When I was in highschool I had a wannbe member of the Ghastapo for an English Teacher. I had a love- hate relationship with him- he loved to torment me and I hated that he knew every single button to push to get me to start fighting with him. Eventually, I smartened up and learned it was just much better for my piece of mind to just ignore him and would draw or write through class. Really what it was was that he just loved to push his students that he felt were talented. I learned to appreciate him much, much more once I was out of highschool. He was a good teacher in the respect that I didn't realize what I had actually learned until later. Every once in a while, post highschool, a bell would go off and I would go. "Oooh, so that's what he was talking about!"

Mr. Porter came up with some gems, that 12 years later (I can't believe I just wrote that! God, I feel OLD!) I can still recall with alarming rapidity. The L.A. Five- a list of phrases, grammatical gems- if you will, that he said all people from Lackawanna said. I have worked damn hard to virtually eradicate all traces of these from my speech! I am loathe to admit that they do pop in every now and again. And they are:
1. It don't
2. You's guys
3. of seen
4. of took
5. have went

The thing about these little, innocuous phrases is that they are so insidious, they're out of your mouth before you even realize what you've said!

But Mr. Porter's L.A. Five are not why I'm posting today. It was something else that he taught us all, that many of his former students, my brother included, can still recite. At the time, it was just a pain in the ass but once I got past the annoyance of it all, and really listened to what was being said that I understood it.
It was a quote from Confucious.

"If Language is not correct, then what is said is not meant. If what is said is not meant then morals and art deteriorate. If morals and art deteriorate, then justice goes astray. If just goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion. Hence, there must be no doubt about what is said. This matters above everything."

I'm just a big, black box right now. Hmmm... I'm definitely going to have to work on changing that. At first I thought it was funny, and it was SOMETHING, but I'm so technologically inept, especially compared to most e-strippers, that I just said, "Fudge- it", and convinced myself it made me seem like an enigma. Now, I feel that I'm just a black box and what is more boring than that?

Now, for my actual purpose for posting today which is nothing as interesting as Dr. Chlorine's post, that's for certain. Anyway, I've been distracted by reading the above mentioned post as well as an adorable 2 year old who has been running around my bank branch and chatting up a storm. We have no idea what he's saying, but every once in a while we can make out, "It's like- MY God!" in a perfect, two year old's imitation of an exasperated adult, and "Elmo". Oh, never mind. It's gone. The post I had in my head this morning as I drank my tea is gone. Maybe later e-peeps.

I am convinced that Dr. Chlorine is a strange, strange man. Funny, but most definitely strange. Of course, like the rest of us are so "normal". Yeah right!

Okay, today is both brutal honesty day and extreme funny sarcasm day. Of course, one can be hidden inside of the other, but usually I am not combining the two. Today, I have pretty much told my rather psychologically fragile friend precisely what I believe that she needs to do. I could be wrong. I will admit that, but she's been spiralling in the same god-awful whirlwind of mind for so long and no one will tell her like it is for fear of upsetting her or "setting her off". Basically, everyone coddles her, most especially her mother, or they just avoid her because they cannot take her. She is my friend and I love her dearly but I admit that I can only take her in very small doses. I know that she will be mad at me for what I have said to her but would I be any kind of real friend if I didn't tell her the truth, or rather, my perception of the truth? Siccophants and phonies coddle and tell lies. I cannot do that, not to anyone that I really and truly love enough to call him or her my friend. Now, to go and tell someone else precisely what I think... May God help that person!