Responsa

I don't typically reread my Blog postings; it's ME barking at the Universe, at Anima Mundi (its spirit), ... It's me shaking my cane .... only a couple thousand readings have occurred of my park bench ramblings and only recently have I begun to forward them to some of the listservs to which I belong. But yesterday, I seemed to hit a nerve with people who identified parts of themselves in my howling at the Moon. There's a connection, maybe, between howling at la Luna (a character in a feminist movie from mid-90's -- Antonia's Lines or Lives? ... beautiful film) and being Loony. It was reminiscent of the followup to a talk I gave in maybe 2000 in Frankfort, KY, at the Association for Science and Culture. It was a small organization led by Physicists and Religious types and just about any critter you could imagine whose interested in the meet of these two Worlds. I was talking about how action words turn into common nouns and then into Proper Nouns, at which time they lose their meaning. I had four words in mind: sabbath/Sabbath, filthy lucre/Mammon, truth/Truth and science/Science. A topic for another posting. But after my 50 minute talk, screaming fights broke out between the esteemed and gathered who had become quite "esteamed," one might say. Nearly two hour skirmish and I hardly said a word during that time. Any case ... a lot of steam, yesterday, came from members of three listservs and some colleagues. I suppose I was onto something when I suggested that Players in the Last Quarter like to shake their canes. ........... Still, even with a very busy and long day, M and I had some windows of time to speak, yesterday ... part of it was devoted to second and third generation issues. What does it mean for our oldest to be in S. Korea and Japan right about now and for our oldest grandchild to be eating at a Druze dinner in a Druze Village somewhere in Northern Israel. Then one of us noted the obvious ... that when we're young, the 40+ crowd needs to seem old to keep us separate from them ... maybe like troops not going into battle steering clear of "you who are about to die." ............. Can't say that I was troubled by the comments ... I felt separate from those who registered dis-ease with what I said or how I said it. what I wrote yesterday could be heard by any reasonable person as borderline snarky and I have lived inside a service profession where being screamed at and even threatened with bodily harm may not be common but isn't so rare, either. But, as in my profession, I was interested ... Could that posting from yesterday incite? Did it mean, as one person said, that I was just a mean bastard? or grumpy old man, as someone who isn't prone to snarkiness of their own said. Me grumpy? Nah! Me grand-pere! Someone accused me of blogging instead of communicating; right on! For me, these writings have given me the space over the past few years to sit on my park bench ... a crazy old man and talk out loud without an earbud that might make it look OK and bear witness on myself and others growing old ........... I suppose I'll continue after I've been diagnosed as defficient, as deficiency, too, is central to Playing in the Fourth Quarter. .... Oh, yes! And by then, I hope to recall whether this is Playing in the Last or Fourth Quarter ... maybe a slip about my skepticism about Overtime. LOLLaBFLaB (Laughing Out Loud Like a Big Fat Laughing antiquated Buddha ....... but me Grumpy? ........ Another day!