It's what we looked at each other and said when some bozo with bars on his collar... or scrambled eggs on his brim spewed some nonsense that made us crosseyed with trying to understand what sort of logic got them to thinkin' that what they were tellin' us was gonna do anyone any good... or achieve anything.
In the end... all we had was each other; and the garbage that bit of Soh-sigh-uh-tee dumped on us was meaningless; So don't waste time and life tryin' to understand it.
In the 41 years or so since those days... this old world hasn't come much clearer to me... except for the realization that; It don't mean nuthin'... is as true today as it ever was.
I'm the sort that stews over all the injustices and cruelties in the world. Where some turn soft and pacifist, just "Lookin' for a soft place to land"... I tend toward; Hunt the thief down and dent a 2x4 on his head...
But... then you're layin' out in the desert all out of breath with the dust stickin' to the sweat you worked up... and Nuthin' has changed...
Best thing is to put your hands in your pockets... shake your head... Tell yourself; It don't mean nuthin'... and walk off from it.
It's a piece of work for this old bike ridin' buster to do that. I have never achieved the ability to do it on auto pilot. It's something I have to have a deliberate focus on, and crank up my will power and discipline to make happen.
I've never run off from anything in my life and it seems in a way like quittin'... even if those "Things" that get under a man's skin are those things which he never has and will never have any ability or power to change.
Ahhh... just put my hands in my pockets and take a walk. Find lil' guys like this...
... he's pretty focused on his own lil' piece of this world and his personal needs in it...
He's got a simple life... Hunt up groceries... find a place to shelter for the night...
... rinse... repeat... and no other bugs tellin' him whether he's doin' it right or not...
If you'd asked me forty years ago if I'd be jealous of a bug I'd have thought ya'll was nuts... one of those mantra hummin' kooks in a bed sheet in the airport...
Today? I'm thinkin' there just might be quite a lil' bit we could learn from a bug... if we could understand his speech...
Here's a bit of the shadows of time...
My shadow... layin' across the tracks of Patton's tanks... laid down nearly 70 years ago!!!
... and look around... the world ain't learned a damned thing has it...
So what do I do? What do any of us do?
Accept that old saying that carried us boys along; It don't mean nuthin'.
There's only one thing any of us can do I expect... change the only thing we can... Our selves. That's all we have any control of...
... and walk off from the rest...
 |
| *The Plomosa Mountains* |
I know where I'm healthy and strong. Fulfilled and ridin' quiet...
... and what sticks in my craw and puts a lump in my saddle... I know what I've got to Walk Away from... and I keep on workin' at gettin' better at doin' just that.
Out here in the desert you see such as this quite a bit...
Not spectacular, stunning views. Just the quiet strength of a land that seeps into your soul and quiets the argufyin' that rattles around in your head. It's these places... seen from standing in it ... or rolling through on my bike... just quiet and watching, that puts everything into proper perspective for me... over and over again.
Every time the world kicks me out of balance, it's these simple quiet places that return that sense of balance to me.
I don't need to understand how this place was made. I don't need the spectacular... I need the space and the quiet... and the soft voice such places whisper to me with; it don't mean nuthin'...
... and maybe... just might could be... I need to sustain some sort of sense of mystery... of wonder... and yes... I adore the long views of Far Country... over and over and over again... They feed my soul.
Just Living Life
Brian
5 comments:
I think you might be turning into one of those guys in the orange sheets. Very wise post. You can only control yourself and damn few of us can do that!
That wide open desert agrees with you...
Some of us just don't do well in crowded places :))
Box Canyon Mark
I understand; very much so. I just have to shake my head alot; does no good whatsoever to keep knocking one's head against the brick wall 'cause it just puts bumps on one's head and doesn't 'enlighten' the others who don't 'get it'.
Love the desert, too. The SW is so beautiful for what it is and what it does for a person's soul and spirit.
Ha ha... Either you were more excited than you thought, or blogger figured you had more to say ;)
Mark;" Didn't do well in crowded places" could be the words on my tombstone... Except the idea of goin' through eternity with a mouthful of dirt is genuinely un-appealing to me ;)
I love the desert views, from my rig to the mountains in the distance and everything in between. I had no idea I'd love the desert so much. Just beautiful.
Nice photo of you - I didn't realize you were so tall. :)
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