I Pay My Debts

I get bored.

When texting first became something that I could do with any sort of regularity, in an effort to help ease the boredom (particularly while at work) I introduced to various friends what has eventually become known as Aaron’s Question of the Day.

At the time I started doing it, there were only about six people I would bug and it didn’t have a title.  I would just send whatever random thought I was having at that moment in a text and get their thoughts on it.  Mostly just as a cheap form of a moment’s entertainment.

Through word of mouth and involving Twitter and Facebook, it’s now become this Monday-Friday thing that’s all but gotten out of control.  Upwards of thirty people play, some of whom get upset if I miss a day (seems in some cases that I’ve gone from the entertained to the entertainer), and Friday’s have a Cage Match of various entities duking it out via the polling results of my players!

It’s fun enough and keeps my boredom at bay, but it also offers me a little insight into what makes some of my friends tick, and I didn’t see that coming when I started the whole thing.

Yesterday, for instance, I asked the question, “What is the first thing that comes to your mind if I ask ‘What is RIGHT with the world today?’”.

Out of nearly thirty friends, seven of them, roughly a FOURTH, said nothing came to mind or that there was nothing right in the world today.

Some of those seven are currently being plagued by negativity in their life in some form or another and a few were simply in a bad mood just then (one, well, they’re negative most waking hours), so I can’t fault them.  They were just being honest, responding to my question as they saw things.

But negative comments, like gentlemen thieves, can break in quietly without any muss and rob you of your optimism one silver spoon at a time.

That being the case (this next part might sound odd coming from me, particularly if you know me in person, since I’m moody and have little to no tolerance for a lot of people.  You’ve maybe noticed this if I’ve ever walked away while you were talking to me at a party, but social niceties aren’t really my strong suit.  If you feel the need to give Lauren, my fiancée, a hug for having to put up with me, I won’t hold it against ya), I’m going to do something.  I feel responsible for lighting the fuse that shot this negativity into the world, so I’m going to try and balance the karmic scales.

Here’s my list of seven things that are RIGHT with the world as I see it, in no particular order:

1. I live in a world where technology allows my friends who are writers and I to create and correspond instantaneously.  We can talk shop, critique each other’s work and stay topical with our lives, vision and worldview.  Like Lovecraft and Howard or Van Gogh and Gauguin did, with the added benefit, through said technology, that ear “incidents” are kept to a minimum. (I’m lookin’ at you, Van Gogh.)  Check ‘em out: Moler at http://daedalus-3.blogspot.com/ for, well, best leave it for you to discover, his wife Rae at http://raesforesthouse.blogspot.com/ for gardening tips from the guru, Bohannon at  http://thebohaagonsaga.blogspot.com/ (his family’s just welcomed a new addition, allowing his wit to shine in new directions), Libby at http://vespaer.livejournal.com/23309.html for some fan fiction from the show Heroes (though you’ve gotta be older than 14 or they won’t let ya in), Jason at http://jasonwarden.com/ for his horror shorts and Lauren, mia bella, at http://sociopathways.wordpress.com/ for great commentary on all manner of different things! (She’s not posted in many, many moons, though.  I’d be willing to write a piece of their choice for any person who gets her to start writing on it again!)

1. …where adventure is around every corner!  You can travel for it: I just went to the Scottish Highland Games in Riverside with my folks.  It even rained the entire time, so it was like I really was in Scotland.  I tried haggis (which I liked well enough until I tried a bite of it cold.  Now it is dead to me.), watched a caber toss and learned that a kilt only becomes a skirt if a man wears something underneath.  You can adventure by book (currently enjoying Songbook by Nick Hornby) or flick (I DUG The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus!) and especially by trying new food, like I did when Lauren and I went to the Kosher Festival in Overland Park a week or so back.  I tried a cabbage roll and it was amazing!  Incidentally, however, it turns out that I needn’t have spelled out my name to anyone in the Jewish community.  Lauren enjoyed my learning that quite a bit.  (See, nobody in KC seems to be able to spell my name correctly.  So when the lady at the brisket table took my order and asked for my name, I said “Aaron.  A-a-r-o-n”, which I’m wont to do, like I said, because most of KC can’t seem to get it together.  Anyhow, Lauren starts to snicker, so I turn to see what’s funny.  Lauren was looking at the brisket lady, who, it turned out, had finished writing my name before I spelled it out and is smiling back at Lauren.  Now I don’t have telepathy, but I’d be willin’ to bet that the conversation/Jewish mindmeld played out something like this:  BL: “Your fiancée doesn’t know much about the origins of his name, does he?”, L: “Sorry about that.  He’s probably just distracted by all of the food.”  BL:  “It’s no bother.  He does look like he enjoys a meal.”, L: “Oh yes.  He probably wanted to order something to eat on while we waited for the rest of the food, but doesn’t know the difference between knishes and blintzes!” BL+L “Hahahahaha!”  Like I said, I don’t know for sure, but I’ve seen X-Men.  I know how these mind talks go down.

1. …where John Coltrane’s music, particularly Lush Life and Giant Steps, exists.

1. …where Snoopy licked his wounds and, with the Great Pumpkin’s battle plan in hand, climbed back up onto his doghouse and kicked the Red Baron’s ass.

1. …where you can fly a kite on a windy day, splash barefoot in big puddles when it rains, build a fort in the snow and hide in a pile of dried leaves.

1. …where Post It Notes are readily available.  Handy when one wants to leave a secret message for his love to find.  Even if he does have the handwriting of a Turkish assassin.  A Turkish assassin who has been clubbed in the head and has suffered significant blood loss.  And his arms are bound, forcing him to write said secret message with his foot.  His left foot.

1. …where, when you come of age and you so desire, you can have chocolate donuts and Fruity Pebbles.  For dinner.

So there ya go.

Seven, of many, things that I see as being right with the world, owing for the seven bits of negative energy that came about through my actions, if not by my hand.

Paid in full.

~ by M_Gideon on June 16, 2010.