12/23/2009…

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As you can see, I am way behind on these posts but, I must get them written down. It is late summer now 2010 so, soon I’ll be sitting atthemac again for hours at a time watching the winter pass. I don’t have time to go to my favorite place in the spring, summer, fall…How I dearly miss it–the smell, the mess, the old men and women, the high school kids with their feet up on the chairs, the fat people behind the counter, the fat people everywhere. I think the mac and the AMA and Big Pharma walk gayly hand in hand to the bank everyday. HEY, “YOU FEED EM’, WE’LL FIX EM’” There is a cashier at Safeway that always says to me when she hands me my change, “here, enough for McDonald’s.” I always glare at her–that’s probably why she says it–and say…”I DON’T EAT ATTHEMAC AND HAVEN’T FOR YEARS, THAT’S ONE OF THE REASONS I’M STILL HERE TO TELL YOU THIS.” She always just looks stupid and says, “oh I know you, I’m just kidding, just kidding.” Of course I don’t tell her about the Apple Pies…shhhh! God have mercy on us…McDonald’s, Microsoft, Chevrolet, Monsanto, Google, Wall Street, Social Security, Taliban, Homeland Security, pay check to pay check….cut me some fucking slack. Let me outta here!!!

So anyway…all seriousness aside let’s go back….

Another formidable storm is on its way through here. Here?, Where?. The High Plains, Colorado–the high desert, the only moisture we can ever count on are these miserable snowstorms that leave me un-employed and sitting in this miserable McDonald’s sipping on the only coffee I can afford after 2 months of snow, ice, more snow, more ice, more creepy, cheap coffee.  The snowplows have been out all night; it’s a wet snow, heavy but, wet snows dis-appear faster than dry snows…My paper coffee cup is always “half-full”. I know you can tell Dear Reader that I am by nature a very positive kinda guy. I digress….

A neighbor named Gene and I cleaned all the snow from the steps and side-walks this morning. The manager won’t do it so, we do. Gene is un-employed also. He spends all of his un-employment on Old Milwaukee. I used to do that–I’m an old 12 stepper. Anyway, what a great guy he is smell and all–hope he makes it to 40, maybe then he’ll join me atthemac. So far, and I’ve asked him countless times, he won’t go with me for coffee. I even offered to buy his coffee and even get him a couple of those famous Apple Pies. Apple Pies, yeah, right. They aren’t Apple Pies and everyone knows that except Ronald–they are Apple Tarts.

So, here I am atthemac with my coffee and 2 pies for a buck. We clean our own tables here. That way we get them exactly the way we want them. Just ask for a rag to wipe a table and they’ll give you one. Hints don’t work atthemac. People are sneezing and coughing today more than normal. It’s like running a gauntlet, avoiding the germs…they are out there and will slap, lick, and bite you if you don’t run well. If you are fortunate and actually avoid the little critters in the air all around you will be free. Free of the flu of course. People here today are so willing to share. So, the manager will not clean the snow, and, the team member atthemac will not clean the table–what a wonderful world.

So, I’m suffering from a major dis-connect. I live in a world where my standards are not the prevailing ones. Have I set a bad example? Has my cohort failed to teach reasonable standards that we almost all took for granted 35 to 40 years ago? Is it the “new standard” to clean your own table atthemac; to leave the 12″ of snow on the stairs, walk-ways, and drive. Is it the “new standard” to wait for someone else to perform needed tasks? Am I the only person on the planet that is concerned about this mess we are in? And often I hear, “well, you are the only person that ever complains.”, or, “Why does this bother you so much, mind your own business, nobody else complains so ‘deal with it.’” So, I do. I try to keep quiet. I have a sign posted on my apartment door–on the inside–to remind me when I leave and move out into this miserable world we’ve all had our part in creating to “KEEP QUIET!”. Hey, it keeps me out of trouble but still causes me pain to not complain. If we don’t say anything about anything we begin to believe that all is well…it is not well. So, I’ll be quiet, keep still. I will remember the standards I was taught by the old guys and women and do my utmost to reflect them in the way I live what’s left of this life.

It’s a few days before Christmas. Everybody is broke. The stores are reporting dismal sales, the banks are no longer offering the neighbor’s dog a MasterCard and I am fine with that. I have no one to buy gifts for anyway. Nonetheless we are celebrating the birthday of a master. A master of giving. He gave his Mother kisses. He gave his Step-Father hugs. He gave his students wisdom. He gave a blind man sight. He gave hungry people food. He gave Lepers clean flesh. He gave cripples mobility. He gave the tax collectors coins from the mouth of a fish. He gave the Pharisees a rebuke. He gave the Jews a marvelous dilemma. He gave the Romans a spectacle never to be forgotten. He gave me hope. So, I hope that poor beggar in the corner over there gets a shower and a Big Mac.

So, enough complaining. It is a wonderful day here in the “middle of america” at 5000 feet above sea level. It’s cold, snowing, and will certainly be a white Christmas….mz

To Be Continued…

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