Computer trouble caused me to dust off my old, slow laptop to write this morning. Not that this is particularly difficult to do, but machines like this fall into obsolescence pretty fast, and I have gotten used to my much faster desktop computer. I can’t help but think about an article in my latest issue of The Nation magazine. The author Patricia J. Williams writes in the piece titled "Convergences" how she uses trains more and more which causes her to hang out in train depots waiting their arrival. One day she took note of the crowd waiting with her and noticed how they seem to come from every socio-economic class. As she sat working crossword puzzles an obvious ragged, down-and-outer sat near her and began talking intelligently to herself about national and international affairs. As Williams became engrossed listening to this one-sided conversation, she looked around. It seems as if everyone else busied themselves either listening, looking, or working with portable electronic devices causing them to isolate themselves into little personal zones. After a bit a security man came along and kicked the urchin out of the depot. The article goes on to become somewhat involved but on the surface I took this from the piece: maybe it was the crazy one who was most sane and the others who sat mesmerized by mentally crawling into their electronic devices were the insane ones.
Someplace I picked up a quote, “. . . there is so much noise only silence will be remembered.” How to fill the silence brings forth this alternative: pick up and read a good book and gain knowledge. I can paraphrase another quote: I pity the poor man who cannot read but loathe the man who will not read. I’m thankful for my liberal arts education but have not utilized nor developed it nearly enough. So that brings me here this morning pining after my good computer which is in the repair shop.
...
Ole's Talking Dog - from www.uffdahhh.com
A guy is driving around the back woods of upnort Wisconsin and he sees a sign in front of a broken down shanty-style house: 'Talking Dog For Sale' He rings the bell and Ole appears and tells him dat the dog is in da backyard.
The guy goes into the backyard and sees a nice looking Labrador retriever sitting there.
'You talk?' he asks.
'Yep,' the Lab replies.
After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he says 'So, what's your story?'
The Lab looks up and says, 'Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA. In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping.'
'I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running. But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger so I decided to settle down.. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals.'
'I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired.'
The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks Ole what he wants for the dog.
'Ten dollars,' Ole says.
'Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?'
'Dat's because he's a liar. He never did any of dat stuff.'
