I am dumping the kitchen trash and engaged in superficial chat with another resident where I live, our trash dumping task converged on the same moment. The bin chute is held open when a woman wearing an attractive light summer mid length printed green dress approaches brusquely and taking advantage of the bin chute door held open she tosses her own small light bag of paper trash between us spins around and departs without speaking a word or even acknowledging our presence.
I had enough of this. It’s not the first time she’s been this rude. As she is about to open another door and enter, from a short distance behind before she goes in I raise my voice so she cannot avoid me without actually yelling and demand from her an explanation. “Why do you behave so rudely?” She heard me and she realized she cannot just be rude and escape as she has before. Instead of speaking to me she sets her fingertips to her mouth and flicks her hand downward. I read that as telling me she cannot speak. Avoidance again. I snap back in sign, “you rude me why” each signal chopped declarative and interrogative combined. Game up.
She tells me. In whispered voice that I cannot make out. I still don't know what she tells me. She is hesitant in saying whatever it is that she has on her mind. Unsure of my response. I say aloud indicating my irritation, “What? I can’t hear you. Please repeat what you just said and be clear.” She does repeat what she said but infuriatingly in the same lowered voice and I still cannot hear her. She has something to say to me, something she wants me to know. I offend her gravely in some way but she is unsure about challenging me with it. She wants me to figure this out on my own and correct my behavior without discussion. I’m supposed to read her mind by her rude behavior toward me. She is acting out, communicating through rude behavior that I am somehow rude to her. At that moment I honestly wish she would have stuck with sign and give me a chance at comprehension. She slips away again.
Shortly after, not long at all, another young woman who I don’t know behaves similarly. I do not let this one get by. I really am tired of this odd behavior that’s spreading so uncharacteristic for the place where I live. Are these two together, or what? I trap her and demand an answer. She does answer directly sputtering, “um um um um um um um um um.” She has something important on her mind that she really does want to say but she cannot get it out of her mouth. He own propriety does not allow it. It’s useless. Just go away.
Within minutes a young male does the exact same thing and this time I get a bit rough with him. He is a gentle person and I’ve had it up to my ears with all this incomprehensible passive aggression demonstrated all at once. I physically stop him and demand that he answer my question why are all of you behaving so strangely, so rudely? He tries to answer but his own rules of engagement prevent him and he’s reduced to the exact same stuttering as the female in yellow. He sound ridiculous muttering, “um um um um um,” he managed to choke out, “ you keep posting everything.”
That it? That’s what all this is about?
So what! Big deal. That’s stupid. It’s what I do. That’s ordinary. No cause for offense. If you clumsily painted your lips blue then I’d write, hey this guy painted his lips blue.
My attention diverted momentarily and in that moment he produced liquid blue and squirted it at the corner of his eye veritably covering half of his face clumsily as a child might apply makeup wholly wrongly. It was funny. Hilarious actually. I laughed at the sight of his face drizzled with cobalt blue and he laughed at my laughing at at his own cleverly quick and appropriate response. He actions said what his words could not say. He turned his body 180˚ so his back is turned to me but instead of walking away like the others he stepped backward pressing into my body aggressively and I was surprised to actually feel the contours of his body fit mine at every point of contact like two LEGOS set pressed together. We are kindred! Awareness of that was shocking. Through the doorway an entire class of youths appeared, they witnessed the whole episode. For some reason they applauded. The whole class had already been discussing this issue concerning all three.
I woke up. That was a dream! The second of two, the one that concluded more pleasantly.
KNOCK IT OFF, CHIP! What is this blog, a dream journal, or what? Your own personal self-administered psychoanalysis session?
Um um um um um, why yes, yes it is. I suppose. For the nonce, at least.
The first one was worse. A lot worse, involving public nudity in increasing increments of apprehension and dread to the point of slamming awake to escape the miserable experience. I should be thanked for sparing the colorful details and I suspect the theme quite common and familiar.
Hey, Colin Kaepernick, whoever he is, has his issues and I got mine as you have yours. I’d be satisfied to hear them.
14 comments:
Well said!
Colin Kaspernick is upset because he was over rated as a QB and his career is not going anywhere. So he acting out on raaaaacism to divert attention from his own failings. Because his suckdom must be due to the man only paying him $19 million a year.
Of course I would say Russell Wilson just focuses on playing football and visiting sick kids in the hospital on his day off, but he had to show his moral superiorness by dissing North Carolina's bathroom law (that no one enforces and is just big giant circle jerk of preening by its opponents).
Actually because of those pesky performance clauses that the NFL has, Colin may be down to $15 bucks an hour soon if he doesn't watch out. No wonder he is pissed about racism, the "man" and his lawyers took advantage of another repressed black man.
My issues? To the extent that I have any they are always regrets about not having done. For example: when you posted your post about bread - Haz, as usual, making the perfect comment - I had the impulse to post a long quote from Henry Miller, in which he talks about being handed a slice of buttered sour rye when he was a kid and the magic of walking around with one of his little friends, who also had a slice of sour rye in his hand, walking around and talking about the really important things that kids talk about to each other when they're out of the earshot of adults. But it was the rye bread, eating it as he walked and talked with his friend that made the whole thing magical. But I didn't post that quote and I've regretted not posting it since. Sins of omission. They have always been my issues.
The two girls or women in your dream are passive aggressive because they are deeply unhappy. The cure for their unhappiness is a good swift kick in the pants. In other words "You girls ain't all you've been made to think you are." But that's verboten nowadays. To point that out to women is verboten.
It is interesting to think about the culture and history of American Sports teams.
Of course it all depends on how old you are. When I think of the 49er's my first thoughts go to John Brodie and Gene Washington. When they were one of the only west coast teams like the Rams and the Raiders who were usually the late game.
Then there was the years of the great rivalry with the Giants. Montana. Ronnie Lott. Jerry Rice. Playoffs. Superbowls.
Now they are one of many teams that I have absolutely no interest in. With this nonsense I will have even less. I am sure the NFL doesn't care. They insist on insulting a vast swath of their fan base. Fair enough. They are telling me what I need to know.
Your dreams are always interesting Chip.
But one telling point was when you said that the complaint was "You post everything."
That is very interesting. It is a difficult choice when you are blogging. Do you get personal and talk about your life and the people in it. Or do you just post about events and ideas and stay impersonal as possible. I think it is fine to talk about what you think and what you are doing but not anyone else in your life. People will use that. I have seen it. So keep the dreams coming but keep it to what goes on in your own head. I don't think the people we know and that are around us want to be part of the mix. Just sayn'
Chip, I have discussed how rude young people are. They never hold a door and rarely thank you if you do. I can handle that. Here's what I can't handle. These entitled, special snowflake, self absorbed, assholes not giving an inch on sidewalks. Whether alone or 3-5 abreast, they just won't yield. I started my own behavior modification program. I walk briskly. I extend my elbow w/ hand on hip and get the motherfucker's right in the ribs. They never know what hit them. I just keep walking. No sneer, not even, "The look" just the elbow.
What's the matter with Kids these days?
I refuse to care about Kapernick. I've gotten to the point where I just watch the games. I don't give a rats ass what they do or say off the field. Same with sports announcers. I've stopped watching half-time show, pre-game shows or any other kind of sports shows.
Of course, I'm not a big Pro Football fan, I'd rather watch College Football. You get more variety, every Pro team seems to run the same offense, and the games all seem the same.
College Football, you get more variety. except at the very top where the college Powerhouses like OS, Michigan, Miami, Florida state and Alabama are semi-pros.
Usually if I see people walking 3-4 abreast hogging the whole sidewalk, i give them a change to give me an opening. If they don't, i just stop 1-2 yards from them and give them the chance to run over me or go around.
Usually they go around. Sometimes they pull up short. Once or twice they've bumped into me, and they come out the worst, because its unexpected - for them.
The problem is that the parents never correct their kids. They let them wild while all the time overprotecting them. A bad mix.
They never have the experience of any consequences for their bad behavior.
You don't have dreams if you sleep with a dog on the bed.
Over empowered, ignorant, selfish and ungrateful. There's no excuse for not standing for the anthem.
I was a lifelong 49ers fan but I've lost interest in the sport. Not just because of this incident but this is typical. Same with the Patriots cheating thing last year. All spectacle and no integrity. The NFL's relevance now is solely to measure the extent of the rot.
Yet when Althouse corrected you, you people here freaked on her.
Parallel.
It costs too much to smack the idiocy out of everyone so now we are all little shits.
But I don't care because I am Truly Blessed and Gifted, so I smack everyone around.
All y'all. Don't matter to me. I write in hopes of meeting you on God's golden shores.
"Blogger rhhardin said...
You don't have dreams if you sleep with a dog on the bed."
Barnett's dreams are in actuality chasing away demons sent for me. They are nearly powerless against the little fella.
He feels glad to contribute but is exhilarated when displaying God's strength.
The right attitude is paramount, but snarling ultra-focused intensity when chasing is our most visual cue as to what those doggies do.
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