Our time in history......

An eloquently written Message by George Carlin:

"The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away"

A walk down memory lane

I was driving around town the other day and passed an area on the West Side of Los Angeles which brought back some long forgotten memories. I was at a traffic stop on the corner of Doheny and Sunset; there was a bus-stand to my right. A man was standing by the bench...He was young and just stood there with arms crossed craning his neck to see if a bus was approaching....

I suddenly realized where I was. A flood of memories came rushing back. In a sense, it was on this street corner that my life in Los Angeles began so many years ago. The only store I recognized was a liquor store on the north side. No wonder it took me a while to realize where I was. The traffic light turned green and someone honked from behind. I pulled over, parked my car and decided to take a little stroll down memory lane.

As I walked the street, soaking up familiar scenes, I took another look at the bus stand. I remembered what it was like for me all those years ago. I arrived in LA from NYC in my early 20s with big dreams of making it in the entertainment industry. I secured an internship at a production company not far from the intersection of Sunset and Doheny. At that time, I didn't have any money and the internship was unpaid. A cousin of mine who lived in San Gabriel offered me a place to stay. It wasn't much of a place. Small and cramped but it was free and I wasn't complaining.

The daily journey to the West-Side was arduous.....LA is not known for it's excellent public transportation system and it was even worse back then. I had to take 2 buses and a subway to get to my destination and it took me about 3 hours one way.....I went from San Gabriel to downtown LA. Took the metro from downtown LA to Hollywood. From Hollywood, I took another bus all the way to Sunset and Doheny. I was usually the first employee to arrive at around 9am.

From the time I arrived in the morning, I made copies, ran errands, read scripts, wrote coverage, answered the phones, walked the bosses dogs. Every conceivable menial job you could imagine but they were great lessons and I learnt fortitude and patience. The folks I worked with were very nice but I wished they paid me even a couple of dollars a day. I wasn't looking for minimum wage, just a few bucks. But I didn't complain. Many of the interns I started with left quickly because they wouldn't stand working for nothing. It was tough. Often I only had enough money for bus fare so I lived on power bars for lunch and dinner, most of the week. To make matters worse, I nursed a right inguinal hernia which made it difficult to stand for long periods without it popping out but yet my work required that I stand on my feet all day long!

Once a week, on my journey home, I would treat myself to a simple dinner at a small Thai restaurant on Sunset and Vine. I had about 30 minutes between buses so I swung by the restaurant and wolfed down a vegetarian Thai fried rice with lots of carrots and broccoli.....and I always looked forward to my fortune cookie to see what it had in store for me. It was my crystal ball, bearer of news. Sounds silly looking back but as a struggling young man with multiple challenges and an uncertain future, the fortune cookie provided a tiny bit of comfort.

There was this one time I remember. It was pouring. Unusual for Southern CA. Must have been sometime in January. I finished work and was heading home when a storm broke out. Of course I didn't have an umbrella so I was forced to run out into the rain to catch my bus. Needless to say I was soaked to the bone. When I got to the bus stand, it was crowded full of people seeking shelter and the few buildings shelters nearby were also full of people. I couldn't risk walking into one of the stores because I could miss my bus...In the end, I simply gave up and sat on the sidewalk. Cold rain pouring down but I didn't care, I was just so tired. And then, this huge, stately Bentley Continental pulls up alongside me. The driver, obviously ignorant of my presence sitting below on the sidewalk was cosseted in the finest leather and advanced climate control system. Here I was, this street urchin compared to Mr Bentley, sitting on a sidewalk, rain drenched, and next to me this fabulously wealthy gentleman in a $300,000 automobile. The contrast couldn't have been be greater but then I realized for the first time in my life how completely free I was. I mean I had absolutely nothing to my name. No property, no car, no home, no family, nothing. I could simply get up, walk away or stay but I was not bound by anything or anyone. It was an incredible feeling which I've not been able to replicate since.

I got back to my car soon enough. Took another quick look at the street corner and drove off. I was glad I made the stop.....

Just around the corner

I recently found out that a friend was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was an aggressive form and had spread to her bones. The doctors considered it Stage 4 but the final verdict is still uncertain as modern medicine struggles to understand the exact scope and depth of the disease.

My friend called me and told me about the diagnosis a few weeks ago. She was obviously confused and frightened. They were more questions then answers. The only indication of the cancer was a persistent cough which she didn't think much off but decided to check it out. The first doctor brushed it aside but the 2^nd doctor ran a few scans which discovered the tumors…..

I often struggle with expressing emotion, a symptom of some repressed aspect of my childhood no doubt. As children, we were always taught that when dealing with difficult situations, real men held it in, kept their composure and left the wailing to the ladies…..

So when my friend called and broke the news, I didn't know how to respond. I was simply stunned. In fact, I wasn't even concentrating on all that she was saying. I was more concerned about formulating the right response and petrified about blurting out a generic, recycled response. I wanted to offer a meaningful, appropriate response that might offer this poor soul some little comfort. That was my overwhelming concern…..

This is really the first time I've had to deal with a situation like this. The first time someone I know quite well had been diagnosed with a serious, life threatening illness. And I simply could not imagine or even fathom the horror, the shock, the feeling of complete helplessness my friend was going through. Imagine being told you have stage 4 cancer and may only have a few months to live. How do you react? How do you process? What do you do?

I managed to muster all the sincerity I could find and said how very sorry I was and that I stood ready to help in any way possible. She was thankful. Conversation didn't last very long.

Life really is a fragile bubble. We go about it, convinced that nothing will happen but the world around us constantly reminds us that death is ever ready to pounce. Either we are oblivious or choose to be oblivious. Either way it doesn't matter because the reaper awaits, patiently. Ready to strike when our time is up. If we meditate on death for a moment, think about the inevitability of death, we realize how little time we really have and how much remains to be done.....