Running Commentary #12: October 3, 2012

     Sometimes the writing muse just goes into hiding; no courtesy whatsoever; no peeking around a corner, giving up a teasing smile, before scurrying off, again, into the darkness.What a dirty game she can play. My searching around for decent running commentary topics has found only emptiness; a topical landscape thoroughly scrubbed.

     I wish I could find it--the small picture. Me sitting on the wooden school steps, with the group of Ute Indian kids. All with black, straight hair, and me, right in the middle--the 'toe head.' The picture was taken in Blanding, Utah. Mother didn't know it at the time, but Daddy would soon be on his way to Germany. The reason--WWII.

     That paragraph you just read--it doesn't mean anything more than a pencil searching for creative juice. Why have I thought about this creativity stopper--making someone color within the lines--for so long? One thing I do know. If you put your finger on the Indian characteristic of, "I've gotta think about it for a while," and push that button, give yourself the million dollar prize.

     I've pondered the problem long enough. The fizzle left my creative dizzle for a few weeks. Circular thinking has won the battle. Linear thinking lost. The Indians circled and beat the White guys this time. Any topic now goes, except, of course, money, politics, and religion. I grew up in a time where those three topics were completely off limits in polite society. No wonder I got caught in the tech bust, don't have the patience for long-winded, worthless meetings, don't want to learn the art of double-speak, and am curious why most folks look puzzled when you say, Siddhartha--as in Siddhartha the Buddha.

     A famous Buddhist saying goes:

      "Do not speak--unless it improves on the silence."

     The silence is over. Time to ratchet up the blog again.

     You might think Laura and I are just out there blind-assed running. Nothing could be further from the truth. We've got a plan and it's being put to the test this coming Sunday morning. It's IBM 10K time. I'll keep you posted.