Living at the beach is not all it is cracked up to be. Sure, if you have lots of money and are in the upper middle class it is a whole lot easier than living amongst the cogs that actually make this place work. For the longest time, I could not understand the idea of someone coming here for a visit and getting left then fully believing they are "stuck" here for no lack of a way home. You have feet right? Wrong. Once you become a cog of the machine, it reels you in, sucks the lifeblood out of you and never lets you go.
Never.
The work is seasonal, you cannot afford anything and you have to work like a slave during the season just to barely scrape by in the off season. Even then, it only works if you can save your money and not let anyone know that you have a nickel to spare. That leads to the lifetime beachers. Those that have accepted their fate that they are here for life or those that have spent their entire lives at this beach and have no ambition to see other places or simply leave. They are like vultures sitting on the side of the valley just waiting for you to drop dead so they can peck your eyes right out of your face. They move in on you at the slightest twitch of weakness and then they hone in for the kill and suck the lifeblood out of you and then you assimilate and become one of them. Lifeless, bloodsucking, feelingless wretches that do nothing but suck you dry and leave your carcass for the wind to carry it out to sea.
For a long time I loved it here. It was nice to be able to go to the beach whenever you felt like and I love hot summers so this was a great place for me. But then we moved here and I still loved it but it slowly changed for me.
They became the predators and I became the prey. There were other factors that led to the change however, this is the overpowering cause. My family was happy and we had everything we needed. While we had not yet purchased a home, we had each other, we got along and there was not any strife among us. Then things began to change. These people are needy. No, I am not talking about the ones that have things going for themselves. I am talking about the cogs of this society that have to work for a living and scrape by from check to check. They look at us 'outsiders' and say, "hmmmm....they have more than me. We shall change that." And like vampires in the night, they do everything they can to make that happen. They call at all times of the day and night and expect you to take them all over hell and creation. This runs up your phone bill (if you are on an allotted minute plan, otherwise, it is just nuisance,) it puts a great deal of wear and tear on your car if you become their taxi service and they want to borrow shit. ALL THE TIME. You get promises of gas money and for return of your things and that will never happen. Then they figure out what your schedule is and do everything they can to interfere with your home life with the incessant ringing of the phone (shut it off, now NOBODY can call you,) dropping by, take me here at 3 am. Its bullshit and rubbish and needs to stop.
But it doesn't beause you write this person off then the next one does the same thing. How can people live like that? Do they not want better? I have lived many places in my life but never one like this. They also like to play mean jokes on people but that is for a different day. Have you ever lived in a place that makes you feel like you have found Rancid Armpit, USA? Tell me about it....
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Showing posts with label urban decay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label urban decay. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
The Pebbles Ripples.
My philosophy friends believe that good cannot exist without evil and vice versa. There is this whole philosophical argument around it. The argument is almost as popular as the "is there really a God" argument. Well, I happen to think that while evil is necessary, the world can do with a little less of it.
Especially true when the evil is fruitless and with no just cause. It is like an invalid argument. C does not result from A or B if they are not doing something that makes C true, therefore, why should C exist at all when D can do the job just as well...or some such nonsense.
I bear witness to this absent C evil a lot. All I can do is shake my head at it because it makes good people look bad and it drags innocent people into a situation that they have no business even knowing anything about in the first place. What snake will go to an orange tree and pluck an orange just to eat when snakes are predators in the first place? That makes no sense at all.
My point is that evil should not exist in abundance when there is not enough good to offset it. That makes no sense either. Remember the lady with the scales you see in a courtroom? It has to balance and without that balance, things begin to happen. Therefore, apparently, bad things are happening and maybe it is the second coming of Christ that everyone has been talking about or the end of the world.
So if all of this is blatantly evident, then why is there not anything done about it? I will explain. There is enough not caring and enough belief that one little act of kindness does not matter. The evil in all of us has beaten out any good there is left. Sure, we do kind deeds everyday but it is so far below the radar of being noticed that it is almost irrelevant that we even do such a thing.
Listen, folks, when someone tells you that one little pebble makes a big difference. If you dont believe me toss one into a still pond. That one little pebble has a ripple effect that eventually touches every square inch of that waters surface. Further, the "plop" sound reverberates through the air to our ears affecting the senses that we heard and seen the pebble hit the water. Underneath the surface, fish scatter and it hits the bottom eventually changing the landscape of the bottom to accomodate the fact that it fell there in the first place. To get even more depth out of the example, gravity is now pulling on that rock to keep it in place and every time a bottom feeder passes, a fish swims quickly nearby, or a plant grows near enough to push it aside, that pebble still has an impact. Also, the place where the pebble was before has left a pebble size space for something else to come along and occupy where it was.
Point being, while there are snakes in all of us, even the good that comes out of us, no matter how small or insignificant can have a positive impact in everything. If everyone were to cast a pebble in some form or fashion and good becomes of it, it grows from there because there is, essentially, more good in the world.
Those of us with children can do the same. So often we go through life too busy to see what is going on through the eyes of our children. STOP take a moment and revel in the wonder that they see the world in. Remember what it was like to stand in awe and truly experience the first sunset you REALLY noticed. I remember mine. I remember that, sometimes, being five is such a small place to be in such a big world and that mommy can make it better. I also try to remember that even though you are 13 or 14, you still need mom from time to time even if it is to talk about absolutely nothing or act silly in public just because. When my children get older (and for the step kids as well) I will try to remember that at 21, the world is not what it was made out to be and that I still need to be there for my kids no matter how awful they are. That, just to sit down, without a phone, television or other distraction and talk about how a lightbulb works will make the difference in their day and that is something that they will remember.
Toss that pebble, make life better, if even for a split second. The reverberations of that pebble last longer than you think. Holding the door for a perfect stranger to pass because they are using a walking stick makes a difference because, while you may not remember, they will.
I once had a lady sit in the booth next to mine in iHop. I was 16. I was miserable and thougth that life was truly the suckiest place to be. She chatted with me about absolutely nothing. The gloss on the menu, why people drive nice cars, and our coffee. She also told me to cast a pebble. She then proceeded to tell me that I will remember her. I may not remember her name and maybe not even what she looks like but I will remember the conversation. Guess what? I dont know her name, I remember brown hair and glasses and that she used her hands alot when she talked but I DID remember the conversation. She cast her pebble in my pond and the fish swim by every now and then and it moves. That is what I remember. Do you have pebbles in your pond? Why not cast some of your own?
Especially true when the evil is fruitless and with no just cause. It is like an invalid argument. C does not result from A or B if they are not doing something that makes C true, therefore, why should C exist at all when D can do the job just as well...or some such nonsense.
I bear witness to this absent C evil a lot. All I can do is shake my head at it because it makes good people look bad and it drags innocent people into a situation that they have no business even knowing anything about in the first place. What snake will go to an orange tree and pluck an orange just to eat when snakes are predators in the first place? That makes no sense at all.
My point is that evil should not exist in abundance when there is not enough good to offset it. That makes no sense either. Remember the lady with the scales you see in a courtroom? It has to balance and without that balance, things begin to happen. Therefore, apparently, bad things are happening and maybe it is the second coming of Christ that everyone has been talking about or the end of the world.
So if all of this is blatantly evident, then why is there not anything done about it? I will explain. There is enough not caring and enough belief that one little act of kindness does not matter. The evil in all of us has beaten out any good there is left. Sure, we do kind deeds everyday but it is so far below the radar of being noticed that it is almost irrelevant that we even do such a thing.
Listen, folks, when someone tells you that one little pebble makes a big difference. If you dont believe me toss one into a still pond. That one little pebble has a ripple effect that eventually touches every square inch of that waters surface. Further, the "plop" sound reverberates through the air to our ears affecting the senses that we heard and seen the pebble hit the water. Underneath the surface, fish scatter and it hits the bottom eventually changing the landscape of the bottom to accomodate the fact that it fell there in the first place. To get even more depth out of the example, gravity is now pulling on that rock to keep it in place and every time a bottom feeder passes, a fish swims quickly nearby, or a plant grows near enough to push it aside, that pebble still has an impact. Also, the place where the pebble was before has left a pebble size space for something else to come along and occupy where it was.
Point being, while there are snakes in all of us, even the good that comes out of us, no matter how small or insignificant can have a positive impact in everything. If everyone were to cast a pebble in some form or fashion and good becomes of it, it grows from there because there is, essentially, more good in the world.
Those of us with children can do the same. So often we go through life too busy to see what is going on through the eyes of our children. STOP take a moment and revel in the wonder that they see the world in. Remember what it was like to stand in awe and truly experience the first sunset you REALLY noticed. I remember mine. I remember that, sometimes, being five is such a small place to be in such a big world and that mommy can make it better. I also try to remember that even though you are 13 or 14, you still need mom from time to time even if it is to talk about absolutely nothing or act silly in public just because. When my children get older (and for the step kids as well) I will try to remember that at 21, the world is not what it was made out to be and that I still need to be there for my kids no matter how awful they are. That, just to sit down, without a phone, television or other distraction and talk about how a lightbulb works will make the difference in their day and that is something that they will remember.
Toss that pebble, make life better, if even for a split second. The reverberations of that pebble last longer than you think. Holding the door for a perfect stranger to pass because they are using a walking stick makes a difference because, while you may not remember, they will.
I once had a lady sit in the booth next to mine in iHop. I was 16. I was miserable and thougth that life was truly the suckiest place to be. She chatted with me about absolutely nothing. The gloss on the menu, why people drive nice cars, and our coffee. She also told me to cast a pebble. She then proceeded to tell me that I will remember her. I may not remember her name and maybe not even what she looks like but I will remember the conversation. Guess what? I dont know her name, I remember brown hair and glasses and that she used her hands alot when she talked but I DID remember the conversation. She cast her pebble in my pond and the fish swim by every now and then and it moves. That is what I remember. Do you have pebbles in your pond? Why not cast some of your own?
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Dead... Is It Really?
Let's venture out my front door and take a walk out my front door and saunter down the street. There used to be a large planter that tried to have flowers that blocked the end of the street near the creek bridge. It has since been removed. That happened when the owners of the larger subdivision up the block purchased several buildings in the lower half of my street as well as the subdivision that I live in. Here progress forgets. The Dead End sign that signaled to motorists that there was no outlet remains. Recently, someone changed the face of it. Maybe to make a statement? I believe so. Over the past couple of years, Myrtle Beach has allowed massive amounts of "improvement" building. Apparently they opened a window of time for building to occur and it has changed the composition of the city. Myrtle Square Mall is gone as well as the Pavilion, several waterfront bungalows, and many businesses that have been pillars in the community. Yes, progress has rid the city of some of the eyesores but it also has created eyesores that have never been seen. Never before has the plight of the homeless been as prevalent as it is now. Homeless camps in the woods are becoming more visible as they are getting larger and more and more you see prostitution and other illegal activities going on. You read the paper everyday and look at stores getting robbed, people getting murdered and other sad, sad news.
Is it Dead yet? Maybe not, but it is dying. Myrtle Beach was once a destination for the middle class with a little extra money to burn. The bike rallies are gone, the Pavilion, Myrtle Square, and of late, Hard Rock Park. Yesterday, Hard Rock Park's bankruptcy has been converted to a chapter 7 which indicates it will remain closed indefinitely. Unemployment is rampant and is in danger of being sucked dry. Job seekers turn to the paper only to find 4 classifieds in the employment section. I have never seen the job pool this dry. I am thankful daily to be able to have a job to go to. However that company is hurting just like the rest of upper lower America.
Maybe this absent artist is making a loud statement that should be heard. It is a statement of power in itself and should not be ignored. It is not speaking of a person or an entity, it is speaking of what is left in the wake of rampant Progress. Progress that is poorly planned and does not take into account all of the economic, environmental and social devastation it leaves behind. Dead...Is It Really? Maybe So.
Is it Dead yet? Maybe not, but it is dying. Myrtle Beach was once a destination for the middle class with a little extra money to burn. The bike rallies are gone, the Pavilion, Myrtle Square, and of late, Hard Rock Park. Yesterday, Hard Rock Park's bankruptcy has been converted to a chapter 7 which indicates it will remain closed indefinitely. Unemployment is rampant and is in danger of being sucked dry. Job seekers turn to the paper only to find 4 classifieds in the employment section. I have never seen the job pool this dry. I am thankful daily to be able to have a job to go to. However that company is hurting just like the rest of upper lower America.
Maybe this absent artist is making a loud statement that should be heard. It is a statement of power in itself and should not be ignored. It is not speaking of a person or an entity, it is speaking of what is left in the wake of rampant Progress. Progress that is poorly planned and does not take into account all of the economic, environmental and social devastation it leaves behind. Dead...Is It Really? Maybe So.
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