I was writing this in an e-mail to my brother-in-law and I thought it sounded like a blog entry, so...
Man oh man, in my... increasing lack-of-youth... I realize the worst situations, the things you lament most, are often not the things that happen to you but the problems you yourself create. Especially when they affect other people, people that you care about.
Sometimes it seems it would be easier to be a heartless, insensitive bastard (I can HEAR what some of you are thinking upon reading that. Fair play.)
Vikings never dealt with our kinds of angst, did they? Did you ever hear the story of Flarg, the depressed viking? No, you haven't. Doesn't exist. didn't wallow in their own inner turmoil. If we've learned anything from Kirk Douglas, comic books and authors like Robert Howard, it's that when such men felt low, they didn't sit around, they grabbed an axe and hoped to restore their honor through death in battle.
You know, I can see the appeal of that idea. People sitting around the... Viking ...bar, later:
KLAARM: "Hey, did you hear about Flarg?"
SVEN: "No, man, but I hate that f%&$#@! Did you hear about him and ...Flargetta?" (Okay, so I have no imagination for Viking women's names)
FLARGETTA: "I wish he were dead! That bastard!"
KLAARM: "He is! Took 20 arrows to take him down, and before he went he took down like ten dwarves. It was crazy. A good death. Honorable."
SVEN: "Wow. Dude. That's pretty cool."
FLARGETTA: "Man. 20 arrows? That's... He may've done... but... you know, go Flarg, I guess. I know he always.. meant well."
SVEN: "Yeah. Here's to Flarg. We shall sing songs of his deeds. May he ever be remembered as Flarg Tendwarves, and his misdeeds recounted as flaws of a tragic hero."
RANDALL: "Should that be dwarves or dwarfs?"
So, I've thought over the past... nonspecific while... how can I restore MY honor? The answer seems to be a lot less epic than charging headfirst into a rampaging tribe of invaders, these days. Just be a man. Be the person you'd like to be. Don't try. Just do it. All that "trying" just gets you into trouble.
You may've noticed I've changed the blog structure a bit - the main page will only have one entry at a time, and you've witnessed the return of the embedded links which might give some cryptic insight... and sometimes not. There might be more of a site resdesign on the way.
4 comments:
Finally, a real entry. Excuse me while I head to the basement with a flashlight, the Torah, and a magnifying glass to try to get something out of that cryptic insight you mention.
Some of the links mean nothing. They're just funny in context of their link. Others will mean nothing to you, because their meaning might only be gleaned by those with more context.
The Torah may help you, but I don't know. I didn't refer to it much while composing this post.
As to the flashlight - do you have no power in your basement, or are you afraid that some great answer you may glean will cause some kind of cataclysm?
And the magnifying glass, well... I'm not going to go down the vulgar road. I will just assume that your Torah has really small print.
i am still hoping to play Florence with you some day. and yes, i know that's a random statement. but not so very random.
anyway, your comment on my blog about not wanting to live in a C- world has been quoted several times by hubby since he read it. very affecting.
It'd be great to do that show with you, and maybe if you and David continue on the path you're on, The Endless can finance that production. :)
...and it's not so very random at all, considering the entry there and one of the actually meaningful links... though it's been a long time since I did CHESS a portion of the quoted lyrics apply to my current situation, I feel. How typically lame that? "That song... it speaks to ME."
Darmok and Jallad at Tanagra.
Anyone who gets that last reference should probably A) find a hobby - a NEW hobby and B) seriously, let me know because then I'll feel better for having mentioned it.
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