A personal reflection: Occupy Boston

The beauty of this protest is that it represents the best of what America has to offer. A plurality of perspectives, cultures, ages, classes, and ethnicities coming together to ensure that as a collective we force our government to remember who they are supposed to serve and protect. The Grand Old Party needs to realize that this is not the country it once was, which is phenomenal because our country was built on the backs of slaves and genocide. WE NEED TO FACE OURSELVES!  This protest is an amalgamation of individuals, who think for themselves, and have made a choice to not accept the status quo. The top 1% is afraid of the 99% and are trying to label this occupation, so they can easily attack it. Well not this time. You can't divide and conquer individual free thinkers.

One of the most amazing things about yesterday, is that we didn't seek to debate with each other, or fight. We just wanted to chant and sing, and create music with our right to free speech. As I navigated the crowd, I was able to get on board with the idea that corporate greed has got to go, and briskly walked away from the section that espoused the belief that this country will fix the deficit simply by ending the wars and taxing the rich (In fact, I think that this is the ABSOLUTE wrong time to cut the deficit. This country needs to invest in infrastructure projects, and spend a lot while labor is cheap.)
I am not attacking those with money, this is not warfare, but at the end of the day the top 1% needs to understand that their desire to be excessively rich, has exponentially more negative effects on over 300 million Americans. We the 99% love this country and want to help make it stronger, but we need the top 1% to be willing to work with us. As a nation we need to start thinking about how we can work together.

RIP Graceful Fireman

The most sincere homage I can pay to the man who gave so much and asked for so little is to simply write what comes naturally. Most of you never knew Joe Pechinsky, but he was one of the greatest names in US Fencing. I know what most of you are thinking, fencing? The only sport that might be considered preppier than crew, was mastered and edified by a true blue collar fireman from the North Shore. With minimal formal training, Joe managed to successfully develop the skills necessary to produce highly competitive fencers on the national and international level. In fact, one of Joe's pupils was on the US Olympic Fencing Team from 1968-2000. Those sort of credentials often serve as the foundations for lucrative careers in other sports, and other countries; however, not for Joe. He never profited a cent from any of his efforts. His natural predilection was to give back to the community and share everything he had with others. I worked with him for 4 years, and he pushed me harder than anyone else in my life. When I started with him I wasn't even sure if I was tough enough. Through exhaustive, hour-long, forearm cramp filled lessons, Joe was stoic and relentless; however, once the mask was removed he revealed a smile that only adorable babies or puppies with their mouth open and tongue hanging out could match. He saw limitless potential in his students, and always pushed us to be better than we ever thought we could be. His words were fierce, and his slash was often painful, but every time you walked away from a training session with him you knew you were just a little bit better, and a little bit stronger. If I were to really think back upon it, my eternal optimism today, came from the mental toughness that I developed with Joe. I knew that if I could just get to the next water break, or finish the next set of prime-flick, double-riposte combinations, I could get to the handshake, the smile, and the hug. I just found out that he has passed away, and I already miss him, but I am truly thankful for every moment that I ever got to spend with this man who embodies everything that is important in this world: friendship, kindness, generosity, faith-in-others, grit, and love. I love you Joe.

The Eternal Apprentice

Details! Masterful strokes fill the page.
Skills! Effortless maneuvers through the horde.
Colors! Mixing, blotting, knifing, layering.

In the past, the cause was boredom. But now...
Hobbies, too many; Projects, without ends.
Call it youth, but deep down you know it's fear.

Always learning and taking half-pint steps.
Vacillating between complacency
And overzealous, pipe-dream ambitions.

Stop avoiding difficult decisions.
Find rapture in responsibility.
Begin training and become a master.

Relationship Counselling

When dealing with matters
Of the heart, with cautious
Optimism, and restless desires,
It is best to consider
The nadir before the apex.

Mis(sed) Steps

Watch your step. Stumbling now could be fatal.
What did you say? Did you say that? Really?
Optimists are patient; wait! But...

Thinking about the future reflections can be fatal.
When the opportunity passes, what then?
The crescendo has come and gone.

Silence is sometimes welcome, but usually fatal.
Distance divided by time equals cracks in the surface.

Snap!

Tumultuous and sinuous creases in an otherwise seamless tale.

Posting For All To See

Stopping for a moment.
Breaks for breath.
Sometimes you need to come back to periscope depth.
Buoy away.

Daily Ramblings 1

With the dark revealing
Another deeper entanglement of reverent solitude,
The odious and malicious waylay the path
Of pert reflections and callous effronteries.

Only the audacious have a chance.
Vibrance is bottled up in risk.

- January 18, 2011