Use all your well-learned politeness

As I returned to the kitchen this morning, all the signs were there: the jar of peanut butter left open with a knife still in it, an empty milk carton and what's left of the loaf of bread all on the counter.  It's that scene of an immediate break-away.  School Days.  That we're able to do this much, as I wrote in August, is a fulfillment of a moment of hope.

So nothing is perfect, we won't be at "before," but it sure beats the alternative, doesn't it?  I think it does.  I run in to others that do, too.  But that isn't the majority, which surprises me.  And maybe I shouldn't be surprised, but it's clear that we are living in a new age: The New Era of Cynicism.

There are always going to be people whose life has gone horribly wrong, and you're seeing them in the moment of self-awareness.  Life is many things, one of which an endless map with choices galore.  Incorrect Life Choices - it's their way of life, and it's not YOUR fault that you happen to be walking down a sidewalk and see that person hit with the realization that they, in that moment, are surrounded by A's, B's, even C+'s, and they're just knee-deep in their own failure.  But now, we're just at a point where the majority responds to anything with a furrowed brow or phony smile with "Huh.  Yeah, right."

It's not always that obvious.  I'm old enough to remember when, if some things weren't going right for the majority of the public, it wouldn't completely remove optimism.  So they no longer make your favorite belt in your new size.  So the team you root for is in dead last.  So you really do need to get a new DVD player if you want to watch your copy of Clerks again.  Does that define you as a person?  To much of the public, those nuisances now do, and I've never seen anything like it.

I'm wondering where it leaves those of us who like actual interaction.  Maybe it was 2020 into 2021 and all of the doom that surrounded and was survived, but for many, you'd never know it.  As each day winds down I can pinpoint an interaction or 2 and then shake my head wondering "What the fuck was THAT?"  And what can you do beyond move on, try someone/something/somewhere else?  

I have the sangria, the games are planned, the AC is hummin', deals are being made and made anew.  Those who enjoy revelry will be around, likewise prepared to fart in the direction of the living black clouds.  While they are left to sulk alone, I'll get a refill.