Tales From The Fragile Balancing Act

I’m hearing one thing being asked of us Over and over, loud and clear, and, truly,  it seems simple enough. Yes, this request I’ve been hearing Asks that we all, right now,  “Shut the fuck up!” It’s really weird you can’t hear this  your words sound like you wish to know as you ask questions upon questions on and on to no end But stranger still, you immediately provide your own answers Without one hint of a pause between the two transforming question to rant Step One of hearing.... is shutting the fuck up! Can you imagine if Dirty Harry’s famous question-bit went: “Do you feel lucky, punk? Well do ya? Cause if you feel lucky it doesn’t make sense  to act like a savage a thug, running around with your thug friends Burning your own neighborhood, joining gangs, selling drugs How will this all end?  I mean, who even does that? Really?!” No. If you were in the theater watching this version Of the classic pre-curmudgeoney-Clint-Eastwood-flick,

“I’ll come for you when we’re ready” and with that the plump grandmother nurse is gone leaving behind only two swinging doors. Substantial enough evidence that she, in fact, was real.   Alone. Silence. I stare into my own frenzied eyes. Lazy light from fluorescents stammer. And inspire unhinged shadows across my face to dance.   As instructed, I struggle fitting tissue paper over my ears, around my sneakers.   Now, head to toe. Baby blue.   All around me steel shines and snarls. Crisp bed corners mock me. As orange-peel chemicals attack my nostrils — pillage my tongue. And all the while my trying toe taps And tries tap tapping time away. “A prayer then?”        But we don’t… “Perhaps a plea.”        Perhaps…   Yes. Everyone has to be all right. Please. I’ll never ask another thing.

Amy, First off, I should mention that since President Barrack Obama won his second election, and after doing this way too much, I’ve avoided engaging in these types of back-n-forths.   Your comment is categorized under “these types” because everything you’ve expressed here I disagree with on such a fundamental level that it is clear to me that nothing I say will be changing any of your viewpoints.   That being said, since we’ve been friends since you were “serendipitously seated next to me in Mrs Brewers 6 th grade class” and likely will be still when we are grandparents, I find it entirely worthwhile to attempt to get you to stand in my shoes and see the world as I do, even if only for a brief moment.   So please feel free to respond, and know that I will read with an open mind, but for me this is a one-and done “I'd like to think he did that when he was young, stupid & didn't know any better.” Of course you would “like to think” this, but I like to build argume