"It's not what you look at that matters; it's what you see."
Henry David Thoreau
My picture. Taken with a Blue-R1 phone.
Perspectives
I asked several people what this picture was a “meaningful indication” of.
The politician said that this was meaningful indication of local government efficiency; “look at how clean the street and the square is”.
The police officer said this was a meaningful indication of how well the population was following the pandemic directives. “The streets look so quiet and safe.”
The businessperson said that the car wash was a meaningful indication that the economy would recover despite the pandemic. “People’s creativity and adaptability will prevail.”
The preacher said this was a meaningful indication of how Jesus work must be furthered now more than ever. That rock was supposed to be read as a sign. Then he went ahead and recited 1 Peter 2:8.
and, 'A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.' They stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for.
Then, I asked an artist and she said this was a clear indication of the “kinetic possibilities of light and perspective.”
I asked a kid and the kid laughed at the man’s hair and clothes and said he clearly needed a bath.
Finally, I asked the man in the picture. He looked at me and cursed me. He said he’d smash my head with that rock if he were not so hungry.
My question was a meaningful indication of my assholeness .
This was my entry to @mariannewest’s 5 Minute Freewrite: Friday - Prompt: meaningful indication. Details here.
Thanks for stopping by and reading
Make sure you visit the Freewrite House!!!
I hope this is pure fiction, Henri. Esp the part about your "assholeness," which we all know is NOT how anyone sees you! Maybe a homeless, inebriated, hungry man in Veneuzuala could see ANYONE that way....
Your stories are always stellar. Now to find my way back to keeping up with all the Hive communities, tribes, themes, posts, posters: I got overwhelmed and just gave up for months. #MustComeBack
Oops, Henrry. Your name is one I can never spell from memory.
Hi, @carolkean
Good to have you back. It's very easy to be overwhelmed these days. I started doing little adjustments last month. Quitting Twitter and most news feeds was one of them. 25 days without that now and counting.
The resolution of this post is fiction, but it has happened to me many times (being attacked verbally by homeless/mentally ill people). Since I arrived at this town back in 1990, one of the things that called my attention was the amount of locos in the streets.
There were the regular ones, the old ones everybody knew; but then there were the new ones that came out of nowhere. People said they escaped an insane asylum in Maturin (a city in a neighboring State).
The thing is that the revolution did nothing to improve these people's lives. Far from stopping the emergence of locos, they seemed to have created a factory of locos.
There are more every day, and some of them can be very aggressive.
The man in the picture is not; I just made that up to echoe a very real outcome of what they, in the echoes of their labyrinths, can perceive as another form of aggression.
How sad. Reminds me of my 2016 visit to Chicago, after funding to mental health care was cut, and people in facilities were let out with nowhere to go but the streets. A six-foot man wearing a child's pink Power Rangers pajamas walked the streets, barefoot, mumbling... this is America, land of opportunity, and we had all these people homeless and uncared for. As you say, some can be aggressive. Not everyone welcomes assistance. To discern who to help and how is a life's mission. God help us.
That's unforgivable. I've never understood those "cuts". The United States (as represented by its governments; blue or red do the same) is a country of multiple contradictions. We see money wasted on things that are actually detrimental to their people and other people in other parts of the world. Then, we see how "there is no money" for things that should be a priority.
It's the never ending story of a road paved with good intentions.
You are right. Discerning who to help is very challenging. Many people here closed their doors for good. After so many fiascos they would rather "sin on the safe side".
We find conmen and women every day, even with bibles under their arms, just fishing. They say, "every day an idiot goes out for a walk; if you find it, you own it."
You are wise and insightful, and a born writer!
this:
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