Best and Worst

It really is a nation of dualities.

Fair and foul walking hand in hand.

Obscene wealth and abject poverty within inches of each other.

Joy and sorrow in the same sentence.

Hope and fear,

sublimity and trepidation,

vibrant youth and decrepit age,

unsullied decency and unvarnished decadence.


Is it really any surprise that we cannot manage to see the world in all it's myriad shades?


We are sorely ill equipped.

Raised as we are on a constant diet of rigidly enforced duality.








Someone told me tonight that they should have known better than to watch fireworks with a depressive.

But being related to me I think she understood better than anyone that (when questioned about the bright lights) I'll just tell you what metals are being burned to generate those vibrant colors; and when asked about the environmental hazards I'll tell you that it's far too late to turn this mess around, so we might as well just sit back and enjoy the show.

What I won't say, at least not in front of the kiddies, is that I do so love to watch the night sky burn.

It reminds me of home, or at least of where I was born.