Death and Facebook
Tonight I wrote a post based upon a prompt for The Red Dress Club but I am not happy with it. I don’t think that it is as good as this one. Really, I think that I would include these two among the posts that are better. Maybe it is because grandpa is gone and I am sad or maybe it is for other reasons. Not really sure, but I sort of feel like I am The Phantom of The Opera singing All I Ask Of You.
If I were a professional singer I would want to have the sort of voice that exudes depth and power. I’d want something that was so compelling people would get lost in the moment. It is a dream of mine but unlikely to ever move from dream status to that place we call reality. Some gifts are given and some are available to those who are willing to work for them but I don’t think that this is one that I can obtain through hard work. Might as well add it to the list of things that I would ask the genie to provide.
Sometimes I think about what would happen if I met that mythical genie and received three wishes. Would I focus solely upon my own wants and desires or would I take a more altruistic approach and wish for world peace. Hard to say. I once had a dream about the illustrious Ann Stacey and let’s just say that if you could read my mind you might need to take a shower afterwards. That reminds me to warn you to stay out of my head. It is quite dangerous inside there and the zoo keepers say that it is dangerous to feed the animals.
Last night I discovered that someone unsuccessfully tried to break into my home. They kicked my front door and broke part of the frame, but didn’t gain entrance into the Jack cave. I am more than a little pleased that they didn’t make it and happier that I didn’t encounter them. I don’t say that because I fear for my own safety but because I fear for theirs. Lately luck and I have sat on opposite sides of the fence and I fear that I would be arrested for beating the trespasser silly. Kind of  a silly and ridiculous thought, but I am all about silly and ridiculous.
Fortunately silly and ridiculous went out drinking and left me alone with a $32 dollar bill from Home Depot and a chunk of time that I can’t bill clients for. Did I mention that in the spirit of silly and ridiculous I would like to kick the trespasser in the balls. On the off chance that they are female I would substitute that kick with a throat punch. I know, we’re not supposed to hit women but if you break into my house all bets are off. Not to mention that I could always unleash little sister upon them and that would be far worse than anything I can do. Little sister survived a childhood that included me as a big brother- that means that little sister is tough. Really tough.
Josh Groban is singing You Are Loved (Don’t Give Up) on my iTunes. Don’t even think of trying to pull my man card or the phantom will visit you and you’ll be sorry. I don’t know if I like it better than Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush. Willie Nelson and Sinead O’Connor covered the song too– not horrible but not great either. That reminds me of this video:
It kills me watching his father fly out of the stands and onto the track. I would do that in a heartbeat for my kids. Right now things are simply awful and spectacular all at the same time. I find myself watching clips that pump me up and I take one more deep breath because it is the second, third or fourth efforts that make the difference. You win by not giving up. You win by finding the energy to go that extra step so here I am writing and searching for the place inside myself that stores that extra energy I Â need.
There are no rules or guidelines for life other than work hard and never give up. It is fair to say that being lucky is easier than working hard but I doubt that it is as rewarding. Just a few more minutes left before I go to bed. Just a few more minutes to say that I picked up my tuxedo and I think that I look pretty damn good when I am cleaned up. Just a few more minutes to say that if you haven’t read my latest guest post you should.
Just a few more minutes to say that sometimes the most important part of a guest post is making sure that you have your blog sparkling and clean so that if new readers come from your post they have something that is inviting and interesting to check out. That is it for now. Stay tuned to this bat channel because there is much more coming in the very near future.
P.S. I had intended to write a post about how Facebook has integrated itself into the mourning process. I was going to write about how my cousins and I have been talking on Facebook about my grandfather and that he is not the first “death” to be discussed this way, but I just didn’t feel like writing it. Maybe I’ll hit that on a different day.
TheJackB August 12, 2011 at 9:45 am
@psychicjazz Thanks! Happy that I was able to take you somewhere else for a moment,
TheJackB August 12, 2011 at 9:39 am
@bdorman264 I used to run into Mr. T. at one of the local supermarkets here, but never did talk to him.
I like to think that I would be noble with the genie but it is hard not to say that I wouldn’t think of all of the things that I want to do first. I wonder if the genie would give us time to think about it or if we would have to answer on the spot. That would make a real difference.
I think that the marathon is great- it says a lot about a person. The discipline to train and complete is admirable.
Lucky over hard work is fair. Why wouldn’t we want that. Hell, I hope that it happens to my kids. I want them to value what they have, but if they get lucky I won’t complain.
TheJackB August 12, 2011 at 9:35 am
@BetsyKCross It is always better to have someone stand by your side to fight those battles and to go through the wars with you. I have done it both ways.
Truth is that I often feel like I have fought all of those wars by myself but the reality is different. I am really good at putting up walls, sometimes to my detriment.
Keep fighting it is always worth it.
psychicjazz August 12, 2011 at 9:15 am
Well Jack…congrats on your dream about having a voice that is so compelling that people get lost in the moment…I think this article did it 😉
I certainly forgot what i was supposed to be reading about and was wrapped in your flow of “being in the moment” for the moment…lol.
bdorman264 August 12, 2011 at 6:55 am
And I will quote the infamous Mr T, ‘I pity the fool’ that crosses the line w/ you right now in your current state.
Genie in the bottle; world peace is noble but I wonder if it would be all we think it would be. I would like to find out though. I think I would be selfish; I want the ability to turn invisible, oh that would be so cool and all the things you could do with it…….:). If you could read minds I wonder how much that would change how you feel about certain people. I hear ya though, people don’t want to get into this dome of mine.
I trained for a marathon once; 3 times the distance I had ever run before. I was smart and methodical with it and surprised myself with how well I did. There were some dog days of summer where it would have been easy to not train, but by sticking with it, the marathon was actually easy. As far as the singing goes, I could train until the cows came home and it still wouldn’t be pretty………….
I have to tell you, I’m still holding out for lucky over hard work. I can do hard work, in fact I actually like hard, physical activity, but on my terms only. I can be lazy in certain parts of my life, but I’m ok with it……:).
Thanks again for the GP, hope you enjoyed it as well.
BetsyKCross August 12, 2011 at 2:58 am
Jack,
You got me crying! So true that even though it’s possible to find that little particle of strength to go it alone, it means everything to know that just one person offers encouragement and a shoulder to lean on. In the end it’s cool that we’ve “become” something through our struggles. But I want someone there at the “end” who was with me through the toughest times when I felt weak. Someone to enjoy it with. I’ve gone through so much on my own, and looking back it’s the faces I see that just smiled or showed up every day that I count as my friends.
Thanks.
Betsy