December 18, 19, 20: It's Just Life, Christmas Craziness, Red Jacket Jamboree

For thousands more years, the mighty ships tore across the empty wastes of space and finally dived screaming on to the first planet they came across--which happened to be the Earth--where due to a terrible miscalculation of scale the entire battle fleet was accidentally swallowed by a small dog.

Those who study the complex interplay of cause and effect in the history of the Universe say that this sort of thing is going on all the time, but that we are powerless to prevent it.

"It's just life," they say.

Yes, this sounds about right when it comes to the cause and effect in the history of my universe, as well.  This kind of stuff goes on all the time in my life.  Battles, large and small, end with the snap of a terrier's jaws and a swallow.  Sometimes, problems that seem very large are actually minuscule in the grand scheme of things.

Yes, I have once again taken an extended hiatus from posting because of Christmas craziness.

So, here is a quick run-down of my last few days:

• Wednesday, December 18:  Up at 4:30 a.m.  Arrived at medical office by 6 a.m.  Christmas work potluck.  Secret Santa.  Ornament exchange.  Ate a lot of food I shouldn't have eaten.  Listened to my Christmas essay broadcast on the local Public Radio station.  Cleaned the church in the evening.  (The cleaning took much longer than usual, because it's winter and the marble floors needed to be mopped.  Still sporting some blisters from that one.)  Then I met with my musician friend, Linda, to talk about the music for a poetry reading I'm doing on Saturday.  Home.  Packed for trip to Calumet, Michigan, tomorrow afternoon.  Wrote my annual Christmas letter for my Christmas cards.  Ordered the pictures to go inside the Christmas cards with aforementioned letter.  Bed.
• Thursday, December 19:  Up at 4 a.m.  Got ready for work.  Arrived at medical office at 6 a.m.  Worked until 1 p.m.  Got copies of my annual Christmas letter.  Drove home.  Finished packing.  Took a very short nap.  Picked up by my friend, Harry.  Drove to Calumet.  (Probably the most relaxing time I've had this week.  Good, deep conversation with a friend I care a lot about.  He's a good guy.)  Arrived at the bed and breakfast around 5:30 p.m.  Ate some.  Talked some.  Wrote some.  Rehearsed some for the show tomorrow.  Went to nap some.  Didn't wake up until 5:30 this morning.

So, that's my life, in a very large nutshell, for the past two days.  Currently, I'm sitting in the kitchen nook of the bed and breakfast.  Two of the musicians' cars were impounded early this morning because they left them parked on the street.  For those of you not living in northern climes, there's this little thing called a winter parking ban that all cities in the Upper Peninsula put into effect during the snowy months.  If you leave your car parked overnight on a street, there will be one of two results:  1) you will receive a fairly hefty parking ticket, or 2) your car will be towed away and you will receive a fairly hefty parking ticket.  Option two was put into effect by the police patrolling the mean streets of Calumet last night.  Currently, my two friends are walking to the impound yard to retrieve their vehicles and pay the $125 impound fee.

Things are never boring in my life.  Ever.  I kind of would like boring every once in a while.  No drama.  No imminent catastrophes.  Just normal, day-to-day stuff like who's picking my son up from school, where are my eyeglasses, and I wonder if I left the iron on?  (Yes, that is a reference to the movie Airplane!)  This year, I seem to have been rolling from one crisis to another, with barely enough time to congratulate myself on surviving one crisis before the next one hits.  And this Christmas season has been particularly stressful, money-wise.  Last night, I had exactly $4.24 left in my banking and checking accounts combined.  I'm not sure what the definition of "working poor" is, but if I look it up in the dictionary, I'm afraid I'd find my picture next to it.

This whole day is going to be a whirlwind of show preparations.  I'm performing in the Red Jacket Jamboree this evening.  It has been two years since I've been involved with this radio show, and I've really grown to love all the people involved in it.  They've become family to me.  This morning, it will be script work.  This afternoon, it will be rehearsal in the theater (this time at the Rozsa Center on the campus of Michigan Technological University--a huge venue).  This evening, the performance.  It's kind of a scramble all day long from one deadline to another.

About now, you're thinking to yourself, "What is he getting at with this post?  What's his point?"  My first point is this:  my problems seem huge at the moment ($4.24 in my accounts, impounded cars), but they're really small in comparison to homelessness and hunger and war.  My second point is this:  if anybody has a little boring they're willing to loan me, I'll take it.  Sorry, I can't afford the down payment.  You'll have to extend me a boring credit line.

Saint Marty will be able to pay you back in about . . . five boring years.  It's just life.

October 27, Classic Saint Marty, Making Idle People Merry, New Cartoon

Well, as I say, better late than never when it comes to posting.  It's been a pretty busy day, and I haven't had a chance to sit down with my laptop until now.  I carved pumpkins with my kids.  I drew up my lesson plan for teaching tomorrow.  After I'm done typing this up, I have to go make a quiche for work tomorrow.  The fun never stops.

I have Classic Saint Marty from early 2012.  It's on a subject still near and dear to my heart for obvious reasons.  It's from the year of A Christmas Carol.

Saint Marty has to go chop some bacon and sausage up now. 

January 20, 2012:  Making Idle People Merry, Working Poor, Poorly Working

"I don't make merry myself at Christmas, and I can't afford to make idle people merry."

Scrooge makes this comment to the two gentlemen who visit his office on Christmas Eve, looking for a charitable donation.  It touches upon one of the biggest myths about the poor:  that they are lazy people who don't want to work.  A lot of people (Republicans) think that because someone is out of work or can't pay bills, s/he is taking advantage of "the system."  (I know a few surgeons who prescribe to this notion.)  Just by using the term "idle," Scrooge seems to imply that the poor are simply standing on street corners, waiting for hand-outs.

While this stereotype may be true of some poor people, I know that most people who struggle with their finances have jobs.  As a matter of fact, most work their asses off just to put food on the table.  Foreclosure is not the result of somebody who won't pay his mortgage payment; it's the result of somebody who can't pay his mortgage payment.  What I'm talking about is the working poor:  individuals who have paying jobs and still can't rise above the poverty line.  A lot of people (Republicans) think that if someone has a minimum-wage job at McDonald's, s/he should be able to have a home, a car, a family, food, heat, clothing.  These people are wrong.

My point is that most poor people want to work, and most working people want to pay their bills.  It's not that the working poor are poor workers.  The working poor are poor because they are not paid a decent wage.  I live in a country where 20% of the people own 85% of the wealth.  We live in a world where the richest 2% of adults own more than half of total global household wealth.  If you do the math, that means that 80% of the people in the United States are living on 15% of the country's wealth.  And 98% of the people on this planet live on less than 50% of the world's wealth.  That's a little obscene.

I have to be honest:  Scrooge pisses me off when he makes his "idle people" speech.  He's supposed to piss you off.  Dickens wants you to recognize the falseness of his statement.  Bob Cratchit is not idle, but he's poor.  Bob Cratchit is not the exception.  Bob Cratchit is the rule.  The truth is that most poor people work.  Most poor people work really hard.

Saint Marty just wants to bitch slap the Scrooges of the world.

Confessions of Saint Marty

January 20: Making Idle People Merry, Working Poor, Poorly Working

"I don't make merry myself at Christmas, and I can't afford to make idle people merry."

Scrooge makes this comment to the two gentlemen who visit his office on Christmas Eve, looking for a charitable donation.  It touches upon one of the biggest myths about the poor:  that they are lazy people who don't want to work.  A lot of people (Republicans) think that because someone is out of work or can't pay bills, s/he is taking advantage of "the system."  (I know a few surgeons who prescribe to this notion.)  Just by using the term "idle," Scrooge seems to imply that the poor are simply standing on street corners, waiting for hand-outs.

While this stereotype may be true of some poor people, I know that most people who struggle with their finances have jobs.  As a matter of fact, most work their asses off just to put food on the table.  Foreclosure is not the result of somebody who won't pay his mortgage payment; it's the result of somebody who can't pay his mortgage payment.  What I'm talking about is the working poor:  inviduals who have paying jobs and still can't rise above the poverty line.  A lot of people (Republicans) think that if someone has a minimum-wage job at McDonald's, s/he should be able to have a home, a car, a family, food, heat, clothing.  These people are wrong.

My point is that most poor people want to work, and most working people want to pay their bills.  It's not that the working poor are poor workers.  The working poor are poor because they are not paid a decent wage.  I live in a country where 20% of the people own 85% of the wealth.  We live in a world where the richest 2% of adults own more than half of total global household wealth.  If you do the math, that means that 80% of the people in the United States are living on 15% of the country's wealth.  And 98% of the people on this planet live on less than 50% of the world's wealth.  That's a little obscene.

I have to be honest:  Scrooge pisses me off when he makes his "idle people" speech.  He's supposed to piss you off.  Dickens wants you to recognize the falseness of his statement.  Bob Cratchit is not idle, but he's poor.  Bob Cratchit is not the exception.  Bob Cratchit is the rule.  The truth is that most poor people work.  Most poor people work really hard.

Saint Marty just wants to bitch slap the Scrooges of the world.