Musings:
• I have reported previously that American motorists drive too fast. Nowhere do they drive too fast than when they are nearing an intersection governed by a traffic light. Because they do not want to wait for the next green light, they attempt to beat the light before it turns yellow, or red, by gunning it. More often than not, they seldom beat the light, but that doesn’t deter them; they just put the pedal to the metal and take their chances of not being involved in an accident.
• The Chas has this secret desire to cast illusions. His favorite illusion is a little old lady with a walker crossing the street. He would produce this illusion as soon as he spotted the Richard Petty wannabes and watch them jam on their brakes, spin around a couple of times, and slam into a telephone pole, a tree, or another automobile. If they survived, they’d go before a judge who wouldn’t believe their wild story without corroboration from other witnesses. Said judge would revoke their driver’s license permanently, and possibly recommend psychiatric counseling.
• Once upon a time, American merchants closed their businesses on the major holidays in order to give their employees an opportunity to celebrate with their families. Not anymore. We live in a 24/7 society these days in which nothing closes. This situation is what capitalism has done to the human psyche, endless money-grubbing. The Judeo-Christian bible tells us that, “the love of money is the root of all evil.” And so it is.
The bosses get the holidays off. The workers do not. If the workers do not show up, they are fired and replaced by other cannon fodder.
Bosses: Follow the Golden Rule. Workers: Join, or form a union.
*The next time you drive Aurora’s streets, dear reader, count the number of dips and rises you encounter. Our fair city does not reside on level ground but rather exists on the contours of a river valley. Illinois is nicknamed the “Prairie State; but, if you want prairie, you’ll have to cross the Mississippi River, or go south of I-80. Fifteen thousand years ago, the retreating glaciers carved out the State’s geology, and we must live with it.
Another thing about Aurora’s streets is that they weren’t planned. They were laid out haphazardly. In addition to the dips and rises, they have more curves than a baseball pitcher and/or sudden beginnings and endings similar to a maze. If you look at a map of the City, you’d think who drew it up had a few too many.
But, don’t you love the place anyway?
• One of my favorite “comic books” – a.k.a. “graphic novels” these days – as a kid was Plastic Man, featuring an artificial man who could re-form his body into any shape he chose. Such a person is not likely to become a reality, but the idea of “plasticized” people might be. Many prostheses and implants are mostly plastic versions of body parts, and the day is not far off whereby plastic substitutes will be available whenever a body part does not suit one’s idea of perfection. Think about it, dear reader.
Just a thought.