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Well, that's that

So this is shaping up to be one of the more obscure GRACKs in some time. Use the column as you might the I Ching or an ink-blot test. The sole possibly helpful thing I can suggest is for everyone to cultivate the art of non-attachement. Non-attachment to flags, heroes, brands, etc. might someday be relevant, you never know. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, I offer the following tidbit from an email I recently received from a friend:

There is a great story in Paul Reps' Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (a thin little treasure of a book filled with very short zen stories) about a monk who was wrongly blamed for making a young woman pregant. When accused, he simply said, "Is that so?" He took care of the baby lovingly for a couple of years when finally the young woman could stand it no longer and told her parents the truth about the real father. The parents went back to the monk and said they had made a mistake and wanted the baby back. He listened to them attentively and at the end of their remarks, he said, "Is that so?" and quietly gave the child back. It's better told in the book, but I always marvel at the selfless non-attachment of this monk.

Amazing Web Headlines Dept.
In these perilous times, it pays to at least try to get at the real news, so I've been hunting around for decent sources, and lemme tell you, it ain't easy. I can't say I've been successful, either, although I did find that one of the most-frequently updated general news sites is the UK's Guardian. I find myself checking that one more than any other, actually, and the simple black-on-white layouts are infinitely more soothing than the IN YER FACE BOOM-BOOM YEE-HAW!!! stuff at far too many others.

The Reuters home page ain't bad, either, and you can track things like the price of crude oil at the same time. What caught my eye on Sunday morning, though, was this: "Study: Back Pain Linked to Brain Shrinkage." Finally some medical science I can understand! -- i.e. people with sore backs are stupid. ("I told you not to try to move that sofa all by yourself, but did you listen?") Well, maybe that's not exactly what it says -- I didn't read it -- but that's what I'd like it to say.

Just count your blessings
If you're free to read this, you're not in jail, for example, and you probably have a job. Hopefully you're not paying for an "invisible Toyota" like I am, and Allah be praised if you're not burdened with wondering how to sublet that condo in Baghdad. Even if that is the case, you're alive, ain'tcha? Good! -- 'cause I don't want any dead people reading this column (zombies always miscontrue).

One of the blessings I'm counting is that I just got an email from someone named "Athena," and that doesn't happen every day. I had reason to be in communication with a more prosaically-monikered associate of Athena's in her "Mac-based" office (HALLELUJA, there are such things!) and toward a particular personal end had included a free copy of my photo-illustrated BUFFALO LIGHTS ebook. Athena said it was "beautiful," and if that doesn't make you fork over $9.99, I don't know what will. Anyway, that makes two blessings, now that I think of it.

And so it goes. Onward through all kinds of fog and don't forget to put your lights on. Have a great week and that, my friends, is that ...

Senior Applelinks editor and columnist John H. Farr invites your comments.

Getcher ebooks right here:

Like pictures of el Norte?

Other stuff by John H. Farr:

And don't forget this photo-essay: "What It Is About El Rito,"

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