See you next time. I’m enjoying a long holiday weekend after an exhausting post-Christmas rush at the office.
See you next time. I’m enjoying a long holiday weekend after an exhausting post-Christmas rush at the office.
I don’t like to get philosophical or depressing during the holiday season, but right now there are people who will spend the next two three-day weekends in exile, alone and ignored. We tend to think that some people deserve isolation for a particular reason or none at all. That is not how to repair what is broken.
On the contrary, we need to devote more attention to them, not less.
But we are a throwaway world. The minute a food wrapper no longer holds its cargo, we drop it just anywhere, often when a trash receptacle is nearby. We drop our electronics and furniture by the side of the road to be picked up and taken who knows where. Culturally we also put people aside. We beat them, we bully them, we shout evil words at them and try to pretend they do not exist. But they do.
Often we are scared of such people. Fear lies at the root of everything we reject. We beat them and shout evil words like ammunition to prevent their intrusion, and we pretend they don’t exist in hopes of them disappearing. They still remain.
Ignored people, like things, don’t just go away. They are always here somewhere. They need attention. The victim of abuse and their perpetrator need to talk and work out the problems that lead to their encounter. All the abuse victims deserve compassion and a voice and justice, but also their abusers have issues which need addressing. Celebrities like Louis CK have come out and said that, yes, abuse happened, and they did it. It helps to know the mindset, the background and the back story, leading to a decision to do something that deviant. Instead of throwing away what we fear, we need to face it and examine it and restore balance.
Nobody should be alone. We can’t ignore ourselves.
I sometimes come across telephone conversations that stymie me. This week I was helping with some phone calls at work when I encountered one for the books. I only understood one word in twenty. It was in English. Sort of.
The only words that made sense were “one hour.” That was the only clue I needed to decipher what the customer needed, but even so, I missed out on what could have been a stimulating conversation. This customer might have spoken some philosophical magic which would have enlightened my life, but by not being able to understand a word, whatever was said was lost to history.
It is always better to speak slowly and get the point across. Fortunately the person did not seem to be eating while talking, but the words came out a mile a second. I spoke slowly and calmly and thanked the customer for being patient while the situation took longer than an hour. They seemed satisfied, though I also could not decipher an expression of thanks.
Our phone personnel have a translator service, but how does one request one for bad use of English?
My calendar has been in such an upheaval, I haven’t been anyplace at my natural time. This includes my blog posting. Next Friday for sure, though, I’ll be watching the new Star Wars movie with about a gazillion other people except. apparently, everybody at work.
Yes, I work in a Star Wars-less office.
That’s okay. I’ll be putting out my figurines, including a newly acquired porg (a character in this installment resembling a penguin). I’ll be practicing the patience of a Jedi as I struggle through the workday and try to make it through traffic. I’ll work out with my movie buddy how to eat dinner and still get a good place in line at the theater.
Hopefully I’ll avoid any spoil sports in the lobby, not get fat on popcorn, and not bawl like a three-year-old when Carrie Fisher is onscreen.
Maybe I will be timely in my post next week, and I won’t overdo it by gushing or complaining about Star Wars. The next thing on my calendar is Christmas, so can this year end be far behind?
 | Eden on Getting the Message |
| Eden on The Unasked Questions |
| Eden on And Her Shoes Were #9 |
| Eden on The Poison Field |
| Eden on Final Tally |
Susan's Scribblings the Blog 