SHELL GAME - Thursday Mar. 31, 2011
today’s Musing written and published from Cranston in south- east Calgary, near the Bow River valley
Morning walk: 2C/36F, dark, overcast, crunchy snow far less dangerous than wetness over ice on the apparently clear paved path down slope - that got me horizontal; Gusta kindly waited as I made myself perpendicular again, and off we ambled . . . gingerly. A slip, a fall, can happen to us all. What then - hit our head, or just bruise an ego – catch ourselves doing danger-laden things?
Like the cautious walker, in the dark, on the slippy bits, every day we calculate the risks we are prepared to take - turtles at crossroads; look right, then left, then haul protective shells someplace else, accepting calculated risk of head chopping but otherwise feeling smugly secure, our defenses in place. Shells can feel homey, but they don’t protect us from anything – they prevent us from seeing what is around or in front of us when we hide out, avoiding issues, avoiding confrontations, avoiding facing the things we need to face . . .
We live in a fast paced world where, sadly, I sense many people would rather move on, choose new options, rather than fix situations they are in. Having been in that mode myself, too many times, I think I see it more clearly than some might.
Maybe it’s our fast-food world, disposable world stuff at the root of it; so much easier to buy a new one than to fix something with a flaw or a broken part. Relationships, cars, home appliance, job – so easy to dispose, toss aside, replace and re-start than to do remediation and repair.
I figure there are people out there who care and love and matter – and there are those who simply pretend (or wish) to, because the doing and wanting and feeling . . . feel so good, but when going gets tough, their shell gets pitched like a protective tent; not ready to see, hear or face their challenges and challengers, they hide out.
To follow, on yesterday’s column/rant: John Osborne, the British playwright said: ‘Asking a writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost what it feels about dogs.’ I don’t like to be criticized - I doubt many do. If critiqued from the perspective of getting better through improvement, and given recommendation for change - served with suitable sweetener – it can go down more easily and we appreciate it ( I do, really ).
Speaking your mind (or in this medium, writing your mind) has value, I think. While some of you found my rebuke of a critic yesterday offensive, the critic (to her credit) wrote a contrite apology and asked my forgiveness which I happy offer. Enough said – I had my rant, JK sent a genuine apology and explanation; and it is over for now, I think.
~~~
This Musing year (my 9th), starting March 21, 2011, I set a new goal - to write a short story a week do post a new one each Monday morning for 52 weeks. To read this week’s story RECIPE FOR MURDER, link to: Short Story Project
~~~
Mark Kolke
313,772M~~
March 30 – TALE CHASING - Comments Received
Mark - If one makes an observation that you may be chasing your own tail - why would take that as a rudely, ignorant smear? Hmm... such a strong reaction to such a simple comment. VB - Englewood, CO
I do apologize for being rudely arrogant, smug and disdainful. But I do not apologize that my comments were fodder for today’s column. It seems that what I wrote to you truly was food for thought. I found today’s column very insightful and illuminating. Brava! It was something I think I needed to hear.. or read. Regrettable, though, that it was written because I crossed you on a personal level. It is unfortunate that most fail to decipher emotions through a written conversation. For example, at this moment, writing/apologizing/explaining, to you is bringing me a true feeling of happiness/relief as I try to set things right. I did not mean for my comment to be so insensitive and insulting and for having made you feel such emotions as these, again, I offer my deepest and sincerest of apologies. Sincerely, JK, Calgary, AB
