Standing on the edge

I used to play a game on holiday in Maine New England where I had one foot in the sea and one on the sand, I called it 'standing on the edge of America'. Like the great wall of China I was standing on a point that could be seen from space. I think I got the expression from a sci fi book about standing on the edge of the universe. Well the caption stuck and I have used it many times. Now I use it in the metaphoric sense. 'Standing on the edge of the rest of my life' Many people like my brother in laws anonymous knew what they wanted to do when they are 18. For me it is at 54. I wish it had come earlier but there you go some of us take longer to work out where we are going than others. I should be thankful to have reached this age in sound enough mind to make such decisions. Many do not, Debby, my dear. Life can be a rocky road and you don't always choose the directions but I am thankful that I have been blessed with the chance to see my road and stand on the edge of my future. (I hope someone converts my blog into a book one day, it will hopefully make perfect (non) sense)

Vagueness and ambiguity.

There was a programme on TV the other night that indicated that the English language including archaic, technical and proper nouns contains well over 2 million words. My view is that that is why Roget was able to create a thesaurus. If there was only one word to describe each state then the thesaurus would have been small and useless. Hence the title of this missive, it is my possibly mistaken belief that there are probably many words that describe a state of ''un-clearness''. A means to hide or make fuzzy what one's true meaning is. I expect a whole half hour of ''University Challenge'' could be devoted to the subject, crosswords could be made up of any and all derivations. A book could be written. Why ? because often in there very nature these items themselves could be ambivalent, uncaring, lofty. Isn't the red herring in the whodunnit mystery only there to mislead. We glorify our lives in the ability or need to deceive or at least lead astray. To hide the truth, often from ourselves, what a momentous occasion is it then when the shades are dropped and the truth is spoken clearly. Tolkeins stories are full of shades, the barrow wights, the bridge of Khazad Dum but it is the light afterwards that shines in our day and gives us hope. Shakespeares Henry V shone more brightly as king after a youth spent in the shadow of Falstaff. He shone like the sun after a rainstorm. And what is my point, dear reader, that we all need a ray of hope and a way out of the gloom to put us back on the road to purpose and conviction. Such is the ambiguity of life .....and the gamble.

Guy Fawkes

Spare a thought the jolly old elf Guy Fawkes. Ooops sorry, the elf is Santa Claus, Guy Fawkes is the stuffed effigy thrown atop a bonfire every November 5th in England to be burned and celebrated with an explosion of fireworks. Who was this unlucky 'guy', he was part of a plot by roman catholics to blow up the protestant parliament buildings and was luckily discovered just in time. Or unluckily depending on your point of view. Guy's actual demise was somewhat worse than being burned on a pyre, if that can be imagined, but his infamy has made it possible for his name to live while many other prominent men of his time are forgotten. Guy is now seen as more of a lovable rogue like Til Eulenspiegel than a particularly dastardly character that he was viewed as at the time. Penny for the Guy anyone ?

Amazon.com

Is it just me or has the modern world become addicted to Amazon. I know there are many other sites but none has captured the collective imagination like this 'store' has done. Even if you don't buy much, which admittedly I don't, it is the ultimate in window shopping. Egad ! one could sit at southernmost Tasmania and order a CD from the UK and give or take a few days, be happily listening to it a week later. I always think there will be a place for the high street shop. The joy of touching your purchase before you buy it, the immediacy of the transaction, after all as we have seen, radio, TV and the internet have not put the good old newspaper out of business. But there is something fundamentally addictive about Amazon. And swipe me, if Amazon hasn't got it, then there will be someone out there offering the product in the Amazon Marketplace, often deep discounted. Like having Wal-Mart and Saks Fifth Avenue in the same building. Now there is a scary thought !

Woverhampton Wanderers

My hometown ( or homecity ) now has a winning football (soccer) team. They are now six wins in a row and seem on a good run. Heck I don't even like the game but it's nice to be on the winning side for a change. I was in the Wolves shop the other day looking for christmas presents. I noted a book on Derek Duggan, he was the captain when I last lived in the city ( it was a town back then ). I flitted through the pages as one does and noted that he died of a heart attack a few hours after being down the pub with some buddies. Derek was a great guy, very active in the community and loved his town and team. He was also a good player from what I recall. I did not note his age at time of passing because I was cognisant of the shop assistants possibly expecting me to buy the book. But a tribute to him by me does not seem misplaced. Good one Doog !!