Pandora's Other Box

Is this an art form which is being lost in today’s electronic world? We get up in  the morning to the sound of whatever noise we chose to put on the “I-Droid” phone which, last night just before we went to sleep, reminded us about what we had to do this morning. Of course, after it beeped and squawked to let us know that a rainstorm was on its way ( which never came ). Sometime after we have a cup of coffee from our automatic coffee grinder-maker, the early morning routine starts with the check up of the mail and assorted messaging services; with the push of a few buttons in our “I-Droid-Tablet-Portable” we go through whatever messages come to our several e-mail addresses and get to see those each service decides are important enough for us to read… the others have gone into that great virtual garbage can on the screen… err, sorry, desktop.  It seems that advertising materials by the truckload are the only things that come now via the “snail-mail”… no wonder the USPS...

Today, it had been my decision to write about something banal and non-confrontational…   Here it was a beautiful day, sunny and warm but not hot… full of light and happy thoughts. So I sit here at the keyboard and try to think about how to start this particular piece…  Well … Fat Chance!!! As I open FB to see what the postings are and what my known universe folks are getting around to doing, I see that several FB friends have posted their views against anything “Republican”… They are very adamant in taking the attitude that as far as they are concerned, if it comes from their man it is saintly word. However, if it comes from the other side, no matter what it is, must be the lying devil in disguise. Well… I cannot agree with this, so I posted something not very flattering ( but easily documented ) about their man and, sure enough, there were immediate messages coming back. Several inquiring about the posting but others, however, trying to browbeat me into taking i...

Not a tale of incest and inbreeding… but almost. There was once this usher who moved into a beautiful big house. He had been entrusted to do so by many of those who stayed outside. This house was no ordinary house, but a very special one, sitting atop a hill and presenting a commanding sight for anyone to see. Those without looked upon it and the usher inside for their well being and guidance. Those within, looked upon those on the outside as sheep to be herded and guided for, after all, theirs was the Usher in the House. In the beginning, the Usher would walk around the halls and rooms and exclaim out loud, for all to hear… “We must clean out all the stuff the people before left strewn about” and the cheers would come, from within and without. Much movement and much to do, many figurines came and went … and Usher would say “My… how many things are yet to be sorted out” … still the cheers would come from within and from without. As time went on, mysterious ongoing(s) ...

After the initial phase of early life, birthdays take on a somewhat different meaning. This week brought me to the beginning of my 67 th year on this earth of ours. Sometimes the accounting method for this kind of thing is questionable… is it FIFO ( first in-first out ) or LIFO ( last in-first out )? … In any event, many years have passed since that glorious morning when in a room at the Spanish Community Hospital in Cienfuegos, Cuba, (Building #4) there came into the world… Ta-Daaaa! … Yours truly. The fateful day, as well as the time and place of its happening, as well as all that surrounds this magnificent event that is “birth” has a bearing on the life of each person. Or so tell us those who deal with numbers, zodiacs and lives. I know I have, somewhere in my bag, one such write out which was sent to me some years ago, by someone who was trying to get me to sign up for a continuing service … or some such. No, I did no sign up, but did keep the chart write out. Thank you....

Auntie Hortense was a kindly and quiet lady… except when she read to me about the Musketeers and their adventures. Everyone has a hero, or two… even three. In Dear Auntie Hortense’s case, there were four. When she was a very young girl she began reading, as a way to practice the art, about the Three Musketeers and D’Artagnan; they became a staple in her daily life. As a growing child, she was very convinced they were real and traipsing around the French countryside, running errands for the king and queen. Apparently no one could tell her, much less convince her, about the difference between fact and fiction. They were real … Period! ... No arguments! As she grew up, the fictional reality of the story began to tentatively creep into her thought process but, don’t think for a minute that she believed these almost saintly characters –from her viewpoint, anyway- had never existed. She was willing to negotiate a settlement and admit that … maybe, just maybe, they had a streak a fi...

There are traditional ways to explain and define issues, then there are interesting ways to do so. There has been much said about the so named “Obama-Care”, proposed by the President to, eventually and if it actually works, supply health care to all.  Because of all the nuances involved, I do not believe even those who put it into law truly could fully describe it, nor could they begin to explain how it is that this mammoth undertaking will truly be paid. Of course, all the political pundits on both sides are busy either pushing it or taking potshots at it. The only problem is that because of the very hugeness of the proposed project, no one really can either explain it or attack it with enough clarity for the average individual to grasp and/or understand the message. Today I received an email from a long time friend. It was a short –about 2 minutes long- presentation by a lady who seems to be a doctor and she was speaking out against the plan, so I will assume this w...

Fleeting thoughts and memories of unrelated moments in time and space. So… now that I came up with the flashy title and trailer… what do I do? Let’s see… fleeting thoughts I have a lot of… Unrelated moments … there are tons of those… Time and space?  Too complicated a concept for a Thursday afternoon. Where do I start? ... maybe High School would be a good starting point... 1963… Fall. Just started my senior year in high school… Think I am going to ask Tresh to be my girl. Met her before and really liked her… good looking and seems to be a nice person… Hmmm… did and she said yes. We went out and I met her mom and dad; lives outside of town in an “outpost” called West Richland… Have to cross the bridge. She met my foster parents and they liked her. 1964… Spring. Have to make some decisions… my father wants my sister and I to go to Puerto Rico. My sister has to go; she has no other options but won’t go if I don’t go with her. Mr. C., my foster dad, tells me he has secur...

But it gives us the chance to live beyond the line of sight. As many of these entries, the title and possible subsequent content were spurred, in time, by something said or read. I say “possible” subsequent content because whenever I sit at this keyboard, it seems that a direction of its own is taken by the written stuff… Me thinks that we will go north with any given piece and end up somewhere near Patagonia… There is, in my humble opinion, no better fuel for the imagination than curiosity. Or… is it perhaps the other way around? ... No matter in which direction this may go, it sparks flights of fancy and also flights of despair and possible disaster. But … What If? With this short question, my mind looks at something and begins to see it differently, spinning it on its own axis and looking through whatever matter is there, allowing me to see the all the way to its core, or even beyond. While someone else who is next to me and looking at the same object is only seeing a ...

When it comes to religion and politics… even the home front is affected. Last night, the Democratic National Convention came to an end with (the)POTUS accepting the nomination for a second term… nothing new or unexpected here. I listened to most of the speech from afar, for there were other issues that needed attention at the same time. I am not a professional speaker, although there were several years my income depended on my ability to do so and convince others of my ideas. There were some thoughts that came to mind while I listened to the man speaking… The speaker was somewhat subdued; unusual for this particular speaker. There were no specific details, but far too many “independent and third party expert” references, none specific. Therefore… credibility is an issue. No major promises made; perhaps fear this would bring up other promises made that went unfulfilled… References ( made by both the President and the VP ) to remarks made by “That Other Guy” which were not full...

Sometimes, hearing from Cheíto becomes a reality check… a needed one. I had not seen so many flashing lights since a bad electrical storm over the Okeechobee Swamps some years ago. This morning, in a 3 block stretch, there were enough police cars to ferry half a city, all with their “party tops” full a’blazin… Then, as I approached the perimeter road, there came a blazing procession of motocops, followed by an array of black SUVs and trailing vans... all with their lights flashing to impress, like there was no tomorrow.   I guess with the party convention in town, this was to be expected. Especially when this was not the “other guys” convention, but the ruling party’s convention… nothing but big wigs and big guns (almost literally) in town. After I came back home, there were some things to be done but, as soon as I got into it, the phone rang. Almost didn’t answer, but I did… - “Hey compadre… JUAT'S GON ON’?” It was none other than Cheíto, coming back to ...