Tuesday, September 21, 2010

I want it all, and I want it now ....

I am not certain how many photographs of myself I have posted here in the past. Four or five or six? Maybe. I really do not recall. In any case, Anita requested that I post another, so here I am -- Fram Actual. Now, before you get upset and complain that it is not a particularly good photo, I have to point out that White Bear took it. Most certainly you do not wish to hurt a teddy bear's feelings and say the photo is anything less than perfect -- do you? Well, do you? I should hope not. Thank you.

Oh, yes -- your vehicle is you

In a comment to my post a few days ago, Kaya mention that a friend of hers had a "great expensive car, last model Acura, equipped with all 21st century technology's wonders."

Well, that got me thinking (yes-s-s-s, thinking) about me and my vehicles.

When I returned from Poland in April and decided to buy another Suburban-type vehicle, I shopped around, looking at models from several manufacturers. One day, while stopping at a gas station, I saw a Lincoln Navigator. I thought it was a very attractive vehicle, so I went over to a Lincoln dealership and took one out for a test drive. I took it out a second time, too, and was seriously considering buying it. The Navigator is pure, indisputable, unadulterated, decadent luxury. Really beautiful, and filled with the latest technology.

Now, then, compare a Navigator to a Chevrolet Suburban. It also has all the amenities available in this, the 21st Century -- if you wish to have them. But, essentially, it looks like a vehicle designed for work, not like something made for someone who wants a four-wheel drive vehicle to show off, but has absolutely no use for one. In other words, it is not like a luxury-designed Lincoln Navigator.

The next day, the salesman called and gave me a time-honored sales pitch: "What can we do to put you into your Navigator?" Interpreted, this means, what can we do to get you to buy it?

I told him this -- exactly this -- because I have a bad habit of telling people the truth (at least ninety-nine percent of the time):

"I've been thinking about it, and a Navigator just isn't me. Too fancy. Too slick. Too many frills. I'd feel like a fool driving it. Thanks, for letting me take it out to test drive it, but I think I'll keep looking until I find a Chevrolet Suburban that I want."

I am not certain, but I doubt the salesman ever had heard anyone say that before. After all, their entire pitch is to get you to believe you and their product were born for each other. It goes like this: "That vehicle is you! It's got you written all over it! You! You! You!"

I have been a pretty good pitch man myself. In the past, I have written here about what I considered my talent as a chameleon when I worked as a reporter. One day, I might interview a banker; the next day, a drug dealer; the next day, a doctor; the next day, a high school coach. In nearly every instance, I could work my way into their confidence in a matter of minutes and convince them I was their friend and my entire purpose in life was to give them the best story they could ever hope for in a hundred years. All they had to do was open up and talk -- tell me anything and everything.

Well, that is the way it was (and is), but, in truth, I feel most at home among working class men. I can fit in with carpenters or Great Lakes sailors or bikers or police officers or you name the outfit, and I do not have to put on my chameleon suit.

Sitting in a bar in a Great Lakes port one night, I ended up next to a man I learned was a deckhand on an iron ore carrier. After about fifteen minutes of back and forth talk, he asked me, "What ship you off of?" You have got to believe that I took his question as a compliment. Another time, I had a similar incident with a motorcycle gang. I think I might have had an angel with me that night. Maybe, I will write about it another day.

The long and the short of it is that you often can discover a great deal about an individual -- man or woman -- by noting what type of vehicle he or she prefers to drive, not to mention the type of bar he or she frequents and the sort of people he or she sits next to in it.

You probably have learned a bit more about me through this post, as well. That is fine, but now it is your turn to tell all.


31 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is very very nice..Auuuuuu..what a man what aman!!!!you look exactly the same as i thought you would do.Just perfect!!!and a nice fireplace too.Is it real?i think somewhere you said it wasnt..but it is a nice fireplace anyway..Have to read more about that car thing you wrote,,but i am pretty tired now..Only know i like chevy starcraft with 5-7 seats and a bed behind.

Have to logg of now.Only 3-4 hours again and i am home in bed.It was really good to see you.Think you get many many comments today Fram!!(and a secret..i have saved that nice photo!!!)

Fram Actual said...

Well, you got your way, Anita. There is a photograph of Fram Actual. But, thanks to the photographic talent of young Mr. White Bear, Fram Actual has his way, as well. He remains hidden in shadows and motion. No one would ever be able to pick him out of a crowd using that pix.

All right, enough of that third-person response.

I am a bit confused, though. You thought I would look like a blur?

The fireplace will burn using natural gas flames, so it is real, but not meant for burning wood.

These photos are fun. I might ask White Bear to take another in a few days. He needs more practice.

By the way, that is the same t-shirt I was wearing in the January photo taken in The Apartment in Warsaw.

Magda Machnicka said...

Oh, hi Frammy. What a tallented little boy White Bear is! But it is not in bathing suit.

I wish I had Hortio's car, what does it mean?

Anonymous said...

Frammm...hmmmmm..you are soo nice..youare melting me..!!

blur?what is a blur?you are just like the man a saw in dreams..remeber?He to was a kind of faded in a shadow..

do you train or something?you got so big muscles..(in your overarms)I would not come up to a fight with you thats for sure!!

Is it something special about the T-skirt?..i know it is the same as Poland photo..Grey is nice colour..i have one as same too.

about photoes..one of the scenes of the first lake house..I could see you in the reflect in a glass..you have an mustasche right..and dark hair?..Please take some more photoes?or tell me where?Where? on your blog is more photoes of you?..Ok..enough of this or you may be think..this woman is addicted!!Look at beautiful handsome men!!..i have just awoke and did dream you too was just awake..looking at your nice cold silver coloured guns..Ok..have a nice day and maybe we talk later..in night

Anonymous said...

I agree with magdalena..bathing suit!!!Bathing suit!!:)))))

Magda Machnicka said...

Frammy, here it is!

http://myredhummer.blogspot.com/

:-)

Kaya said...

Fram, i have never seen your photos before. I think that your White Teddy Bear isn't the best photographer in the world but very smart. And you know why.....

That is a big step for Fram to show his photo again. Strange, from time to time I want to change my photo in my profile to a picture- image and I don't do that for only one reason that everybody knows me. Why bother?

Irony of ironies, you created very special image of yourself surrounded with a mystery. Imagination is a very powerful thing. One day I imagined you in certain age and certain attitude, another day you were awfully young and excited to go to the concert and called the performance you watched dandy. Let this mystery be.......

An "almost" picture taken by White Bear is very nice, very nice.....

An interesting answer to a dealer about Lincoln. I liked it very much..... This is Fram I would like to know more about.

Fram Actual said...

Yes, I remember Horatio's Hummer, Mag. There was a Hummer across the street from me when I lived in The Townhouse, a black one, and I think it is shown on one of the photographs I posted from there.

Hummers are no long made, and they will be increasingly difficult to find and to find parts for if repair becomes necessary. But, who knows what the future might bring?

White Bear is extremely talented, more so with computers than with cameras, and he is a fine driver. He also is becoming an expert on such invaluable knowledge as the history of firearms and Western movies. Yes, very talented and very bright.

I think I lost my bathing suit, and it is too late in the season to buy another. Next year -- maybe.

Fram Actual said...

Blur, blurry, out of focus, Anita. The features are not clear and discernable.

Yes, I recall now you speaking of your dream and the man fading away into a shadow. Interesting.

Patterns of exercise come and go with me. Sometimes, yes, for a few months, then, no, for even more months. Never in a formal sense, though; never in a gym. What I really need is a bit of walking and jogging. I am gaining weight since my return from Poland.

The t-shirt is one with USMC on the front and a Marine Corps slogan on the back. It is not special in any other way.

There have been a few photographs of me in the past, but I am not about to go back through a year and one-half of posts to figure out exactly where they might be located. I am too lazy for that.

My hair is not as dark as it appears in this week's photo, but, yes, I have a moustache.

There is an old song I vaguely recall in which a few of the words are something like, "dreaming my life away." Be careful, so you do not do that, Anita.

Fram Actual said...

Yes, Kaya, White Bear truly is very smart. He often saves the day.

I never have shown a clear photograph of myself in a post and, possibly, never will. I have had this blog more than a year and one-half now, and while there has been a photo here and there along the way -- none of them reveals much about me. My wolf image has been with me since the beginning in regard to the profile.

As for you changing your photo to an image, but not doing it because "everybody knows me." Do it anyway, if the mood strikes you.

Yes, I do enjoy the mystery involved regarding my persona and identity. I am not beyond throwing out false scents on occasion, either, although I have told only one actual lie in regard to the world of blogs, and regret doing it very much. Beyond that, in reality, I am a very cautious, low profile, even secretive individual. So, no matter what, the mystery will continue -- possibly forever.

White Bear thanks you for your compliment, and admits the "almost" picture involved more luck than skill.

TheChicGeek said...

Hello Fram :)
So you want it all, ha?

I give you advice from the Ancients, "“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” Epicurus~
You actually have a lot only for some reason I don't believe you truly appreciate that fact. Sometimes you do, but sometimes you forget...
Oh, well, it is Fram, the Bitter Bierce; yes?

Well, Grandpa, you posted you cut your hair short so does it grow fast or is this an old picture? Only Fram's hairdresser knows for sure :) You should post one you sent me so everyone can see your pretty eyes :) I am pleased to see you showing more of your true self. Honesty is always the best policy and the truth always eventually comes out, doesn't it?

Okay, Muscles...have a Fun Day :)
Good thing you have all those guns to fight off the women chasing you...LOL :)

Agape Love...(that's the best kind), Hugs and Happy Wishes,
Kelly

Fram Actual said...

Well, actually I might not want it all, Kelly. If I wanted it all, I probably would be driving a Lincoln Navigator instead of a Chevrolet Suburban. And, the past day or so, I have been thinking I would be less visible in another Audi than in a Corvette, and that the German car might be a better fit for me and my style. But, there is time still to think about such things further.

Yes, Fram Actual continues to walk the same path as did Bitter Bierce, but, perhaps, is not so bitter and, obviously, is not nearly so talented. I have not thought of him for some time now. This might be a good moment to look him up.

Your remark about my hair confuses me. Unlike Samson, I trust only women to cut my hair. About three inches were sort of chopped off the back when I returned from Poland, but that was five months ago.

Actually, I think there is only one person on the sea of blogs who has any sense of my "true self," and, as some of us have agreed, it probably is not possible to ever completely know another person. As for me, I certainly have not yet been able to reach my own core. I keep hoping someone else will be able to see inside me, and to bring it to the surface.

As for truth, no, I disagree. It does not always come out and, even if it does, sometimes revisionists try to change it after the fact.

No, no guns to fight off women. They are the only real mystery in life. It is one I will never solve, but to discuss beliefs, dreams, desires, philosophies, anything and everything, with women is a genuine pleasure. I wish to understand everything. And, there is beauty to found in each and every woman.

This has been an interesting exchange, Kelly. It truly is fun to be around you, and our talk brings to mind the words from another old song (which frequently is the case with me). I think I will "play" this song on a post tonight if I am able to find it:

I was gambling in Havana
I took a little risk
Send lawyers, guns and money
They'll get me out of this, hyeah ....

TheChicGeek said...

But you just said you don't really like the Navigator...Besides, a nice suburban is better anyway...at least I think so. Thinking, thinking, thinking.....

And, as for the truth, I still disagree, it does come out...it always does. Sometimes not for a long, long time, but eventually the mystery is solved. I believe this. Even if you don't have "black and white" proof, you know the truth deep down inside. You don't need to see it, to know it is real. Revisionists are not speaking the truth...they see only what they want to and create a story to make themselves feel better. Truth is truth. There is no doubt.

Lastly, I should not tell you this, but as I was reading "Giants in the Earth" I kept thinking how similar your writing style is to his. I could hear your voice in his writing...it was interesting to me. You are very talented and pretty easy to read when one actually takes the time to "read the fine print."
Grrrrrrrrrrrr
Now Bye :)

Magda Machnicka said...

Hmm, this is not a good news, about Hummers, but I will have one and so, maybe they do not need to be repaired.

Ok, but next year for sure :-)

Magda Machnicka said...

ps. Yes, I saw one on your picture with the castle. Really truly cool except of the colour.

Anonymous said...

Kelly!!Bravisimo!!!!you made me laught tonight.Grandpa!!!!...Iam smiling!!!!

Fram.what do you mean anita should not dream her life away?

i think anita just says nice things to people so that they can feel happy!!!why say ugly things even if the thing is a TROLL???


i end it with kellys marvelous poem..from the Ancients, "“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” Epicurus...

and kelly you are AWESOME tonight!!!!..see you!!!!

Fram Actual said...

It was not so much a question of liking or disliking the Navigator, Kelly, but of not feeling comfortable in it and of not identifying with it and what it represents. I prefer natural beauty as opposed to made-up beauty, muscle vehicles to luxury vehicles, intelligence to education -- the list could go on for a while.

Beyond that, if I actually should "want it all," I would have gone with the Navigator instead of the Suburban because, in theory, it would represent greater status and be bound to impress more people. What I like would not have been of consequence in the sense that the image I wanted to project and the status I wished to achieve would have been of more importance to me than my own feelings.

Truth is truth, but I really do not believe it always reaches the surface. No big deal.

Ole Rolvaag's writing is/was absolutely poetic in nature. I once had an instructor in college who wrote a comment on a short story I had submitted which said that I "paint beautiful pictures with words." I think that is the most meaningful compliment I ever have received about anything I have written.

The instructor, incidentally, committed suicide a year or two later. I wished afterwards that I would have gotten to know him better, and had spent time talking with him about books and writing.

Fram Actual said...

If you should someday have your own Hummer, Mag, I would not be surprised at all.

Yes, next year, a bathing suit, for sure. Or, who can predict the future? It might be that I will find myself under southern skies in the not too distant future, and it would become necessary to have one right then and there.

I trust you are enjoying the adventures of Horatio at this very moment.

TheChicGeek said...

I think he saw what I see...you do paint pretty pictures with words....it is YOUR secret talent :)
xo

TheChicGeek said...

After Anita's comment I figured I better hurry up and comment before you BLOCK me...LOL :)))
Love You, Fram :)

TheChicGeek said...

Teasing, teasing, teasing, what fun we are having with Fram today :)

Fram Actual said...

I was teasing you, Anita. You seem to have many dreams -- more than I do, anyway. I suppose that is good, as long as the dreams are good. My own come and go.

Yes, you and Kelly seem to be enjoying yourselves today. More power to you.

TheChicGeek said...

One more :)
Yes, I agree, natural beauty over made-up beauty, and intelligence over education... Some highly educated people are not really very wise at all.

And, and, and, my compliment on the writing is not teasing, but true....absolutely, positively :)

Have a nice day :)

Fram Actual said...

It is possible you are approaching a place on the endangered species list, Kelly.

Well, maybe not, and I am thankful I am not sitting between you and Anita at a table at this moment. I would not stand a chance.

Now, I am leaving here to eat, and I am no longer reading any comments that might appear for this post. You two can have the place to yourselves. Have fun ....

Anonymous said...

I say you dont have more fun than you create your self!!!!

I do laught about all this comment in here..after all that is what is fun dont you agree..to smile a bit and tease a bit..i love it,,but I am VERY VERY SAD you kelly are leaving us..You better come with a good new blog as soon as possible ok!!!

See you ,have I have to take care of some eldery pasients..cant see ,cant hear, cant walk..ohhhhhhhhh!!!


Fram.I am glad you dont take me to seriously.I love to have fun with you.!!:))

Fram Actual said...

Yes, it was fun, Anita.

I take everyone seriously, although it might not seem that way at times. That is my nature. But, that does not mean I cannot have fun, too.

TheChicGeek said...

Fram, I was thinking...uh-oh...LOL...but, don't you believe the most prestigious and highest mark of a human being is a person that stands for what they believe in, and one who does not care what society thinks of his "status," because he knows his status and does not need artificial symbols to boost him. He is already on a higher plane. He cares about who he is inside, he knows what he likes, but does not need to impress others.
Therefore, I would say you DO have it all because you march to your own drum. You know who you are and don't need a luxury vehicle to prove it. When a person is doing what they want, and buying what they want because they like it for themselves, they are being who they are and they are following the highest and best path possible. That person DOES have it all :)

I know a very wealthy man who lives at the beach, has many cars, including a Rolls Royce in his garage, yet, he drives a simple car. He told me that he wants people to meet him and like him for who he is, not what he has or drives. In this way he is better able to find genuine and honest relationships. The women he dates like him in an SUV and they like him in the Rolls too...well, maybe they love him in the Rolls...LOL....See...now I am teasing :)

Anyway, once again I am telling you, you already have the magic key :)

And, "endangered species"???
Well, I will take this as a positive in that endangered species are those that are unique, special, one-of-a-kind, and worthy of protection :)
Thank You :)
Love From The West...
Sweet Dreams and Happy Trails, My Friend...
Kelly

Anonymous said...

Bravo Kelly.

Anonymous said...

Fram.i think kelly has made a good statement of how you seems to others.A very wise man.I totally agree.

For me.I am not so interested to find out who you are.or who you have been.It is more like to have some crazy fun and learn a little of you and your nice friends .I think i will never forget you and Kelly and Kaya.Take care all of you!!

Fram Actual said...

Well, I am not certain I agree with you, Kelly. Sure, what you said might well be the case, but there could be other reasons, too, which are not part of "the highest and best path possible."

But, we will not go any further with the thought right now. I am done thinking for today, and want to forget about the world for a while.

Thank you, for looking for and (possibly) seeing the best in me.

Fram Actual said...

Yes, Anita. Thank you, for your kind words and thoughts.

Something special ....