sometimes life just up and smacks you upside the head

Sitting in the party garage Sunday evening...and, yes, drinking a beer...
WHAM!
Can't draw breath. Can't move. Can't talk. Felt like someone reached into my chest and squeezed. Hard.
Duane grabs his phone to dial 911. All I can do is wave a hand in the air...NO!NO!NO! (I'm a bit stubborn. No one's taking ME to the hospital. Not until I have time to think this over.) 5 or 10 minutes later--I have no idea how much time passed--it's over. Duane is white as a sheet, darn near ready to cry. My own eyes are leaking, apparently from god-knows-what. I take a deep breath, wipe my eyes, think about getting out of my chair.
Fast forward to Monday morning. Now, mind you, I gave up doctors 5 years ago. They hurt me. They take all my money. Just don't like 'em. But I'm scared. And poor Duane was up 3 times in the night, checking on me.
I haul my ass down to the local clinic, walk in, announce I think I had a heart attack last night. The receptionist's eyes go all big and she literally pulls away from me. Checks with the Practitioner, comes back, tells me to continue hauling ass--straight to the ER. OK. No problem.
Long story short...3 hours in the ER. Everything's just fine. No sign of a heart attack. No tumor. No lung clot. Blood pressure, excellent. They even left a cute little electrode-thingy under my arm. (souvenir?) I'm now the proud owner of 2 full sheets of "How to Quit Smoking", and the most adorable little bottle of baby aspirin. (chewable. orange. nummy).
Please tell me peace of mind is worth $1000. Please.

WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US. *POGO

Far be it from me, to try and explain the ills of this world, with references to a simple Hollywood movie.

AVATAR.

Seen it?

Just finished watching it myself.

I feel, somehow, that I now know James Cameron's "take" on all sorts of topics:

Ecology

Morality

Christianity

Politics

This film covers an amazing array of social views. The annihilation of the American Indian. The war in Iraq, (or ANY war on "foreign" soil, if you will). The word "Valkyrie" is even utilized in this flick. 

...at this point, I have to climb down off my soapbox, for just a moment...

GREAT line. In the movie.
Delivered by "The Ultimate Biker, aka Chopper, Beeyotch":

"You're not the ONLY one with a gun, Bitch." 

OK. moving on... 

I have been trying my very best to "un-learn" what has been hammered into my brain, since the day I was born. Think of all the history books crammed down your throat, the propaganda drilled into your subconscious, the "Red/Blue States" crap delivered directly into your inbox, ad infinitum. Can't even BEGIN to list it all here. Kinda need to go to bed, ya know? 

Haven't seen the movie yet? Have no idea what I'm yammering on and on about? Go see it. Rent it. Buy it. Open your mind. Open your eyes. Open your heart. 

Learn, Baby, Learn.

Those Who Consciously Ignore the Past 

Condemn Us to Repeat It

 

(The above is JMHO. I welcome any and all discourse)

Speaking of cleaning. NOT L(ing)OL. ;(

Has this ever happened to you? Am I just extremely weird??? (don't answer that, plz)

Woke up yesterday, stretched, padded into the kitchen. Snarfed my java, smoke-smoke-smoked my cigarette. Time to clean up the kitchen. Crap.

Opened the dishwasher, (I seem to be fixated on the dishwasher, I know. Just plz let it go. lol), looked up and around, trying to remember....What the hell WAS it? I was supposed to load into this damn contraption?

I think, at this point in time, I finally woke up. Did I really dream about LOADING THE DISHWASHER?!!

I've finally lost it. Send help, plz.