Wednesday, December 31, 2008

As 2008 comes to an end, Goldie Hawn celebrates humankind. (There's just so many of us to love!)

Mankind, without a rock with its name on it closing in on Earth from outer space, does it damnedest to join the dinosaurs as a footnote of cosmic history anyway. The main differences being: a.) dinosaurs didn't have a death wish, which is; b.) sad, because it doesn't appear they deserved their fate as much as humankind does. ~Dada


In the Sixties, Goldie Hawn was the primary source for furthering my education.

In the fall quarter of 1967, just after the summer of love which was particularly intense in the San Francisco Bay Area, I was assigned a paper for my interdisciplinary class, The American Dream. I don't remember what the purpose or exact theme of that paper was, but I do remember a line from it. That's because I co-opted "There are a hell of a lot of people who don't deserve my love." My theft may have included more, I don't remember, but...

...yep, I stole that. I'd lifted it from a letter of a friend. And I didn't document my theft. I just stole it because I liked it. It expressed how I felt, it supported my premise and because I didn't know how to footnote its source as "a letter from my friend Harold."

However, in typing it up, I committed my second sin of omission. Instead of what I'd intended to say, the line came out "There are a hell of a lot of people who do deserve my love"! While I didn't have spell check then, it doesn't matter. Spell check wouldn't have caught that. Proof reading, I didn't catch it. Maybe if I'd had my editor Sam with me back then he might have caught it.

But those fourteen words contradicted my budding misanthropy - which may have been the entire point of my paper, I don't know. And that remains my earliest memory of karmic justice. Yet, forty years later, my mistrust of humankind continues to thrive, just as our species continues to "flourish."

And as a result, Dada wishes to apologize while simultaneously making the following New Year's resolution to you all:

In that 2009 looks to be like one helluva year at this point with continued starvation in Africa, promising wars just over the horizon as the world hovers on the edge of total economic collapse and chaos, I promise to be less optimistic. I promise to be more careful about what and who I do(n't) love...and certainly, I will be less cheerful. Editor Sam will see to it because holding me to my New Year's resolution is his New Year's resolution.

Thus, as the curtain is successfully drawn on the close of yet another year, here's wishing everyone a very Happy New Year. (Well, as much as is possible anyway.)

(Footnote: In 1967, world population was approximately 3.6 billion. In 2008 there now exists fewer than 1,600 pandas, only 5,000 tigers remain, while fewer than 7 billion humans exist in the wild, excluding those tamed, living in [prison] zoos, which may prove to be the salvation of the species -- if we can just get them to successfully breed in captivity.)

*****

6 comments:

Fran said...

Happy New Year you to you. Dang it, your predictions are already coming true. Mr Ramblings got word his 1 month temporary lay off has been extended till Feb 2.
Doh!

eProf2 said...

Being a optimist in the face of overwhelming disasters, I like your version of Harold's words, "there's just so many of us to love." See BE's youtube video this morning. New year, new dawn, new politics, new....whatever. Maybe some of the newness will stick!

Utah Savage said...

I came by to wish you Happy New Year, and to thank you for the kind words yesterday.

D.K. Raed said...

But, there ARE a hell of a lot of people who DO deserve your love, Dada, whether it's summer or not! It's my feeling (non-misanthrope that I am, or maybe that's a double negative, maybe the word is plain anthrope), anyhoooo .... it's MY feeling that it's the people who make life miserable for others who are the ones who don't deserve your love. That these people tend to generally reside in the upper rungs of society makes them easier to spot. The fact that those who have successfully spotted the unloveables have ended up in our prison/zoos does not give me much hope either.

So, nearly 7-Billion people to ring in 2009! And contrary to evolutionary pressure to miniaturize species that are becoming too numerous for resources, we are getting larger in size! Someday we'll all be 10-ft tall with head & feet the size of parking lot light fixtures. hmmmmm .... maybe we ARE following the path to gigantism the dinosaurs took!?!

That Goldie Hawn vid is a gem! Whatever the other vid is you posted is not available to me (it's just a little white square with a red "x").

Dada said...

Fran: Sorry to hear about Mr. Rambling's "extended furlough." I had read this over on your blog a couple of days ago while on the iPod. Wanted to respond then and there, but I'm not very adept at text msg'ing on the iTouch.

Also sorry to hear of of family health problems, your son's job ordeal, etc. I'm beginning to think you may be an *All American Family.*

Good luck! Hope '09 is better for you and yours. (But of course, you know that was a hard swallow before saying that, I'm just not all that optimistic.)

Dada said...

dProf: But, but....my version of "Harold's" words was a typo! LOL

Utah: Hope you had a very nice New Years eve/day! Ours here at the Dada's was nice and quiet, very laid back -- just the way I prefer it.

Deke: I know you're right...yes, there are loads of people deserving of my love. And that's the source of the enormous inner conflict I have being as how I'm a misanthrope and member of a failed species.