MONDAY RAMBLE PART 11 “PLAYING POSSUM”

The other day I was walking in Brooklyn, New York and I saw a cat, and I really like cats. But then as I smiled at the kitty, I noticed his nose was pointy and his eyes were red and then it hit me that this wasn’t a cat at all. It was a possum pretending to be a cat.
I hear possum’s are good actors and that’s where the term “playing possum” comes from. He looked at me, and I looked back, I’m sure he was male because he had a masculine evil grin. And the fear suddenly struck me because I knew that he could kill me…I don’t know how possums kill and I thought about googling it on my blackberry to find out if they’re even dangerous at all. But then I decided I liked the fear and ignorance, it was better to simply jog away from this strange creature than get to know more about it.

I instantly thought of the scene in “Inglorious Basterds” where the French lieutenant guy compares Jews to rats.

People don’t like rats, but they don’t even know why. Then he makes the distinction between rats and squirrels both being rodents but the most significant physical difference are their contrasting tails. The long scary tail is one of the things that makes us find rats disgusting.

We see animals, people, objects and sometimes we like them, other times we don’t. And the truth is, most of the time words may not be enough to describe your true reason for your opinion. Sometimes a feeling is just that, a feeling.
While I thought of the origin of possums feigning death and a furry harmless squirrel ran by, I wondered where these preconceived notions came from. I wondered why that bowling alley in Manhattan had a sign that read “no mc colors, baggy pants, du-rags, etc”
I’ve never seen the word “du-rags” look so official and shiny until I saw that well thought out discriminatory sign. It made sense though, dress codes keep out those unwilling to dress a certain way, and venue owners hope that they can cut down on violent incidents… because we all know the better you dress, the less likely you are to shoot someone. That wasn’t totally sarcasm but apparently these people have never seen mob movies or secret servicemen. They are 2 piece-suited assassins.

As I’m writing this I’m trying to lift my own spirits, as I am saddened by the premature death of one of my dudes, schoolmates and just an overall cool person. But death is almost always premature…even when expected. And yet, it is still our biggest fear. We pray so our afterlives will be better, we try to take care of ourselves to avoid the end and we cry when someone leaves us eternally.

The crazy thing about tragedy is you don’t know how to deal with it until it happens to you. Finding the right words to console someone is so difficult; empathizing with another human’s pain is almost impossible, death, albeit a part of life, never gets easy.

I didn’t mean to depress anyone that made it this far into this ramble, if it helps, I don’t feel any better either.
I will say this, my next full-length CD entitled, “Unsung vol. 1” was originally fueled by my everlasting thirst to be heard, appreciated, and whatever else rappers bitch about. I added the subtitle, “The Garden of Eden” because I realized like Adam and Eve that you may not acknowledge paradise until you have to leave it. Sort of like the man with no shoes running into the man with no feet (pun intended).

So this is my realization, I am where I should be, everything I have endured, (you can say this along with me), is my path. This is your life, acceptance is not easy but once you let what happens hit you and deal with it for what it is, your reactions become controlled, they become real, heartfelt, honest. I am searching…most of us are…this is the most beautiful moment I have ever lived, it is a gift, the present.

You made it this far, might as well leave a comment, it makes a difference…