiding truth behind edible words, the more praise he gets.

This is an amazing thing to observe among the children of this world.  As far as I can see, the culprit of this folly is pride.  Tell me if I’m wrong.