Lift the mask & reveal tomorrow

Frederic Remington 1909 Moonlight Wolf

Frederic Remington 1902-05 The Scout: Friend or Foe
Frederic Remington 1905 Evening on a Canadian Lake
Frederic Remington 1908 Apache Scouts Listening

Frederic Remington 1902 A Reconnaissance

Not only look, but see; not only listen, but hear

I have been trying to think of something for a post for today, for Halloween, for October 31, for the last day of this month. Superstition drives me to put words on "paper" this day. My decision is to put down a few words from the abstract, some thoughts which arrive without logic or reason, as though they have fallen from the sky under the cover of darkness.

In my view of the world and of life, I cannot look at anything without including the historical aspects involved. This is to say, lift the mask and see who or what might be hidden behind it. Such it is with individuals, whether the individual is a passer-by on the street or a noted authority on this or that or a beautiful woman who would be my companion.

By history, I mean both personal -- which includes understanding things like family background, education, economic status, political predilections, traumatic experiences, military history, psychological characteristics and religious upbringing; and nationalistic -- which includes knowledge of the governmental system and the social mores/value system as a child raised within and accepted, as an adult, to live within, as well as other elements both concrete and esoteric.

Some would say I over complicate things, and perhaps I do. But, this is me. I feel I cannot know the universe unless I know all the stars, even the ones out of sight from me. I feel I cannot understand what comes out of a person (such as a piece of art or a belief) without knowing what has first gone into this person.

This is a common failing of critics and "believers," I think. They analyze the end result, the product -- a book, a film, a painting, a theology, a political concept, a way of dress -- without significant knowledge of its creator. Such incomplete examination primarily serves to give birth to blind faith in demigods, in miracles, in happily-ever-after, in cults, in false hope, in faux-art.

Beyond that, even in terms of studying the reflection an individual sees in the mirror, history is the most elemental of all disciplines. To know yourself and to accurately peer into your own future, all one needs to do is to study your own history.

My Halloween thoughts, then, are these:

~ It is not wise to accept a religion or a philosophy or a novel or a film without lifting the mask of the creator and looking behind it;

~ It is not wise to accept a companion without first lifting the mask worn by that individual, which is to say, without studying and understanding that individual's history;

~ History lifts the shadows from all things past and reveals what all tomorrows shall be.

~ Lift the mask .... trick or treat ....

A slight distraction







Be warned, of the Wolfen

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
-- Hamlet, Act I, scene v

If anyone should ask me why I posted these three segments from the motion picture, "Wolfen," all I would say is this: "Because the mood to do so came over me."

Perhaps, it is because it is autumn, and autumn is the beginning of the end of a season and an existing life and a year. Perhaps, it is because it is October 31, Halloween, which is a time for the unnatural and the supernatural and worlds within worlds, both pagan and orthodox. Perhaps, it is because it reflects what the woods dweller knows and the city dweller fears.

Be warned, some of the language is harsh, some of the visuals are harsh, some of the concepts are harsh. So, take about 33 minutes of your life to watch a few segments from a film which some consider to be a classic in its genre -- if the mood to do so comes over you, that is ....

Just for fun .... or whatever

Smile, when you say that, partner

When autumn leaves are blowing here and there on chilly winds, what better way to spend money and to have fun than by attending an antique show? It seemed like a good idea to me.

Then, as frosting on the cake or ice cream on the pie, what better way to top off an antique show than by also attending a gun show? It seemed like a good idea to me.

Since I ran three photographs from an earlier gun show a few weeks ago, I only ran one photo from this particular show (the last photo in line, no less), and four from the antique show. This, I trust, demonstrates my fair and balanced approach to the world, and my regard for antiques and firearms as equal entities under the sun. Smile, when you say that, partner.

The gun show illustrated a few weeks ago took place in South Dakota. Both this gun show and this antique show took place in Minnesota.

Please, feel free to interpret

Now, here is a plug for another song, as well. For those not familiar with the songwriter, musician, singer who bills himself as "Five for Fighting," take a chance and listen to the musical selection below. In addition to being a very pretty piece, it is fairly prophetic and certainly paints an accurate portrait of life for a significant portion of the male population.

As for the visuals accompanying the song, please, feel free to interpret them in any manner you desire. No questions asked; no answers given.

The few who live forever

Somewhere in time

I have fallen from beyond the sky,
And risen from the bottom of the sea;
Where else can I go, what else can I be?

I have given life, I have taken life,
And kept my life when all others have died;
What else is left to do, what else can be tried?

I have known brilliance, I have enjoyed beauty,
And scattered all the Muse with my sullen glance;
Who else might I find, who else is worth the chance?

I have flown upon visions, both in day and night,
And studied long to understand this endless chase;
When will it come to pass, when will I glimpse her face?

--vwsd

To the west lies Mythago Wood

From time to time

When I am in the city,
I sense I need to be going somewhere,
anywhere, but I know not where.

When I am on the river,
I always want to discover
what is around
the next bend.

When I am on the lake,
I must have a destination in sight,
and travel
from point of land to point of land.

When I am in the desert,
distant promontories call out,
come to me, come and see.

When I am in the woodlands,
my solitary instinct
is to be absorbed, to drift, to wander,
with never a destination required.

Only in the woodlands
am I without distraction;
no shackles, no burdens,
the only place I am truly free.

--vwsd

Ageless emotions awaken

Time and again

Bodies crumble and minds deteriorate,

while emotions are ageless and timeless.

With a breath, you awaken mine;

witness, now, your creation rising from the wine-dark sea ....

--vwsd

On the ninth day .... came the guide

Stairway to Heaven

There's a lady who's sure
All that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven.
When she gets there she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for.
Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven.

There's a sign on the wall
But she wants to be sure
Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.
In a tree by the brook
There's a songbird who sings,
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it makes me wonder.

There's a feeling I get
When I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen
Rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who standing looking.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it really makes me wonder.

And it's whispered that soon
If we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn
For those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter.

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow
Don't be alarmed now,
It's just a spring clean for the may queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on.
And it makes me wonder.

Your head is humming and it won't go
In case you don't know,
The pipers calling you to join him,
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow,
And did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind.

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul.
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last.
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll.

And she's buying a stairway to heaven.

On the eighth day .... came the guitar

Starship Trooper

I. Life seeker

Sister Bluebird flying high above,
Shine your wings forward to the sun.
Hide the myst'ries of life on your way.
Though you've seen them, please don't say a word.
What you don't know, I have never heard.

Starship Trooper, go sailing on by,
Catch my soul, catch the very light.
Hide the moment from my eager eye.
Though you've seen them, please don't tell a soul.
What you can't see, can't be very whole.

Speak to me of summer, long winters
longer than time can remember,
The setting up of other roads, to travel on
in old accustomed ways.
I still remember the talks by the water,
the proud sons and daughter that,
Knew the knowledge of the land,
that spoke to me in sweet accustomed ways.

Mother life, hold firmly on to me.
Catch my knowledge higher than the day.
Lose as much as only you can show.
Though you've seen me, please don't say a word.
What I don't know, I have never shared.

II. Disillusion

Loneliness is a pow'r that we possess
to give or take away forever.
All I know can be shown by your acceptance
of the facts there shown before you.
Take what I say in a diff'rent way and it's easy to say
that this is all confusion.
As I see a new day in me, I can also show it you
and you may follow.

Speak to me of summer, long winters
longer than time can remember,
The setting up of other roads, to travel on
in old accustomed ways.
I still remember the talks by the water,
the proud sons and daughter that,
Knew the knowledge of the land, spoke to me
in sweet accustomed ways.

III. Wurm

(Instrumental)

Sara

Wait a minute baby ....
Stay with me a while
Said you'd give me light
But you never told me about the fire

Drowning in the sea of love
Where everyone would love to drown
And now it's gone
It doesn't matter any more
When you build your house
Call me home

And he was just like a great dark wing
Within the wings of a storm
I think I had met my match -- he was singing
And undoing the laces
Undoing the laces

Drowning in the sea of love
Where everyone would love to drown
And now it's gone
It doesn't matter anymore
When you build your house
Call me home

Hold on
The night is coming and the starling flew for days
I'd stay home at night all the time
I'd go anywhere, anywhere
Ask me and I'm there because I care

Sara, you' re the poet in my heart
Never change, never stop
And now it's gone
It doesn't matter what for
When you build your house
I'll come by

Drowning in the sea of love
Where everyone would love to drown
And now it's gone
It doesn't matter anymore
When you build your house
Call me home

All I ever wanted
Was to know that you were dreaming
(There's a heartbeat
And it never really died)