BARREL OF MONKEYS: "GENESIS" in Reverse


I consider myself a Democrat. Been called a Socialist. Definitely a bleeding heart liberal.


As a child from a traditional southern family, playing Barrel of Monkeys on the floor, church every Sunday, doing well in public school, learning a trade; in every sense privileged .........


Comfortable in middle age, an avid news reader, on learning the tragic story of a full grown chimpanzee destroying the face of a woman who offered a toy, only trying to help it's owner coax her surrogate child back into his cage......


Today being confrontational, ribald, offensive, restless, rebellious.......


How did I get here from there?


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Sunday, February 14, 2010

"NOT LIKE US" (HOPSCOTCH IN FOUR DIMENSIONS)

di·men·sion 

–noun
1.Mathematics.
a.a property of space; extension in a given direction: A straight line has one dimension, a parallelogram has two dimensions, and a
parallelepiped has three dimensions.
b.the generalization of this property to spaces with curvilinear extension, as the surface of a sphere.

c.the generalization of this property to vector spaces and to Hilbert space.

d.the generalization of this property to fractals, which can have dimensions that are noninteger real numbers.

e.extension in time: Space-time has three dimensions of space and one of time.

2.Usually, dimensions
a.measurement in length, width, and thickness.

b.scope; importance: the dimensions of a problem.
3.unit (def. 6).
4.magnitude; size: Matter has dimension.
5.Topology.a.a magnitude that, independently or in conjunction with other such magnitudes, serves to define the location of an element within a given set, as of a point on a line, an object in a space, or an event in space-time.
b.the number of elements in a finite basis of a given vector space
6.Physics. any of a set of basic kinds of quantity, as mass, length, and time, in terms of which all other kinds of quantity can be expressed; usually denoted by capital letters, with appropriate exponents, placed in brackets: The dimensions of velocity are [LT−1]. Compare dimensional analysis.
7.dimensions, Informal. the measurements of a woman's bust, waist, and hips, in that order: The chorus girl's dimensions were 38-24-36.



con·scious

n. In psychoanalysis, the component of waking awareness perceptible by a person at any given instant; consciousness.


  





One day on my way home from work, I stopped at Home Depot to pick up a few bales of pinestraw for some yardwork I planned to do that weekend.  As I was waiting for someone to come unlock the gate to the cargo bay where the straw is kept, a big expensive looking car pull up besides my Jeep Wrangler.  Out steps an elderly man and woman looking as if on their way to church.  Though tastefully done, it was obvious the woman spends a lot of time putting on her makeup.

Very friendly, she starts chatting with me as we waited.  She was obviously very curious about me; too friendly for my comfort.  It didn't cost me anything to be nice, so I politely humored her.  Then she laid the big one on me, "there was a nice girl at her church she would like me to meet?"  Probably thought I was a real doctor, maybe a dentist, because I still had on my scrubs.

 "That's mightly sweet of you mame," I answered.  But, I'm atheist."

Like letting the air out of a ballon, I watched the friendly expression drain from her face. She mumbled a few words; don't remember what they were, but nothing mean. She backs off to join her husband waiting by the car.



I can't help but wonder how she would have reacted to "I'm gay" instead. Possible she may be wiser and kinder than I give her credit and thinks I'm just another liar. Either way, no means no. She got her answer. That alone can be awkard.   

Boy is "not being quick to judge" hard work!  Something you have to constantly consiously practice. Impossible to do while multi-tasking.  Sometimes, it's best, just to back off.

****

So....what's my point?

Unless you live on an island, completely cut off from society, no way to leave or be found; one has to interact with others in order to acquire the basis essencials of life.  Totally dependent on adults (not necessarily our parents) at birth;  through trial and error,  gravitating toward those who provide our needs the best or we fear the least, to learning how to spot those only being politically correct in the work environment to those who tolerate only in time of need;  to our network of friends, somtimes genuine, sometimes just to avoid being alone.

I see life as a bunch of overlapping circles, constantly in motion,  all contained within one big circle.  How we use stereotyping, in choosing whom we interact with (or not).   Man/women. White/black.  Heterosexual/homosexual.  Religious/atheist.  Preppy/redneck.  Masculine/feminine.  Rich/poor.  Atheletic/overweight.  A list that goes on forever.  As people walk by each other on a city sidewalk,  to try mapping the circles for each pedestrian as an outside observer, would be impossible.   Even if you freeze the motion briefly,  you still have the illusion of circles moving as your eyes scan the picture.  You can get sections to stop spinning if you focus your attention on one spot;  but it's difficult and fleeting.....like trying to figure out what someone thinking without clouding it with your own thoughts.

As faulty as stererotyping can be, and it's potential to be abused; it does have it's place.  Raised a southerner, even though gay, I do my best to smile as I open the doors for all the ladies.  In general,  older ladies are polite in return, black one's seeming the most appreciative.  Mixed results with younger ones though; prettier ones tending to be downright rude at times.  But I understand, smiles can be deceptive,  and stalkers don't stop until they hit a dead end or get what they were after.

As far as the younger, unattractive ones...........I try my best to smile just as big.....but it seems like I'm stuck holding the door open longer then I intended.  I like to believe it's them and not just another illusion created by impatience.

If still not making sense,  think World War Two, battleships, U-boats, and commerce as usual.  If an enemy has you on their radar, you pray like hell someone in your circle has them on their radar if not you.

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"One thing I like about the Digital age: having the dictionary at my fingertips, how easy it is to look up unfamiliar words as I go along reading." "At least....... until, I played my first game of SCRABBLE on the internet. Wow! I had no idea you could spell so many words with seven letters every time." "Now I feel pressured to catch up!"