As I was sitting in my air-conditioned apartment today, looking through some older photos of my grandson Micah and missing him terribly, I got to thinking about how pathetically contradictory and hypocritical I am--hence, the title of this post (from John Webster's play The White Devil). I know John Webster could not even have dreamed of such a thing as air conditioning existing in the year 1612, but I imagine he would not be surprised--if he could suddenly be transported to the 21st century--to find out that people really haven't changed since his time, in spite of all that has transpired since then. We still isolate ourselves from each other, sometimes just to selfishly enjoy what we think we deserve, and sometimes to avoid being honest. On our walk through the local park this morning, my husband and I were discussing how surprising but lamentable the fact that one can still find bigotry thriving in this country today. You hear it everywhere: on television, on the radio, in movies, in music, even in the jokes that people tell....and laugh at.
I blog about saving wetlands, and then I take such pleasure in remembering how Micah played with the water hose for at least an hour. I call myself Roamin' and Bloomin', but at the moment I'm not doing much of either of those commendable activities. I like to think of myself as an altruist, wanting to become a massage therapist so I can help people find stress relief, but I find myself revealed as a negativist and narcissist. The revelation came to me after I nicked myself with the razor while shaving my legs in the shower (wasting more water!). I waited for the blood to start flowing down the back of my leg, but it took a while. While I waited, I thought about how many times I checked e-mail today: probably at least a dozen times. Had anyone left either a cryptic or uplifting message? Were there any new comments on any of my posts? It's shameful, that's what it is. If a blog is supposed to be a reflection of the person who created it, this one reflects a fraud and a hypocrite.
Love the Thoreau quote and your grandson is adorable!! Thank you for adding Terra farmer to your bloglist. This is a place I'll be coming back (to) many times.Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kanak, for visiting. I'm afraid I have not been very hospitable lately. My posts reflect a difficult time for me, but I am hanging onto some hope, and the writing as well as visitors staying in touch help a lot. I am enjoying your blog too.
ReplyDeleteI am against water features in a garden for the waste of water, electricity and chemicals.
ReplyDeleteBut my greatest complaint is the infatuation with sterile lawn deserts, probably started with the new housing of Leavitt and sons in the fifties.
Every house a cookie mold with a postage stamp lawn. Apparently,
it is now written in stone. A house a lawn.
Lawns are a waste of money, energy and resources. The pollution created by lawns, blowers, trimmers, fertilizer,herbicides, fungicide,and irrigation.
There is noise, soil, water, air
pollution, for what? What good
is a lawn for flora and fauna?
My blog is about that and more.
A critical view from any focus.
I agree with you, A.C. I would much rather have a lawn teeming with life, and in fact I do. The fire ants are taking over the yard, the flower beds, and the vegetable garden. I refuse to use pesticides since I don't want to harm the birds or our cats or us (the humans), but what can I do? Returning the yard to its natural state is out of the question. The neighbors would have a fit, and the health department would slap us with a fine.
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