t
t
street roots
14
Jan. 7, 2011
Looking back, looking forward, sometimes it’s all the same
ell, o f friend, another year has
come and gone. We are all another
year older and if you are like me
just a little grumpier because of it.
A couple of things I remember from 2010
were the Haiti earthquake which killed
230,000 people and I remember the great
oil spill in the Gulf
of Mexico. As 1 was
writing this, more
THE
than 190 million
DUBIOUS
gallons had leaked
into the Gulf. On
the brighter side,
By A rt Garcia
Betty White hosted
Saturday Night
Live..
On our local
update, we here at Street Roots had a really
good year. This paper just keeps getting
better. On a sadder note, we did lose a
couple vendors who passed away: Daphne
Andrews and Bob Durning, R.I.P.
Getting back to the present, how many
out there have made a New Year’s
resolution? Oh yes, remember our old
nemesis from the past. The one constant
that comes every year, hoping to make a
b etter or different person of us. I don’t
know how many years you have gone
through this, ol’friend, but I can’t count the
times I tried and failed. However, I want you
all to know I haven’t quit. I don’t know if
that is good or bad. Maybe I should make a
resolution to never make another resolution.
I bet if we all did that, our self esteem would
go way up. I know mine would.
Can any of you fine folks out there
remember the first New Year’s resolution •
you made? Well I can. I believe I was going
into the fourth grade and I decided I would
W
A r t Garcia is a Vietnam
W ar veteran who returned
hom e to a d u b io u s life
involving so m e colorful
incarcerations. H e is the
a u th o r o f “M em oirs o f a
V ietnam V et,"a collection o f
h is colum ns p u blished in
Street Roots.
never, ever use profanity again. The funny
thing about this is, I think I only knew two
cuss words. There was never such language
used in our house, nor did I hear it on
television. That reminds me of the movie I
watched last week where a boy used the “f”
word in front of his father and was next
seen sucking on a bar of soap. He said he
had so many stuck in his mouth that he
actually had a couple he sort of enjoyed.
Well, I never had that pleasure, because
like I mentioned, I didn’t really even know
how to use the bad words. Needless to say,
as I got older I learned them and was quite
prolific in their use.
There have been dozens of failed
resolutions after that first one. It became
easier to break them as time went on. That
first one really hurt when I just couldn’t
keep those dirty little words out of my
mouth. Like I said it became easier.
I don’t even know why I continued to lie
to myself and think I could quit smoking just
because I made a New Year’s resolution to
quit. That was about 25 years ago. See, still
smoking.
Moving along w ith th e New Year’s
resolutions, I can’t seem to grasp the idea
of why people a t new years make a
resolution never to drink again while they
are suffering from a hangover. Another one
of my favorites is to learn something new.
Well, o f friend, how are you going to stop
yourself from learning something new just
by living? On the other hand, it seems to me
like I get dumber every year because I
realize more things that I don’t know.
I believe a lot of people make the
resolution to spend more time with their
families. Then on the flip side of that, there
are a lot of people who wish they didn’t have
DoUghNation since 2002
to spend so much time with their families.
Of course here’s the classic, people who
want to go on that diet. However, don’t
punish yourself by eating more when you
found out you couldn’t keep to the program.
Just start again. Hey, they can’t call you a
failure if you are always trying.
Another resolution I find fault with is to
enjoy life more. Come on. Do you really
My advice to a ll my friends out there is to
enjoy this next year whether yon want to or
not. Don't start the year off by putting an
obstacle in your way like having to obey your
resolution.
have to remind yourself to enjoy life? The
only reason I might not enjoy every minute
of my life is because some unforeseen
obstacle or incident was put in my lifecycle.
I didn’t put it there. If I did, it was when I
was younger. Like getting DWI or speeding
tickets or one of my trips to prison. Believe
it or not, I enjoyed those days too. I guess
I’m just a happy-go-lucky kind of guy.
My advice to all my friends out there is to
enjoy this next year whether you want to or
not. Don’t start the year off by putting an
obstacle in your way like having to obey
your resolution. Just say I will try and do
this o r not do this, I mean, that’s all we can
do anyway, isn’t it? So in closing, I wish you
all a happy new year, not just this one but all
the rest!
Semper fi!
Happy New Year
by Metin
Good Karma, Lower Taxes
503.320.8213
LOOKING FOR AN
AFFORDABLE PLACE TO RENT?
Your o n lin e housing search ju st g o t easier.
&
Thousands o f listings • Free service
Includes special needs housing
EQUAL HOUSING
OPPORTUNITY
Call 2-1-1 or 503-802-8562
Office Cat Rooty gives a high five to the great readers who supported
vendors during the rainy holidays. Thank you!
There was a pigeon who would spend her
entire life on my shoulder, close to the
heart. At times I looked like a bronze
statue in a park covered with white-green
bird s - - 1.
The animal shelter I called wanted to put
her to sleep, “Because,” they would say,
“she’s not native.”
And I would ask, “Are you?”
We would end up spending three months
together. H er name is Angel.
She’s the sum of all teachers. And she’s
what teaching points to.
Angel would stick her beak in my ear and
scream things I wouldn’t understand. That
caused a ringing in my ears. Now, when
my ears ring my mind falls into silence.
And through silence appear the words.
“Happy New Year, Angel.”
“You as well.”
“What now?”
“Let’s celebrate it.”
“What about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow we may be dead.”
“What if we die today?”
“Then we should have celebrated it
yesterday.”
“We’re alive now.”
“Then let’s celebrate the now.”