Sifting through the sands of time
you’ll find, no doubt, your peace of mind
amongst the doldrums, sent adrift
within the rift of weight and lift.
Why are you going to throw a pie at that man’s face?
It’s for charity.
But still, you’re executing this man’s comfort.
He gave it up willingly.
Just because someone’s willing to sacrifice themselves, is it right for you to carry out their wish? What if he isn’t of sound mind?
Then this ought to wake him up.
I’m just saying—asking—what gives you the right to make that call?
Probably nothing—but it’s fun.
As a kid I remember nailing the dunk tank with a fast ball, but it didn’t go. The guy sitting there just looked around and avoided eye contact like he didn’t see anything — like he wouldn’t be paying attention. The lady said, “Oh, almost.”
“What do you mean? I pegged it.”
“You have two more tries.” She smiled until I looked away. I missed the next one bad, but I nailed my last attempt, however the guy still didn’t dunk. I threw my hands up. The lady couldn’t smile her way out of it this time. She let me walk up and press the stubborn red knob, kind of like a friendly execution. The man put on his goggles and braced himself with a dry swallow. I looked straight at him, the serendipity of success washed from my face by the bureaucracy of the carnival dunk tank, and watched him fall.
“I try to do my best to speak in terms the common man can understand, because after all, I am a common man, and I certainly don’t want to start ununderstanding myself.”
I got an audio recorder and figured I’d try to record myself singing just to see what I sound like. I sang a warm up song loud and free, but made a few mistakes. When it came time to press record I found myself holding back because I didn’t want to make any mistakes, but subsequently my singing sounded timid and unimpressive — safe. No one wants to listen to something safe, they want to hear something new and exciting and dynamic and emotional, even if there are parts of it that are awful. I’m just going to say it: the point of life is to sing your lungs out, mess up a few times, and be proud of what you’ve done by the time you hit the last note and listen to the playback.
allmostrelevant 