I’m past my alcoholism crisis and come through it with some insight.
For example, you don’t exactly have to be named Sigmond to figure out why the Mel Gibson debacle so affected me.
If drinking, I don’t think it very likely I would make anti-semetic remarks; however, I am almost sure to make an offensive remark to someone, if not a whole race of people. At least that’s my pattern.
Mel is a mirror for me.
He’s a handsome guy with everything going for him and he has a few drinks of tequila and blows years of sobriety. Doesn’t take very long for the disease to manifest itself in bad consequences.
What a great example for a guy like me who was on the verge. I can look at him and see myself and know that I’ll do better on the wagon.
I’ll still never again go to one of his movies, but that’s something else.
Meanwhile, I must also give credit to family and friends that expressed concern. Thank you. Your messages of encouragement helped. I believe my sobriety is through the grace of God and that it’s a miracle each day I’m sober. I believe you, my family and friends, are also part of the grace of God. Don’t care if you don’t believe, are unsure or have some faith other than mine, I can believe what I want and you can’t do anything about it.
Back to the gossipy stuff …
Friday night, there was the Paseo Gallery Walk, JRB opening of the 5 friends, an IAO “happening” called “Vox Populi” and a sidetrip to see “D” and his one line talent at Randy A’s dental clinic.
With respect to the other artists, and admitting my bias, George Oswalt’s work is genius. Don’t sling that word around much. Sorta believe in keeping it in the Stephen Hawkins, Issac Newton, Dawin, Freud, Marx, Einstein area. His paintings jumped off the wall at me. I absolutely loved the images. Remarkable that there would be a serendipidous religious theme with paintings named “Faith” and “Born Again”. Oswalt’s palate is brighter and bolder than the other artists we saw that night, and simply as a matter of taste as well as part of my personal aesthetic, that palate pleases my eye. I look for paintings that appeal to my intellect, emotion, sense of beauty, images that remain with me in their startling beauty. I felt George achieved those goals.
I also was challenged and pleased by the IAO show. One of the more interesting art/public events I’ve attended in a great while. The artwork itself challenged conventional thinking and thus my intellect and also had great emotional impact, the other main requirement. The addition of live debate, Joe Dawn’s flourescent lighted airplane, and the lively sale of burnt hot dogs out front made the ample crowd buzz and swelter in the heat. Can’t say for sure, but it seemed like the IAO air conditioning just flummoxed and gave up — it got durn hot inside the building with all those folks and the burning coals for the hot dogs kept it plenty warm in the already 100 degree ambient heat.
I worked as an art director Saturday for a photo shoot here in town for three other models. Shae C., the photographer, was such a trooper for showing up and taking grand pictures despite having a cold and fever. I got to meet Magli, a Frenchwoman of great charm, who did makeup while subbing for another sick participant who couldn’t make it out of bed. The hairstylist was AWOL, so the lovely Juliet pitched in. In other words, the shoot was FUBAR. However, we got some pretty darn good pictures of J.J., Chris S and a 17 year old from Hollis, Kaeli. I tried to shower Chris S. with money, using a pool skimming net with long handle and a fan, but the experiment didn’t work all that well. Just wanted to be clear that the FUBAR remark included yours truely so that no one would think I was pointing fingers.
I have a long, involved tale of woe about cell phones and crap, but to shorten it up, I ditched my Blackberry and went to a SLVR and it only cost me AN ARM AND A LEG!!!
Oh, well.
It’s only money. I’ll make more.
Speaking of which, I’m pretty proud of my work ethic today. Actually billed hours and wrote a brief. Looked and acted like a lawyer today. I can start the weeks pretty good and I have to because I tend to tail out at the end of the week, just to be boldly honest.
Talked to an old law school classmate tonight about doing some entertainment and employment law and we’ll speak again soon about it.
I met the classmate at Rococo, where we listened to a great jazz jam led by Shy Oren. I got Carter Sampson to sing Stormy Weather. I do love to hear live jazz.
Went to the grocery today. Passed all those gas stations right on the verge of $3.00/gal. gasoline. Bought about $50 of stuff. Staples. Sugar and bread and milk and eggs. I think I’ll try to cook beans and cornbread this weekend, so readers be ready for pleas to help me get rid of the stuff.
I don’t mean that last part to be boring. It makes me think about the economy and how it affects most Americans. $3 gas is killing me. I don’t even have an SUV or other gas hogging machine, but mine isn’t exactly a Civic either. To make things worse, I get even less mileage in this heat because it’s too hot for me to have the top down when it’s 104 degrees on the blacktop and I run the A.C. So, now, when my mileage is at its all time low, the gas prices go up. And, now, they shut down 8 percent of our oil up in Alaska and you can be sure that will cause another spike with traders already nervous about the Mideast.
That got me thinking about those guys who DO own SUVs and big pickemuptrucks. Those guys all commute, they all are maxed on the credit cards and are leaning on equity loans for the kids’ school and the only reason they have equity even though they’ve got an ARM interest only payment is because housing has been going sky high — to the point Warren Buffet says the fall cometh. What are those guys going to do with $3 gas? What happens if they get upside down on their houses because the market adjusts down? We get a break from some of that here in Oklahoma where a lot of people have royalty interests on reserves that are going up in value. That doesn’t mean that a great many working people aren’t getting behind in a very scary way.
This is coming at a time when we are starting to squeeze the so-called social safety net. Welfare, for good or ill, has been reformed. There is no question that Social Security is in danger, along with Medicare/Medicade. Our 4.6 unemployment rate does not count 6 millions who have given up looking for a job. Middle class and working class real wages have barely maintained their place or have fallen over the long term compared to the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Another 2 million males are out of work as a result of drug convictions in the 70s and 80s and cannot find work due to their felony record. We are creating another permanent underclass on top of the old one while suffering the establishment of an unassailable and impervious billionaire elite oligarchy that is now enabled to pass along their riches tax free to their progeny.
I will also observe the concrete fact that the number of citizens with jobs that provide retirement benefits or health benefits is dropping and the benefits being offered are dwindling for those who retain such benefits.
While you and I are working at incredibly more productive rates through the computer, we are being forced to work more hours than in several decades, especially those who have gone into entreprenureal ventures. We also work more days than in recent decades.
So we’re working harder and longer for less wages and benefits than ever before and the safety net beneath us, should there be a disruption in the economy, is thinner than ever.
What might disrupt the economy? Oh, how about soaring energy prices, inflationary spending on a war and a terrorist attack of major porportions? How about just the speculative air goes out of the housing market? Lots of ripples there for the ones with big credit balances.
It occurs to me that we may soon be putting the name Bush next to the name Hoover in our history books.
What a horrible thought.
