With A Bow on Top...

I had nothing for today's offering until about 45 minutes ago.

I got up. Scoped the Best Buy add, and was checking Facebook. A friend had posted a pic that was right up my alley and I just had to steal.

Perfect...

After breffiss (the most important meal of the day), I decided to shower before jumping into the mind numbing work I have to accomplish for the job. I throw on the Bluetooth speaker in the master bath... Anthrax's "Packaged Rebellion" engages in a little sonic assault on my Nucleus accumbens.

Rebellion... Oh, how I love thee. Now I did a thing about revolution a while back... This is NOT the same. There is some overlap, sure... Once again, my blog... Deal.

Rebellion and I go waaaaay back. I am a firm believer in questioning everything. Fully understanding that it is okay to do so, as long as you can realize the answers. Accepting the answers is up to you.

"Why do I wipe my ass?"

"Because things get uncomfortable on many levels if you don't"

In High School, it was a constant of me vs. everyone in any position of authority. I wore my uniform of anti-conformity. I enjoyed doing the absolute bare minimum to scrape by. I felt that the education system was undeserving of my genius. I was a complete idiot...

As Johnny (Marlon Brando) in "The Wild One", and Lisa Simpson, reply to the question of, "Hey, what are you rebelling against?"...

"What ya got?"

"Status quo" is the enemy. Rote is death. Obedience is prison... Ah, to be young and stupid again. Essentially... to be young and not have bills.

One morning, headed to, or coming from, Butler County Community College, I was waiting for a partner in crime to get out of the convenience store at Ohio and Belmont. I had backed into the parking spot, for ease of getting back onto the road...

The store was at the north end of a mini strip mall... At the end, there was a drive-thru lane from a long closed photo developing booth... Directly in front of my was a faded, yellow arrow painted on the asphalt. It was dictating to me that I am supposed to go a certain way.

Mi amigo jumps in the car... I am fixated on this oppressive arrow... He asks, "Dude, what's the matter?"

"That arrow..."

"Yeah... yea... YEAH! FUCK THAT ARROW! We have to go that way. It is a moral imperative."

Now, the comedy would have been that, as we toodled on through, we are inexplicably creamed by an 18-wheeler piloted by a meth addled truck driver, with an abscessed tooth causing him discomfort.

There was no danger as it turned out. As we rolled over the long worn directional aid, we both felt for that briefest of moments that we had beaten the system. The establishment hath been thwarted. NO ENTITY WILL CONTROL US! We are Masters of the fucking Universe.

In the Air Force... I was in a different uniform... Still authority and I were not on the best terms. What I learned in my military service was how to get away with being a derisive little shit. When assigned a shit job... It is okay to question the task at hand AS LONG AS YOU ARE DOING IT.

Case in point... We were informed that a General would be passing by on the road in front of our shop. A group was assigned to go rake the beauty bark in front of the building. I was in that group.

I had a couple of questions for the Sarge...

"What is the speed limit on the road there? 30? If the General is driving at 30 mph, and this area is about 40 yards... It will be in his range of vision for the maximum of 2 seconds. Is this worth those 2 seconds?"

And then...

"Do we think that the Starred One will notice our freshly raked beauty bark and demand that his driver pull over and he will give us all big, wet, sloppy kisses? Not that I would ask or tell..."

(In retrospect, I might have used "rimjobs" instead of "kisses"... I have matured since then... Not much... but some...)

And then...

"Sarge, with basic training, tech school, room and board, meals... We are the most expensive and well trained gardening unit on the planet right now... Do you think this is a proper allocation of government resources?"

The Sarge, restraining the laughter, replied, "d (they all called me "d"), the only reason I have tolerated your insubordinate shit is because you are raking while bitching."

"All about the mission, Sarge."

Talking with him later, he knew I was right and he also appreciated that I was venting for the entire group. I was expressing what the others were feeling. I was also alleviating the frustration of having to do bullshit for everyone.

Just one of the services I provided in my honorable service...

________________________________

I am accepting of a great many things. I will let a lot of stuff slide off my back like water on a duck.

However...

It is when I am FORBIDDEN to do something that I really, really must do that.

When I was sworn into the USAF... And it became illegal in TWO sets of laws to smoke a joint... That was the only time I ever craved marijuana.

When I smoked, and would go to a restaurant and would be challenged by some non-smoker on how my smoke is affecting them... I would start chain smoking like a freight train.

This week in Paris... A group of ARTISTS were targeted and killed. For fucking cartoons.

These killings are part of the last desperate, death throes of an extreme ideology. The old ways are being eradicated by the proliferation of knowledge. The people in power and control are willing to do unthinkable things to keep that power and control... In the name of something holy.

The only way to help that way of thinking finally die is to say what you think. Express yourself. Say the things you feel... In other words...

"Be dangerous, unpredictable... And make a lot of noise"

d <-- It stuck.

This blog brought to you by Anthrax. All Anthrax.