“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.” – Winston Churchill
The year: 1978. Dr. John Caravella has just been fired from his job as a DJ (disc-jockey) for using the word “booger” on-air. What would follow next is a series of events that made radio history. You see, back then a musician or band could only make it to the big leagues by getting air-play.
We all need an air supply, don’t we? So, what’s the best way to go about getting proper air-flow? You ever been so relieved about something coming to a head you didn’t realize how stressed you were to begin with? It’s akin to the unearthing of a booger so big, you can breathe 10X better. It probably reached half way to your lungs and has a little brain attached to it, but that’s the good stuff, right?
Life can be about learning which booger battles to pick and which ones to walk away from. If you didn’t know that, you’re probably not ready for self-reflection at this point, so stop reading now and put this article in your kindling pile. Trying to improve oneself isn’t for everyone. That much is obvious. Be sure to keep the rest of Lowcountry Weekly, however. Let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater. You know what that expression means, right? It’s the whole forest for the trees conundrum we can all find ourself mired in like a stuffy nose.
Back to what I was saying: Be careful what you choose to be ego-centric or self-important about. Sometimes we need ego to survive; other times we need to prioritize our whole selves to thrive.
Perhaps we can start with what we choose to ban from our lives. We can look to the music industry to know that only feeds the flames of desire. Hello! Hotel California would have probably still been a hit song, but would it have been as big if the powers that be at the time didn’t tell us it was naughty? Apparently, now that’s happening with Taylor Swift. I mean, if you hate her, does she really need any more help by rallying against her. Can she get any bigger? Let’s call her sinful and find out.
What do we really find so threatening in ideas that are presented in books to be banned? It’s all about the children, isn’t it? Is it, really? Or is it that you’re so unsure of your own position you have to resort to forcing the voiceless in to submission? Is the battle really won with suppression, or will a tiny spark remain? You’re not sure, are you?
Human nature doesn’t change, which is why we must place sentinels against our baser instincts. Understand that understanding of ourselves is the only way to guard against what makes us great. By standing in the way of certain things it beckons to that illogical part of human nature: We want what we can’t have.
I know from whence I speak. I grew up in a very conservative family. Parts of my origin family were, and still are, cult-like. My immediate family shared these opinions with one key exception: The thumb of “control” was not on top of me. At fourteen I recall asking my grandfather about a certain aspect of things. He restated his opinions along with biblical quotes, but refrained from telling me what to do. He told me that was up to me. It was the gift that kept on giving. As the decades have passed, I’ve observed my cousins from near and far. The control was an illusion. Do unto others, right?
As long as we’re tea bagging the third rail, I suppose this discussion can venture into the political dimension. Should I dare to be hopeful that your confidence is NOT so lacking that you have to browbeat/beat another into submission? To prove what? It was for a good cause. Was it really a valid cause if the method was clever brutality? Perhaps it was only for the cause of seeking your own validity?
If you answered yes to the last question in the previous paragraph, you’ve forgotten to use the paper this was printed on to burn it down. Burn what down? Why, what offends you, of course. It’s okay, you just forgot to remove the “beam” from your eye before removing your brother’s. It’s really not okay, but I’m okay with you believing it is. See how that works? I don’t have your arm pinned behind your back; what’s your next move, big snot?
Gunnan is the Dutch word that means to find happiness in someone else’s happiness because that’s how much you love them. Quite the opposite of the notion of schadenfreude that I wrote about in my last article, which is a fleeting feeling, at best.
Time has a way of rounding the sharp edges. So, let’s recall that, like the phoenix rising from the ashes, Dr. John Caravella became Dr. Johnny Fever, one cool cat. God rest his soul, but he would want to leave you all with one final thought: BOOGER, fellow babies, BOOGER!!!
