Farewell Amsterdam
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/26/2005 06:44:00 PM
0 comments
Sunday, June 26, 2005
India
I'm onto my next adventure tomorrow. Wendy and I are going to Prague. We'll be there several days, then I will begin a solo-trip down to Romania and beyond. Where? I don't really know yet. I'll wait for the path to unfold.
Sadly this means I will not post as consistent as I have been :( But I will post when I can with pictures, stories, poetry, and philosophy.
In the spirit of travel, i share this with you. It was written by my dear friend Susie...
people bathing in the streets,
little boys jumping up and down pumping the water.
cars cruising 60, 80, 100km/hour 4 inches apart,
while babies and old men cross the street,
dodging the traffic!
colors and cars- trucks with only 3 wheels!
SO much honking! a horn symphony!!! at all times!
huge HUGE bags of rubbish on the banks of a river,
and shanti houses lined up, looking about to topple over.
dirt. DIRT! everywhere! every single thing is awesomly dirty!
i like dirt, and never knew things could get this dirty!
the beauty, the boredom, the beggars, the busyness!
little boys selling mints and things to the people in the cars, taxi's mostly.
i don't know if normal people own cars.
namaste and namastar.
little shops, bricks deteriorating.
blue, bright green, pink, neon orange, rickshaws,
pulled always by THE oldest man you've ever seen!
people navagating through traffic CHAOS on their push bikes.
bengali and hindi.
the washing's hung out,
everyone's walking about.
peeing and spitting and shitting in the gutter,
nothing more than the lowest part of the road.
train through the city beaten down,
battle wounds with other vehicles,
scars down it's side infected with rust.
constantly sweeping unsweepable dust!
babies holding babies- uncircumsized.
pineapples. fruits, big tractor tires,
shoes hanging like a dead man, all for sale.
ancient faces, wrinkles, dirt, kind and mean looks.
(i somehow encounter more of the latter.)
noticing a lot of asians in india.
took me by surprise a bit.
not really.
seeing spirit seekers.
tweakers, fiends, watchers,
no- i don't want to look into your shop,
i want no paints, no postcards, no tractor tires.
i need no nothing. thanks.
explorers, guru adorers, those just lost in the mix, lost lost lost.
raping places with the pictures we take.
maybe i can justify it because everytime i walk by they rape me with their eyes.
baba & rauel, two boys trying to sell me some things.
persistance. clever clever.
purple dust everywhere.
someone always watching you.
SO many people! wow!
people tripping. tripping themselves out.
thinking someone else knows
knows them more than they inately know themselves,
looking for that guru, that god.
thinking they themselves don't know nothing.
no one knows anything,
and we know it all at the same time.
gotta start somewhere.
drawing each other and drawn to each other.
shaved heads,
one skunk dreadlock rattail clinging to the back of the head.
dead person wrapped in beautiful pink clothes and flowers,
shimmers as carried overhead.
carried by brethern to the ganges.
to be burned.
old men.
sagging bare chested wispers of hair- scraggly,
everything you can see is scraggly.
how do their little bodies survive the night?
and the women, but you don't see them much. not many women.
i saw one riding a motorbile though!!
row your boat up this river,
tourists open up thier wallets and deliver.
all the people walking back and forth,
is it different than a parade?
these thoughts come and fade.
patchwork quilt pants.
birds dancing in the air.
goats, cows and dogs(funny no cats...)
and they lie in the streets all day,
rummaging through the piles of food/waste on the edges of the streets.
they are all quite healthy and fat.
a lot of mangy dogs.
thought i knew the meaning of mangy,
but i am being schooled. again.
RAPIST! with a BIG camera!! filming?
heaving his mightiness,
i think he is aiming at this real nonchalent guru man (he is a bit sad.)
chasing something, someone? real intent, that's why i called him a rapist.
sometimes i feel like such an intruder!
my soul reflects.
flute players. quick voice on a loudspeaker, always drumming on,
what's he saying for so long?
wow, the fastest hands i have EVER seen, playing the tablas,
sounds i have never heard, things i have never seen,
sounds like trance music, or some dj mixing shit.
snake charmers. holding this cobra!!! he's smacking it on the head while i hold it and they take a picture, and then try to charge me 200 rupees!
dishonesty. so i give nothing,
yeah, i would have given maybe 40 rs.
but the dishonesty and agro-ness pissed me off,
the guy HIT me when i walked away! pretty hard! when my back was turned!
so i turned around and hit him back, just as hard.
what a fucker, right! funny though.
Tags: India, travel
Sadly this means I will not post as consistent as I have been :( But I will post when I can with pictures, stories, poetry, and philosophy.
In the spirit of travel, i share this with you. It was written by my dear friend Susie...
people bathing in the streets,
little boys jumping up and down pumping the water.
cars cruising 60, 80, 100km/hour 4 inches apart,
while babies and old men cross the street,
dodging the traffic!
colors and cars- trucks with only 3 wheels!
SO much honking! a horn symphony!!! at all times!
huge HUGE bags of rubbish on the banks of a river,
and shanti houses lined up, looking about to topple over.
dirt. DIRT! everywhere! every single thing is awesomly dirty!
i like dirt, and never knew things could get this dirty!
the beauty, the boredom, the beggars, the busyness!
little boys selling mints and things to the people in the cars, taxi's mostly.
i don't know if normal people own cars.
namaste and namastar.
little shops, bricks deteriorating.
blue, bright green, pink, neon orange, rickshaws,
pulled always by THE oldest man you've ever seen!
people navagating through traffic CHAOS on their push bikes.
bengali and hindi.
the washing's hung out,
everyone's walking about.
peeing and spitting and shitting in the gutter,
nothing more than the lowest part of the road.
train through the city beaten down,
battle wounds with other vehicles,
scars down it's side infected with rust.
constantly sweeping unsweepable dust!
babies holding babies- uncircumsized.
pineapples. fruits, big tractor tires,
shoes hanging like a dead man, all for sale.
ancient faces, wrinkles, dirt, kind and mean looks.
(i somehow encounter more of the latter.)
noticing a lot of asians in india.
took me by surprise a bit.
not really.
seeing spirit seekers.
tweakers, fiends, watchers,
no- i don't want to look into your shop,
i want no paints, no postcards, no tractor tires.
i need no nothing. thanks.
explorers, guru adorers, those just lost in the mix, lost lost lost.
raping places with the pictures we take.
maybe i can justify it because everytime i walk by they rape me with their eyes.
baba & rauel, two boys trying to sell me some things.
persistance. clever clever.
purple dust everywhere.
someone always watching you.
SO many people! wow!
people tripping. tripping themselves out.
thinking someone else knows
knows them more than they inately know themselves,
looking for that guru, that god.
thinking they themselves don't know nothing.
no one knows anything,
and we know it all at the same time.
gotta start somewhere.
drawing each other and drawn to each other.
shaved heads,
one skunk dreadlock rattail clinging to the back of the head.
dead person wrapped in beautiful pink clothes and flowers,
shimmers as carried overhead.
carried by brethern to the ganges.
to be burned.
old men.
sagging bare chested wispers of hair- scraggly,
everything you can see is scraggly.
how do their little bodies survive the night?
and the women, but you don't see them much. not many women.
i saw one riding a motorbile though!!
row your boat up this river,
tourists open up thier wallets and deliver.
all the people walking back and forth,
is it different than a parade?
these thoughts come and fade.
patchwork quilt pants.
birds dancing in the air.
goats, cows and dogs(funny no cats...)
and they lie in the streets all day,
rummaging through the piles of food/waste on the edges of the streets.
they are all quite healthy and fat.
a lot of mangy dogs.
thought i knew the meaning of mangy,
but i am being schooled. again.
RAPIST! with a BIG camera!! filming?
heaving his mightiness,
i think he is aiming at this real nonchalent guru man (he is a bit sad.)
chasing something, someone? real intent, that's why i called him a rapist.
sometimes i feel like such an intruder!
my soul reflects.
flute players. quick voice on a loudspeaker, always drumming on,
what's he saying for so long?
wow, the fastest hands i have EVER seen, playing the tablas,
sounds i have never heard, things i have never seen,
sounds like trance music, or some dj mixing shit.
snake charmers. holding this cobra!!! he's smacking it on the head while i hold it and they take a picture, and then try to charge me 200 rupees!
dishonesty. so i give nothing,
yeah, i would have given maybe 40 rs.
but the dishonesty and agro-ness pissed me off,
the guy HIT me when i walked away! pretty hard! when my back was turned!
so i turned around and hit him back, just as hard.
what a fucker, right! funny though.
Tags: India, travel
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/26/2005 06:44:00 PM
0 comments
Friday, June 24, 2005
Ripples Through and Endless Sea
A few weeks ago I was sitting at one of my favorite sunset spots. I watched the raindrops gently fall into the pond and the ripples they created. It made me think of people and the influence they have on the world. We are no different than raindrops. Everything is energy, even matter (E=mc2). And we all leave our mark on the world like ripples on the water. We all consume energy and emit it, actions creating ripples, energy being transformed.
One of my theories is that there are two types of energy in the world: positive and negative. People emit both types. Some of us emit more positive, some of us more negative. And we influence our surroundings accordingly. If we tend to be positive, we will influence the world in a positive way. Likewise, if we're negative, the world around us will tend to be negative.
I recognize there could be flaws in this theory. For example, the whole concept of "positive" and "negative", "good" and "bad" reeks of judgment, and judgment is prejudiced by our world view. What may seem "bad" to one person or society, may be quite acceptable in another. But it is a work in progress and I'm searching for a way to incorporate it all into a more consistent philosophy. Anyway....
We are all raindrops in an endless sea, and our actions, our energy, creates ripples through the infinite universe.
I reflected on the nature of death vs. Life. Although my life depends on consuming my surroundings, killing other living things, I actually love those surroundings. By living, other things must die. Not only by direct consumption, but by the very fact that to live you are using energy that might otherwise be available for something else.
I returned to an ongoing struggle in my mind. One minute I'd be saying, "Yeah, but when my time comes, I will go willingly and give my self back to the Earth of which I was born". But then I'd feel the energy and power of life run through me, the beauty of living. "I love my life and I'm going to hold onto it as long as these two hands of mine have the strength in them to do so. It's my life and I will fight for it I have to." I oscillated back and forth between the two sentiments, and as I looked upon the splendor around me: the birds, the bugs, the trees and weeds, the ripples in the water, and the wind in the trees, I heard them say, "That's OK, we understand. That is the nature of things. It is the nature of things to love life and to hold onto it. It is also the nature of life that all things must die. And in their death, new life will be born. You can hold onto your life as long as your hands have the strength, but eventually they will not, and your time will come. It is the way of things." Fair enough.
A few days later, I was in Wooded Path Park, smoking and reflecting. I looked out on the overgrown tombstones of a forgotten graveyard, the grass in the fields, and the surrounding trees; all of them dancing with the wind. We are all drops in the sea of life: birds, weeds, trees, people, wind, everything. All of us influencing each other, ripples of energy. And our energy goes beyond physical actions. There is a mental component. Doesn't thought take energy? And doesn't the transformation of energy have inputs and outputs? Where do those inputs and outputs come from and go to? Our surroundings, ripples through the infinite universe. Thoughts have power. Feelings and emotions have power. I looked upon the scene before me and I knew. As long as there are people like me that love the world for what it is, not what they can take from it or what it does for them, but for its own inherent beauty, the natural world will endure. It will not wilt, it will not falter, it will not fail!
I have written that we are social, emotional animals. We all need love. At the time, I was referring to people. I would like to amend that. Everything needs love, even the natural world. Love is the strongest, purest energy of all, and it will endure.
Tags: philosophy, spirituality, nature, death
One of my theories is that there are two types of energy in the world: positive and negative. People emit both types. Some of us emit more positive, some of us more negative. And we influence our surroundings accordingly. If we tend to be positive, we will influence the world in a positive way. Likewise, if we're negative, the world around us will tend to be negative.
I recognize there could be flaws in this theory. For example, the whole concept of "positive" and "negative", "good" and "bad" reeks of judgment, and judgment is prejudiced by our world view. What may seem "bad" to one person or society, may be quite acceptable in another. But it is a work in progress and I'm searching for a way to incorporate it all into a more consistent philosophy. Anyway....
We are all raindrops in an endless sea, and our actions, our energy, creates ripples through the infinite universe.
I reflected on the nature of death vs. Life. Although my life depends on consuming my surroundings, killing other living things, I actually love those surroundings. By living, other things must die. Not only by direct consumption, but by the very fact that to live you are using energy that might otherwise be available for something else.
I returned to an ongoing struggle in my mind. One minute I'd be saying, "Yeah, but when my time comes, I will go willingly and give my self back to the Earth of which I was born". But then I'd feel the energy and power of life run through me, the beauty of living. "I love my life and I'm going to hold onto it as long as these two hands of mine have the strength in them to do so. It's my life and I will fight for it I have to." I oscillated back and forth between the two sentiments, and as I looked upon the splendor around me: the birds, the bugs, the trees and weeds, the ripples in the water, and the wind in the trees, I heard them say, "That's OK, we understand. That is the nature of things. It is the nature of things to love life and to hold onto it. It is also the nature of life that all things must die. And in their death, new life will be born. You can hold onto your life as long as your hands have the strength, but eventually they will not, and your time will come. It is the way of things." Fair enough.
A few days later, I was in Wooded Path Park, smoking and reflecting. I looked out on the overgrown tombstones of a forgotten graveyard, the grass in the fields, and the surrounding trees; all of them dancing with the wind. We are all drops in the sea of life: birds, weeds, trees, people, wind, everything. All of us influencing each other, ripples of energy. And our energy goes beyond physical actions. There is a mental component. Doesn't thought take energy? And doesn't the transformation of energy have inputs and outputs? Where do those inputs and outputs come from and go to? Our surroundings, ripples through the infinite universe. Thoughts have power. Feelings and emotions have power. I looked upon the scene before me and I knew. As long as there are people like me that love the world for what it is, not what they can take from it or what it does for them, but for its own inherent beauty, the natural world will endure. It will not wilt, it will not falter, it will not fail!
I have written that we are social, emotional animals. We all need love. At the time, I was referring to people. I would like to amend that. Everything needs love, even the natural world. Love is the strongest, purest energy of all, and it will endure.
Tags: philosophy, spirituality, nature, death
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/24/2005 06:43:00 PM
0 comments
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Bike Holland (Part II)
This is a continuation of Part I...
The sun takes a longer journey here in the Netherlands and these are the longest days - maybe 5 hours of darkness...
I woke to bird madness - sounded like a bird on every branch. I seemed to be the first person to get up in the whole campground. I ventured into the forest for a walk. The following was my welcome...
The sun takes a longer journey here in the Netherlands and these are the longest days - maybe 5 hours of darkness...
I woke to bird madness - sounded like a bird on every branch. I seemed to be the first person to get up in the whole campground. I ventured into the forest for a walk. The following was my welcome...
Beware!!! Puma sighting.
Yeeeaaahhh!!! I love it. A puma roaming free in the forests of Holland. Word is it must have been somebody's pet and escaped. The first sightings started about 5 years and I guess it has been roaming free ever since feeding on the wild boar, deer, and rodents. Anytime a sighting is reported, the puma is gone by the time the local authorities get there. Elusive. I hoped and prayed to get a glimpse, but no luck.
When I got back Wendy was awake and taking down the tent. We were soon on our way through forests, fields, and farms and miles of bike paths through all of it. This is Holland.
After a long day of exploring, we found a great campsite. No electrical hook-ups meant no luxury seekers (and cheaper prices). And it was Sunday so all the people that had to go back to work were packing-up - see ya! We had almost the whole campground to ourselves. I was a little surprised to see that almost everyone had driven. We were the only people that came in on bikes, but I guess when you have to fit your fun into 2-days, you don't have much choice.
As we were getting ready for sleep, we saw the big round face of the moon rising above the silhouette of tree tops. But we wouldn't be awake long enough to truly appreciate it.
...
There's something about waking-up in a tent with all your needs in arms reach. Life seems so simple.
After a breakfast of bread and cheese, we moved on for a good 30 kilometer bike loop (about 10 miles).
We rode through green forests, brown fields, and sandy dunes. I was surprised how many eco-systems were in such a small area. We'd be riding through hot, dry fields one minute and cool, green forest the next - welcome relief on a day approaching 100 degrees. I was also surprised at the number and length of good bike trails going through it all. You could go from one village to the next without seeing a single car. It made me think of how things used to be before cars were so commonplace.
The villages were quiet, but wealthy; populated with big houses, expensive sedans, and fancy restaurants with open-air terraces (every restaurant has an open-air terrace in Holland). And all the vacationing wealthy people looked exactly like they do in the U.S.: white, greying hair, dress shorts, knit shirts, white baseball caps, and white loafers. It was pure, white Holland, but it could've just easily been pure, white USA. I already knew Holland was a rich country, but now I was seeing it in abundance with my own eyes. I began to reflect a little on the source of this wealth: a long history of exploration and colonization. In other words, exploiting other people and their lands. And I reflected on how much of this country's wealth, even now after it has given up all those colonies, is built upon that. It's not a proud history, I hope for a better future.
On the way back to camp, Wendy and I bought some Italian-style sausages, red-peppers, and Heinekins to celebrate our last night. I gathered lots of firewood and we had our little feast. We talked about all kinds of things and enjoyed the long, setting sun. The day was coming to an end.
....
The final day started with a breakfast of what? You guessed it, bread and cheese (I was beginning to feel like a loaf of bread, a lump of cheese). Then we went for a little bike tour among towering Douglas Firs. It was Oregon without the mountains. We walked along a tic-infested field and spent an hour on a bench picking them off. And that field looked so welcoming.
We spent our final hours napping in the sun and shade back at our campsite. We watched the bunny rabbits munch on clover and hop around flashing their fluffy, white, cotton-tails.
After packing-up, we rode to the nearest big city, Apeldorn, and hopped on the train home. Back at the apartment, I reflected a little on the trip; on the beauty and the trails; the villages and the people; and my time with Wendy laughing, joking, and talking; arguing passionately over stupid little things like whose plastic bag this was; lying next to her so snug in the tent, and the tender strokes, caresses, and kisses through the night. Those are the moments that make life special.
On the way to bed I looked out the window and saw a brilliant moon beaming through the light film of clouds above the streetscape. A beautiful ending to a beautiful trip.
Tags: Holland, cycling, travel
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/22/2005 06:38:00 PM
0 comments
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Bike Holland (Part I)
We took the train into Amersfoort. An OK place, but too much hot concrete and modern looking buildings for my taste - all smooth and shiny in their reach for perfection. Perfection is boring. Give me flaws. Show me character.
It took some time to get away from the sounds, smells, and hustle-bustle of the city. But gradually the tense noise of passing cars and smell of exhaust fumes were replaced by relaxing bird songs and the fresh air of the country-side. Time slowed down.
We rode through farmland and wealthy villages, and stopped in a park for a lunch of bread and cheese and pistachios. It made me think of an old mountainbiking friend. Years ago he told me of a trip he did to France and Italy. He and a friend just biked around eating bread and cheese, and drinking wine on the roadside. It engraved a picture in my head and I envied him. Such a trip seemed like an impossibility for me. But here I am years later biking in Europe, eating bread and cheese, and endless adventures still lie ahead.
We continued on. I was getting impatient for forest. This was nice, but I was hoping for something more. More wilderness, more nature, less civilization. We were riding along a busy road and suddenly I could smell it: forest. I took in a deep breath of pine. Oh, how it brought me back home to Oregon and its vast lands of fir.
I could almost taste the wilderness. I was itching to get off that busy road and dive into the trees. But this trip wasn't just about me. It was mine and Wendy's, and she wanted to stay in a campground. Later I would ask her why she opposes free-style camping so much. She said she didn't know. I suspect it's the fact that it's illegal. No big deal. I have plenty of time for that when I head to Eastern Europe.
So we searched for a campground. The first two were kind of scary: mowed lawns in the shape of perfect squares with trailers lining the edges and an open space in the middle. "Where the hell are the trees", I thought to myself. We rode our bikes into the center and felt like a spectacle; everyone's eyes were upon us. Maybe it's because they were looking for excitement and we were something new. Maybe it's because they hadn't seen anyone else bike in with all their gear and the idea of such a thing was so far removed from their way of life that they couldn't comprehend it. Our search continued.
We had a new concern. Tomorrow was Sunday and the stores would be closed. Unless we wanted to spend lots of money going out to eat for every meal, we had to find a grocery store before 5. We rode into the village and found one. I asked about a campground while I was at it. The girl behind the register spoke little english and the friendly, elderly woman behind me spoke even less. Luckily "camping" is a word shared between both languages. They pointed to the campgrounds we had come from and I pantomimed my displeasure with them. As they pointed in another direction an english speaking box-boy came over and nervously helped me (probably not used to speaking English in front of a crowd). I came out and was passing the information onto Wendy when the elderly woman came out, passed us a map, talked to Wendy briefly, and went back in. I looked at the map and it had a price tag of two euro. Awesome!!! The girl behind the register must've given it to us. Show a little need and people respond generously.
We found a nice campground. Crowded, but it was among the trees and we weren't the only ones in a tent. It had a bar and I could see (and hear) that's where all the husbands and fathers were. Camping wasn't about "roughing it" for these guys. It was about getting away, booze, and camaraderie.
After eating way too much food in town, Wendy and I returned to the bar. But the loud, talkative bunch that had been there before had been replaced by a more mellow crowd waiting for bingo. We bought a couple drinks and sat outside. Afterwhile, the front was lined with walkers and scooters for the people inside. Wendy made a reference to my usual mode of camping and the fact that she brought me to a place where we could go eat dinner in town, have a drink in front of the bar back at camp, and be surrounded by walkers and scooters for old-folks playing bingo inside. We laughed.
We were the old-folks that night though. We were exhausted and went to sleep early among the sounds of talk and laughter.
Continued in Part II...
Tags: Holland, cycling, travel
It took some time to get away from the sounds, smells, and hustle-bustle of the city. But gradually the tense noise of passing cars and smell of exhaust fumes were replaced by relaxing bird songs and the fresh air of the country-side. Time slowed down.
We rode through farmland and wealthy villages, and stopped in a park for a lunch of bread and cheese and pistachios. It made me think of an old mountainbiking friend. Years ago he told me of a trip he did to France and Italy. He and a friend just biked around eating bread and cheese, and drinking wine on the roadside. It engraved a picture in my head and I envied him. Such a trip seemed like an impossibility for me. But here I am years later biking in Europe, eating bread and cheese, and endless adventures still lie ahead.
We continued on. I was getting impatient for forest. This was nice, but I was hoping for something more. More wilderness, more nature, less civilization. We were riding along a busy road and suddenly I could smell it: forest. I took in a deep breath of pine. Oh, how it brought me back home to Oregon and its vast lands of fir.
I could almost taste the wilderness. I was itching to get off that busy road and dive into the trees. But this trip wasn't just about me. It was mine and Wendy's, and she wanted to stay in a campground. Later I would ask her why she opposes free-style camping so much. She said she didn't know. I suspect it's the fact that it's illegal. No big deal. I have plenty of time for that when I head to Eastern Europe.
So we searched for a campground. The first two were kind of scary: mowed lawns in the shape of perfect squares with trailers lining the edges and an open space in the middle. "Where the hell are the trees", I thought to myself. We rode our bikes into the center and felt like a spectacle; everyone's eyes were upon us. Maybe it's because they were looking for excitement and we were something new. Maybe it's because they hadn't seen anyone else bike in with all their gear and the idea of such a thing was so far removed from their way of life that they couldn't comprehend it. Our search continued.
We had a new concern. Tomorrow was Sunday and the stores would be closed. Unless we wanted to spend lots of money going out to eat for every meal, we had to find a grocery store before 5. We rode into the village and found one. I asked about a campground while I was at it. The girl behind the register spoke little english and the friendly, elderly woman behind me spoke even less. Luckily "camping" is a word shared between both languages. They pointed to the campgrounds we had come from and I pantomimed my displeasure with them. As they pointed in another direction an english speaking box-boy came over and nervously helped me (probably not used to speaking English in front of a crowd). I came out and was passing the information onto Wendy when the elderly woman came out, passed us a map, talked to Wendy briefly, and went back in. I looked at the map and it had a price tag of two euro. Awesome!!! The girl behind the register must've given it to us. Show a little need and people respond generously.
We found a nice campground. Crowded, but it was among the trees and we weren't the only ones in a tent. It had a bar and I could see (and hear) that's where all the husbands and fathers were. Camping wasn't about "roughing it" for these guys. It was about getting away, booze, and camaraderie.
After eating way too much food in town, Wendy and I returned to the bar. But the loud, talkative bunch that had been there before had been replaced by a more mellow crowd waiting for bingo. We bought a couple drinks and sat outside. Afterwhile, the front was lined with walkers and scooters for the people inside. Wendy made a reference to my usual mode of camping and the fact that she brought me to a place where we could go eat dinner in town, have a drink in front of the bar back at camp, and be surrounded by walkers and scooters for old-folks playing bingo inside. We laughed.
We were the old-folks that night though. We were exhausted and went to sleep early among the sounds of talk and laughter.
Continued in Part II...
Tags: Holland, cycling, travel
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/21/2005 06:37:00 PM
0 comments
Friday, June 17, 2005
Hole in the Bucket
Wendy and I are off on a bike-trip around Holland for 4-days. So, no posts till Wednesday or so. I leave you with the lyrics to one of my favorite songs....
Hole in the Bucket
Spearhead
Money Money Money Money Nothin But Money)
I work 9 to 5 but it starts in the P.M.
and I love the sunrise so I step out in the A.M.
the street is black and shiny from the early nightly rainin'
the glory of the light it brings evaporation
morning's fresh oxygen cleanest
I take a deep hit help my mind stay the greenest
I'm already wake so I'm not drinkin' coffee
don't wanna cigarrette 'cause it's a form of slavery
walk into the store 'cause I need a few items
the sun heats the blood like a hit of vitamins
needa buy some food and some 'poo for my dreads
can't remember why but I need a spool of thread
Man with dirty dreads, steps around the corner
he asks me for a dime, a nickel or a quarter I
don't have any change so I'm steppin' along
and as I'm walkin' past he sings to me a song...
There's a whole in the bucket dear liza, dear liza...
The day is pickin' up cause I'm hummin' his song
the buses and the people all keep movin' along
to the shopkeeper I say "was'sup?"
and I'm thinkin' about the man who's holdin' up the cup
I pay for all the stuff and get a pocketful of change
should I give it to the man's the question in my brain
What's gonna happen if I give the man a dime?
I don't wanna pay for anotha brotha's wine
What's gonna happen if I give the man a quarter?
will he find a dealer and try to place an order?
what's gonna happen if I give the man a nickel
will he buy some food or some pork that's been pickled?
I'm not responsible for the man's depression
how can I find compassion in the midst of recession?
How come all these questions keep fuckin' with my head
and I still can't rememba why I need a spool of thread.
There's a whole in the bucket dear liza, dear liza...
He's starin' in my eyes just as I'm walkin' past
I'm tryin to avoid him cause I know he's gonna ask
me about the coinage that is in my pocket
But I don't know if I should put it in his bucket
walk right past him to think about it more
back at the crib I'm openin' up the door
a pocketful of change it don't mean alot to me
my cup is half full but his is empty
I put back on my cap and I start headin' back
I reach into my pocket and I have a heart attack
well as I'm diggin' deep I scream "oh no!"
there's nothin' in the pocket but a great big hole
While I was busy thinkin' if he would buy smack
the jingle in my pocket it slipped through the cracks
no one has the change and it's fuckin' up my head
But now I no the reason why I had to buy the thread!
Tags: lyrics, Spearhead
Hole in the Bucket
Spearhead
Money Money Money Money Nothin But Money)
I work 9 to 5 but it starts in the P.M.
and I love the sunrise so I step out in the A.M.
the street is black and shiny from the early nightly rainin'
the glory of the light it brings evaporation
morning's fresh oxygen cleanest
I take a deep hit help my mind stay the greenest
I'm already wake so I'm not drinkin' coffee
don't wanna cigarrette 'cause it's a form of slavery
walk into the store 'cause I need a few items
the sun heats the blood like a hit of vitamins
needa buy some food and some 'poo for my dreads
can't remember why but I need a spool of thread
Man with dirty dreads, steps around the corner
he asks me for a dime, a nickel or a quarter I
don't have any change so I'm steppin' along
and as I'm walkin' past he sings to me a song...
There's a whole in the bucket dear liza, dear liza...
The day is pickin' up cause I'm hummin' his song
the buses and the people all keep movin' along
to the shopkeeper I say "was'sup?"
and I'm thinkin' about the man who's holdin' up the cup
I pay for all the stuff and get a pocketful of change
should I give it to the man's the question in my brain
What's gonna happen if I give the man a dime?
I don't wanna pay for anotha brotha's wine
What's gonna happen if I give the man a quarter?
will he find a dealer and try to place an order?
what's gonna happen if I give the man a nickel
will he buy some food or some pork that's been pickled?
I'm not responsible for the man's depression
how can I find compassion in the midst of recession?
How come all these questions keep fuckin' with my head
and I still can't rememba why I need a spool of thread.
There's a whole in the bucket dear liza, dear liza...
He's starin' in my eyes just as I'm walkin' past
I'm tryin to avoid him cause I know he's gonna ask
me about the coinage that is in my pocket
But I don't know if I should put it in his bucket
walk right past him to think about it more
back at the crib I'm openin' up the door
a pocketful of change it don't mean alot to me
my cup is half full but his is empty
I put back on my cap and I start headin' back
I reach into my pocket and I have a heart attack
well as I'm diggin' deep I scream "oh no!"
there's nothin' in the pocket but a great big hole
While I was busy thinkin' if he would buy smack
the jingle in my pocket it slipped through the cracks
no one has the change and it's fuckin' up my head
But now I no the reason why I had to buy the thread!
Tags: lyrics, Spearhead
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/17/2005 06:33:00 PM
0 comments
Viva la Revolution!
In the first three posts, Connect the Dots, Globalization and the Western World, and Globalization and the Eastern World, I described why globalization is not good for the average person. Now I’d like to discuss what we can do about it.
The first move is to realize that globalization is not the answer that its proponents claim it to be. Voters in France and Holland voted down the European Constitution, a vote against expansion of the European Union, a vote against globalization; over 100,000 farmers and workers are protesting in Bolivia forcing their president to resign over their dissatisfaction with his “free-trade” government; polls in the U.S. show support for globalization waning. Asia and India may be embracing globalization, but elsewhere people seem to be waking up. They’re starting to realize the costs of a so-called “free market” and recognizing those costs are too high. Asia and India will wake-up in their own due time.
The next step is to find an alternative. Most popular solutions are only minor changes to the existing system, but a minor change isn’t enough. The current system is flawed down to the very core. Its foundation that is built upon man’s selfish tendencies and growth at any cost is not sustainable and will not make our lives better. We need something new; something, dare I say it, radical.
The alternative that I propose has two components. The first is to change the way man views the world, and by doing that, sowing the seeds that will allow us to create a world based on our positive tendencies, rather than our negative ones. Yes, man is selfish and competitive, but man also has the capacity to be giving, compassionate, and understanding. Just imagine a system founded on those premises instead, a system that actually rewards people for having a positive influence on the world. I don’t expect it to happen overnight. We’ve had centuries living under systems that promote man’s dark side. It will take a long time to overcome that. But I would rather live in a world where people are working toward balance and harmony, than the one we’re heading toward now. I discuss this more in reply to a comment on my “Fear or Faith, You Decide” post.
The second component is more practical. What I propose is not specific to globalization. Globalization is just an expansion and intensification of our economic system in general. My proposal applies to the economic system as a whole.
We cannot depend on our government to come-up with the solution. Our government is run and controlled by interests that are happy with things the way they are. They don’t want change. Change must happen among the people, us. Eventually, the government will follow. It will have no choice.
So, how can we the people change the economic system? Money is the fuel that feeds it and the only way to move toward a new system is to starve the existing one. What I propose is simple in words, more difficult to do. But it can be done. I’ve spent my last 3 years doing it, will continue to do it, and I know many others that are doing the same. Many people are slowly unplugging themselves from the economic system by simply buying less. If you buy less, the need for work decreases.
Think of the possibilities. Less work means more time for family, for friends, for play, for creativity, poetry, music, life, and for learning how to do things for yourself instead of paying someone else to do it. Think of it, growing your own food, doing your own home repairs, creating your own art, making your own music, etc. And by doing these things, you will gain a better appreciation for yourself. You’ll realize you have more skills and abilities than you thought. You’ll realize you’re not as helpless as the current system would like you to believe.
What I propose will not look the same for everyone. Gardening may not appeal to everyone. We each have our own tastes and talents, but what I am talking about is diversifying our skills and depending less on the economy in general. And I’m not necessarily talking about the elimination of money or the concept of a market economy altogether. There are some advantages to those things, but they need to be placed more in balance with other values in life. How will it all melt together? I don’t know and it’s not something for me to decide. It’s something we all need to workout together. We’ll be faced with many challenges and questions, but that’s how we grow and evolve. The future is ours to create and the possibilities endless.
By the way, the concept of buying less and working less is nothing new. It’s called voluntary simplicity. It’s been around for years. Books have been written about it, classes taught, lives changed. Look it up on the web.
Tags: revolution, globalization
The first move is to realize that globalization is not the answer that its proponents claim it to be. Voters in France and Holland voted down the European Constitution, a vote against expansion of the European Union, a vote against globalization; over 100,000 farmers and workers are protesting in Bolivia forcing their president to resign over their dissatisfaction with his “free-trade” government; polls in the U.S. show support for globalization waning. Asia and India may be embracing globalization, but elsewhere people seem to be waking up. They’re starting to realize the costs of a so-called “free market” and recognizing those costs are too high. Asia and India will wake-up in their own due time.
The next step is to find an alternative. Most popular solutions are only minor changes to the existing system, but a minor change isn’t enough. The current system is flawed down to the very core. Its foundation that is built upon man’s selfish tendencies and growth at any cost is not sustainable and will not make our lives better. We need something new; something, dare I say it, radical.
The alternative that I propose has two components. The first is to change the way man views the world, and by doing that, sowing the seeds that will allow us to create a world based on our positive tendencies, rather than our negative ones. Yes, man is selfish and competitive, but man also has the capacity to be giving, compassionate, and understanding. Just imagine a system founded on those premises instead, a system that actually rewards people for having a positive influence on the world. I don’t expect it to happen overnight. We’ve had centuries living under systems that promote man’s dark side. It will take a long time to overcome that. But I would rather live in a world where people are working toward balance and harmony, than the one we’re heading toward now. I discuss this more in reply to a comment on my “Fear or Faith, You Decide” post.
The second component is more practical. What I propose is not specific to globalization. Globalization is just an expansion and intensification of our economic system in general. My proposal applies to the economic system as a whole.
We cannot depend on our government to come-up with the solution. Our government is run and controlled by interests that are happy with things the way they are. They don’t want change. Change must happen among the people, us. Eventually, the government will follow. It will have no choice.
So, how can we the people change the economic system? Money is the fuel that feeds it and the only way to move toward a new system is to starve the existing one. What I propose is simple in words, more difficult to do. But it can be done. I’ve spent my last 3 years doing it, will continue to do it, and I know many others that are doing the same. Many people are slowly unplugging themselves from the economic system by simply buying less. If you buy less, the need for work decreases.
Think of the possibilities. Less work means more time for family, for friends, for play, for creativity, poetry, music, life, and for learning how to do things for yourself instead of paying someone else to do it. Think of it, growing your own food, doing your own home repairs, creating your own art, making your own music, etc. And by doing these things, you will gain a better appreciation for yourself. You’ll realize you have more skills and abilities than you thought. You’ll realize you’re not as helpless as the current system would like you to believe.
What I propose will not look the same for everyone. Gardening may not appeal to everyone. We each have our own tastes and talents, but what I am talking about is diversifying our skills and depending less on the economy in general. And I’m not necessarily talking about the elimination of money or the concept of a market economy altogether. There are some advantages to those things, but they need to be placed more in balance with other values in life. How will it all melt together? I don’t know and it’s not something for me to decide. It’s something we all need to workout together. We’ll be faced with many challenges and questions, but that’s how we grow and evolve. The future is ours to create and the possibilities endless.
By the way, the concept of buying less and working less is nothing new. It’s called voluntary simplicity. It’s been around for years. Books have been written about it, classes taught, lives changed. Look it up on the web.
Tags: revolution, globalization
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/17/2005 12:34:00 PM
2 comments
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Globalization and the Eastern World
Two previous posts, Connect the Dots and Globalization and the Western World, discussed globalization and its impact on the western world. This, the 3rd post in the series, will discuss globalization and its impact on Asia (and any other non-western world region embracing it).
As the first post in the series illustrated, economic power is moving from the Western world toward Asia. As a result, employment and income are rising. Isn’t this a good thing for Asia? Doesn’t it show that globalization does indeed solve world poverty?
Let’s address the first question. Is globalization a good thing for Asia? In order to answer that question, we must consider the costs as well as the benefits (something our society doesn’t do very well when it comes to the economy). What are some of the costs?
As an economy grows, a country’s infrastructure must grow to match it. Its energy needs increase, so it becomes necessary to find more sources of energy: dams, oil, and coal for example. Its transportation needs increase, so roads must be built and rivers dredged.
China’s Three Gorges Dam (TGD) is being built to address both those needs: hydropower for energy and rising water levels to allow ocean-going ships access 15,000 miles inland. TGD will be the largest dam in the world stretching over a mile across and standing over 600 feet tall.
In order to make room for the 500-mile long reservoir, 1.9 million people have been displaced. These are families that have lived on that land and off that river for generations. They didn’t need western-world-style jobs, because the land and river sustained them. Yes, the Chinese government gave land to some and money to others, but those were only band-aids applied to an amputation, people being severed from their roots. The majority of citizens receiving money spent it quickly and unwisely. Should that be a surprise? They didn’t grow up in a world of markets, plastic-wrapped products, and consumers. Others found their way to the Western-style work force. So yes, jobs are being created, but people that once had no need for those types of jobs are now being forced into a position where they do. That’s the side of the story you’re not hearing.
In addition to the social toll, consider the hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and forest, and the ancient temples and burial grounds that will be submerged. Is that good for China? Is it good for the world? These are the types of things that happen as the "free-market" expands. Doesn't sound so free now, does it?
I’m certain that many people in less wealthy countries welcome globalization; it’s promise of jobs, wealth, and material goods. But many have no choice. Is globalization good for them?
OK, so the TGD is an extreme case. But it does convey the trends that occur as an economy grows and its priorities are placed above all others. And that’s exactly what globalization attempts to do. It is an expansion and intensification of the Western-world economic system. It places the economy above all other considerations (remember NAFTA’s Chapter 11).
What about Asian citizens that have adjusted to the Western-style economic system and culture? I question whether their lives are really better. They certainly have more material wealth, but is that what life is all about? And at what cost are they obtaining it?
After meeting our basic needs, I question how much material wealth really adds to our happiness and our quality of life. At a point, I believe it actually subtracts from it. Somewhere along the line you no longer own your possessions. They own you. Mortgage payments; insurance payments; loan payments; longer work hours; stress; anxiety; rushed weekends, holidays, and vacations (if you’re lucky enough to get them); fast food and frozen dinners; worrying about your job, your future; worrying about that next promotion, your image; these are all symptoms of our competitive, possession based economic system. And under globalization, it’s only going to get worse.
OK, so what about people that don’t have basic needs met: food, water, shelter, and clothing to protect from the elements? Doesn’t globalization help them? Perhaps, I don’t know. Many of the people under those conditions are uneducated and ill equipped to deal with new economy. I suspect many of them get left behind, still starving and in need of drinkable water. Others are stuck with the kind of job that nobody else wants; for example breaking-up toxic ships in India. Is their condition better than it was before? Only they can answer that.
My problem with globalization as a means to solve poverty is this:
Tags: globalization
As the first post in the series illustrated, economic power is moving from the Western world toward Asia. As a result, employment and income are rising. Isn’t this a good thing for Asia? Doesn’t it show that globalization does indeed solve world poverty?
Let’s address the first question. Is globalization a good thing for Asia? In order to answer that question, we must consider the costs as well as the benefits (something our society doesn’t do very well when it comes to the economy). What are some of the costs?
As an economy grows, a country’s infrastructure must grow to match it. Its energy needs increase, so it becomes necessary to find more sources of energy: dams, oil, and coal for example. Its transportation needs increase, so roads must be built and rivers dredged.
China’s Three Gorges Dam (TGD) is being built to address both those needs: hydropower for energy and rising water levels to allow ocean-going ships access 15,000 miles inland. TGD will be the largest dam in the world stretching over a mile across and standing over 600 feet tall.
In order to make room for the 500-mile long reservoir, 1.9 million people have been displaced. These are families that have lived on that land and off that river for generations. They didn’t need western-world-style jobs, because the land and river sustained them. Yes, the Chinese government gave land to some and money to others, but those were only band-aids applied to an amputation, people being severed from their roots. The majority of citizens receiving money spent it quickly and unwisely. Should that be a surprise? They didn’t grow up in a world of markets, plastic-wrapped products, and consumers. Others found their way to the Western-style work force. So yes, jobs are being created, but people that once had no need for those types of jobs are now being forced into a position where they do. That’s the side of the story you’re not hearing.
In addition to the social toll, consider the hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and forest, and the ancient temples and burial grounds that will be submerged. Is that good for China? Is it good for the world? These are the types of things that happen as the "free-market" expands. Doesn't sound so free now, does it?
Smoke and dust rise after demolition efforts begin in the town of Guizhou to make wat for the Three Gorges Dam
I’m certain that many people in less wealthy countries welcome globalization; it’s promise of jobs, wealth, and material goods. But many have no choice. Is globalization good for them?
OK, so the TGD is an extreme case. But it does convey the trends that occur as an economy grows and its priorities are placed above all others. And that’s exactly what globalization attempts to do. It is an expansion and intensification of the Western-world economic system. It places the economy above all other considerations (remember NAFTA’s Chapter 11).
What about Asian citizens that have adjusted to the Western-style economic system and culture? I question whether their lives are really better. They certainly have more material wealth, but is that what life is all about? And at what cost are they obtaining it?
After meeting our basic needs, I question how much material wealth really adds to our happiness and our quality of life. At a point, I believe it actually subtracts from it. Somewhere along the line you no longer own your possessions. They own you. Mortgage payments; insurance payments; loan payments; longer work hours; stress; anxiety; rushed weekends, holidays, and vacations (if you’re lucky enough to get them); fast food and frozen dinners; worrying about your job, your future; worrying about that next promotion, your image; these are all symptoms of our competitive, possession based economic system. And under globalization, it’s only going to get worse.
OK, so what about people that don’t have basic needs met: food, water, shelter, and clothing to protect from the elements? Doesn’t globalization help them? Perhaps, I don’t know. Many of the people under those conditions are uneducated and ill equipped to deal with new economy. I suspect many of them get left behind, still starving and in need of drinkable water. Others are stuck with the kind of job that nobody else wants; for example breaking-up toxic ships in India. Is their condition better than it was before? Only they can answer that.
My problem with globalization as a means to solve poverty is this:
- I think it’s unfair that the bottom 90% of the income earners in the Western world are the ones sacrificing to make it happen, while the top .1% earners are doubling their income. I think we should all be contributing. This indicates to me that the top earners really don’t care about globalization’s abilities to solve poverty. It’s just a way to sell it to the masses (and their own consciences). What they really care about is lining their own pockets.
- Globalization is not sustainable. The global ecosystem cannot sustain 6 billion people with the U.S. life-style. Various studies have shown that it would take 4 to 6 earths to do so. Globalization addresses world poverty by increasing everybody’s consumption rates. A real solution would be to lower the consumption rates of those in wealthy nations while rising those among the poor. It’s called sharing, something our economic system does not promote.
- Globalization will not make our lives better. It promotes a system in which everything boils down to its value on the open market. Nothing has a value inherent to itself: nature, animals, human beings, art, music, beauty, nothing. Globalization is founded on man’s selfish (Adam Smith’s invisible hand) and competitive tendencies. It promotes them, and as we continue to embrace it, it will make them more prominent and more intense. Is that a world you want to live in? I don’t.
So, what can we do about it? That is the subject of my next post, Viva La Revolution.
Tags: globalization
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/16/2005 07:19:00 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Eugene
God I miss Eugene,
and by Eugene I mean my friends,
my coffee shops and bars,
and the life I had when I was back there.
I miss my past, the good and the bad.
I miss biking through Amazon Park at night
the frogs filling the silence with their music.
I miss Sladen Park,
towering Douglas Firs laying shadows across the earth
waking up, crawling out of my van, bleary-eyed
to the bums sitting at the benches
with big bottles of beer and cups of coffee
in their weather beaten hands.
I miss playing harmonica and drinking cheap beer
on the banks of the Willamette river.
I miss the lonely nights, so many lonely nights.
I miss Alissa, her humor and her laughs.
I miss Jan, his voice still echoing in my head,
his devotion to making the world a better place, and his courage.
I miss Carl, his dedication to the spiritual journey,
his strength and friendship.
I miss Andrea and our lost ways, always searching.
I miss Deborah and her emotions that she wears on her sleeve.
I miss Nat and Ty, our shared ideals, and beer-induced discussions of philosophy.
I miss Norman, the wise, lone wolf
not as alone as you might think
always running into him on the streets.
I miss hitchhiking into the nearby Cascades,
and spending days in solitude with the wise firs,
and mountains of strength,
all of them watching over me.
I miss wandering downtown
in the streets that struggle to survive.
Drinking tea in coffee shops
writing bad poetry
and reading free newspapers
assembled from table-scraps.
I miss constantly running into the friends and acquaintances that I
built up over the years.
I miss the pulse that pumps through that city
a pulse that wants something better
and the people making it happen.
I miss my home.
Tags: poetry, Eugene, Oregon
and by Eugene I mean my friends,
my coffee shops and bars,
and the life I had when I was back there.
I miss my past, the good and the bad.
I miss biking through Amazon Park at night
the frogs filling the silence with their music.
I miss Sladen Park,
towering Douglas Firs laying shadows across the earth
waking up, crawling out of my van, bleary-eyed
to the bums sitting at the benches
with big bottles of beer and cups of coffee
in their weather beaten hands.
I miss playing harmonica and drinking cheap beer
on the banks of the Willamette river.
I miss the lonely nights, so many lonely nights.
I miss Alissa, her humor and her laughs.
I miss Jan, his voice still echoing in my head,
his devotion to making the world a better place, and his courage.
I miss Carl, his dedication to the spiritual journey,
his strength and friendship.
I miss Andrea and our lost ways, always searching.
I miss Deborah and her emotions that she wears on her sleeve.
I miss Nat and Ty, our shared ideals, and beer-induced discussions of philosophy.
I miss Norman, the wise, lone wolf
not as alone as you might think
always running into him on the streets.
I miss hitchhiking into the nearby Cascades,
and spending days in solitude with the wise firs,
and mountains of strength,
all of them watching over me.
I miss wandering downtown
in the streets that struggle to survive.
Drinking tea in coffee shops
writing bad poetry
and reading free newspapers
assembled from table-scraps.
I miss constantly running into the friends and acquaintances that I
built up over the years.
I miss the pulse that pumps through that city
a pulse that wants something better
and the people making it happen.
I miss my home.
Tags: poetry, Eugene, Oregon
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/14/2005 06:32:00 PM
0 comments
Globalization and the Western World
In the previous post, Connect the Dots, I introduced a couple definitions of globalization and used various news clippings to illustrate the fact that economic power is moving from the United States and Europe to Asia. This time, I want to discuss how globalization is affecting the average person in the U.S. (and Western Europe).
Let’s start with a couple headlines from my previous post:
Not only does that equate to massive job losses in the U.S. and E.U., but it also results in a race to the bottom. In an effort to remain competitive with the global market, countries experience downward pressure on wages and benefits. In effect, this is a transfer of wealth and power from labor to corporations.
The impacts of globalization reach beyond the economic realm. The race to the bottom includes downward pressure on health, environmental, and social standards too. To remain competitive, wealthy countries must lower their environmental, health, and social standards.
Worse yet, globalization directly eliminates many standards. For example, Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) allows corporations to sue governments for compensation if they feel any government action affects their profits. These actions include the enforcement of health, environmental, and safety laws. Through Chapter 11 corporations have forced countries to eliminate laws that were created to protect its citizens. Canada was forced to lift a ban on toxic PCB exports when, S.D. Meyers, a U.S. based waste disposal company, filed suit. To add insult to injury, Canada was forced to pay $50 million for lost profits. This case was just a drop in the bucket. Some $13 billion in investor suits have been filed against governments and many laws overturned. Globalization is a transfer of power away from somewhat accountable, democratically elected governments toward unaccountable, profit-driven corporations. Are you sensing a common theme? That is what globalization is all about: the transfer of wealth and power.
Globalization is not good for the average citizen of the western world. The truth is globalization is just another way to make the rich, richer, the powerful, more powerful.
So, if globalization is clearly not good for the majority of western world citizens, why do our political and economic leaders keep promoting it? For several reasons:
Tags: globalization
Let’s start with a couple headlines from my previous post:
- GM plants to cut 25,000 jobs in U.S.
Total is 20% of blue-collar work force - The Bush Economy
From 1980 to 2002… the share of total income earned by the top 0.1 percent of earners more than doubled, while the share earned by everyone else in the top 10 percent rose far less. The share of the bottom 90 percent declined.
Not only does that equate to massive job losses in the U.S. and E.U., but it also results in a race to the bottom. In an effort to remain competitive with the global market, countries experience downward pressure on wages and benefits. In effect, this is a transfer of wealth and power from labor to corporations.
The impacts of globalization reach beyond the economic realm. The race to the bottom includes downward pressure on health, environmental, and social standards too. To remain competitive, wealthy countries must lower their environmental, health, and social standards.
Worse yet, globalization directly eliminates many standards. For example, Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) allows corporations to sue governments for compensation if they feel any government action affects their profits. These actions include the enforcement of health, environmental, and safety laws. Through Chapter 11 corporations have forced countries to eliminate laws that were created to protect its citizens. Canada was forced to lift a ban on toxic PCB exports when, S.D. Meyers, a U.S. based waste disposal company, filed suit. To add insult to injury, Canada was forced to pay $50 million for lost profits. This case was just a drop in the bucket. Some $13 billion in investor suits have been filed against governments and many laws overturned. Globalization is a transfer of power away from somewhat accountable, democratically elected governments toward unaccountable, profit-driven corporations. Are you sensing a common theme? That is what globalization is all about: the transfer of wealth and power.
Globalization is not good for the average citizen of the western world. The truth is globalization is just another way to make the rich, richer, the powerful, more powerful.
So, if globalization is clearly not good for the majority of western world citizens, why do our political and economic leaders keep promoting it? For several reasons:
- Our politicians are the rich and powerful. They do benefit from globalization and they’re lining their pockets. Of course, they don’t see it that way. You can’t be a successful politician at the national level and sleep at night without incredible powers of rationalization.
- Our political system is controlled by wealthy business leaders that insure only politicians that have their interests at heart get elected. Or did you actually believe that your vote counted as much as Bill Gates’? Wealthy business leaders support globalization.
- Groupthink, blind faith, whatever you want to call it. The argument for “free trade” can be convincing especially if you’re not willing to question it. Economists are a tight knit group, and the majority of the economic world (universities, think tanks, and other institutions) believe in “free trade” without question. At one time everyone believed the world was flat too.
Tags: globalization
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/14/2005 08:10:00 AM
0 comments
Friday, June 10, 2005
Connect the Dots
Wendy brought me home a copy of the International Herald Tribune, a New York Times publication out of Paris. Here’s a sample of headlines and comments from the June 8 edition:
- GM plants to cut 25,000 jobs in U.S.
Total is 20% of blue-collar work force - A new bid for Unocal
A leading Chinese oil producer, CNOOC, said on Tuesday that it was considering making a competing bid … for Unocal [a California based company] as energy demand increases pressure on China to pursue oil supplies…
Energy consumption has been soaring in China, the world’s fastest growing economy and now the second biggest consumer of oil behind the U.S. - EU won’t shy from wider competition
“The agenda must and will continue,” Verheugen [vice president of the European Commission], told reporters, “Globalization is not something China imposed on us, but something we have done ourselves. People must be told that globalization is our policy.” - Asian rival takes over Siemens cellphones
The unit becomes the 3rd European mobile business … to end up under Asian control. - For China, new mall jaw-dropping in size (this is actually from May 25)
Adopting 'shop till you drop' ethos...
Already, four shopping malls in China are larger than the Mall of America…
On good days, one mall…attracts about 600,000 shoppers. - The Bush Economy
From 1980 to 2002… the share of total income earned by the top 0.1 percent of earners more than doubled, while the share earned by everyone else in the top 10 percent rose far less. The share of the bottom 90 percent declined.
What kind of picture is being painted here? Let’s connect the dots. It’s fairly easy to see that economic power is moving from Europe and the U.S. to Asia (and India). But the last headline gives us some insight. Why is it the top .1% of earners in the U.S. are doubling their income while almost everyone else is losing?
The answer and underlying bond between the dots is globalization (a.k.a. “free trade”). For those of you that don’t know what globalization is, let’s define it. Proponents would define it as the elimination of barriers to trade and economy. It allows countries to trade more freely. They would argue a “free market” is a rising tide that raises the boat for everyone.
The truth is that globalization limits the government’s ability to regulate corporations, and therefore is a transfer of power away from governments to corporations. Now I’m no fan of government, but a world ruled by corporations isn’t a world I want to live in either (more on that in a later post). Globalization reduces barriers to trade. Translation: governments are losing the ability to define their country’s own environmental standards, health standards, or wage standards (all of those are considered barriers).
Proponents would point to the booming Asian economy and claim that globalization is a means of solving poverty – proof that the tide is rising. OK, but why does that have to come at the expense of the bottom 90% of income earners in the western world? The tide doesn’t seem to be rising for them. Where is the contribution from the top .1 %? The tide is certainly rising for them (coincidence?). Is the ‘shop till you drop ethos’ actually a good thing for Asians? Is it a good thing for the world?
I will go into these questions more in the next few posts (Globalization and the Western World, Globalization and the Eastern World, and Viva La Revolution) and I’ll follow it up with an alternative.
Tags: globalization
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/10/2005 10:31:00 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
All Hail the Moombi
My friend Jack from Michigan was here for a couple weeks. We had certain silly buzz words that meant all kinds of things to us. We would repeat them from time to time over the days. Most words stayed with us for only a day or two then seemed to fade away on their own, but one stayed with us through his whole visit: moombi. We didn't know what it really meant and didn't always use it in the same way. Sometimes we'd use it to refer to each other, "hey moombi man". Sometimes we'd describe a person, place, or situation, "that place has good moombi". Sometimes we used it to refer to the ganja or food or drink, "that was good moombi". And sometimes we would just say it out of the blue for no apparent reason, "moombi".
The word serindipitiously crossed our path several times too, in a book someone was reading, on a travel website, or over the radio. When Jack got home he sent me this poem from the web:
Fearless
for Moombi
by Tim Seibles
Good to see the green world
undiscouraged, the green fire
bounding back every spring, and beyond
the tyranny of thumbs, the weeks
and other co-conspiring green genes
ganging up, breaking in, despite
small shears and kill-mowers,
ground gougers, seed-eaters.
Here they come, sudden as graffiti
not there and then there--
naked, unhumble, unrequitedly green--
growing as if they would be trees
on any unmanned patch of earth,
any sidewalk cracked, crooning
between ties on lonesome railroad tracks.
And moss, the shyest green citizen
anywhere, dreaming between bricks
on the damp side of a shack.
Clear a quick swatch of dirt
and come back sooner than later
to find the green friends moved in:
their pitched tents, the first bright
leaves hitched to the new sun, new roots
tuning the subterranean flavors,
chlorophyll setting a feast of light.
Is it possible to be so glad?
The shoots rising in spite of every plot
against them. Every chemical stupidity,
every burned field, every better
home & garden finally overrun
by the green will, the green greenness
of green things growing greener.
The mad Earth publishing
Her many million murmuring unsaids.
Look
how the shade pours
from the big branches --
the ground, the good ground, pubic
and sweet. The trees -- who
are they? Their stillness, that
long silence, the never
running away.
Note: Moombi, Creator of the Earth, She who blesses the seeds,
(Kenya).
Tags: poetry
The word serindipitiously crossed our path several times too, in a book someone was reading, on a travel website, or over the radio. When Jack got home he sent me this poem from the web:
Fearless
for Moombi
by Tim Seibles
Good to see the green world
undiscouraged, the green fire
bounding back every spring, and beyond
the tyranny of thumbs, the weeks
and other co-conspiring green genes
ganging up, breaking in, despite
small shears and kill-mowers,
ground gougers, seed-eaters.
Here they come, sudden as graffiti
not there and then there--
naked, unhumble, unrequitedly green--
growing as if they would be trees
on any unmanned patch of earth,
any sidewalk cracked, crooning
between ties on lonesome railroad tracks.
And moss, the shyest green citizen
anywhere, dreaming between bricks
on the damp side of a shack.
Clear a quick swatch of dirt
and come back sooner than later
to find the green friends moved in:
their pitched tents, the first bright
leaves hitched to the new sun, new roots
tuning the subterranean flavors,
chlorophyll setting a feast of light.
Is it possible to be so glad?
The shoots rising in spite of every plot
against them. Every chemical stupidity,
every burned field, every better
home & garden finally overrun
by the green will, the green greenness
of green things growing greener.
The mad Earth publishing
Her many million murmuring unsaids.
Look
how the shade pours
from the big branches --
the ground, the good ground, pubic
and sweet. The trees -- who
are they? Their stillness, that
long silence, the never
running away.
Note: Moombi, Creator of the Earth, She who blesses the seeds,
(Kenya).
Tags: poetry
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/08/2005 06:31:00 PM
0 comments
Monday, June 06, 2005
To Thyself Be True
My previous post, Know Thyself, introduced my ideas on the way to happiness. It starts with a foundation in which your basic needs for food, water, clothing, shelter, and love are met. It then moves onto an internal path that begins with getting to know yourself: the good and the bad. It continues with being true to yourself…
To Thyself Be True
Once you have a better grasp of who you are, you will have a better idea of the motivation behind your actions. You will also have a clearer picture of your own value system. When you combine the knowledge of your motivation with your value system, you are more likely to act according to your own ethics and more likely to be happy.
The best way for me to talk about this is to describe one of my favorite books: John Steinbeck’s “The Winter of Our Discontent”. It is a story of a man that is happy. He has a wife, a daughter, and job as a clerk in a grocery store in a small New England village. That’s what he wants out of life and he’s content. But his wife and friends keep telling him he needs to make something of himself. He’s too nice to people. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and he needs to learn to separate business from friendship. He starts to listen to them. He separates himself from his values. During restless, sleepless nights, he constantly justifies it by comparing it to being a soldier in the war. He was in the war and had to shoot the enemy, but that didn’t make him a murderer. Now he’s a man in business out to make something of himself. He may have to forget his ethics awhile, but that doesn’t make him a bad person. That’s business. In the end, he makes a lot of money by betraying several acquaintances and friends. But as hard as he tries to justify it all, deep down he knows the truth. We all do. Deep down he hates himself for not only betraying others, but also for betraying himself.
You must know yourself. You must know your values and you must hold true to them. Because try as you might to forget or rationalize your betrayals, they will follow you. You may not even be conscious of it, but they’ll always be there lurking in your subconscious; and over time, you will begin to hate yourself.
So, if you want to be happy, you must remain true to your values – no exceptions. And by no exceptions, I mean you cannot separate yourself from your business or your family or your friends. They are all a part of you. If you have one set of values for business and another set for your family and friends, which is common in today’s society, you will have a hard time being happy. You will not be complete.
I do not claim to be perfect. There are times when I haven’t followed my values and those are the regrets in my life. But I am very conscious of my value system and try to act accordingly. It is an ideal I strive for and I firmly believe that I am a better person for it. And this brings us to the third and final suggestion to happiness…
Love Thyself
I know this will sound odd to some, but it is essential. If you don’t like the person that you are, how do you expect to be happy? And this is why the first two suggestions are so important. You must know yourself to recognize the true motivation behind your actions, and to have a clear picture of your ethical system. Once your ethics and motivation are clear, you can act accordingly. And when you act according to your own value system, you will begin to feel good about yourself. And when you feel good about yourself, you are much more likely to be happy.
So to sum it all up, the key to being happy is a foundation built on basic needs: water, food, clothes, shelter, and love. From there, our happiness is more under our own personal control. It starts with knowing yourself, knowing the motivation behind your thoughts and actions. It continues with having a clear picture of your own ethical system, and then combines the two to allow you to be happy with the person that you are. I'd like to say once you have that, happiness is guaranteed. But I can't. Life isn't that simple. I can say this: you can't be happy unless you have these things.
Cheers!
Tags: philosophy, spirituality
To Thyself Be True
Once you have a better grasp of who you are, you will have a better idea of the motivation behind your actions. You will also have a clearer picture of your own value system. When you combine the knowledge of your motivation with your value system, you are more likely to act according to your own ethics and more likely to be happy.
The best way for me to talk about this is to describe one of my favorite books: John Steinbeck’s “The Winter of Our Discontent”. It is a story of a man that is happy. He has a wife, a daughter, and job as a clerk in a grocery store in a small New England village. That’s what he wants out of life and he’s content. But his wife and friends keep telling him he needs to make something of himself. He’s too nice to people. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and he needs to learn to separate business from friendship. He starts to listen to them. He separates himself from his values. During restless, sleepless nights, he constantly justifies it by comparing it to being a soldier in the war. He was in the war and had to shoot the enemy, but that didn’t make him a murderer. Now he’s a man in business out to make something of himself. He may have to forget his ethics awhile, but that doesn’t make him a bad person. That’s business. In the end, he makes a lot of money by betraying several acquaintances and friends. But as hard as he tries to justify it all, deep down he knows the truth. We all do. Deep down he hates himself for not only betraying others, but also for betraying himself.
You must know yourself. You must know your values and you must hold true to them. Because try as you might to forget or rationalize your betrayals, they will follow you. You may not even be conscious of it, but they’ll always be there lurking in your subconscious; and over time, you will begin to hate yourself.
So, if you want to be happy, you must remain true to your values – no exceptions. And by no exceptions, I mean you cannot separate yourself from your business or your family or your friends. They are all a part of you. If you have one set of values for business and another set for your family and friends, which is common in today’s society, you will have a hard time being happy. You will not be complete.
I do not claim to be perfect. There are times when I haven’t followed my values and those are the regrets in my life. But I am very conscious of my value system and try to act accordingly. It is an ideal I strive for and I firmly believe that I am a better person for it. And this brings us to the third and final suggestion to happiness…
Love Thyself
I know this will sound odd to some, but it is essential. If you don’t like the person that you are, how do you expect to be happy? And this is why the first two suggestions are so important. You must know yourself to recognize the true motivation behind your actions, and to have a clear picture of your ethical system. Once your ethics and motivation are clear, you can act accordingly. And when you act according to your own value system, you will begin to feel good about yourself. And when you feel good about yourself, you are much more likely to be happy.
So to sum it all up, the key to being happy is a foundation built on basic needs: water, food, clothes, shelter, and love. From there, our happiness is more under our own personal control. It starts with knowing yourself, knowing the motivation behind your thoughts and actions. It continues with having a clear picture of your own ethical system, and then combines the two to allow you to be happy with the person that you are. I'd like to say once you have that, happiness is guaranteed. But I can't. Life isn't that simple. I can say this: you can't be happy unless you have these things.
Cheers!
Tags: philosophy, spirituality
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/06/2005 06:22:00 PM
0 comments
Know Thyself
The other day I was talking with a friend about happiness. He had read that there were three pillars to quality of life: a partner, work, and the where you live. It makes some sense, so I didn't comment much on it at the time. But now that I think about it, I disagree. I believe those three components can have a big impact on your happiness, but I would not go so far as to call them "pillars". Children don't have partners, don't usually work, and aren't in control of where they live. Yet they manage to be happy. They have a different perspective on life.
The Foundation
My way to happiness is a little different. It starts with a foundation of having your basic needs met. Basic needs include food, water, clothes on your back (designer jeans not included), and shelter. Without those, man resorts to the basic animal instincts of survival. He will kill, cheat, and rob if he has to.
Love is a basic need too. Humans are social, emotional animals. We all need love, especially as children.
Once the foundation is laid, the path to happiness lies within...
Know Thyself
Children are less self-conscious than adults. They haven't been taught the "norms" of society yet. They haven't been taught the "right" way to behave. As a result, they are more in tune with their true-selves and more likely to be happy.
You must know who you are. Not the person everyone else says you are or should be, but the person you know you are down to your very soul. This is increasingly difficult in a world in which we're constantly bombarded with images of who we are supposed to be. And that isn't a coincidence. A person that knows himself and is content does not need to prove himself with a high-paying job, shiny cars, and big houses. A person that knows his own values and is content is not easily manipulated. Insecurity is the key in a consumer economy. It is the key to a society obsessed with conformity and control.
I suspect most people believe they know themselves and some do. But there are many that do not. Do you know the motivation behind your actions? How often do you question it? When was the last time you did something or were about to and took some time to go deep inside yourself to question why? Maybe it was something you were going to say to somebody, or something you were going to buy, or even a thought you had about somebody or something. You may be surprised.
I have spent a lot of time over the last few years looking into myself, questioning my motivation and am continually amazed at the ability of the mind to delude itself. There are certain things we do not want to admit to ourselves. We don’t want to admit that we’re selfish, or afraid, or worried about what others think of us.
Let me give a personal example. A while ago I bought a digital camera. I had seen so many beautiful places and wished I could share them with my friends and family. But before I bought the camera, I looked inside myself to see if that was the real motivation. I was surprised to find that part of the reason I wanted the camera wasn't to share with others, but to impress them. The ego is a powerful thing. I continued to look inside myself. Was that the main reason I wanted the camera? I came to the conclusion that it was not. My main motivation was wanting to share the beauty of the world, so I acted on it.
To get to know yourself, you must spend time alone without distraction - something that is also getting more and more difficult to do over time. I do this by either meditating or getting as far away from civilization as I can. In Amsterdam, I usually go to the park. In Oregon, I go to the mountains. The deserts of the Southwest are a great place too.
For part II, continue to the next post, To Thyself Be True...
Tags: philosophy, spirituality
The Foundation
My way to happiness is a little different. It starts with a foundation of having your basic needs met. Basic needs include food, water, clothes on your back (designer jeans not included), and shelter. Without those, man resorts to the basic animal instincts of survival. He will kill, cheat, and rob if he has to.
Love is a basic need too. Humans are social, emotional animals. We all need love, especially as children.
Once the foundation is laid, the path to happiness lies within...
Know Thyself
Children are less self-conscious than adults. They haven't been taught the "norms" of society yet. They haven't been taught the "right" way to behave. As a result, they are more in tune with their true-selves and more likely to be happy.
You must know who you are. Not the person everyone else says you are or should be, but the person you know you are down to your very soul. This is increasingly difficult in a world in which we're constantly bombarded with images of who we are supposed to be. And that isn't a coincidence. A person that knows himself and is content does not need to prove himself with a high-paying job, shiny cars, and big houses. A person that knows his own values and is content is not easily manipulated. Insecurity is the key in a consumer economy. It is the key to a society obsessed with conformity and control.
I suspect most people believe they know themselves and some do. But there are many that do not. Do you know the motivation behind your actions? How often do you question it? When was the last time you did something or were about to and took some time to go deep inside yourself to question why? Maybe it was something you were going to say to somebody, or something you were going to buy, or even a thought you had about somebody or something. You may be surprised.
I have spent a lot of time over the last few years looking into myself, questioning my motivation and am continually amazed at the ability of the mind to delude itself. There are certain things we do not want to admit to ourselves. We don’t want to admit that we’re selfish, or afraid, or worried about what others think of us.
Let me give a personal example. A while ago I bought a digital camera. I had seen so many beautiful places and wished I could share them with my friends and family. But before I bought the camera, I looked inside myself to see if that was the real motivation. I was surprised to find that part of the reason I wanted the camera wasn't to share with others, but to impress them. The ego is a powerful thing. I continued to look inside myself. Was that the main reason I wanted the camera? I came to the conclusion that it was not. My main motivation was wanting to share the beauty of the world, so I acted on it.
To get to know yourself, you must spend time alone without distraction - something that is also getting more and more difficult to do over time. I do this by either meditating or getting as far away from civilization as I can. In Amsterdam, I usually go to the park. In Oregon, I go to the mountains. The deserts of the Southwest are a great place too.
For part II, continue to the next post, To Thyself Be True...
Tags: philosophy, spirituality
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/06/2005 06:20:00 PM
0 comments
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Memories
A friend of mine once asked me to write about my first memory. I didn't know what my first memory was, so wrote the following. The details may not be exact- our memories are not as accurate as we like to believe. But it's how I recall them...
I remember our dog, Dew, dancing w/my brother. My bro and I always thought it was funny, but mom & dad didn't. We'd always say, "look mom, Dew's dancing". She'd get mad and shoo him off my brother. We couldn't understand why she got so mad. Dew was a pretty horny dog.
I remember drinking soda pop w/my brother in the kitchen in pajamas.
I remember feeling guilty because I thought the children's book about god, mother mary, & Jesus was boring.
I remember driving down the road w/my parents in the front seat, & my brother & I in the back. I asked them that if Santa brought our gifts, why they all say "from Mom & Dad"? They looked at each other w/a smile.
I remember my dad flying his box kite in the back yard so high I thought it would go on forever.
I remember listening to my dad and mom fighting mom while I laid in bed.
I remember my mom spending hours making extravagent birthday cakes for my bother and I. My favorite was the circus theme w/elephants, circus tents, etc on the top.
I remember spending the night at my grandmother's. The next day my mom picked me up & we went to the grocery store. In one of the aisles she asked me if I missed her. I didn't know what "miss" was. I figured I had a 50-50 shot in my response & said "no". My mom laughed.
I remember my dad & mom coming back from a weekend vacation in Toronto. It was the happiest I ever saw them together.
I remember my dad coming back from the gym & my brother & I asking my mom if he was the strongest man in the world.
I remember spending my kindegarten lunches sitting in a large concrete tunnel telling Tammy Ballard that we were going to be married some day.
I remember a kindegarten friend coming up to me w/alove note from a girl. He wanted advice on how to get out of it. The note said, "I love U". I told him "U" isn't a real word, so it wasn't valid. He was relieved.
I remember spending recess in the winter building huge snowballs. We'd have 5 kids pushing a 5 foot snowball till we couldn't push it anymore.
I remember going over to Brian Hubbard's house & spending the day playing w/tadpoles in the pond.
I remember being voted most "cheerful" in 1st grade. Everyone told me it was a great honor, but I didn't see what was the big deal about being likened to furniture (chairs).
I remember Wendy Sneeth coming over to me in the 1st grade classroom w/her friends. She would say "I hurt my finger". I would kiss it like my mom would if I hurt mine. Her and her friends would laugh like little girls do.
I remember my mom being one of the mom's that took my 1st grade class to the zoo. I got to pick who would be in our group & everyone wanted to be my friend.
I remember being Mrs. Day's teacher's pet in 2nd grade & going to her place for dinner.
I remember taking an encyclopedia & using a pencil to outline a picture of a bird on a blank piece of paper underneath. Mr. V, my 3rd grade teacher, & Mrs.Day (they were good friends) said how remarkable of a drawing it was for a 3rd grader. I didn't have the guts to tell them I cheated.
I remember being jealous of my friend Ty's drawing -it was very clean & symmetric. I spent hours & hours on mine (not the bird), putting in one color & one shape after another in a random fashion. He got a B+ and I got an A+.
I remember my dad buying my brother and I mini-bikes (kind of like really small motorcycles) & then taking them away because we were building ramps & jumping them.
I remember crying over the phone to my dad telling him my brother & I couldn't spend the weekend with him - my mom was afraid he was going to kidnap us.
I remember going to parties w/my dad, getting drunk by splitting a beer w/my brother, & watching my dad and his friends shoot roman candles (fireworks) at each other.
I remember my mom getting a phone call. I heard a tone in her voice I never had before. My dad had just been in a serious motorcycle accident & broke his leg.
I remember my dad being in a bodycast & playing "battleship" w/him. He always won. One day my mom said, "don't you guys realize your dad is cheating".
I remember coming back from the store & watching my dad hop out the door - he only had a partial leg cast by then. My mom was throwing small pillows at him telling him never to come back.
I remember my mom saying she had something important to tell me, but was having a hard time, because I was her son. I told her to tell me as a friend. Her & my dad were getting a divorce. It didn't bother me at all. I understood - they weren't happy together, so maybe they'd be happy apart.
Tags: poetry, childhood
I remember our dog, Dew, dancing w/my brother. My bro and I always thought it was funny, but mom & dad didn't. We'd always say, "look mom, Dew's dancing". She'd get mad and shoo him off my brother. We couldn't understand why she got so mad. Dew was a pretty horny dog.
I remember drinking soda pop w/my brother in the kitchen in pajamas.
I remember feeling guilty because I thought the children's book about god, mother mary, & Jesus was boring.
I remember driving down the road w/my parents in the front seat, & my brother & I in the back. I asked them that if Santa brought our gifts, why they all say "from Mom & Dad"? They looked at each other w/a smile.
I remember my dad flying his box kite in the back yard so high I thought it would go on forever.
I remember listening to my dad and mom fighting mom while I laid in bed.
I remember my mom spending hours making extravagent birthday cakes for my bother and I. My favorite was the circus theme w/elephants, circus tents, etc on the top.
I remember spending the night at my grandmother's. The next day my mom picked me up & we went to the grocery store. In one of the aisles she asked me if I missed her. I didn't know what "miss" was. I figured I had a 50-50 shot in my response & said "no". My mom laughed.
I remember my dad & mom coming back from a weekend vacation in Toronto. It was the happiest I ever saw them together.
I remember my dad coming back from the gym & my brother & I asking my mom if he was the strongest man in the world.
I remember spending my kindegarten lunches sitting in a large concrete tunnel telling Tammy Ballard that we were going to be married some day.
I remember a kindegarten friend coming up to me w/alove note from a girl. He wanted advice on how to get out of it. The note said, "I love U". I told him "U" isn't a real word, so it wasn't valid. He was relieved.
I remember spending recess in the winter building huge snowballs. We'd have 5 kids pushing a 5 foot snowball till we couldn't push it anymore.
I remember going over to Brian Hubbard's house & spending the day playing w/tadpoles in the pond.
I remember being voted most "cheerful" in 1st grade. Everyone told me it was a great honor, but I didn't see what was the big deal about being likened to furniture (chairs).
I remember Wendy Sneeth coming over to me in the 1st grade classroom w/her friends. She would say "I hurt my finger". I would kiss it like my mom would if I hurt mine. Her and her friends would laugh like little girls do.
I remember my mom being one of the mom's that took my 1st grade class to the zoo. I got to pick who would be in our group & everyone wanted to be my friend.
I remember being Mrs. Day's teacher's pet in 2nd grade & going to her place for dinner.
I remember taking an encyclopedia & using a pencil to outline a picture of a bird on a blank piece of paper underneath. Mr. V, my 3rd grade teacher, & Mrs.Day (they were good friends) said how remarkable of a drawing it was for a 3rd grader. I didn't have the guts to tell them I cheated.
I remember being jealous of my friend Ty's drawing -it was very clean & symmetric. I spent hours & hours on mine (not the bird), putting in one color & one shape after another in a random fashion. He got a B+ and I got an A+.
I remember my dad buying my brother and I mini-bikes (kind of like really small motorcycles) & then taking them away because we were building ramps & jumping them.
I remember crying over the phone to my dad telling him my brother & I couldn't spend the weekend with him - my mom was afraid he was going to kidnap us.
I remember going to parties w/my dad, getting drunk by splitting a beer w/my brother, & watching my dad and his friends shoot roman candles (fireworks) at each other.
I remember my mom getting a phone call. I heard a tone in her voice I never had before. My dad had just been in a serious motorcycle accident & broke his leg.
I remember my dad being in a bodycast & playing "battleship" w/him. He always won. One day my mom said, "don't you guys realize your dad is cheating".
I remember coming back from the store & watching my dad hop out the door - he only had a partial leg cast by then. My mom was throwing small pillows at him telling him never to come back.
I remember my mom saying she had something important to tell me, but was having a hard time, because I was her son. I told her to tell me as a friend. Her & my dad were getting a divorce. It didn't bother me at all. I understood - they weren't happy together, so maybe they'd be happy apart.
Tags: poetry, childhood
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/02/2005 06:18:00 PM
0 comments
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
I was listening to this song last night and thought it would make a good, quick post. Here's some Beatles for ya...
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
The Beatles
I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor and I see it need sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know why nobody told you
how to unfold you love
I don't know how someone controlled you
they bought and sold you
I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know how you were diverted
you were perverted too
I don't know how you were inverted
no one alerted you
I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at you all
Still my guitar gently weeps
Tags: lyrics, Beatles
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
The Beatles
I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor and I see it need sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know why nobody told you
how to unfold you love
I don't know how someone controlled you
they bought and sold you
I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know how you were diverted
you were perverted too
I don't know how you were inverted
no one alerted you
I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at you all
Still my guitar gently weeps
Tags: lyrics, Beatles
posted by John W. Herberg at 6/01/2005 12:12:00 AM
0 comments
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