Thinking of Dying

There is a Solution.

Its just not as simple as you make it out to be. A biologist who can't get into grad school? Surely if it were that important, he'd find a way, and besides, even if he can't get in, since when is formal education the be-all-end-all? Maybe he could find a way to procure his education outside of the University and carve a niche for himself in society in the process. An artist who can't discover the wonders of her hand and brain because of taxes? Even if she didn't take the tax honesty drop-out approach, there are ways of staying in the tax system and minimizing one's tax burden. Since when have taxes ever been a barrier to creativity anyway? If she had to make ends meet by working 9 to 5, and taxes didn't leave much money for her afterwards, then she could still economize, spend her evenings at home working on her craft until its ready, and then when she steps out to bring her art to the world opportunities in one form or another will materialize, doors will open. How badly does she want it? I don't believe that any human greatness can be chained permanently. The chain is in reality an obstacle, a problem, and all one need to do is identify the problem and search for a solution. If one puts some effort forth, solutions usually present themselves.
Any human greatness starts with an idea. How can an idea truly be chained or aborted? Perhaps in some future THX-1138 world where everyone is permanently sedated, but in the present it is still so easy in most of this world--especially here in America--for someone to realize an idea (or ideal), get it out to people, and create change. It doesn't have to be everyone who does this. All it takes is one person to put his thing out there in a convincing way, and other will people will follow along.
Conclusion: Don't despair. Identify your problems/obstacles one by one, find solutions and apply them. Then do what you really want to do with your life.

With all of this, the circumstances of your death won't really matter.

Uh, simplicity is not something I considered as I wrote this. There are all kinds of possible details behind the bare-bones hypotheticals I posed, but that doesn't negate the reality I'm speaking of. To put it more bluntly, I was trying to make two points:
1] The existence of the state, or some form of coercive government over individuals, is necessarily a drain on human progress.
2] Due to the truth of #1, an unknowable amount of individual greatness never sees the light of day.

There's only one Vincent van Gogh amid the small number of gifted artists painting, and while others may create beautiful works, they don't create the works that he -- or others -- might. My vision of how I'd create a successful restaurant is similarly unique to me -- and it'll probably never see reality. In other areas -- scientific discoveries and technological progress -- state-created obstacles are probably really only that, rather than elements that truly abort progress. But it's still important to me that we're talking about individuals' lives, and that all the state's interferences are compounded in ways that are impossible to accurately estimate.

so easy in most of this world--especially here in America--for someone to realize an idea (or ideal), get it out to people, and create change... All it takes is one person to put his thing out there in a convincing way, and other will people will follow along.

Obviously therefore, my work was unconvincing? - but tax exempt evangelists peddling Bible prophesy are in the vanguard of American thought.

Leonardo da Vinci once wrote, "As a day well spent makes it sweet to sleep, so a life well used makes it sweet to die."

No one here gets out alive. Just do your best.

I'm doing exactly that, Billy. Dunno that I'll ever get to the point where I'll agree with da Vinci on it being "sweet to die", but I'm not obsessed about it, nor am I about to check myself out. (So calm down, please, people!) :)

In his ninety-first year (if I recall correctly), my best friend's grandfather said, "A man's a fool to live as long as I have."

On its face, it seems a shocking thought, but I see an elementary grain of sense in it. If you think about it, it's the definite span of our lives that gives rise to the whole phenomenon of values. Values are the struggle against death: if we weren't born to die, then values wouldn't matter.

I've idly pondered Garry's grandfather's quip, over the years, wondering what it's like to cross the threshold that he implied. I can see kicking at Leonardo's chosen word, but the essence of the thing looks pretty clear to me. Yes; the fight for life is a noble and necessary thing, but the thing that I take from Leonardo is about facing reality squarely, and I say it doesn't get any more "noble" than that.

Very interesting thoughts, Billy; thanks very much for sharing them here. We're in agreement on the nobility of facing reality squarely; and I hope to live long enough to concur with the sweetness of dying.

I appreciate what you said, Billy. But I think we're losing to the black hats and boneheads. Could be that declining health has soured my mood, but Scott's happytalk had to be noted for what is was.

Bible Study in High Schools

Wolf, I put your link in the text of your comment so it wouldn't mess up my oh-so-carefully wrought decor ...

Believe me, Wolf: I'm hip to the happy talk.

All I ever wanted to do was drive light shows on rock tours. I've managed to eek out twenty-eight years on the road, but I had to walk off one major tour when the Hollywood accountant told me that they were going to tap me for "witholding" taxes. I told the president of the largest accounting firm in the industry that I don't work for thieves.

Have you ever put down a fifteen hundred dollar a week gig?

Murder. I'm telling you.

I am not kindly disposed to people who run Pollyanna horseshit on me.

Hang tough, brother-man.

Thanks for fixing the URL, Sunni. I should've bopped over to TinyLink, but I didn't think of it. I make poor decisions sometimes.

Billy, I salute you and it makes life a lot easier to have a handshake now and then.

Just to sharpen your point about what gets lost in times like these, let me tell you what got killed in that deal.

Things like that get around. It's hard for me to find work, and it's been getting harder.

One day, in my late forties, I woke up, looked at my watch, and said, "Yup. Time to fly." It was a dream of my since I was about five years old. I had enough on the ball to drop four grand at the local flight school and get going. Shortly after that is when the incident that I relate above happened. I was also working at a place called "The Tabernacle" in Atlanta. (I can call the roll on this one.) That was so fine. I was pulling three or four days a week as the house lights guy, at three-fifty a day. I was most often so busy that the manager of the place had to chase me down in order to pay me, and it always looked like some kinda mafia deal: him handing me wads of cash for my work. Well, the place was bought, the offices were invaded by weezils, and I ended up leaving there, too. (My old mate Eddie Hopson still works there, and he recently told me, "You made the right move, Billy. These people are burning me down.") But not before I'd piled up about what it would take to finish the private pilot program, and -- incidentally -- buy myself an airplane. (Some assembly required.)

I got through the training program, and was signed off by the friendly FAA official (who had shit to do with my training, the whole responsibility for which goes to Mrs. Terri Andrews, who I'll never forget). I have the satisfaction of knowing I hacked the dream.

But I can't afford to fly now, and I don't know if I ever will again. I don't know if my airplane will ever get off the ground.

What I do know is what's possible if only these rotten bastards would get out of my way.

I enjoyed my time as a stagehand in Reno/Tahoe, with some pro sound design and installation work for casinos. Also ran a 24-tk 3-camera studio in Northern California where we did demos and music clips. Nothing better, really, than show business - all forms and all formats, if you work with pros. My first love was film and TV, about 20 years worth.

Anyway, CR is a place to fly. Need to qualify again in Spanish. Harder to make a living, though. We talked about it four or five years ago, remember? Jethro Tull is doing a gig here next week.

Enough gossip. Thanks, Sunni, for bringing us together again. Always a pleasure to read you.

You're right about show business, Wolf. When it's on, it doesn't get any better than that. I know people on the with whom I would go to war.

I'm not leaving America, mate. I can't do it. I get around, and I've seen enough. It's this fight, in this place, or nothin'.

(Thanx for putting up with us, Sunni.)

You two are kidding me, right? From the first, this place has been about fostering conversation -- and I'm not so full of myself that I have to be in on every conversation that happens here. On the contrary, I'm highly pleased both of you drop by, and even more so that you contribute.

Thank you, gents.