I was in London when I first realized I was solar-powered. It was a curious sensation. Daylight was as rare as a tasteful meal there (except for Indian food). The gray skies drained my batteries, leaving me sluggish and unenthusiastic. It probably dried my humor too.
"Do you have to be unhappy to create great art?"
I thought for a moment. "I wouldn't think so. Why should being happy or unhappy matter if you're a great artist?"
"Okay," Jimmy continued. "Name someone who's been happy and created a great piece of art. Music, writing, painting, whatever."
It caught Jimmy's eye immediately. "Hey, let's stop in this shop."
"Sure," I answered.
The sign out front read "Antique Music Instruments" in a bold Art Nouveau typeface. I was surprised to see it in English. Most of the other Prague shop signs were in Czech, naturally. We walked in.
She wouldn't stop apologizing. "I am so sorry for this noise. I talked to the workmen in the building to please not begin their work until after 8:00 AM." Her English, touched by a Hungarian accent, was flawless. Still, she had apologized for her English as well.
"Hey look, there's a Mozart symphony playing tomorrow."
Jimmy followed my gaze over to the poster. "Mozart symphony, huh? That would be cool. That's a very Vienna thing to do."
I nodded. "It's not too far away from our hostel either."
"They read Stupid White Men and think that's how all Americans are. You know that book, right? The one by Michael Moore."
"Yea."
"They think we all are gun-crazy and violent. That our media glorifies violence and aggression. And that we're all money-hungry capitalists who drive big gas-guzzling cars and eat fast food."
We're at war.
Here's a viewpoint that isn't anti- or pro-war. It's just a neutral observation.
I feel a great unity with my fellow Earth residents. Because on every continent, in every country, within every city, there is an asshole.
It's the Great Unifier. Truly.
They may speak a different language. They may eat different foods. But they are assholes just the same.
And so she said Yes.
It was right after a weekend at the Carnevale in Venice.
A romantic weekend like that is just the perfect magnifying glass under the sun. I found a kind of blinding focus that I wouldn't have noticed so easily amongst the cloudy clutter of London.
"Three? You mean three? Three million. It's three million lira," Jo gasped. "That's… fifteen thousand dollars Mike."
Alfredo smiled and repeated his words in Italian again. Jo turned to me and translated, "Quality. This is quality." She nodded in unison with him.
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Weekly random rambles, musings & writings of Mike Lee in San Francisco, CA