Heritage

Etc.

Yea, etcetera.  Same thing, same complaints.  Same actions, same results.  Twenty-five days in, I've decided to go for forty.  Forty days and forty nights.  It sounds biblical, I think.  There must be something to it.  I mean, there was a lot of pre-science knowledge, right?  People knew not to put sticks in their eye before Francis Bacon and the Scientific Method.  They had certain dietary knowledge, for instance.  How'd they come up with that?  They built things that we can barely comprehend now, magnificent things of wonder.  How'd they do that?  I think the scientific method is swell, of course, but it has been bastardized and corrupted now.  Bacon would be dismayed, I think.  And as I always say in my deep and abiding skepticism, there is more unknown than there is known.  Look at what science has done to the planet.  The one thing that hippies can say--science isn't holistic.  If it were, the dastardly effects of DDT, thalidomide,  and carbon emissions would have been known.  Or the atomic bomb.  

Maybe I am becoming more mystical.  Sorry Mr. Hitchens.  Apologies Mr. Dawkins.  

Still, you know, astrologers are much more unreliable than physicians.  And as faulty as they are, weather people  are still better at predicting the future.  

Jan 19, 2024 - Not all friendships are the same, Aquarius. You may have learned that the hard way, but that's OK. Today you could feel like putting your friendships in some kind of order and getting a bit of perspective on things. It's time to figure which of your friends are really there for you when you need them, which of them show you how much they care about you, and which ones do not. Each kind of friendship can be useful to you in its own way. Don't be afraid to admit this.

See?  

Jan 19, 2024 - The energy of the day is creating an opportunity for you to move in new circles and make some different friends, especially if you are looking for romance. But you will need to be a little more adventurous, and also stop worrying that you may be making the wrong impression. If you can focus on your positive points, rather than reinforcing the negative ones, you will enjoy more success.

 Hookers?  Are they saying I should meet hookers?  I don't know.  They are sometimes a little vague.  

Maybe I'd be better off going back to the "Five Steps to Self Love" therapy plan.   

I shouldn't joke so much.  I'm like a kid in jr. high school sometimes.  Most of the time, really.  My sophomoric humor can betray my intelligence.  I got one of these recently in response to my dumb banter.

🙄 

But I had a girlfriend who was as goofy as I.  We laughed more than I ever had before or since.  My mother once explained to a friend, "They act like that sometimes."  But we were smart.  My idiocy didn't seem to override the other.  I know she didn't like me for my looks.  

She's the one who got me hooked on dumb reality shows.  

Speaking of which--fuck subscription t.v.  Last night, I was going to watch the season finale of one of my really idiotic shows and Peacock suddenly decided I needed to subscribe to see it.  I was livid.  I had just watched 14 episodes, and now. . . . 

After a long search, I found I could rent it on YouTube.  To which I am already paying money to be commercial free.  

I got an invitation to an African-American Heritage Jubilee at the factory yesterday.  It is tonight.  I mentioned it to Tennessee and he said he wanted to go.  Now this was a shock to my system.  I thought he was kidding, but he was enthusiastic.  So he will be my date tonight as they sing gospel songs and give awards celebrating Black Achievement.  I will be among friends there and will introduce Tennessee as my Hillbilly Boyfriend just to confuse them.  

Speaking of hillbillies, I just love the music.  There is a radio show I heard long ago in Cali that features it every week called "Pig in a Pen."  You can stream it on demand anytime you want (link).    If you want.  Not everybody is a fan.  Like. . . hardly anybody.  But how can you deny the talent.  Remember the scene from "Deliverance"?  Not that one, not the "squeal like a pig" one, but the one where the banjo boy plays (link)?  

I won't link the other one.  You'll have to search for it on your own.  There are some things even I won't foist upon you.  

This, however, is a good example of the hillbilly way.  And surprisingly, it is not played by real hillbillies but by the Grateful Dead's founder Jerry Garcia.  This was recorded live in 1973 with Vassar Clements on fiddle.  Clements is much closer to hillbilly than Garcia, though.  He's a real cracker.  

When I was invited to the Heritage Festival, I was tempted to send this to my friend who is the organizer of the evening.  On the phone, though, I told him I thought about it.  

"C.C. and I have always complained that the factory has never had a Hillbilly Heritage Celebration," I told him.  

I think I'll ask C.C. if he wants to go tonight, too.  He's a hillbilly, too.  I mean, he likes possum with whistle pig gravy.  He gave me a can for Christmas.  But like me, and Tennessee, it seems, we support diversity and inclusion.  As long as we can kid about it, too.