Keep Smilin'

This world can be a profoundly sad place. It is so sad because:

There are people out there who have never listened to a Lucinda Williams song.

There are people out there who think it is somehow righteous to explode a bomb in a crowd of people in the name of God.

There are people out there whose first reaction to the terrorist attack on London was that we had to kill thousands of people in retaliation/retribution.

There are people out there who when told they need to provide some proof of citizenship in order to get a job say, "I don't know why. It's not like I look Mexican or have slanted eyes."

There are people out there who when you introduce yourself as "David" will immediately call you "Dave."

There are a lot of people out there who view the media as a biased enemy not as its true purpose, a watchdog.

There is an increasing blurring of the line in the media between entertainment and political reporting.

There are a lot of people out there who in everyday interactions seem completely oblivious to the people around them.

There are people out there who have never seen Lindsay Whalen play basketball.

There are people in a coed "D" softball league who don't understand the concept of "just being out there for fun" and have to act in such a boorish manner that it is impossible for anyone playing to enjoy themselves.

There are people out there who will wait until the very last moment in a line of cars to get over in a lane that's closed just so they can get to their location a minute or two earlier than the rest of us.

There are people out there who will park their car in front of your house every day even though there is plenty of space to park in front of their own house.

There are people out there who have never seen an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and thus haven't been able to enjoy the poetry of television at its best.

There are people out there who will go along with their major party line on every political issue thus see the world in a very uncompromising black and white.

There are people out there who think that the fabric of our country is unraveling because of issues like gay marriage and flag burning somehow rather than holding our leaders accountable and expecting some honesty and the absolute necessity for being straightforward in their words and actions.

There are people out there who are intellectually lazy and who don't see any need to be spiritually curious.

There are people out there, with children mind you, who don't seem to care about using up this planet's limited resources or the implications of wasting what doesn't need to be wasted with just a little effort.

There are those people out there who don't think Bob Dylan can sing.

There are those people out there who let their gardens grow and go, who once started out with a noble goal of making this place, their designated place, just a little bit more beautiful but who somewhere along the line gave up and let the weeds prevail.

There are drivers out there who see the need to tailgate a guy on a scooter and not bother to signal their turns at the less than Herculean effort of hitting a switch.

There are those who may believe that piano playing kitties and playful once abused doggies are mere distractions from actual human interaction. But one look in these pet souls' eyes says something much different.