How’m I gonna get to Katmandu?

Published March 7, 2014 by Sandee

Me in the merry merry month of May

My hiatus is almost over and I’ll be back to work — yay!  Maybe I’ll even buy a new outfit. While I’m glad to be getting back to work, I had looked forward to my break this year, though I still didn’t have enough money to go to Greece or Katmandu, or Morocco.  Ah well.

During this break, I did have time to read the hell out of the newspaper. As a young woman, I read the New York Times, trying to learn something about this “crazy world” we all live in. That was quite a while ago, the era when blackened finger tips were common from newspaper ink. This predated online periodicals. I buttressed that with historical books and a subscription to the New Yorker, where I read really long essays about this “crazy world” we all live in.

In my thirties I realized that politics was a game of power that escaped my idealistic mind-set. I became preoccupied with trying to establish a life as a writer (which never happened). I was disenchanted with the job that I had, and overwhelmed generally by life. Fuck the newspaper! I proclaimed then, and stopped reading it.

I had been slowly getting back to reading the paper.

During my hiatus, I bought an on-line subscription to the New York Times, tired of being shut down after reading the ten free articles they allow you to read on-line per month.

While it’s been illuminating, I still would like very much for us to be running around naked and sharing things, though I know it’s ridiculous. People are people after all, and a lot of us want to kill each other just because – oh and a lot of us aren’t very smart. So I suppose this is the best model we have for now.

It’s just that with my “colorful” personality, I like using pretty colors to outline my prescription for life. Politics still escape me, though it’s been the same for thousands of years.

Oh but come on, the world’s so small now. That means there’s a better chance to communicate new ideals. The United States is a great country, leaders of the world, we could easily champion a new way of life — with our eyes closed! The young folks could then etch out the details, how it’s all going to work out — and stuff. Yeah.

Noam Chomsky referred to the market system as barbaric. Mm hmm. And I’m infected. I participate in this market, and have certain expectations as well, having been weaned on the teat of capitalism. I’m off now to shop for my new outfit. And later I’ll figure out how I’m going to get to Katmandu. Carry on!

34 comments on “How’m I gonna get to Katmandu?”

  • I don’t know about the naked part (I barely get naked long enough to shower and change clothes). But I agree there should be a lot more sharing. And more bartering. Why can’t we go into a store and buy something with our skills? That would help end unemployment.

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  • This probably won’t come as any surprise to you but I never read the newspaper. I place my hands over my ears when I hear anything remotely concerning politics. An austriche philosophy. It helps me to stay completely sel-absorbed! Otherwise I get distracted from my primary subject! I’m joking.

    Have you purchased your new outfit? What is it like?

    Bises,
    Dawn

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    • Oh but I gladly turned the channel and put on the cartoon network when news came on — hahaha! I decided, better pay attention for when they tell us the martians are coming.

      I haven’t bought anything yet. Maybe I’ll buy a dress. I’m having this frustration now with not being able to get off any more weight. I was trying to do it without a ‘diet’. My sister just sent me the plan she was on for her bodybuilding effort — I might try that without all the stuff to bulk up your muscle. But I did get off enough where I fit an old suit I had hanging in the closet — it was exciting!

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    • I know right?! I was so glad to see him put it just that way. I tried to find the quote before posting this — I should have cut and pasted it into a file. It was either in the Times or the New Yorker where I saw it.

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  • So would you say Naom Chomsky is right? Just curious to know.

    Do I see a hint of arrogance when you say, “….leaders of the world, we could easily champion a new way of life — with our eyes closed! ” Could it just be that the way of life that has been championed in the last century is what is creating the major challenges that the planet is facing now? What happens when 3 billion from the developing world come onto the soccer field wanting to play the ‘American dream’? Do you believe the world can cope?

    Shakti

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  • Oh boy — you didn’t get my parody, at all.

    And regarding my “arrogance,” — for years, I have pointed out the fact that western countries, including the U.S., went over and fucked up the natural resources and institutions of Africa and other countries, then go back and play superman to save the day.

    These indigenous people were people who didn’t need any help existing. They had plenty of food, which they shared, and they regarded the earth as “mother.” I have spoken in depth about the irony of wealthy people ‘going back to nature’ to embrace the way of life that the people in Africa and the indigenous people here and in South and Central America had lived long ago, before we all became contaminated by the surge of industrialism and “progress.” I always wonder, how much better off are we in this condition.

    But I realize that so-called evolution has taken place and that we’re all caught up in the intractable need to keep up in the competition, otherwise be trampled. I really am anti-consumer and anti-materialist, because it is a disease of the soul.

    I attempted a bit of parody in my post. Perhaps I need to work on the craft.

    And hell yeah I think Noam Chomsky is right. I had come to that conclusion myself loooong ago.

    Now, that’s enough on the subject, anymore would require me to book a Hilton Hotel conference hall.

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  • Yeah, well, you can’t live with it and you can’t live without it… We’re sucked-in too far, Mensa Girl. If Washington State were a ten minute walk from Manhattan, you’d have the best of two worlds. I figure we’ve not evolved much. We still live in a tribal society, just with toasters. That romantic notion of the hunter-gatherer society is bunk. Those guys were just as blood-thirsty as we are. Chuckle… The local newspaper gets thrown out to me free once a week. I complained to high heaven about it until Irma told me to keep the damn thing…to line Cheeky’s cage. Really. That’s what we do with it. 🙂 Carry on.

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