Pirates!

Gary and Fran - Part Duex


A short work of fiction in 4 parts.

Chapter - 1, Pelicans


Chapter - 2, Pirates


Chapter - 3, Sentinals


Chapter - 4, Cubes



It was still oppressively hot. Gary ordered his second Corona and turned to look out at the bay. The sun reflected off the sea and made him squint. The bartender brought the sweating bottle with the lime wedge stuffed into it.

“Cualquier cosa?” the bartender asked.

“No thanks” Gary replied. He shoved the lime into the bottle and took a long draw from the cold beer and wondered why it always tasted so much better down here.

Gary tried to understand how something that seemed so right in the beginning had led him to this place. After returning from the clinic, Fran had been quiet. Last night she hadn't felt like eating and spent much of the previous afternoon standing ankle deep in the surf looking out to sea. There wasn't a lot he could do to comfort her and he sensed that she knew that. That morning Fran left early to drive back across the border. He stayed behind to deal with his own lingering doubts.

He heard a child's laugh and turned to see a young family of four sit down at one of the tables overlooking the bay. They were probably in their early thirties with a two year old daughter and a five year old son.

"That could have been me in another life." he thought, as he watched the lime wedge floating inside the cold cervsa.

He wondered if he could ever go back to the way it was. He doubted it. He realized that it probably wouldn't be good if they did. "Relationships like this burn brightly and then go out just as quickly." he thought to himself. Their jobs, their families, their friends all hung in the balance, yet they were also the cause of the whole affair in the beginning.

As he reached for a chip to scoop up some salsa more patrons entered the little cantina and bellied up to the far end of the bar. They were two young college couples, dressed provocatively and well into their morning drinking binge.

"That was me a couple of years ago." he thought to himself. Gary smiled and mused over all the hard knocks the kids would learn in the next decade.

They ordered Tequila, lime and salt from the bartender.

"The good thing about Mexico is that you don't have to let your troubles bother you down here." he thought. "The worries of the real world seem so far away. Here, it is just cold beer, hot days and seafood."

Gary glanced out at the bay and saw one of the local shrimp boats heading back into port after a long night of trawling.

"Look Daddy!" the little boy screamed. "Pirates!", as he pointed at the boat chugging past the downtown waterfront.

Gary's mind played a subtle tug of war over his relationship with Fran. The better angels of his nature chided him to think of her family and their careers. But his lustful demons only had to conjure the feeling of her warm body and their passionate kisses taken in moments of reckless abandon. Whenever he tired to think of something else, the muses eventually returned and resumed their mental battle.

At the other end of the bar, the couples had started the spring break ritual of the 'body shot'. Firm breasts were pushed together into deep cleavage as eager young men licked lime from one breast and salt from another before pulling the shot glass from between them with their teeth and downing the tequila. Gary recalled that it was illegal to use your hands.

He downed the last of his Corona and pushed several dollars toward the bartender.

“Gracias mucho” was his reply

As Gary left the cantina, another young man dove into a treasure chest to retrieve the amber gold of his dreams.

Gary couldn't avoid his problems forever. He needed to head back, face reality, and retrieve his own lost treasure.

A Thousand Possibilities.....

....means fewer choices.


There is this concept that is coming called the ‘singularity’. Like a freight train barreling down on you in a tunnel, it is almost here. However, I don’t know if the visionaries of the future have really taken into account the marketing and the media regarding this whole issue.

There is this theme that I keep running up against in my journey through life. At first I didn't see all the connections, but they are becoming more and more obvious as time goes by. There is this connection between what we are told to want and what we actually end up getting. This connection can be manipulated. There are puppeteers out there....and we aren't always the ones pulling the strings.

The singularity will give us thousands of options. There are literally thousands of ways to do things already and to see how they all work is one thing, but to see how they all interconnect is another. We all have these options. The things that will expand our consciousness, yet most of us don't know it yet. We don't need to go out and buy anything to access this looming potential. The tools are already there, on our cell phone, in our televisions, behind the dashboards of our cars. But for most of us, we don't see how they all work together.

It dawned on me, that our lack of knowledge about how new technology is fundamentally changing how we perceive our world is creating a service economy because most of us simply don't have the time or the curiosity to figure things out. So we end up paying someone else to figure out life's complexities for us. When this happens, the Singularity is taken over by the few and not the masses.

I have a new television set. It is one of those fancy HDTV flat panel jobs. It has a super nice picture and all sorts of neat features. The thing has 7 (count them seven) inputs, so I can plug in my DVD, my Laser Disc player, my VCR, the Nintendo Game Cube and my iPod into it all at the same time! Talk about a techie dream. Only problem is, my wife isn’t that techie. I have come to realize that most folks aren’t that techie.

My wife simply wants to be able to plop down in front of the TV, push a button and magically have "American Idol" appears before her eyes. She doesn't want the thousand options. She doesn't want to navigate the system. For her, simple is better. For 90% of the population, simple is better. Just tell us what we want and then give us what we want.

This same concept can be expanded to almost every nook and cranny of society. Our cars, our phone, even our work space.

I chuckle at the advertisements for the New Cadillacs and Lincolns. Monster vehicles that have computer controlled climates, voice activated GPS systems and satellite radios. Yet, in the back of my mind, I have this feeling that the folks that plunk down 50K for one of these techno-vehicles don't really have a clue about how most of these things work. It usually comes down to three simple things. 1) Key turns it on, 2) This pedal makes it go, 3) This pedal makes it stop. Beyond that, I don't think that too many hands reach for the owners manual.

If you can't use a map and a compass, a GPS satellite navigations system isn't going to do you a lot of good. If you can't burn your own CD's on a computer, an MP3 compliant 12 speaker deck with Sirius Satellite radio may be a bit beyond your comprehension.

When the need to figure these devices out actually comes along, we end up paying for someone else to make them work for us, or at the very least train us how to work them. Common curiosity is not a real virtue these days. We are trained to believe that we "can't" figure things out and it is better to find someone else that can.

If the Singularity ever does come about, and we attain the potential to make quantium leaps in our ability to understand the universe, I think it will be in the hands (or minds) or a few. Those minds will tell us what we want and then spoon feed us like babies in high chairs.

It is past 1984….better start reading the manual folks.

Pelicans

Fiction 101


A short work of fiction in 4 parts.

Chapter - 1, Pelicans


Chapter - 2, Pirates


Chapter - 3, Sentinals


Chapter - 4, Cubes



Fran downed the frozen shot of tequila. She knew it wasn't a good idea, but she didn't see how it was going to matter.

Mexico was always oppressively hot in August. That was why they had never come down during this time of year.

She watched from the balcony window as a flock of pelicans flew low in formation over the sandy beach. As she looked at the Sea of Cortez she could feel the tequila’s warming affects. She went flush for moment as the weight of her thoughts raced through her mind.

"It won't work, Gary", she said in a firm but quivering voice.

"Aren't you curious about what we created? How can you look at this just from the logical point of view?” he responded.

"Been there, done that. I have no desire to go through it again. This was supposed to be fun and exciting. Our problem wasn't something we had planned on."

"Is that all it is to you? A problem? Nothing more?"

"Grow up Gary!” she snapped.

“You’re looking at this through rose colored glasses. You really expect me to convince Rick it’s his? What are you going to do, swing by the park once a week to catch a glimpse while we save for another college fund? It may be easy from your point of view, but the choice is pretty clear from mine."

"I'm sorry.” he said. “I never had the opportunity in my first marriage. I was just hoping....."

He paused and stood behind her at the window. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gazed out the window with her. A pelican broke formation, tucked in its wings, and dove headfirst into the surf.

"Do you love me?” he asked.

Fran's head dropped and he heard her sigh.

"Yes…” she said in a whisper, "...but we can't. That's why we're here."

Frustration is Good

The Committee Will Come To Order


The older I become, the less of a fan I am about doing things by consensus. Having meetings, democracy, letting everyone have a voice is usually not the best way to go. It gives the illusion that everyone has a say in what happens but the end result is usually something that no one really wants.





These are pictures of the Arizona 9/11 memorial that was constructed near the state capital last year. Needless to say, it has caused and uproar due to it's content. Also needless to say, it was designed by a committee.





When we think of war memorials, we tend to look at Pearl Harbor, or the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, or the Iwo Jima Monument in Washington. Monuments to the spirit, determination and valor of those that sacrificed their lives so we could all be safe and secure from enemies either real or imagined.





However, as a society, we have been tempered by the media and the legal system and told that we have to have a broader view. We need to look at how anything we do effects everybody.





The end result is a monument that makes us question our acts and not glorify our deeds. Needless to say, those that lost loved ones in New York or Afghanistan are not very pleased. They don't want others second guessing their sons or daughters death.

When we form a committee, we all lose something. The painful truth is, putting all your eggs in one basket is sometimes a better idea. Sometimes it is better to speak with one voice. We need to remember that it is better to find a competent individual and trust that they will do what is best for us. When we compromise by committee, no one is going to be happy.

iPod Experiment

The World's Soundtrack


This is from a concept presented by Mrs. Cyndi Foley. She is one of the writers on my MySpace friends list. She recently got married and I still can't get used to the Mrs. part.

The Goal: Take your iPod (or reasonable facsimile), hit shuffle, listen to the first 10 songs and write down what they mean to you.

Here is a little preface to this experiment. I have a lot on my iPod. It is 40 a gigabyte model and I have about 39 gigs of stuff on it. Most of this music was downloaded from Usenet back in the days when I had enough time to do this sort of thing. With over 42 days of music downloaded on my iMac, I spend most of my time just cataloging and weeding out the stuff that sucks. The stuff that isn't substandard is what is on my iPod. There are only three genres of music on the 'pod'. Rock, Soundtracks and Classical. Sorry all you Hip-Hop and Country fans. You won't find my 'pod' very entertaining.

Today I walked to work and put my ipod on shuffle across all the genres. The results are as follows:

1. Crossroads, (Cream - Live)

Probably one of the first 'rock' albums (Disraili Gears) I recall ever wanting to have as a child back in the mid 1960s, this live version is even better. It is hard to believe that this is just 3 guys playing on this song. Bands don't tend to sound this good anymore, especially live.

2. Birthday (alternate track, mono) (Beatles)

This is one of the rarities I found on Usenet. There is a ton of unknown Beatle tracks out there that most folks have never heard. Most of their studio sessions were never published and these are now bootleg collectibles. In these sessions the lads from Liverpool just sit around joking and tossing back and forth song idea. It is fascinating musical history. This is an alternate take on "Birthday" recorded in mono. It sounds about the same as the one you have heard, with a few subtle variations. Again, amazing that this was done live in the studio with no overdubbing of after-song production.

3. The Poet Acts, from "The Hours" (Phillip Glass) [Soundtrack]

I never actually saw this movie, but I had a tendency to download anything by Phillip Glass after seeing the film "Koyanisqatsi" back in the 1980s. He is a pretty minimalist classical composer, but his film music is very haunting. It makes for a surreal walk to work through the quiet neighborhoods between my house and the office.

4. Prelude to Act III "Lohengrin" (Wagner)

This goes back to my days in college when I worked part-time at a classical radio station. Wagnerian Opera is pretty hard to sit through, since it is long, slow and in German, but the overtures are pretty powerful, especially, 'Tannhauser', 'The Flying Dutchman' and of course 'The Ride of the Valkyrie'. This one is no different.

5. Symphony #8 Allegro Vivace con Brio (Ludwig von Beethoven)

It is Beethoven, what else do I have to say? I have all 9 of his Symphonies. Anyone that can create music like this while in the midst of pain, depression and death, is someone that we need to be in awe of. Whenever I hear his work, I have to stop, listen and think about all the things that trouble me and make me worry....and then I realize how foolish and insignificant those things really are.

6. All the time in the world (Instrumental) "Her Majesty's Secret Service" (John Barry) [Soundtrack]

I have a soft spot for John Barry and his James Bond Soundtracks. He has done other memorable soundtracks as well (Out of Africa, Dances with Wolves). His use of strings and simple themes make a good soundtrack for what ever you might be doing at the time.

7. The Park from "The Twilight Zone" (Bernard Herrman) [Soundtrack]

This is another little soundtrack from a peice I have not seen. It is here because it was composed by Bernard Herrman. He is one of the great film composers. Along with, Franz Waxman, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry and Thomas Newman, they are the classical composers of our day.

8. Meet Virginia (acoustic version) "Train"

I am not a huge fan of this band, but this song is well done. I got this track while reconfiguring a computer in my office that was used by a previous co-worker. I discovered that she had about 20 gigs worth of MP3s on the thing and I copied them and kept the ones I liked. This is one of them.

9. To the Edge of the Earth from "The Piano" (Michael Nyman) [Soundtrack]

I actually HAVE seen this film. A very good movie if you have not seen it. About a mute woman in the 1800s that is sold into marriage to a guy in the South Seas. She speaks only by playing her piano, which means where ever she goes; it goes (a rather bulky thing).

10. L'istesso Tempo - Vaughn Williams

Sort of like Beethoven, his works are so subtle, light and beautiful, that they captivate the listener. His "Lark Ascending" is one of the most beautiful works I have ever heard.

11. The Levitation - 3PO's Bedtime Story from Star Wars - Return of the Jedi (John Williams) [Soundtrack]

John Williams is basically the John Phillip Souza of our day. At first he was pretty cutting edge and is still very good, but his music tends to fall into a narrow genre of soundtracks these days. Still, there is no one better at envisioning far away exotic locations or love themes than he does.

12. Dr. Jimmy from "Quadraphina" (The Who)

I consider this the best 'Rock Opera' of all time. While not the best track from the album it is still good. Of the two things I recommend you do with your iPod, the first is listening to Beethoven's 9th Symphony (4th Movement) on a mountain top at sunset, and the second is listening to Quadraphina on a beach during a storm. Both are life changing and moving experiences.

(that was twelve tracks instead of 10, but that is how long it took me to walk to work this morning, so you get a bonus.)

The New Vocabulary

Tell Us How You Really Feel


I didn't know any of these terms 5 years ago. Some I have come up with myself, others have been given to me by equally frustrated co-workers. It hasn't been a terribly good week at the office. There is a lot of politicing going on becuase of looming budget cuts and case loads. Folks are jockeying for position, and not doing a lot of work in the interium.

I have learned that the best way to relieve stress is to jot something down, so here goes.


Bobblehead Manager You have seen them. You have probably worked for them. No matter how bad things get, or how many mistakes are made, they just stand there moving their head like it was on springs. Their one saving grace as supervisors is that they always have a good attitude. Working with them is always a happy-happy, joy-joy experience. Upper managment likes these types. They promote harmony and make the CEOs feel safe. They rarely accomplish much in the real world though.

Playdough General Some managers are made of iron some are made of playdough. They can be molded into the heroic figures of Geroge Patton or Irwin Rommel. While they look imposing at first, they just tend to stand there and do nothing. First impressions will only get you so far.

Adminisphere Definition: "The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the Adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve." This one is so common, I actaully wrote a whole blog on it alone. This condition comes from two possible sources. The manager that is so focused on upward mobility, that they totally lose touch with what their underlings are doing, and those managers that move into a position from outside the organization, and have absolutley no practical knowledge of the organization that they have joined.

Rec-Centric [Recommendation Centered] This is a term I came up with to describe a particular problem in my office. Through the constant dumbing down of the office staff (see below), the actual work in the office began to center on the primary production unit, called the recommendation. All training eventually centered around this because it was the one thing management could hold in their hand and look at. It was tangible. Only problem was that all the other things we are supposed to do that didn't appear on the recommendation suffered terribly. Hence, the Rec-Centric point of view. Concentrating on the obvious and dismissing all the details that lay beneith it.

Dumbing Down (the process to the lowest common denominator, instead of training to the highest potential)..or the office is as strong as it's weakest link, so lets ALL be weak links.

The Seagull Manager They fly in, make a lot of noise, shit on everything, turn things over and fly away. They tend to look good on paper, but the reality is, they have little practical experience.

Pushing Paper When Supervision and Management totally fail, it is important to look busy, so that if the higher ups actually find out how screwy things are, we can always claim it is because we are to busy to deal with the real problems. But it only looks like we are working....in reality.....it is just volume, volume, volume with no quality control.

Titanic Promotion Being made Captain of the Titanic 'after' it strikes the iceberg isn't really a promotion, they are looking for someone to take the fall for the previous Captain's mistakes (who has probably been promoted to a better ship).

The Alternate Path

Bridge to Tommarrow / Bridge of Sorrow
(click picture for satalite view)

I am blessed in many ways. The older I get, the more I appreciate the little stuff that I used to take for granted. One of them is the fact that I get to walk to work. I don't commute anymore and the difference in the quality of life is amazing.

On my route to work I cross over Interstate 10 just before it runs into the Deck-Park Tunnel which goes under Margret T. Hance Park here in Phoenix. There is a pedestrian bridge that crosses over this 6 lane freeway and I walk it twice a day, once on the way to work and once on the way back.

This bridge has come to symbolize a lot of things to me. The halfway point of the journey, solitude, beauty, simplicity and a host of other metaphors depending on my mood, the time of day, the traffic flow and the weather.

The bridge is almost always deserted. Phoenix, Arizona is a car town, nobody walks here. When I walk over it in the morning during rush hour; there is a sea of cars beneath me, all going about 10 miles per hour, bumper to bumper. On the other hand, I am high above them, in the sunlight, listening to my iPod, not a soul in sight, in my own little world.

Someday, I suppose they will all be up here with me. When gas gets to be $7.47 a gallon and they have all declared bankruptcy and had their Lincoln Town Cars and Ford F-150s repossessed, they too will be walking to work across the bridge. Change is inevitable. They will all have to change sooner or later, I like to think that I already have, but I could be wrong. Maybe I am just a freak.

Until they all catch up with me, the only others users of the bridge are the homeless. They often times spend the night on it because the police can't see them and it is relatively safe. It is a hard concrete bed above the Peterbuilt Diesels and speeding sedans. They must feel safe and hidden up here, huddled behind the freeway sign on bridge that acts as a wind break on the cold desert nights.

I rarely see them. They are gone before I cross on my way to the office. But I can tell they have been there. They often leave things behind. Things like beer bottles, pieces of clothing, empty food containers. Sometimes there are things that are more personal.

Once on my way to work, I crossed the bridge and found the remnants of someone’s backpack strewn all across it. I stopped to identify some of the contents; a booking receipt for an arrest, some brochures on services available to the homeless, some study books for a course they were taking. Had they left it? Had it been stolen, there was no way to tell. Some of the forms indicated they belonged to a young man in his 20s, but all the dates were old, going back to 2002 and 2003. It all added up to a small piece of someone’s life, a part of a vast jigsaw puzzle. It was a small segment of a vast picture that I could not comprehend, but it made me wonder.

Contained in the various pieces of paper were some hand written letters. I chased them down in the swirling air kicked up by the speeding semi-trucks that roared underneath me and started to read them.....

2/3/05

Dear Jesse & Crystal,

Just a few lines to say hello and at the same time to say we are as well as can be expected. Nikki has a big bad ulcer at the base of his tail bone and he is very sick his doctor said he needs a bubble mattress so his back can heal. Well here is the 10.00 dollars hope you guys can go and buy a burger or something and you guys better buy candles and go clean your apartment cause your case manager wants to go check on you and also how are you suppose to get a phone if you are never home? You guys better get on the ball, go home and clean that apt and refrigerator. I bet you guys have some spoiled food there. You both have to learn how to cope with the problems that come up same as I do and not go running to Mama’s house. You and Crystal are not kids any more. Well I better go for now I am tired of asking any one to come help me when I need help the most. So god bless and keep safe both of you – Also, receive best wishes from Pelon and Dona Vero and also from Mr. Jose and Ruth and from me and Nikki. Receive all our love and blessings take care and be sure you guys make time to come see us some time when ever it is convenient also don’t forget to come put your application in for section 8 housing before they stop having applications, okay this way you can be sure of getting even a 1 bedroom house and not have pay anything only your bills or an apartment with every thing included, please do it as soon as possible okay. Take care and god bless you both.

P.S. Crystal, take good care of yourself and may our Virgin Mary give you what you most desire. God Bless You.

Your Nana & Nikki

11/17/02

My Dearest Grandson

Here is the psalm I promised you. Read it when you feel all alone alike me.

The lord is my Shepard I shall not want, He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he leadth me beside the still waters, He restores my soul, He leadth me in the path of righteousness for his name sake. Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thau art with me, thy rod and they staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies, thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the lord forever. In Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

This is what I pray and he comforts me. I go in for x-rays on my right knee and to see the heart Dr also cause I don’t feel to well, to much worry I guess, but anyway, I want you to do your best and I am praying for you cause I know St. Jude and God will help you to over come obstacles that come your way so you can be a better man. I am so proud of you for doing the best you can and I know you will do better still, I have not heard from Crystal at all, I am hoping she will come see me, your cousins have not been able to find or see her. Lori Ann is in the hospital, she went to emergency cause she had a bad pain in her side and she was told she was eight months pregnant but the baby is not doing well cause he may have died while in her stomach. I spoke to her a little but she was going for some more tests and she had to hang up. Well, I guess I better go now cause I have to mail this letter and the other one I wrote to you before, but had no way to go to the post office. Excuse my writing but my hands are weak and my writing is awful. Well, take care and I will write again as soon as I have more news of Lori Ann. God bless and keep you safe all my love and kisses from me and Nikki

Love You

Nana, Nikki & Luis

I won't ever know who Jesse was, if Nikki is still alive, if Crystal was ever found, if Lori Ann's baby ever made it. There were a thousand questions on the bridge that morning. I have come to realize that there are always a thousand questions on the bridge, some are written down, some you just have to sense. The bridge tells me something every morning and every evening. It makes me think.