A Guest Column from Carl in PA
Carl in PA has offered this post for use on the Real Deal. It is much appreciated, as Murph and I are bogged down with various things at the moment. Please, anyone who wishes to offer a full length post, do so. With the world soon to change beyond comprehension, time is of the essence. We also need to hear different takes on things. So, if you have something to say, I would suggest doing it quickly. This gig could end any day now! Enjoy.
Get Some Fu*#ing Perspective
OK, once again, the Madness of King George has revealed itself in another
spout of disingenuous drivel, expressing his concern for high fuel prices and
his promise to investigate any price manipulation. Aw, come on ...
Are the markets manipulated? Of course they are - this is the oil business
we're talking about - they are manipulated by definition! In actuality, all markets
are - supply and demand drives prices, and astute businessmen always work
to make one, the other or both work to their advantage.
Now don't take me as being a defender or apologist for the oil companies. They
are malignantly powerful and have been at least part of the driving force behind
pretty much every ugly war for the last 100 years.
So gas is between 3 and 4 dollars a gallon now, and last weekend there was
a time you couldn't even get it in my podunk little Pennsylvania town. They said
it was because the refineries were switching over from an MTBE blend to an
ethanol blend. Seriously, I don't buy it. But so what ...
But lets pull back for a minute and take a long hard look at things ...
Did you ever really think long and hard what it takes to get gas into your tank?
Some company has to travel to some remote god-forsaken baked, frozen or
submerged corner of the world, frequently inhabited by suspicious and hostile
locals (assuming that the piece of real estate in question is habitable at all),
hauling a lot of cumbersome, expensive equipment. They then have to spend
considerable time and effort drilling holes in the ground, simultaneously keeping
polar bears, poisonous reptiles, enormous scorpions, seawater or the aforementioned
hostile locals at bay. Chances are they won't find anything in these holes.
Assuming they get lucky and they do, they then have to haul in additional
cumbersome and expensive equipment, often having to build a transportation
system to do so (and yes, maybe trashing the local ecology in the process).
At this point the polar bears and snakes may have lost interest, but some of
the formerly local hostile natives now see an opportunity to cash in, so the
usual rounds of mordidas need to be dealt with (it's amazing how quickly a
taxing bureaucracy can materialize out of thin air in a region that formerly
didn't even have rudimentary mail service).
Now, this black toxic gunk needs to get transported someplace, frequently
a multi-billion dollar shipping facility, where it is loaded onto a multi-billion
dollar ship the size of Luxembourg, which then plies its way across one or more
oceans - oh, and by the way, the mileage on those babies is something
under one foot per gallon of fuel.
Some days or weeks later it ends up at another multi-billion dollar refining
center, where it is turned into gasoline, jet fuel, lubricants, napalm and starter
fluid for your charcoal grill.
From the refinery it is piped to distribution centers (both expensive to build
and maintain). From there it is trucked to a convenience store where Rajiv
or Akbar will sell you a gallon for about $3, his profit on that gallon may be
about 8 cents.
OK - so after all this, for $3, you get a substance that will propel your
4000-pound vehicle, containing your sorry ass, as well as that of your
naggy fat wife and your litter of whiny brats, approximately 20 miles, back
and forth to the mall (or worse Walmart) so you can waste your money
buying loads of essentially worthless crap, much of it cheap plastic stuff
made in China, made from (of course) oil.
All for less than the price of a happy meal.
THREE DOLLARS ?!?!?. Now consider all of this above and tell me still
that gas is expensive. What does a gallon of Coca-Cola cost? Probably
more than twice that - all they do is filter water, pump in some CO2, add
sugar, flavor and color, and truck it to the same convenience store where
you complained about the price of gas. Rajiv makes a lot more on the
Big Gulp he sells you than he does on the gas. You don't bitch at Rajiv
about the price of Coca-Cola.
OK - so what's the difference? Purchase of the Big Gulp is discretionary
(unless you've just wandered out of the desert where you've been for three
or four days and it's the first potable substance you've seen in 24 hours -
a situation, believe it or not, I have been in).
With our current life styles, purchase of gasoline (or heating oil, or natural
gas to heat and cook with) is much less discretionary. We've gotten so
accustomed to having energy that was almost free, when you consider it
as a percentage of your total budget, (making exception for the poor and
elderly living on fixed income and not enough of it) that we've built an entire
economy and lifestyle around it (I could rant on that for hours - but Kunstler
is much better at that than I am).
So - the price of gas and oil goes up - this is alarming to us, since all of
a sudden it's taking a bigger chunk of our budget, and we don't know how
to, or as of yet are unwilling, to make the adjustments necessary to use
less of it.
And of course, we look for whose fault it is. Of course, we demonize the
oil companies (who are eminently demonizable). We demonize the Iranians
(who are headed up at this moment by someone who is at least as much
of a nutcase as our own leader). We demonize the terrorists (who really
love it when we demonize them, 'cause they know they're making an impact).
And in the back of the collective anger, it is finally beginning to sink in - that
what people have been ridiculing me about for a few years now - they are
starting to realize I was right (well, actually a big "we" - this is old news to
a lot of you reading this) - you can see the shadows of fear creeping into their
faces - they are, one by one, more and more, faster and faster, coming to
realize that we are running the f*ck out of oil, and most of what is left is in
places where the locals hate our guts.
Oh, and throw in the whole China-India-Russia thing ...
So stop bitching about the price of gas - pull back and get some perspective,
because getting mad about that will just distract you form seeing the big
picture, and if it doesn't scare the shit out of you, let me know what your
doctor is prescribing so I can get some.
Carl in PA
Thanks, Carl. I greatly appreciate it.
Cyclone
posted by cyclone @ 5:45 AM
30 comments
30 Comments:
As you can see, the formatting of this piece is out of whack, somehow. Unfortunately, I do not have time to try to fix it now, I'm off to baseball. It is in no way Carl's fault, nor mine. It looks perfect on the preview screen, but this is how it came out. So, the site is apparently having some issues. I'll try to fix it later. Sorry,
Cyclone
It is true that oil/gas is still cheap when you consider what it provides. I think bottled water is more expensive.
Carl in PA,
Good one!! Like it!! I noticed you ranted most convincingly about the price of soda! Have you noticed the price of bottled water lately?
Remember back 9in the early seventies when the "Ecology" movement got started and those little green "E" flags started popping up? Remember when we "Tree Huggers" cried out that that we would be paying more for water than we will for gas in a few years, and the Nixonian Repigs said we were full of fertilizer?
So much for that argument! And the winner is... Is there a winner here? Somehow I just don't see this as winning!
Stoney,
Let's not start on that whole "Tree Hugger Thing" again.
Seriously, though.
I think that the most common complaint on the price of gas isn't the "dollar amount " part as much as the "being raped by Exxon and friends" part.
Yes we have a problem when many people are working up to three hours just to pay for the gas to get to work that day on top of everything else they are trying to get on less money per week than their execs spend on their friday evening dinner. Don't forget that many areas are not big on the public transportation list, and many people can't find a job close, or afford to move. They are forced to pay for the gas or starve.
Yes we have a problem when Exxon/Mobile is telling us how much it is hurting them with the increased per-barrel costs, with wars and environmental requirements are seeping into profits, with how much disasters affect their costs; all while reaping in all time record profits for any industry AND collecting HUGE government handouts.
Yes we have a problem when our government tells us they are trying to help us, and then throw out some bullshit proposal that does nothing to alleviate the cause of the angst (and also attaching the standard dozen pork-belly riders which give some billionaire his drastically needed tax cut/handout/reach-around that he needs to be able to do ????? with.
Yes gas prices are not as high here as in other places, but I don't think that excuses anything I see here. Other places DO SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE with what they collect. We hand it to a rich fat slob so that he can buy a sixth house or a fifth yacht.
The complaint I see is not the cost of the gas at the pump as much as the government's, and corporations', fake concern while they do everything they can do disassemble any social program to assist (or to protect, vindicate, not rape and plunder on...) people who desperately need it.
I know that I am mostly preaching to the choir here, but for the three people in this country who still believe that the government wants to help you I propose you consider this.
After Katrina there was an outcry that the government deliberately left the undertrodden people of New Orleans to die. This was ridiculous, of course. They would never do that. They would do everything they could to help. Then again, the ex-first lady didn't seem too concerned in her own opinions on the air live. More than one Local, State or Federal Representative was caught saying some line like, "well, that was an easy way to solve the problem with poor in this city" (do your own research on this one, starting with the New Orleans Times-Picayune). Finally, we have FEMA dumping these people and, worse yet, refusing to let them return and blaming them for it (start at http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0426-23.htm for your research - article Eight months after Katrina). They are being ram-rodded, and tossed out to dry. Do you think you will fare better than them, or are you next in line?
I think our outrage is justified.
Reality
Reality,
You betch'a bottom dollare that rage and outrage is justified.
I Would like to expand on the government helping it's citizens. I have been climbing up on my soap box for years on this subject. Liberals not withstanding, in the end analysis the government as a whole only cares about its power and the money it can take in. One of my favorite questions to the liberals is "Name one government programe, just one, that was meant to help the population that in time did not turn out to be a mistake, way too costly, created more problems than it solved, was currupted all to hell, and forced dependency of the population on the government". I honestly do not know of one. If someone at this site can name one, I would like to know.
Another of my favorites is my rant on the true cost of almost anything you buy. I have insisted that if the true cost was put into the price tag, most things would be more expensive, including oil and it's products. Now it looks like we are going to pay up to the piper. If oil companies 30 years ago and bought a few less executive jets, thrown less money at government people, and looked beyond the monthly profit line, invested that money into renewables, we just might not be in the position we are now. Maybe the auto industry would have made more Henry J's. (By the way, it was truly a great car of the 50's if you don't remember the name).
I really like your post Reality. Right on!!
Excuse me,
I meant the post by Carl and then the comments by Reality. Got confused there for a minute.
Carl,
Funny & ironic piece, when will we learn.
I guess I'm one of the lucky ones, I've been working from home the past 3 months, for the company I'm employed with. The technology is there, they just have to be willing & you have to change your work habits a bit.
I also find it very sad that this country, supposedly with some of the brightest minds, is a about 10 years behind Venezuela in their initiative to produce ethanol & become foreign fuel independent.
But I guess that is the down side of capitalism, greed.
Hold on everybody, it's gonna be a wild ride.
Carl brings up an interesting point, "we've built an entire
economy and lifestyle around it", people I talk with act as if it's our birth right to the stuff.
I think China & India would have a differing opinion.
Murph,
I used to have a '53 Henery J with a Ford 427 side-oiler in it. That car is still on the drag strip to this day! You can't kill the little bastards!
Reality,
I agree 100%! Big oil has been giving us the shaft for too long! My point withn the water is simple. Because we have poluted our water sources, we no longer can trust them! Ask Murph what the ground water in Texas is like! Remember the old joke? Why do Texans drink Lone Star Beer? Try the water, then you'll know!
With the coming dwindling oil supply, governments which have any sort of social program will be faced with a difficult choice. Tax the stuff even more to keep the revenue flowing or find something else to tax more or abandon its social policies. And there is no shortage of people piling up to go into politics, I wonder why? I guess the greasy palm makes all that unpopularity worthwhile.
From Belgium.
Hi all, thanks for your feedback - I really have no idea how to treat the oil companies - they, and the auto industry, were the pushers that got us hooked on this stuff - we are at their mercy, and their people are in power. The only sensible approach is a total re-tooling of our lifestyles to create a situation which is survivable when most of us cannot afford petroleum products. But, no concerted effort to do so while they are still making money, and they control the regime in popwer. By the time these people are replaced with people who will do something (if that is even possible) it will be way beyond too late. We are entering uncharted territory on so many fronts.
We could tax the hell out of the oil companies but they'd just up the prices - demand so far has proved relatively inelastic, and will continue to be so until "demand destruction" begins to manifest itself. If any signigicant portion of tax on the oil companies, and tax on fuel paid by us at the pump, had been earmarked for a more efficient mass transportation infrastructure starting, say, 30 years ago, we'd be in much better shape.
I live about 35 miles outside Philadelphia. I rarely drive downtown. I can drive 8 miles to the train station and take the train down for less than $5 each way, and read a book while along the way. I only have to drive 6 miles to work and I consider myself lucky. But, I see a day coming when that might need to become a bicycle trip (assuming I, or anyone else, still has a job to go to). I'd do it now except sharing the route with the cars would be suicidal.
There is a lot of unused rail around here, that used to be in service back when there was still heavy industry in the area. It seems to me a lot of this could be refurbished. But "Reality" is right - this will not serve the far-flung residents who are not near a rail line. And Murph is also right about the accumulation and retention of power being the number one imperative of those currently in power. The small handful of people who would actually turn the government into something that serves society as a whole are demonized and labeled as radicals, and are quickly smeared off the political landscape.
OK - enough for now - I gotta do a little vegging out and then redo mmy resume for about the 20th time.
I've got more things I want to say in more columns but I am so pressed for time, between working full time, doing an MBA program, refreshing my software skills, and tryig to cultivate the interest of a particularly enchanting lady I met in my last class ... see? I'm doing just like everyone else, carrying on with my life like nothing is really going to change, even though I know better ... OK, I gotta shut up now, fatigue is now causing me to devolve into this egocentric blather - sorry.
Excellent rant/essay, Carl! The 'non-negotiable' USian way of life is a very temporary phenomenon by now.
Although Kunstler writes so eloquently about our doomed economy, I find it annoying that he seems to believe a resource war is a good idea.
How many solar panels could we manufacture with a trillion dollar crash program?
--
JRob in Austin
when the price of gas is maybe ten dollars a gallon,the cleaning of the earth will take a small step forward,when its twenty dollars a gallon thoes that drive will be shot and eaten by thoes that have not the gas money,i can imagine what the cars of the future will look like,maybe iraq style rides?,with depleated uranium side arms?(i worked in a uranium mine in colorado when i was a kid by the way,along side my 19 year old younger brother and a 18 year old friend,i turned 21 in that mine)the brother lost one eye in that faithful trip through nutso youth.in thoes days it was the only thing around we could do to keep us in colorado cool aid,spent the winter eating deer and rabbits living in a mining shack that the snow would come in through the sides of,but we were tough though and spent a lot of time laughing and bitching at our plight and the lack of girls,the occasional trip to the city of 500 people fifty miles away through desolation beautiful country having to stop to allow herds of deer to cross was a bonifide thrill.we had no ride much less gas but it did not matter,we would catch a ride with neighbor hard hat miners ,what a tough bunch of sons a bitches thoes guys were,they tryed to keep us from killing ourselfs in thoes days and i guess it worked .have no idea what any of this has to do with the plot at hand but it rained last nite,and the sweet smell of the grass on the earth and the birds acting as if nothing is going on to destroy there world is a solid comfort to this one .anyway guys we will get through all of this and it will be better on the other side,the great owl says so and he doesn't lie about shit like that!!maybe about his girl friends,but that is another story.
sorry to drift off the subject but i've lived in country for most of my life and don't really know whats going on in the world except for what comes across on this computer,which was given to me by one of my sons,but i feel that what you all say has the ring of truth and will do what i can to help any that might require assistance in the coming nightmare.again,sorry for the side trip but i just love being part of this hoot,it makes a big part of the day make sense.
to many names to remember i thank you all brothers and sisters,
peace and prosperity,
montana freeman
This route has many side turnings which all lead back to the same road so don’t feel bad about taking a diversion, I suspect that Carl won’t either.
I have to tell you that I have always been a fifteen miles out of town guy; just a little bit countrified but near enough for some sort of perceived security. Although I don’t have many friends, and largely prefer my own company, I do like to have people around, in the neighbourhood so to speak and true friends are always welcome of course, perhaps I don’t put enough effort into it. A frequent complaint of my wife is that I don’t laugh enough at home but she can always tell when I am in the neighbourhood because she can hear me laughing and joking with people in the street. I guess I am just good on thirty second relationships. I always chat up the supermarket checkout girls and get them to pack my things in for me.
The idea that started this rambling is I remember a story that the girlfriend of a long gone schoolmate told against him. One day they went into the country and saw loads of people working in the fields digging up potatoes and he was gobsmacked that they grew in the ground. She said did he think they grew on trees, and everybody laughed. But you know, if I killed a rabbit or a deer I wouldn’t know what to do next. I know I would do something to get a meal and would probably be pulling bits of fur out of my teeth for the next few days. So far as I am concerned, meat is what comes from the butcher and in that respect I am no better than my school friend. Although I am a fast learner I have no illusions about my shortcomings.
I heard a story from South Africa, some time ago regarding some people wanting a bit of one upmanship about being considered real men of the outback. Instead of having their four by fours cleaned, a guy started a little business covering them with mud and then spraying the driver’s side with machine gun bullets. I thought how funny and how sad.
Anyway, enough for now.
Aho from Belgium.
Hey Montana Freeman,
I liked your story - I have been blessed with the opportunity about 4 years ago to spend 6 months traveling all over the country (17,000 miles in 6 months) and I spent afair amount of that time in out-of-the-way places. Strangely, Montana is one of the few places I haven't been to - did spend a fair amount of time with relatives near Orofino, Idaho, though.
And yes - people ike you will ccome out the other side pretty much in one piece, simply because you how how to. Although I live in a small city now, I expect that my own personal survival will involve walking away from it at some point. I'm lucky though, I've got those relatives in Montana that have been known too take down a bear with a bow, and will teach me to do the same. I also have a brother who has an out-of-the-way farm (even though he makes his living as a college professor).
So - they key for all of us, is get ready to do things you've never done before, get over squeamishness about what you eat (one of these days I'm going to try steamed grubs) and form core relationships of trust and support with others who are worthy of it.
Oops - meant relatives in Idaho ...
Good post, Carl! I notice, too, that the tv commentary on "the high price of gas" misses most of the important issues. One thing that I find amusing is the concept of "gee, for some reason, the oil is in countries where they hate us..." Well, maybe that's because they can afford to despise us openly. Everyone else just has to suck up to us. Now that Canada has the shale sand oil, even they are sounding more and more testy...
I just got back from a trip to Sacramento. It seemed so bizaar there that it makes me question my own sanity. Everything seemed so sick and wrong to me that I have to wonder if maybe I am paranoid and crazy. People hurtling past each other on freeways leading out into gated apartment complexes and malls built just recently on flood plains. Everything controlled and new and shiny. Felt like living in a giant terrariam or Disneyland, or some such weirdness. How can all these big money developers be spending millions of dollars on things that to me are totally unsustainable?
Of course, the price of gas will have to go up. But, one can't help but resent the outrageous profits and bonuses that the corporate swine at the top receive as their customers have to choose between gas and food. Especially, when the corporates also profit from the resource wars fought, also from destroying our railroad system, also profit from building all the bullshit that our "non-negotiable lifestyle" is based on. My own weird shit-o-meter is maxed out. I'm so glad to be back home.
Some perspective.
We know that we have been slave to the oil tycoons. We buy their cheap drugs from the many corner stores scattered around the country.
Their drug has been the best refined energy we have ever known. They infiltrated every level of society in order to make their drug the drug of choice. Convenient, cheap and flexible. They quickly subdued any competition and have enjoyed being the source.
But like any big drug dealer there comes a time when the supply chain changes and things go wonky. All of a sudden there is the threat of competition again as other drugs and dealers move in on the territory. They shoot a few of the competition and spread rumours about the quality of the other drugs in order to try and keep their clientele.
The supply issue goes on and it gets harder for the dealer to supply the quantity and the quality he had always enjoyed. He loses some customers. Then the fear sets in with the paranoia. He starts acting irrationally using anyone he can find to blame.
Eventually, he may even kill his own brother over it. Then sink into despair over what was and can no longer be. He may even turn the gun on himself or be victim of the gun from the new dealers. He may be just locked up due to a crime he commits in a fit of rage during the time of his unhinging.
Human nature....(the weaker side).
I wrote the above piece as I reflect on the slowly changin tide away from monopolised energy sources to a more free-market multi-source energy market. Its obvious that this is what is happening.
You can believe the bullshit about how oil companies or energy companies are rigging the system and making money from us, but, in reality they have lost control of the source and are now subject to supply issues that are fucking up their market. Why would oil companies or energy companies make the price so high as to make people look at other sources of energy?? Only because they have no choice due to supply issues.
All of a sudden people start to look to other forms of transport or energy. That makes the tycoons freak out as they lose customers as well as profit. So they push the price higher and offer watery incentives to their existing customers in order to keep them buying. Its a losing battle and they will soon show signs of desperation.
Their friends in government are now feeling used and wondering if the tycoons are really the ride they want?? After all if the tycoons cant supply the energy then the economy starts to crumble and a lifestyle starts to become very difficult....
But, I also like to think that maybe thats why prices have started to rise. What if the PTB want us to jump off the old drug on to new drugs in order to maintain an economy and fix the disease caused by using the old drugs (climate change)....??
A couple of things happened to me a little while back. First, my car became terminal and had to go to the great blast furnace in the sky, then the little town where I live decided I was old enough to qualify for a free bus pass for use anywhere in Belgium, which was quite nice of them. Unlike others I know who have grown up always having their personal box on wheels; I don’t have a problem travelling with other people. For shopping and small leisure trips into the country we have a little scooter. If we want to go for instance, to the seaside for a day there is an excellent train service a couple of hundred yards from my door. With the present costs of buying, maintaining and tanking up a car I regard it as a nice to have but I don’t really need it in my life. I saw the present situation as a first stage in the eventual fraying around the edges of society. For those who need a car it is different but I am content with my little adjustment of lifestyle, however like most here I do suspect there is worse to come.
From Belgium.
Technofreak,
I think you are right about the supply chain, but I wonder about how much they are worried about competition. You would have to assume that the oil companies see peak oil on the horizon (my guess is that they see it on their dinner table today), but I don't see alternatives in any numbers. I see more of a take everything you can get and run attitude. I have debated with people before about whether these guys have considered where they are going to run to...
Reality
The Island of Porto Rico has run out of money. This is one to watch to see how a bankrupt country works its way out of trouble and how the populous reacts when they don’t have pay checks. It could be a foretaste of things to come.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/14473093.htm
From Belgium
Hey Belgium,
Peurto Rico is US Teritiory! Peurto Ricans are born US Citizens, or were unless something happened while I was hiding out in the mountains a while back!
Yeh, I know,
The amount they are missing equates to about one bombing raid on Baghdad but I guess the money is needed elsewhere like it was for New Orleans. I am interested to see how this one plays out. I really do hope they are not forced to go cap in hand to the IMF.
From Belgium
Belgium,
They'll probably go cap in hand to Venuzuella, Brazil, or Cuba. They know they'll get a better deal! Plus it would damn sure put Bush's nickers in a twist!
Freeacre,
Good to have you back, sister! We've been trying to keep Murph out of trouble, but it's hard for the fox to guard the chickens from the weasel! I guess I speak for all of us when I say we hope your son is feeling better. It's hard to have a loved one with that shit. I know. My mother died from bone cancer.
Sacremento, eh? I haven't been to Sacremento since I got out of the Navy. I really didn't want to go then, but that's where I wound up!
The California Method of real estate development is the most ridiculous squandering of resources imaginable! They build buildings that are designed not to last ten years, because by then, they will be torn down any way! Disposable living at it's worse! If that's not bad enough, they build in the Sierra mountains on top of a fault line where the topsoil is notoriously unstable, and surround themselves with a fire-zone! After the mudslide/earthquake/wildfire wipes them out, they build back on the same plot of land and the insurance companies still cover them! No wonder your Wierd-shit-o-meter is pegged! I thought mine was pegged in 2000, but i keep finding higher range settings!
freeacre,
welcome back to the hood,the cities are awfull to spend time in but i have kinfolk that live there and are trying to raise families in thoes god forsaken places.they come here for a visit and to soak in the hot springs and you can see the stress after a couple of days just start draining off of um.
using our poor earth's resources to build that plastic shit just makes me feel desperate inside to do something,but what? we are small voices crying in the wilderness and into the wind,so one goes to spirit as usual and there it is.the mind becomes still and knows that there are forces at work that this one can not comprehend,in regard to the change that is taking place,we can pull out all of our hair and it will change nothing,the healing is taking place and thats that.i don't know why we have been given the awareness to witness this terrible thing,but we have,knowing full well that not many will survive,the new awareness has to take place and the forces that are driving it i do not understand,except that love has been shut out from the human expression and must be born again,and thats going to hurt like hell.
i ask the spirit to use less soap and all i get is a smile.
carl in pa,
been through orofino a few years back,beautiful countryside and looks like a good spot to stake out a place for the coming,it looks to be about as the crow flys a hundred miles or so from where i call nowdigs,so we would be neighbors already,hunting bears with a bow is something that i will leave up to you young warriors,but i can skin and such,and reach down and give you a hand pulling you up a tree in case you miss,o i forgot they climb trees,best not miss brother.
you are right on about the gasoline,its just a side issue to the illusion we insist on living in.
belgium i can relate to your story in regard to friendship,by the way whats a gobsmack?
rabbits can be skinned and cleaned with your bare hands,very easy thing to do,i think you are about the same age as i am,66, and wishing i had taken better care of myself,never thought i would live this long,does anyone?
had a long day with the doctors office doing tests and their goddam computer broke down and i have to do it again.o well
hope everyone is ok this day,the trees are all greening out and the village is gentle
peace to all of you beautiful people.
montana freeman
ps cyclone,do any of the fans ever throw stuff at you for making an unpopular call?
I was in a women's drumming circle for eight years. And now it feels much like a circle again - only this time there are brothers, to whom I am most grateful.
Have you read Bill Herbst May Newsletter? It's really from left field, but facinating none the less. He says that the planets are all aligned so that the energy of the 60's is coming around again and will manifest into a lot of social activism and change and a radical re-think of everything. It's a fun read.http://www.billherbst.com/News88.pdf
Ho Freeman,
Happy birthday to me, I come 62 today.
Gomsmacked is when you are so surprised by something it as if someone had suddenly hit you in the mouth. I had to read through my old comments to see where I had used it.
Time was when whatever was wrong with you it could be cured by either leeches or tincture of opium. Now they invent new diseases just so they can be detected with a computer. I heard a story told about my Grandfather who died before I was born. He was a ships engineer and one time he had to go into hospital. When the doctor asked what was wrong with him he said “My ships engines don’t tell me what is wrong with them I have to find it out. You are the doctor so you tell me” Dead right or dead stupid, I will leave that up to you; but I will bet your ancestors knew a few tricks that modern medicine could learn from.
When I was a boy I have plucked a few Christmas turkeys and skinned salted fish but don’t remember doing anything with fur on. That’s a new skill for me to learn.
Today is blazing sun, 23°C, (73°F). Thursday is predicted 27°C (81°F). It looks like Spring has sprung.
Aho from Belgium
thank you freeacre for the info on bill herbst,artical 88,that last paragraph is exactly how i feel about all of this except he says it clear,will be good to hear neil young again,
happy birthday belgium,hope its a good one.
peace,
montana freeman
Post a Comment
<< Home