The radio DJ is talking about his future funeral. It's actually not that late right now but it certainly feels late considering that the sun retreats at about 4:25 these days.
I bought a book from the thrift store the other week called HERO TALES FROM AMERICAN LIFE by Francis Trevelyan Miller. It's actually really quite old but the binding is still in decent shape. The front cover intrigued me so I opened it up to a random page. I opened the book up to a story called, "The Tale of the College Student On The Great Lakes" and it starts off like this...
I bought a book from the thrift store the other week called HERO TALES FROM AMERICAN LIFE by Francis Trevelyan Miller. It's actually really quite old but the binding is still in decent shape. The front cover intrigued me so I opened it up to a random page. I opened the book up to a story called, "The Tale of the College Student On The Great Lakes" and it starts off like this...
"This is the tale of a college student
who, when he heard of distress in a storm on the Lakes,
left his studies and hurried to the shore, where he swam to
the rescue of seventeen lives and regretted that he could not save
more; a tale of unconscious heroism that crippled its hero for life."
who, when he heard of distress in a storm on the Lakes,
left his studies and hurried to the shore, where he swam to
the rescue of seventeen lives and regretted that he could not save
more; a tale of unconscious heroism that crippled its hero for life."
The book is full of short stories about common folk saving the day. And although the book and its stories may be a bit hokey for most people who prefer to read very calculated and ornate stories about crime or cowboys, for some reason I felt compelled to continue. Most of the stories are titled, "The farmer who saved such and such" or, "The young Priest who changed the nation",. you know, things of that sort. When you finish the story, be it about an explorer, or a homeless girl or a school master, it is revealed that the story is indeed about a famous American. For instance, the story about the young farm boy turns out to be the abridged life story of General Robert E Lee.
Today I spent over $50 at the thrift store. It's becoming more and more difficult to call these stores "thrifty". They are now indeed looking to make a profit just like every other part of American life and industry that was once an institution of service and public welfare.
Most everything I buy at thrift stores anymore are some sort of artifact that reminds me of a place that used to exist - a world in which we still live, but no longer exists. I bought a reel to reel tape recorder, a recorder (the instrument, you know like the kind you had to play in 2nd grade), a 35mm camera - Argus C3 (also known as the Argus "Brick" camera), a couple of old comics from the 70s and then a standard issue Army infantry winter coat.
I'm sitting in my basement at my desk wearing this jacket. I probably look like I've completely lost my mind. Well, it's going to be in the 10s and 20s all week. Winter has finally arrived.
I was reading an article today about going to grad school for the humanities. It certainly reaffirmed a lot of fears I had about the current situation of higher education. Then I thought about the rent check I just wrote to my landlord. $500 - poof. Just like that. Do you know how hard it is to come across $500 these days? Think about how hard it is to get a job that pays a living wage. They're really not that easy to come across these days. Hell, if we had factories left in Chicago I would love to go work at one. Nope, no industry left so it's back to retail after my short stint in the political realm. There's an old adage that everyone has heard before, and it's that "good things come to those who wait". So then I ask myself, what am I waiting for?
Today I spent over $50 at the thrift store. It's becoming more and more difficult to call these stores "thrifty". They are now indeed looking to make a profit just like every other part of American life and industry that was once an institution of service and public welfare.
Most everything I buy at thrift stores anymore are some sort of artifact that reminds me of a place that used to exist - a world in which we still live, but no longer exists. I bought a reel to reel tape recorder, a recorder (the instrument, you know like the kind you had to play in 2nd grade), a 35mm camera - Argus C3 (also known as the Argus "Brick" camera), a couple of old comics from the 70s and then a standard issue Army infantry winter coat.
I'm sitting in my basement at my desk wearing this jacket. I probably look like I've completely lost my mind. Well, it's going to be in the 10s and 20s all week. Winter has finally arrived.
I was reading an article today about going to grad school for the humanities. It certainly reaffirmed a lot of fears I had about the current situation of higher education. Then I thought about the rent check I just wrote to my landlord. $500 - poof. Just like that. Do you know how hard it is to come across $500 these days? Think about how hard it is to get a job that pays a living wage. They're really not that easy to come across these days. Hell, if we had factories left in Chicago I would love to go work at one. Nope, no industry left so it's back to retail after my short stint in the political realm. There's an old adage that everyone has heard before, and it's that "good things come to those who wait". So then I ask myself, what am I waiting for?
1 comment:
and it looks as though there may be a documentary made about young Ed Spencer from Evanston.
www.eyelightmedia.org/pdf/spencer_project.pdf
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