Poor is the Man (woman and child!) who's pleasure depends upon the permission of another!

Poor is the Man (woman and child!) who's pleasure depends upon the permission of another!

Yep.  I went and did it again!  But...But.... I was provokes! Kinda sorta, at any rate.  What's a man to do? 

(The moral of this story is NOT about a shopping trip...hang in there!)

I was shopping at the Wentzville Flea Market this past Sunday morning.  The vendors should have their booths set up by 6:30 AM, and if you want a parking space, you should be arriving on the Flea Market grounds about that time.

Even though my attempts usually fail, I try to make 2 passes, one pass when they open for business, to make sure there isn't any item that "I just can't live without" that might be snatched away from me by another shopper before I get around to the second pass.

I start shopping at 6:30 AM, and this past Sunday, I was in my truck and ready to leave the grounds at 11:00 AM.  There are several hundred vendors, and with both passes combined, I do take some time to shop.

Anywho, I was bout 3/4 finished with my first pass when I found my way into a small booth. This vendor had a few items, but none caught my attention more than the jewelry that was on the table in front of the seller.  I told her that I liked her jewelry, and I made every attempt to 'simply walk away' with no further comment. 

She stopped me, and told me me that she like making items from recycled materials.  One of the best, most adventuresome recycling stories in the St. Louis area is the "City Museum". (Not really a museum!)

I said, "Have you ever been to the City Museum?  The entire idea of that place is to be a chiropractor for the mind and the body, and it is made entirely of recycled and found objects."

You can find more information about The City Museum here:

www.citymuseum.org

or for more details:

http://www.citymuseum.org/allattractions.html

You can also find pics of this surrealistic adventure on Flickr.com, and videos on YouTube, as well as many other websites. 


Continuing.....

After I asked this woman if she had been to the City Museum, half covered her mouth with her hand, rolled her eyes, and whispered, "We don't go there because it is DANGEROUS!"

Any other astute person that was present during this exchange would have also ascertained by her body language and demeanor that she was poking fun at OTHER people who say the City Museum is "Dangerous". 

In half-hearted agreement, I said, "Oh, yes!  There are idiots who say the City Museum is 'dangerous', but I always tell them to keep their unadventuresome asses at home, safe on the sofa.  Even though there is always a risk of falling off the sofa and hurting themselves, the sofa should be fairly 'safe', but if they are still fearful, then perhaps they should lie flat on the floor, eliminating all risk of a fall!"

Then...oh, then.....  I took another look at her  It was at that point in he conversation that I realized that the was totally and honestly serious!  She is not an advocate of The City Museum / Bob Cassilly, or anything he has ever created, she is an opponent!

I am here to tell you today that I leaned over that table, and hissed at her, "I just arrived at the conclusion that YOU are one of the idiots that I was just describing!"

This woman, who was easily half my age, gasped at my blunt, up-front statement, and she went on to tell me that her child was playing in "Turtle Park", across from the St. Louis Zoo, and that her child fell and hurt his lip, requiring a stitch.  She went to a lawyer to see if she had a case against Bob Cassilly, the creator of both Turtle Park, City Museum, Concrete Land, and several other sculptures and artistic venues throughout the St. Louis area. Yes, she is 'one of those people' - you know the type - that are too damned lazy to work for their own money, and enjoy making the world a tough place to live because of her law-suit happy, controlling, lazy ass!!

This is the statement made by City Museum, on the front page of their website:

"City Museum is designed to be enjoyed by children and people of all ages. However, visitors under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a chaperone 18 years of age or older. Chaperones must accompany children through City Museum and are responsible for their conduct and wellbeing. Proof of age may be required. When coming in groups of 6 or more, City Museum requires a 1 adult to every 6 children ratio. (Adult is considered any guest over the age of 18 with valid id.) "

According to this lady, who was telling the tale, the lawyer that she went to see basically told her that she did not have a case, and that he was not the one that would fight Bob Cassilly's lawyers because she is responsible for the well-being of her own child, and that Bob Cassilly is not her private babysitter.  Can I just tell you, dear readers, that this poor, lost lady repeated to me, in a mocking tone,  what the lawyer told her ?!?  She did so, as if she believed that the safety of her child was another person's responsibility!

I went on to inform her that I am willing to bet that since she most likely wouldn't permit her child to climb over a second floor hand railing, falling to the first floor in a shopping mall, nor would she most likely permit such an activity any where else.

I told her, "YOU are the one that made the decision to have a child. YOU are the one responsible for the education, physical and emotional well-being of YOUR child.  It is not the rest of the planet's responsibility to assume your task!"

As yet another segway in the middle of this tale, can I also confide in you that there are many, many people who want to have sex, and unfortunately for the child, they are a by-product of their parent's actions, rather than a desired out-come. 

Although these certainly are included in the responsibilities that are assumed by a person who chooses to have a child (a parent!), there is much more to 'parenting' than providing a roof, clothing and meals.

You are also responsible for their education, both formally (school / college), and informally - LIFE EXPERIENCES - as well as emotional support.  If you fail to do these things, your children can and will hate you for it. Trust me.


There are very few parents that ensure that their children are well-rounded in their life experiences.  The parents place self-imposed limitations upon themselves, because they feel the need for a level of control.  These limitations are common in the parent's world, so shouldn't it be the same for their children?  And the cycle continues....

If there is at all a just and merciful God that is in control of the universe as we know it, I hope and pray to that God that as many children as possible will learn that there is a much more broad spectrum world out there, and that it is more diverse than the tight, closed environments that their parents have imposed upon them.  If you want your children to hate you, go ahead and impose unnecessary limits on them.  Like yourself, they will hate every cuisine other than ordinary American Food.  Let's not forget American Chinese food and Taco Bell / Chili's restaurant food.  American Chinese Food. You know - the stuff you order over the phone that shows up on your doorstep, or most of those buffets that you go to on a regular basis. Those count as "ethic food", right?  Uh... NO!    American Chinese, Mexican and every other Americanized cuisine is no where near authentic.  So, why do Chinese people sell American Chinese food?  Because they know most American people are embarrassingly gullible, and they are also embarrassing lazy, and rather than seek out good, authentic experiences, they will throw their money at anybody. Who wouldn't take such a deal?  If lazy,  unadventurous people are stupid enough to throw their money away, here is always going to be somebody standing by to catch it.

Children that are a result of lazy, unadventurous parents will openly mock anyone who speaks a language other than their own, they won't go anywhere or do anything different or cultural, and they will try their damnedest to make sure nobody else does these things, either.  (The idiot that made a feeble attempt at shutting down City Museum / Bob Cassilly is a good example of a lazy, unadventurous person who can't stand to see life in anybody else, so they are trying desperately to eliminate any life around them.)

Is it all about "Safety"?  Don't lie to yourselves, don't lie to me, and don't like to those defenseless children!  It is NOT all about "Safety", but is about control, and laziness.

The "Root of All Evil" has nothing to do with money, dear readers, and has everything to do about **LAZINESS**. Physical, mental and emotional laziness.  Laziness is worse than any cancer.  Even pancreatic and liver cancers have a cure rate (5 - 10%)!  The same thing that can Judge Judy says about "Dumb" can be said for "Laziness".  Judge Judy says, "Beauty fades - Dumb is forever!"  Can I please paraphrase?:
"Beauty fades - LAZINESS is forever!" 

Back to the idiot that is the subject at hand.  I pointed to my right arm. It is 4" shorter than my left arm, and has limited function and strength. I am blind in my left eye, and my right leg is another show, altogether.  I was born with an oddly clubbed foot.  As recently as this past winter, I required the use of a HooverRound to go through any large store, mall, or other bigger venue, and often required crutches to get from one room to another in my home. 

For everything on this planet, there is a "currency".  For most people, actual $$ is motive enough for them.  You can get them to do anything for a buck. For a young person that still lives at home, but is approaching adulthood, driving privileges or a slightly later curfew is their currency.  Considering the natural challenges that I was born with, the "cost" that I pay to navigate through this world is definitely higher than a person without these conditions.  The price I pay to live is higher, and I certainly want to get my "money's worth".

My operating "Currency" is time and experiences.  Time is the only non-renewable resource known on this planet.  If you "waste" water, it will, in some form or other, come back down as rain, or will end up in an aquifer, etc.  It absolutely cannot escape this planet, so it will be here, in some form or other.  If you use gasoline in a car, a lot the gasoline is released in form of energy to move the vehicle, charge the battery, etc, and another portion of that gasoline is returned to the Earth as carbons, water vapor, and many more substances.  It doesn't actually "go anywhere."  It can't escape this planet. If you take a piece of wood and burn it, a large portion of the wood is released as heat and light from the fire. Another portion is returned to the earth in the form of ashes.  Do you see the point?  At the time of this writing, once we spend TIME, we cannot regain it.  Time is the only completely non-renewable resource. Once it is gone, it is COMPLETELY gone. 

My recommendation:  We are all spending TIME.  Time is my currency.  Are you getting your "money's worth"?

While I was still leaned over this lazy, controlling vendor's table, I went on to hiss, "If you choose to use the time and energy you have been given to wreck yours and your child's life by limiting your life's experiences, that is your choice. I hope some day that you will be held responsible for those choices.  I would also recommend that you stay seated on the sofa, where you will be "Safe". We have already discussed that my life comes to me at a higher price than yours does, and I want to get as much for my "money" as I can.  The fact that you are trying to put Bob Cassilly and The City Museum out of business angers me.  I will not have YOU or anyone LIKE YOU coming between my life, and the way I choose to live and experience it.  I want to use everything I have been given to the fullest capacity possible.  Trust me when I tell you that if you choose to use your laziness to control and alter my life, you will not like the outcome when I am sitting on the sofa beside YOU!  You will not like that experience at all!  You can be as lazy as you deem necessary, but you will NOT come between me and my world."  I pointed to her child, who was about 20 ft. away, and I continued, "And I feel deeply for him, for having to live in the constricted environment that you have created for him."

She interrupted me, "Oh, I will take him to City Museum - when he is older."  I said, "You're a damned liar. You aren't going anywhere - except to the sofa!  Have a nice day!"

I smiled and I walked away!

The moral of this story:

"Poor is the Man (woman and child!) who's pleasure depends upon the permission of another!"

- Michael