humanity is overrated

i have been out of town for over a week, in the san francisco area for an antiques show, staying with friends. the show was not great but the friends were. we did not sell much and most of what was sold went to dealers, the serious and sophisticated customers from the bay area being all but absent. the friends i stay with near berkeley have a baby whom i call "coconut" who is now almost 1 1/2 years old and smart as a whip. she comprehends and communicates better than i do. the weather was pleasant and crisp and except for the morning fog that caused the hundred-car pile-up, it was the perfect beginning to autumn. returning to los angeles, however, was cold and gloomy. its all about perspective! there were many emails to answer but none from people affected by the recent fires, the only orders for spiritual remedies were unrelated to tragedy. finland had a terrible event today: a sad and beautiful boy took a handgun to high school and killed the principal and seven others before killing himself. he had announced his intention on u-tube... this is reminiscent of the virginia tech tragedy and im sure the heart of america will go out to finland. at both the finnish high school (jokela high school in tuusula finland) and virgina tech university, the gunmen were upset with society. they were disenchanted with the superficiality of modern life and unable to justify our existence. were they dark misguided prophets? its all about perspective. reality television and tabloid journalism drain the light from your soul. and maybe these boys couldnt see in the dark. i understand that disenchantment... and i keep squinting... returning to my friends home after a long day of nobody appreciating my antiques and decorative arts, the coconut greeted me at the door. i said, "you have a bat on your shirt" and she looked at her shirt and pointed to the holloween bat and said, "i do have a bat on my shirt. and look at you!" sometimes you dont have to look far to see that humanity is very underrated.

for hope: http://blesstheworld.com