Indolence and Rabelaisian Discourse

Nature abhors a vacuum - Francois Rabelais

I’m a little late on this post, being that the New Year came and went nearly a week ago. Truth be told, the realization that 2012, the much hoopla’d year in which everything is suppose to happen, from electing a new President to the end of the world as we know it, is now firmly seated in the present, brought about some reflection on my part. Now, more than ever before, I’m beginning to feel the pressure of time (or lack thereof) bearing down on my brittle bones.
What about you? Do you feel it too?

It was in December of 2008 that I received a phone call from a hospital worker telling me that my father had been found in his trailer after having a stroke, and airlifted to a hospital in Seattle. Just when I thought the news could not possibly be worse, the woman on the phone goes on to tell me he was in a vegetative state with chances of recovery unlikely. But that wasn’t all. She continued to tell me that they were waiting on my decision to remove life support. I was forced to let them disconnect to spare him from suffering, and I arrived in Seattle the next day to begin the arduous task of sifting through his life, while making funeral arrangements.

My Mother died a few years before, and having just arrived from a military overseas assignment, I could not attend funeral services, a decision I’ve regretted since. Something I was completely unaware of, and that I was told while making arrangements for my father, was that my Grandmother died not long before my Father. You see, something I became rather skilled at, due to my military activities, was avoiding family relationships.

After retirement from the military, one would think I would rekindle those familial relationships, and reconnect with those who I love, and who cared for me. Was it laziness that precluded such an effort? Possibly, but also a kind of stagnation – a habit built upon and reinforced through years of practice.

It’s funny, when you’re young, time seems to stretch out in an endless segment, like a thread extending out to some unknown and unseen point in space. It’s different when you get older, and realize you can see the end point of that string. So, now, as my desire to accomplish this thing or that thing grows, my strength to follow through, my very endurance, wanes.

Consider this day the end of indolence in my writing efforts. My blog is about my reflections, my satire, and my fiction writing, so it’s time I show more writing. I’ll still write under a pen name for certain material but it’s time I show all of you some wares from the real me.

Does this also mean an end to my highly sarcastic satire? Hells no. If anything, you can expect it to become more sarcastic and more satirical – that’s just who I am. I like to tell it how it is or, at least, how it is to me. Yes, I’m weird. Yes, I’m abrasive. Yes I’m opinionated. It’s high time my blog paints a picture of the real me. So watch out readers, the real JL Stratton is about to make an appearance, and he’s one ugly, hairy, stupid, opinionated, sexy beast. Okay, well, I don’t know about the sexy part but it made me feel good to say it. Besides, rude and cynical humor paid off for Francois Rabelais, so why wouldn’t it work for me.

The best to all of you in this New Year. Thanks in advance for those choosing to continue following my blog. The rest of you? Well, I’ll just say “bless your heart” and “I know where you live.”

Comments

  1. I look forward to meeting your hairy, opinionated, sexy beast in 2012. Make it count!

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  2. You are sexy James and a talented author to boot!

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  3. It is a life-changer when the generation before us is gone. It means we're getting old. We are becoming THAT generation. It also means, in a way, we are free to do what we want.

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  4. If you're sexy, you're sexy. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

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  5. Sometimes I DO feel sexy. Most of the time, I just feel like eye boogers on a dog.

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