Southpaw Jones

Is This Interesting?
Thoughts/feelings that just might not matter:

My father gave me two pieces of advice along with whatever free stuff he didn’t want.

The first: “Don’t end up in a cubicle.”

He had a bit of Native American blood in his veins, and unless my dream of secret adoption reveals itself to be fact, I guess I do, too. That Native American bit told him that hour upon hour in a cramped little box is “just not natural.” Men should be out on the plains, rambling, hunting, breathing fresh air, and using that last scrap of buffalo bone for a toothpick.

Well, Big Chief Walksabout didn’t have a TV and a tempting recliner with a firm imprint of my dad’s butt, did he?

Just so you know, this area from which I write today…it’s not a cubicle, it’s a workspace! I’m certainly not going to defend or celebrate this lifestyle, but it’s the best choice for me right now, and the truth is, I don’t mind it all that much. Are you telling me that all those tan folks from Dances with Wolves wouldn’t be intrigued by constant air conditioning, internet access, coffee, and near-daily birthday cake?

I have been at this job for almost a year, and I’m almost embarrassed at how much I enjoy the lifestyle sometimes. I don’t have to think about money constantly, like I used to when I had none. I don’t have to come up with a reason to wake up in the morning, ‘cause stupid ol’ work and Mr. Alarm will nag me into simulated lucidity. I get to work on this Gazette every weekday morning. Trust me, it’s way more fun to be creative in the face of a non-creative environment. That’s what got me through high school and college, after all.

My father was right, in a way. One should not live in a box. Boxes limit. Boxes contain. Boxes suffocate. But a physical box only results in an emotional and mental box if you allow it to do so.

Put up one wall of self-pity. Another of doubt. Disappointment. Excuses. Pretty soon you’re surrounded. And as reported last week, antidepressants somehow became the most prescribed drug in America.

People at this workplace here, they don’t think of themselves as lazy. They use “lazy” to describe the sweaty folks with cardboard signs we see on our way home every day. Those people “can’t hold a job” or “keep it together.”

My question is this: Isn’t it just as lazy to be in a soul-sucking job and actually let it suck your soul? Isn’t it lazy to become a boring slob just because you happen to be surrounded by boring slobs? You’re telling me you can’t hold onto your imagination? In a pocket? In a purse?

The soul-sucking machine of the work-a-day world is just a worn-down dust buster. You practically have to jump into it head-first if you want it to take something from you.

There is no excuse for putting your mind in a box, even when your body is in a box. [That’s the great thing about cubicles: When you die, they just put a top on and bury you.]

What’s that? Right, my father’s second piece of advice! I almost forgot.

“Don’t listen to me.”
He never said it out loud exactly, but I heard him loud and clear.

Quotopia
Freshly-picked quotes from the ol’ reference collection:

‘Bene qui latuit, bene visit’
He who hid well, lived well.
Rene Descartes, inscribed on his tombstone

Online Museum of the Week
Banned License Plates of New York:

Rhyme Thyme!
One clue whose answer consists of two rhyming words:

How dare you mock the ancient ruler of Rome, you, you…
Highlight here for answer: [Caesar teaser]

Upcoming Show(s)
Where can I see Southpaw in the flesh?

Thursday, July 19th, 2007
8:00 PM
Matt the Electrician & Southpaw Jones
Cafe Mundi
1704 E. 5th St.
Austin, TX
512-236-8634
http://www.cafemundi.com

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