Whew! Where have I been? I got "spun" into a cyclone that deposited pigtailed me and my little dog at the gates of the Sapphire City. Unfortunately, my house did not fall on any of the swirl of wicked beings mounted on burning crosses who continuously buzzed the fortress....
Unlike Dorothy’s sojourn in Oz, my entire experience inside the Sapphire City was more like a bad acid trip than a cozy morality play with a happy ending. There was a battle going on. The air was choked with barbed arrows, stink grenades, and mud bombs. It was hard to tell the good guys from the enemy. Most of the time, they looked and acted exactly alike. For a hot minute, I got caught up in the battle frenzy. I fashioned a few barbs and bombs of my own. I didn’t hit anybody. Didn’t even come close. Some of my poorly crafted ammunition actually turned 180’s in mid-flight and whizzed past my own ear as I frantically ducked and covered.
For five days, I was swept along in a war with no rules, no truth, no boundary lines; where none of the more virtuous aspects of fighting the good fight—camaraderie, valor, self-sacrifice, bravery—are ever called upon, and only the ugly spawns of war—hatred, cowardice, mindless violence, and greed—prevail and multiply. An endless war waged for no other purpose than to perfect and eternally intensify the battle. There’s no thought of an end, a truce, a compromise. It is the ultimate inferno of continuous struggle in a negative vacuum. Eventually, I looked down at a mud-covered rock that I had been about to fling and thought, "What the hell am I doing here?" Scrambled to the balloon and sailed right on out of there. Back to the black-and-white safety of "Coming to Terms." Well, green and…green, anyway.
If I ever go searching for my heart’s desire…if it isn’t here, well, I never really lost it to begin with…
Well, I went over to take a look but I can't find any indication that you got into it with anyone. Did I not read far enough?
ReplyDeleteUnderstand how you feel.
ReplyDeleteWent to see Wicked this weekend (say that three times fast)...a wonderful show if you get the chance.
Sorry your visit to the Sapphire City was such a bummer.
Neil
hmmmm.....a visit with the in-laws, perhaps?
ReplyDeleteThere has to be more to this story.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is load your arsenal with nothing but indisputable first source facts when going to war with the enemy.
ReplyDeletePick your battles too! Some people get their aerobic exercise by raising their blood pressure through name calling and smear campaigns instead of discussing issues logically and specific to the point. The deeper you dig in your position the deeper your opponent will dig into theirs and nothing but frustration results.
I'm sorry to hear you've been a casualty of the war. Welcome home!
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteSorry about the bad experience.
dave
Ah Lisa, I'm so sorry that "the boys" from both red and blue voices got to you. I hope you really will come back. You are a voice of sanity amid the madness. I understand how the rightwing ugliness spurred our commenters on to their own nastiness - but you know that's not all that's happening there. I think you brought everyone up short, and it's not likely to happen again. It's what I mean - we need you, someone we know is a friend who will use the firehose when necessary. I have stayed out of the fray, it's hopeless and useless to argue with people whose whole goal is to get your goat. They feel satisfied when it happens. I just keep writing my uncommented-upon environmental pieces, hoping they eventually make someone think a new thought. PLEASE don't give up on TBV, I'm asking as a friend.
ReplyDelete