"Bye Bye" Boston Shoes

Farewell My Boston Shoes

I'm one of those people who wear a pair of shoes till they are completely worn out. Recently, I began a job that required me to be on my feet all the time and it's a messy job to boot (punny). So, I rummaged in my closet for my most rugged pair of shoes and decided on my Boston shoes. What are Boston Shoes? Well, the shoes themselves were Merrills (pictured above) but I came to call them my Boston shoes because they came to me in that intellectual city of the northeast. I was visiting my friend Jennie and we were touring the city in March. The streets were covered in old snow, ice and rain. I remember we had been walking around for awhile, checking out the lay of downtown, the park, and some of the old cemeteries when I realized my feet were not only cold but soaked through as well. Of course, the shoes I was wearing were another pair that I had worn out and the lining had holes I wasn't even aware of. Jennie's girlfriend, Natalie, was with us that day and I think I turned to her at one point to ask if her feet were as cold as mine. Then I asked where the closest shoe store might be. We decided to venture over to Filene's where one of Jennie's landlords worked. Ray, I think. Ray said the store didn't have much but that there was a DSW across the street, so, after browsing what little Filene's did have, we went over to DSW. I tried to be quick and efficient about it but I'm a miserable shopper. I pretty much feel compelled to look at everything before making any kind of decision. Also, I buy shoes so rarely that I have trouble locating the correct size. I'm still not entirely sure what size I wear, somewhere between a 10 and 1/2 to an 11, only there isn't a 10 and 3/4 available. Anyway, it took me so long and I remember seeking out the girls to apologize for taking so long, even though they said it was no big deal, I know they wanted to get moving. Well, I finally settled on the Merrills and had to buy a pair of socks as well because mine were soaking wet. I went through the checkout line and then squished over to the closest garbage can where I dumped my old shoes and socks and replaced them with the new ones. Later, I was so astonished by the difference that I kept remarking to Natalie how much better I felt. I don't know what she thought of me. I also left a pair of underwear at her apartment (don't ask, there's no story here). Talk about embarrassing! Anyway, those shoes lasted almost three years and probably would have lasted longer if it weren't for the rigors of printing and the stress it put upon my ill-fated Boston shoes.

2008

2008 = 2+0+0+8 = 10 = 1+0 = 1

2008 is a One Year. A beginning. It is the period of initialization. Events will emerge this year that will have lasting effects until the next One Year in 2017. A major event to occur in 2008 is the Presidential election. The results of this election will reverberate well beyond the winner’s term. I see two potential results:

Republican President: Mitt Romney

A Romney administration would attempt to do some of the same things the Democrats are trying to do but each and every time, forces at work around a Romney administration will cause each step toward a more Democratic America to slowly slip further from our grasp. A Romney administration would further erode civil rights, antagonize world terrorist into further strikes against the U.S., and set America up to fall from it’s current standing as a (the) world leader. Romney’s actions, decisions, and the way the forces around him move, will ultimately turn the U.S. into a terrorist state. This is their ultimate goal.

Democratic President: John Edwards

An Edward’s administration will sow the seeds to America’s healing from the wounds inflicted over the last eight years. Forces surrounding Edwards are positive and help set the course for America to begin uniting the world as the One world it is meant to be.

The One world event is a recurring effort by the Universe to bring the peoples of this planet Earth into a unity of spirit and intention. We are not meant to war with our own race. We are not meant to live apart. It is not an origin of the human soul to want to dominate. The desire for domination of others is a karmic flaw in the universal mind/body/spirit. It’s a seed that was innocently sown in the early period of human evolution, but its repercussions have guided world events and individual’s actions (everything affects everything else) and lead the world and America to where it stands today. In One years, the Universe attempts to sow the seeds that will heal our planet and the human race.

a good thing

Pretty Things

Christmas has become the most tiresome time of the year. I feel physically, emotionally, and psychically drained from the over commercialized holiday and the overt expectation from almost everyone that it's going to be the best Christmas yet. I never have the money for gifts and rarely have any idea of what to buy, so I've resorted to the very impersonal gift card, like cash but non refundable. I suppose there's a little bit of a manipulation there too. You don't expect someone to say, "oh wow, what were you thinking, I hate it." Actually, I taught my family years ago that I would say just such a thing and the better gift should always be the impersonal gift card or preferably cold hard cash. The only place I felt able to gather a little creative energy together was in the wrapping of my meager gifts. Originally, I wasn't going to wrap gifts at all but then decided to do some minimal wrapping, like tissue with a rubber band holding it together. Then I got the inspired idea, I thought, of inserting parts of plants into the wrapping. No blooms were used but leaves and berries. Needless to say it was completely overlooked and probably not understood by my clan but it was a good thing. Just wait, next year it'll be all the rage.

My Little Tree

Le Vrai Holidays

I can't believe it is Christmas time already! I'm really not prepared for the holiday season or any of its trappings. I think I've about had it with the over Christianizing of the season and the sappy Santa who may be always cheery but will still deliver coal to a bad child. The season is actually owned by the retail industry and is there chance to bring up profit margins that have been lagging over the year. It's a time to increase personal debt trying to keep up with the Jones's and please everyone around oneself. I don't object to someone wishing me a "Merry Christmas," because most people are not thinking about the birth of Christ anyway (Christ's Mass). What I object to is Christians trying to convince others that the holiday season is really about their spiritual practice and we should all remind ourselves of this and act accordingly. The birth of Christ, most scholars believe took place earlier in the year and only came to be celebrated in December to upset the winter solstice/Yule celebrations. In other words, by throwing the blanket of the birth of Christ over the winter solstice and Yule, the Christians have attempted to wipe out the earlier Pagan celebrations. They nearly succeeded. However, traditions as old as Pagan born are not so easily subverted. Suppressed, perhaps, but not gone. Many Pagan groups across the globe will be celebrating both the coming winter solstice and/or lighting of the Yule Log. Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether you celebrate as a Pagan, a Jew, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Native American, a Christian, or otherwise. The point is not to suppress all other spiritual paths under one but to celebrate now and at other times the creative spirit that has found so many paths leading to the same goal. Call it what you will... enlightenment, rebirth, saved... it's essentially the same concept.

Enjoy the holiday season whatever holiday you choose!

Children of Men

Last night I watched the film Children of Men and was mildly astonished. I had held off going to see the film when it was in the cinema, mostly due to the poor representation from the preview. Sometimes (Often) I wonder just what movie studios have in mind when putting a trailer together. Either the trailers reveal too much or they totally confuse the viewer as to what the story is actually about. In Children of Men, I thought the film was simply about infertility and the race to save the last pregnant woman alive, but it's much more than that. The film encapsulates so much of the angst and unsettled political climate in the world today, such as rampant terrorism, governments out of control, mass hysteria, and complete chaos. The lives of westerners today, especially here in the U.S., is very sheltered from the reality of life in most other countries and what a day to day existence is like in the presence of constant war. Westerners see it in the media and attempt to empathize with those suffering around the world, but the reality escapes most. For me, this film made that reality present and felt even though it is set in the future. The base story is that humans have lost their ability to propagate, but as the society ages and closes in on extinction, it becomes increasingly more violent. The entire educational system becomes unnecessary and all the people in that industry are out of work. Families disintegrate. Infrastructure begins to crumble as more people die off and there's no one left to replace them. When the pregnant woman is discovered, there are factions who see her as a savior and those who want to crucify her because they are afraid the hope she brings will destroy the chaos they've become accustomed too. Sounds familiar.

I'm no film critic but I highly recommend this film to anyone who is concerned about the world today and the impact of governments fighting for supremacy. I guess what I want to convey is that there's much more to Children of Men than just the base story. Also, there's a terrific documentary in the Special Features that is made up of various established philosophers and cultural critics giving their take on the world today, where it is going, what is affecting it, etc. over images of the decay taking place across the globe. It's really as fascinating on its own merits as the film is.