Caught between the Lies and Chocolate Bars
1/27/06
by Diane Sprague
A place that puts us in a very vulnerable position is the checkout lines of our local grocery stores. As we are waiting for our groceries to be checked out, we are presented with some lovely magazine covers to peruse as the person in front of us is arguing with the cashier about the state of her expired coupons. One especially distinguished publication likes to place pictures of 600 pound, three headed babies some unfortunate women brought into the world. Lord, these are some butt ugly babies these women are having. My theory is that these are the same women who have been probed by the aliens who have been elected for positions in Congress because that has got to do some nasty things to their DNA. Of course, there are endless articles about the scandalous acts of our revered celebrities, that must be true because someone said it is true, and in our mindless, let's not think things out for too long of a time because it might hurt, society that is more than enough for a closed and shut case. Then there are those constant predictions about it being the end times, which I imagine have been around since the cave people decided the thorns, thistles, and mosquitoes were a bit much and it's about time for God to come down and wipe this whole mess out. I must admit though I do like the pictures of actresses without their makeup. I get a kick out of that because they end up looking just like me. That's quite a trick and it's rather entertaining.
But mostly it just depresses me. I don't like to view their world because it is sordid, seedy, and sad. I usually shuffle uncomfortably and hope the people around don't notice that I am in the same species as the low life forms that publish this stuff. What I realized though is that it is all a marketing ploy because across from the publications on the other side of me are the candy bars. The store is hoping to milk me of one last dollar as I succumb to the temptation to nourish my drained spirit with chocolate as a solace against a world that hopes I would be entertained by their ugly, brainless lies.
I knew they would get Clay sooner or later. I was just hoping they would be a bit more creative, like discovering a parallel universe where all men were like Clay, and could sing like Clay, and woman were happy. Or if Clay hired a 1000 pound gorilla to eat Simon. Now I could live with that. No, they had to come up with something mundane, boring, and ugly. Yawn. Idiots.
So I could reach for the chocolate, but I found something better. On Monday night, after a long day of helping people with their computers at work and helping my kids with their homework at home, I thought I would just peek on the Internet for a few minutes before going to bed. I noticed a lot of people were at Clay's site, but I didn't know why. I went in and was shocked at the support pouring in for Clay. Every minute numerous post were popping up. It was almost magical. Even people who mainly lurk, including myself, were coming in to support Clay. I went to bed with a smile on my face because I knew I was not alone. I heard the voices that stand apart from the ugly world that floods us with mediocrity and lies, and insist on holding on to something special, something meaningful, and something real.
We are not trapped in that supermarket line. We can speak out against a world that would drag us in to their dark, empty holes. People who write lies are just fleas that cannot do much more than make us itchy for awhile; they are simply swept away and dismissed as soon as we see how little and meaningless they are. There is something bigger in the world. I saw a glimpse of that on Monday night. Once one sees that, the lies near the checkouts are easily ignored.
SirLinksalot: Clay Aiken Links
SirLinksalot: American Idol Links