Not only am I a few days late for this (how have I not noticed it before?) but I intend to cheat from the very first word (the 6th actually). It is for Linda’s SOC prompt (Though not the current one, it would seem) in which we are challenged to write something (anything) based on the sixth, seventh and eight words of a random document. I walked into my little library and closed my eyes before randomly selecting a book and opening it at page 1. That’s when I cheated.

So …..

May I skip a word? The seventh, eighth and ninth words in One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez are ‘THE FIRING SQUAD’.

The book, if you haven’t read it, has very little to do with capital punishment. I think it has something to do with a community living in isolation whose understanding of a shared reality is different to those of us who don’t live in such isolation and have, therefore, a different shared reality and a different understanding. But not a more valid one.

It’s probably best to quote the whole sentence. “Many years later, as he faced THE FIRING SQUAD, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice,” it says, and I think that gives you a good idea of what is to come. Though the book does not have a lot to say about ice, either.

But today we need to focus on words seven, eight and nine.. THE FIRING SQUAD. Those three words, I think, say some fairly horrible things about humanity. I think they describe humanity’s inability to deal with itself. Humanity has come up with some fairly reasonable ideas about how to deal with itself over the years. But I don’t think THE FIRING SQUAD is one of them.

The ‘death penalty’ is, after all, a nonsensical term. I remember reading of a man who was strapped to the electric chair. He had done something very horrible, no doubt. The authorities asked him if he had any final words to share with the world before they flicked the switch. “Well,” he is reported as having said, “this certainly should teach me a lesson.”

I suddenly remember an essay by Henry Miller. ‘Murder the Murderer’, it is called. Mr Miller doesn’t think THE FIRING SQUAD is much of an idea, either. So I am in good company.

During One Hundred Years of Solitude we discover that Colonel Aureliano Buendia is just as confused about life as the rest of us although, in the end, he sees “a century of daily episodes, in such a way that they coexisted in one instant”. I don’t really know what that line has to do with anything or if it gives us any insight into life or, indeed, into death. I mention it because I notice today that I underlined each word about One Hundred years ago, the first time I read them.

Song Lyric Sunday
I came across a recent reference to mashed potato and song lyrics Here and was reminded of a release from the distant past of a single by ‘Billie Thorpe and the Aztecs’ of that very title. The lyrics were as follows:

“Mashed Potato,
Yeah.”

That’s it – that’s the entire song (though repeated over and over again). I’m not sure that anyone actually makes any claim to having written those inspired lyrics. I dare say I could claim them as my own and nobody would dispute it.

OK … I grant you that it was not a high point in Australian art. Nevertheless I do have fond (though by nature of the events themselves, somewhat vague) memories of the Aztecs and Billy Thorpe in particular.

Sadly, Billy is no longer with us. so he can be mentioned in the same sentence as Dolores. In terms of a lifetime poetic contribution he may not belong on the same page but …. geee …. he did have a certain raw energy and lust for life that you don’t come across every day.

So … for what it’s worth here he is

I was walking the streets of Vancouver yesterday. It was windy. It was wet. It was cold. All in all, not a great day to be walking the streets of Vancouver. But I was not alone. There was a protest taking place. A march. And so I walked beside them, just to taste a little of their anger and see if it was a flavour that I recognised. As it turns out though, they were, as far as protesters go, a strangely cheerful bunch. It seemed to me that it was not an anger that they were there to express, but a unity. Good for them. It warmed me just to be along side.

It was mainly women in the group. But a lot of men were there too. I’m a man. The people were smiling and talking and sharing the cover of umbrellas and laughing and holding hands. Nobody held my hand. That would have been a bit weird.

The police were there too. With cars and uniforms and flashing lights. With loaded guns as well, I suppose. But they were not there to break up an angry mob. They were not there to silence opinion. They were there in support. They were there to stop the traffic. To ensure safe passage through the city. Nobody seemed to mind being held up on the way to work or to lunch or to the football or to whatever for a minute or two. People in cars honked their horns and waved at the protesters. The protesters waved back.

Everyone seemed intent on being nice to each other. It was easy.

Here’s what they were on about.

So … as frivolous as it may seem, that was my take on the whole thing. Just be nice to each other. It’s easy.

Note: I thought I’d add this to #JusJoJan at Linda’s Place
although it is, as usual, way off script. It was just a brief and ordinary moment in my long and ordinary life that I felt like keeping a mental record of. Most of all note, dear readers, that I would be horrified if anyone thought I was trivialising something that I actually take very seriously.

Not the good stuff, no.

I try to never use the word ‘hate’ and encourage others to do likewise. Particularly if it is pointed in the direction of another human being. It is horrible as a word and even more horrible as an emotion. Maybe I am just not that emotional, but I can honestly say that I have never hated any person or any thing. Full stop.

On the other hand there are a lot of people and things that really get up my nose and for quite a while I have thought about creating a blog about them. Because the list is endless and could keep me going for the rest of my time on this planet. I’m always angry about something, and most days about quite a few things.

And it just depends on which side of the bed I get out of. Yesterday, for example, I really had it in for the British royal family, crypto currency and frequent flyer programs. Today it doesn’t seem so important. Well …. actually I could rant on about ‘royalty’ and everything it implies 7 days a week (and sometimes do) but if I had any money today I might actually go out and buy some bitcoin.

That is not to suggest that I’m in any sort of good mood today or vaguely likeable myself. No Sir.

Anyway … I did a bit of research into other people who might have the same idea (blogging about stuff that really shits them) and discovered that there are a lot of those people. A lot. And I was sort of disappointed to find one guy who does it so well that the idea of doing it myself now seems a bit silly. So I offer him instead.
Here
It’s possibly worth noting that he seems to have terminated the whole process back in 2013. Perhaps it all got too much for him and he shot himself.
Oh, I should have warned you. He uses some fairly strong language in places. Including the word ‘hate’.

Editor’s note: The author has seen multiple references to #JusJoJan and today a prompt of ‘Justice’. He doesn’t think that there is any such thing as justice but wanted to get on board anyway by jotting down the first thing that came into his head. He apologises to
Linda