Keith is now the proud owner of a twenty foot car trailer. On it we will put my Civic and the Bruteforce and away to Kentucky we will go, along with dogs, whiskey and rifle. Woohoo.
I didn't want to buy the car trailer, because of the cost. But eventually I realized that, for Keith, this was clearly an identity purchase. He was born to have a car trailer; assuming ownership of said trailer was further expression of his manhood. Already he wants to buy a winch for it.
And I love the man that he is. I love that he is the kind of man that others will call now, whenever they need anything moved. Anything. Three grand pianos? Check. Septic tank? We got'cha. Five foorwheelers with a cooler full of beer...yeah, buddy.
Meanwhile, I have been busy chasing down every single loose object ever put down anywhere out of place. This occupies a lot of my time. We can't leave the house without the dishes washed, dried and hidden, the bed made, the pillows just so. Well, we could. But I'm convinced the second we do, Karen will call to say she's bringing people over right then.
She hasn't called, so it's as though we're constantly running cleanliness drills. Also, nothing is where it should be and the house is so bare it echoes.
*Update: Karen stopped by without warning, so that justified some of the cleaning. I love our realtor, she is personable, upfront and knowledgeable. Also, she is just as motivated as we are to get the place rented and for as much as possible, as her fee is ten percent of the rent.
It is a gorgeous fall day. The lawn is slowly being covered by yellow aspen leaves and in the morning, the sun shines full through the crown of the tree, lighting it up as though it were a living glass challis.
I've been familiar with the expression "gratuitous sex and violence" for as long as I can remember but only recently is it hitting home. Perhaps due to cable TV.
Gratuitous: not needed by the circumstances. I think it needs a stronger word. Superfluous, with its added meaning of "able to be thrown away" or untenable, as that means "indefensible."
I wondered the other day why. I mean, why? Why, for example, is it necessary that we see a man's genitalia being mangled (Waiting, Old School)? Why do we need to see genitalia at all? Is it necessary to the plot line?
I think not. I think anything to that degree is completely unnecessary; I think it decadent and degrading. I think it degrades us as a society, it desensitises us; we lose our ability to be shocked and dismayed and ultimately, such degradation erodes our own sense of dignity and self respect.
Would I be in favor of legislation that would limit or restrict such things? No, I would not. I don't believe government can change the nature of society. In fact, I believe in completely the opposite; that society shapes the government.
If we were still a sober, moral community there wouldn't be a market for such things, no regulation would be necessary. Government regulations cannot make up for morality; government is not a moral or ethical replacement for individual character.
On the other hand, government can sway; it carries a lot of weight which can be and is put to terrible use. For example, $50,000 of stimulus money went toward a pornographic film called "Thundercrack."
Isn't that great? You, me and every other tax paying American just funded and endorsed a film described as "“the world’s only underground kinky art porno horror film, complete with four men, three women and a gorilla.” Would most Americans ever want to see this? No, of course not. And yet it is pushed on the national agenda.
It makes me think of this quote by Benjamin Franklin:
"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."
