Category Archives: Interesting Things as of Late

isn’t it all?

Happenstance

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I suppose it’s true, no good deed goes unpunished. Sometimes when I walk down 41st Street, I give a homeless guy some change. He calls me soldier, usually compliments me on what I’m wearing and comments on my smoking a cigar. He seems like a nice guy and I always try to give him some change when I can. This happens after work most nights.

Today work wasn’t busy at all and I tried to leave at 3:00 with Vivek’s permission. He was busy since he’s going to India tomorrow and coming back on Tuesday. But things being what they are, I didn’t leave at 3:00. I tried to but as I was headed out the door I heard my phone ring.

So I run to my desk and my jacket gets caught on the edge of the cubicle, tearing off a button off my suit jacket. No problem, even though I can’t sew to save my life I scooped up the button and put it in my pocket.

The phone call was from this crazy psycho Vietnamese chick who has been calling me most every day since May 2007. I’ll come into work and find my voice mailbox would be filled with messages in Vietnamese of this chick screaming, crying and mumbling.

Today when I answered the phone she was crying in English, which she does speak on occasion, ‘what did you do to my computer?’ I told her that I didn’t know anything about her computer and that she was a stupid bitch.

Then I headed out the door, enjoying a Padron and walking across town. Bought a refrigerator magnet of Barack Obama outside of Grand Central Station and headed to the bus terminal. As I approached the homeless guy I reached into my pocket and gave him almost a dollar in change. Make that almost a dollar, plus a button.

I didn’t realize that I gave him the button until I got into the bus terminal. I figured I’ll take the suit to the dry cleaners and have them sew a new button on. I go to the ‘new’ dry cleaner around the block, they do the cleaning on premises and they do it green, meaning environmentally safe.

I tell the gent behind the counter about the button and he looks at me and asks if I have an extra one. I told him if I had an extra one I would have brought it. I also told him it doesn’t have to be the same button, just the same size. He tells me he couldn’t do it.

I wind up walking to another dry cleaner around the block and give the same spiel. This gent tells me that he could probably match the size but it wouldn’t be the same. I tell him to just take off the other two buttons and sew three new ones which is what I could have told the first guy.

I also could have turned around and went back to the homeless guy and asked him to check his cup for a button but since it was a Friday and I was just about 100 yards from my bus I obviously decided not to. Not the end of the world after all.

Just heard from a mutual friend of mine and Pedro’s, Excer. Excer called Pedro to find out what would be going on for tomorrow, but it turns out Pedro is still sick so no Otisville this weekend. Excer mentioned next weekend but I won’t be able to go then since I’m taking Juan to see Girl Talk next Saturday for his birthday.

I am having dinner with Excer tomorrow night instead and I’ll tell him then, unless he reads this first but I find that doubtful.

The Promised Land

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Oh my. It happened. History was made last night and I personally am quite glad, and proud to have been able to help with the campaign by volunteering my time and donating some money. This battle was won, the California battle, the No on Prop h8 was lost. But that’s not over yet.

Nice to see that poverty, homelessness and war has been taken care of so that the mormons and the knights of columbus were able to contribute millions of dollars (25 Million and up they say) to ensure that discrimination will be written into the California constitution and enabling thousands of citizens to be deprived of their rights.

So close those catholic schools, forget about feeding the homeless and while they’re at it, forget the basic principles, the very tenets of your faith because you just know that their lord and savior wouldn’t side with the christianists on this vile, hateful issue.

And as far as the mormons go, well 19th century religions lend themselves to an air of ridiculousness and the church of latter day neck bones are at the top of the list. And the same goes for Arizona, Florida and good old Arkansas denying gay people to adopt children that no one else bloody wants.

Let those children suffer rather than have some one help them and love them. Let them fester in loneliness and feelings of not being wanted, all in the name of religion and fear, amen.

Despite that bitter taste in my mouth throughout the day I was overcome, getting choked up and tears welling in my eyes when I think of what was accomplished by Barack Obama. I don’t know if a lot of people that aren’t of color recognize the shit black people have gone through for hundreds of years.

Slavery, the erasing of identities, the separation of families, fighting for the freedom of Europe and the Pacific and coming home to find that they were still second class citizens, being attacked by police dogs and fire hoses for sitting at a lunch counter or refusing to sit at the back of the bus or trying to enroll in schools or trying to vote, the separate but ‘equal’ Jim Crow laws and being told by institutions that they just weren’t as good as white people.

Systematically told this every second, every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month, year, decade and century. I was told that I was worthless and no good and an idiot for the first 20 years of my life and that was from my father. I still wear those scars and carry that baggage and my father was just one man.

Imagine a government, a society telling you this over and over for years and years. It will fuck you up. If it’s not easy for me to ‘shake off’ it certainly wouldn’t be easy for a large segment of society.

Barack Obama being elected to the highest office in the land is a remarkable achievement and an historical event and I was glad to witness it with my partner Bill and my dear friend Juan who voted in his first election and hit a home run. My nephew Earl and my niece Corinne also hit home runs voting in their first election and I am proud of all of them

Last night was a bit like New Years Eve, calling up my sister when it was announced that Barack Obama won the election. A few other phone calls, all with celebratory greetings of happiness and tears of joy and calls from friends and family telling me that they were speechless. It actually felt as momentous as New Years Eve 1999.

Last night as it was all unfolding I was fearful, before Bill came home and Juan came over. I turned on MSNBC and they were talking about McCain winning Indiana. I couldn’t believe it and started to feel that same despair I felt in 2004.

I turned it off and waited until Bill came home. Then it was watching the results with Bill and Juan bolstering my spirits. Even as Barack Obama won, I couldn’t believe it though I did. Slept like a rock going to bed at 1:00AM. It only made sense to me today, buying up the big three newspapers for this historical event. I think I’ll keep them under the stairs in the basement.

Letter from Nelson Mandela to the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.

5 November 2008
Senator Barack Obama,
Chicago
Dear Senator Obama,
We join people in your country and around the world in congratulating you on becoming the President-Elect of the United States. Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place.

We note and applaud your commitment to supporting the cause of peace and security around the world. We trust that you will also make it the mission of your Presidency to combat the scourge of poverty and disease everywhere.

We wish you strength and fortitude in the challenging days and years that lie ahead. We are sure you will ultimately achieve your dream making the United States of America a full partner in a community of nations committed to peace and prosperity for all.
Sincerely,
N R Mandela
courtesy of the New York Times

“Mister I ain’t a boy, no- I’m a man and I believe in the Promised Land!”


Now give those girls a puppy!