Monday, November 2, 2009

WHAT I'M BURNING ON

NOT NOW ... LATER THOUGH

It has been a challenging go here for me. Haven't been up to talking about my 'what's what'. The reason why is I believe most things aren't as tough as they may seem at first glance. Once you get up and get involved and get into it, you begin to feel the pressure lessening. What ever it is you are up against begins to look less formidable. With that ...

RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA

Again a case where I can definitively say I would have done something different were I anywhere around that. Twice in high school I can recall getting involved where groups of folks were massing up against people. Some punks from Cooley at the Northland Mall were acting their shoe size and another time ducking and dodging some 'Herny Ford, 1#' students. One of the things that I wonder about the case out there is, how much 'this and that' is going to get blamed for it?

I don't know much about the details, from the victims relationship to the initial attackers or if it was truly a random happening. Whatever is in that kernel, is where the real problem lies. The rest of the gang doing what they did owes much more to a mob mentality than it does any real indictment of society.

'The hero business comes down to me.' That is the kind of stuff I tell myself when things start to jump off. In fact, I wouldn't have even considered acting a case of sticking my neck out. How could I when I am doing what it is I am supposed to do?

CRIMINAL MINDS

That is a show that I do find entertaining. But lately, as I watch reruns on A&E, I wonder about why ANYONE is entertained by the continued loss of life before they finally catch who ever it is. For instance, 'Frank' as played by David Carridine is a serial killer who gets away and I am assuming goes on to keep on killing. He is portrayed as a cerebral, autistic, emotionally scarred cat with some Oedipal issues.

Then the reality comes in with the cat in Ohio. This was no 'Wile E. Coyote, criminal genius'. He was a convicted rapist who had fallen through the cracks. Since 'Silence of the Lambs', there is an alarming tendency to elevate these people to status of intelligence that they don't deserve.

Like Jeffery Dahmer or even John Wayne Gacy, most of these cats are LUCKY. They owe more to the convergence of indifference and inattention to detail than any 'Hannibal Letcher' skills or intelligence. In fact, I worry about what makes the prime hunting grounds so fertile for these cats.

Similar to the cases of abuse that involve children, serial killers often strike society at its underbelly, in its soft unseen areas. In Carolina, there is an outcry for more investigation to cases of missing black women who exists on the periphery of society.

To me, it says more about our society when we can easily overlook the problems that affect those who aren't as connected to those who lie on the fringes.

FOOTBALL

Watching the drama of the Minnesota Viking - Green Bay Packer game with the SFC was rather enjoyable. It was the second consecutive weekend that we both sat paying attention to some intense football. The Pittsburgh Steelers win against the Vikings was the other game we watched from start to finish. It struck me while we were watching the game, why I think women tend to not mind, if not enjoy watching a game with me.

I have the typical knowledge of the game that you would expect of a football fan. But it is always about the story and drama of the game. The Viking-Packer game was full of the ebb and flow of an intense drama.

But like the serial killer thing, where the unspoken truth that serial killers aren't as smart as some want to pretend they are, the congressional hearings on the damage that playing football does to the human body was on my mind. There were a couple of hits on Saturday where the cats had suffered a concussive blow to the head. The annoucers suitably wondered about the players availablity.

One of the problems with the head injuries that happen in football is in the culture. In a fight, you get knocked out, you have to sit for at least 30 days. In football, it is rare that a player would miss an entire month of games. That is the culture in the sport.

Football is not without this kind of worry from Congress. It nearly found itself banned before for being too violent. That was back in the 'Leatherhead' days. And it is weird how much of what surrounded the sport then, the socialization of the participants and how they were exhalted is what is part of the concern now, along with the damage it does to a person.

Today is the day I start my training at the gym. I will journal about that in my other blog. If I find a camera in the next week or so, I am going to take a 'before' picture so that I can see the contrast myself.

3 comments:

betty said...

Mark, I think change even if it is a good change is always challenging; you are getting used to sooo much more new and different things; I am hopeful in time it will be less and less challenging for you

betty

Ken Riches said...

I hope that the gym routine gives you a center and helps make things better there for you.

Angel said...

Mark, my son in law is covering those stories in Rocky Mount..the serial killer killing prostitutes. So sad.

I love your take on things...you always open my eyes to different views and I appreciate that.

XOXOX