A choice.

Here's a story that took place two weeks ago yesterday. It is a true one.

An old man is by himself in his house. He is 67 years old. He has children with grown children. His wife is running errands down town. While he is by himself in his own home, he has a visitor. The visitor is one of his neighbors, a fellow acquaintance. His neighbor does not wait outside. The old man does not lock his door during the day. A group of men are across the street, drinking beer on the porch. The old man smiles at the sounds of their laughter and the memories it brings him. The neighbor is standing in his kitchen looking around. He is 29 years old. The old man has invited him into his house many times before. He has given him rides home and to the store. The neighbor has thanked him many times. The old man is happy to help. He asks his neighbor how he's doing today. The neighbor replies by demanding the old man give him his wallet. The smile goes away from the old man's face. He no longer hears the men across the street anymore. He tells his neighbor to leave the house. His neighbor pulls out a knife.

The neighbor then cuts his throat, stabs him near his heart three times, and twice under the ribs. The old man crashes to the ground. He is in shock. The neighbor reaches and grabs the old man's billfold and disappears into the house, leaving the old man for dead. The old man sputters blood on to the floor. He is not dead. He somehow manages to make it outside. The men across the street see him. There is blood everywhere. As he stumbles out onto the street, his neighbor returns. He makes a run at the old man, but as he sees the men quickly coming to his aid, he runs away.

The old man is taken to the hospital. Two weeks later, he is in intensive care. The attacker is caught and arrested. He awaits the fate of the old man.




My father knows this old man. He told me this story last night, and I am angry enough to want to talk about it. What is there to say about this? How can we justify a man intruding into another's house and attempting to kill him for the sake of money? What drive did the young neighbor feed from? My guess is a drug addiction. Nothing else can explain it. I want to know what is going on through this man's head while he sits in jail. TO attack a man in his own home is an absolute shame. It's really hard right now to think of why this man should continue to live. If the old man had died, would he be given the death sentence? I don't know what his fate will lead to if the old man lives. The article in the paper was a few sentences. Dad found out the story from the wife of the old man. I don't see any reason why this man should ever return from jail again. The miraculous point about this story is that the old man is still alive. Two weeks later, the doctors are saying he is going to live. But does that save the neighbor who attacked him? Many goddamn months later, what will the verdict be? A few years in prison? Hope of parole? Or, something I'm beginning to like more and more, a simple bullet in his head.

In Recent News

Another Friday has arrived in Roanoke. In less than a month, three trilogies have been painfully wrapped up in the box office. The sad thing is that I'm pretty sure every single one of them (Spiderman, Shrek, and Pirates) are nowhere close to being as good as the original ones. I haven't seen Shrek or Pirates yet, and I doubt I will. It seems the last few years have weathered me into picking and choosing what movies I attend now. 8 dollars is too much money for me to watch Venom be a complete waste of film. Christ. It seems every big movie this summer is a continuation of the original movie; see Ocean's 13, Harry Potter, Bourne Ultimatum, 28 Weeks Later. Guess it makes sense. THe first two Pirates movies made over a BILLION dollars. Hopefully they'll use some of that money to bring some interesting and original concepts out.


Summer's been fantastic so far. As my three week retreat at home closes, I couldn't be in a better mood. Starting work again on Tuesday will be sobering, but also rewarding. I am looking forward to getting back in a routine and feeling like I accomplished something beneficiary again. I'm serious. I haven't done anything since I've been home. I've probably watched 20-25 movies, read 2 books, and played video games until my contacts fell out from lack of blinking. I think the first few days of work I might die due to sunlight exposure.

I've been interested in prison escapes lately. Shawshank Redemption has always been one of my all time favorite movies, and in the last few weeks I've been exploring other stories. If you ever get a hold of it, watch The Midnight Express. That movie stuck with me. It follows an American who goes to a prison in Turkey for trying to smuggle hash over into the States. Based on a true story, this movie is scary. The conditions are so bad there that if disease doesn't take you, insanity surely will. I've always thought that the concept of going insane is absolutely terrifying. Watching this reaffirmed those thoughts. I'm also reading Papillon, a book about a Frenchman who escapes from numerous prisons in South America. Pops reccomended me this book, and I can see why he loves it. The great thing about it (also based on a true story) is the friendships and the acts of loyalty in these "criminals". It's a lot of fun to read because the main character is just a great guy, and the shit he gets himself into is intense. Imagine this; he is sentenced to solitary for two years. TWO YEARS in a cage with no sunlight and no talking. How do you mentally prepare yourself for that? Two years ago, I was a junior in highschool. That seems forever ago. The things he does to stay focused and calm are intense. It really is a great book. The next book I'm getting ready to read also happens to be about a man who escapes from prison, this time in Belgium. He escapes and travels to Bombay, where he lives a smuggler, conman, survivor type. Obviously, my life in Roanoke reflects many of these wild stories. I, too, find myself in and out of prisons frequently. Hmm..


Today marks the 30th anniversary for the first Star Wars movie. Those movies still impress me today, despite their lackluster special effects. I'm pretty sure if I would have seen the first Star Wars back in 1977, my head would have exploded. I still get the shakes at certain parts in movies today. When I was little, my eyes used to dialate from watching THe Wizard of Oz and Willow because I would get too excited. I would march around the house and act out scenes on my own. Why yes, I am a geek. Why do you ask?

I think today I will begin bringing the epic back in my life. With work starting, and things to do this summer, it's time to really begin. I will no longer "go out" or "chill with friends". Everything now will be referred to as a Quest, or Adventure, perhaps even Spelunking. There is a cave not far from here, actually. About a week ago, I went on a Nature Expedition by myself. This was due to not having anything to do that day, the weather being nice, and because my body was beginning to shut down from lack of doing....anything.

To sum up everything, John Smoltz won his 200th game last night against former teammate Tom Glavine. Smoltz is the only pitcher to win 200 games, as well as 150 saves.

Go Braves.



JA

A night not consisting of Halo

For the last 3 hours, I have found myself in and out the weavings of the Internet. I have travelled from common sites to what I consider unchartered territory for myself. Beginning with a blog focusing on the recent trouble Opie and Anthony have gotten themselves into on XM Radio, I moved to a extremely conservative blogger, Neal Boortz. I went through his archives, reading his responses about current topics such as Don Imus and the Virginia Tech shootings.I have never connected well with the political world. Within the spectrum, I do imagine myself a bit more to the left than others, butI further and further avoid any type of political name thrown at me. I appreciate Mr. Boortz' intelligent and articulate manner in approaching many of the issues he talked about. Yes, he is a bit arrogant, and I found myself rarely agreeing with him, but I liked his manner of reasoning. Examine, attack, examine, attack. I mainly paid attention to what he had to say about Virginia Tech, which was to the point and possibly a bit too bitter. Here is his website http://boortz.com/.

Despite his credibility, I cannot get over the fact that he is in his safe office trying to critique the actions of those facing a loaded gun. How can he and myself included understand the situation those kids went through? I remember asking myself the day it happened, a month ago from today, "What would you have done in that classroom?" To be honest, I have no. fucking. clue. I would hope it would be strictly biological; the initial shock would dissolve and I would only be left with either fight or flight. It's that simple. Yet here I sit, in the safety of my own home, considering a life or death situation. Touche, Mr. Boortz.

I watched a film a few years ago that still occasionally finds its way onto HBO in the wee hours of the night. It's called Elephant. Directed by Gus Van Sant, that guy who also did Good Will Hunting, the film simply observes a highschool during an ordinary day, until two students walk in with camoflouge and shotguns. The camera simply follows characters in and around the school and listens to their daily rituals. This film is the closest I can get to understanding the utter absurdity of it all. There is no reason as to who is killed or spared. As the students walk in and begin shooting, the frailty of life echoes in and out of the shotgun blasts. Many students run, many students hide in the classrooms, and a few help. But the end result is tragedy and death for many. Nothing really determines who lives and who dies., except where the barrel of the gun points.

I don't want the incident at Virginia Tech to bring out sorrow from myself. I have quietly refused any public display towards it until now, mainly because of other tragedies occurring in the world. I wonder if an American soldier was killed in Iraq on April 16th, 2007. I wonder if the media felt his death wasn't as "upsetting" as what happened in Blacksburg. What happened at Virginia Tech was terrible, but no worse than what happens every day in the farthest corners of this world. There has not been a single day since it happened that I have not thought about it, and that's the respect I feel I can give to the Hokies. Sympathy for them was needed, but too much sympathy can be dangerous. Instead, I try to empathize and most importantly, understand the absurdity of the event.

Further into my Internet exploration, I then came across the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. This one again led to my complete bafflement of a situation I simply do not understand. Although I have been quiet with my grief towards Virginia Tech and the war in Iraq, the WBC are the exact opposite. Their viewpoint, however, is so skewered from what our society believes and promotes that it's almost unbelievable. I began searching for footage of their gatherings on the ever scholarly Youtube, and I found myself fascinated with them. Often, they left news reporters completely disgusted and confused with what they had to say. One video, however, really compelled me in trying to understand the psychology of this family. This video delves deep into how this family functions on a completely amoral level. They realize they are being offensive to others, but something within their beliefs supercedes any idea of morality. Watch this and see. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O228AQRvcqQ


The most fascinating thing this reporter said is how hate often is a personal attribute and a possible sign of weakness within an individual. How true! It is very hard to remain calm and collected when listening to the WBC. Seeing their young children holding signs that say "Thank God For 9/11" is enough for a triple-take. But ignore their message, and instead observe their mannerisms and how polite they can actually be. It's a bit like Hannibal Lecter.

I didn't mean to do this. I've covered things that I rarely talk about to anyone. I am not a political man. My intentions were not to decry many recent events that have happened. On any other night, I would still be playing video games, watching a movie, or listening to music. It's when I let my guard down that these big ideas float into my head. It's ok, Mr. Boortz, if you want to examine and attack while I observe and reflect.


To each man his own.

Jk

The Man With The Soft Eyes (night)

The Man With The Soft Eyes (night)

The man with the Soft eyes is here again.
They gleam through the shadows,
blue oceans swirling in nightsable.
While the world stands still in his frozen stare,
He dances below my window.
I hear him in the forests occasionally
Whistling a howlish tune, screams
of fleeting songbirds' echoes.
Our eyes met under the streetlight
He was all smiles, vomit and gruel dripping
down down down his smooth chin.
They say he makes children out of men.
Perhaps that's why he always grins.
The Man With The Soft Eyes is here again.