Leaving Our Mark
Perusing the Streams for this year I come up with 37 of them, #191 thru today's 228. Each year has 52 weeks so that is 15 Sundays I did not write a Stream. Talk about a slackard, eh? I should fire myself. If it wasn't for the money and prestige these Streams bring me I would've folded up the column years ago. But I gotta feed my ego less it shrivel up and die some forgotten death... What's a man without his ego driving him to leave his mark, like a male dog lifting his leg on every tree, shrub, corner wall and fire hydrant, the mark of the male has to be left somewhere and damn near anywhere they can get away with.
Graffiti has engulfed the country... or more accurately the cities of today. What is a better sign of city life than the ubiquitous graffiti spray painted on every blank wall, on every busy street and quiet alley. Mostly men leaving their mark like the dog. Even smart street speak uses "Hey, Dog!" to address others in the pack.
Sitting at a railroad crossing, lights flashing and bells rings, the long train comes traveling along with dozens of box cars duly marked with unique script announcing the graffiti artist who generously gave their time and talent to leave their mark. Rolling billboards showing off their stylin'... one-of-a-kind art mixed in with spray heads marks of delirium which says nothing other than how fucked up they are when they scribbled their mark on the boxcar... or any other wall that they find. Wall art goes back far into mankind's history as anyone who in interested has seen an so many television shows and art books.
Using colors, including black and white, seem to run parallel with music, even tho music was not recorded prior to 1888, 121 years ago, so we don't know how it sounded other than playing the written notes of older music. The instruments for making music is a fair indicator as to what music sounded like 200 years and more ago. Cave paintings in Lascaux, France date back some 32,000 years. I wonder what music they played back then?
We hu'mans have not only the ability to leave our mark, but do so in some way or another. If there is no mark left, those who carve tombstones will leave our mark for us... there's no way of getting away unless one is absolutely determined to leave nothing... zip!... zero, behind. But with photos, yearbooks, recordings, letters, writings of every kind, plus our progeny... and we can't forget memories some leave behind with others, good or not so good, aiding in "leaving our mark."
We are all born of this earth and leave this earth, not as we found it, but how we made it. No matter how small or how grand, we all contribute to the species we call ourselves, hu'man. We all have our potentiality to expresses our individuality. Unleash it and let it run wild, leaving your mark. It's a very hu'man thing to do.
cecil
12.27.09
Pic of the Week:
Shrimp Boat
in Holden Beach, NC
photo: cecil
in Holden Beach, NC
photo: cecil
