"Find out who you are and do it on purpose."
This, my friends, was going to be such an awesome, revolutionary post. Last week I drove by a car wash in Phoenixville that had the words above emblazoned on its letterboard. Find out who you are and do it on purpose.
Normally this stuff is of the if-you-give-an-idea-wings-don’t-forget-the-landing-gear variety of chortle-inducing Pearl of Wisdom found outside flower shops and latter-day Protestant churches built to resemble beer outlets. But a car wash! So much wisdom, so much power, so much speaking to me!
Not yet having a digital camera of my very own, I prevailed upon a friend to borrow hers . . . only to discover that in the interim between thought and action said car wash had changed its letterboard to “Happy Easter” and “God Bless the USA.” How trite. How mean!
This post was going to be all about how artists infuse their works with a central theme, or how some lasting concern influences, guides, permeates everything they produce. It was going to discuss how one’s wound, in mythic terms, is the source of both one’s doom and the means by which one can bring greatness to the word. It was going to relate the words of St. Thomas Aquinas* to Robert Bly’s discussion of katabasis** in Iron John. Explore the implicit notion that there is some negative value or consequence to be experienced should one not do it on purpose (so get cracking!). That having your purpose thrust upon you is maybe not the best way to go.
But no.***
Happy Easter. God Bless the USA.****
*“If you bring forth that which is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth that which is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.”
**A downward movement, a sinking, a bottoming out that cares nothing for ego, societal demands, mortgage payments. It is an inevitable mythic, mighty maw of a sewer drain down which you will spiral unless you get your shit together right quick. The kind of void commonly dealt with via red Miatas and mistresses a generation too young.
***Contrary to popular belief, Thomas Crymes did not invent the asterisk. He is, however, generally credited with the first casting of the Ironstorm spell in the fall of 1987, which led to the Great Rift of Korax and the untimely demise of several NPCs. Be sure to ask him about it!
****Meant ironically. Sort of.
Normally this stuff is of the if-you-give-an-idea-wings-don’t-forget-the-landing-gear variety of chortle-inducing Pearl of Wisdom found outside flower shops and latter-day Protestant churches built to resemble beer outlets. But a car wash! So much wisdom, so much power, so much speaking to me!
Not yet having a digital camera of my very own, I prevailed upon a friend to borrow hers . . . only to discover that in the interim between thought and action said car wash had changed its letterboard to “Happy Easter” and “God Bless the USA.” How trite. How mean!
This post was going to be all about how artists infuse their works with a central theme, or how some lasting concern influences, guides, permeates everything they produce. It was going to discuss how one’s wound, in mythic terms, is the source of both one’s doom and the means by which one can bring greatness to the word. It was going to relate the words of St. Thomas Aquinas* to Robert Bly’s discussion of katabasis** in Iron John. Explore the implicit notion that there is some negative value or consequence to be experienced should one not do it on purpose (so get cracking!). That having your purpose thrust upon you is maybe not the best way to go.
But no.***
Happy Easter. God Bless the USA.****
*“If you bring forth that which is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth that which is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.”
**A downward movement, a sinking, a bottoming out that cares nothing for ego, societal demands, mortgage payments. It is an inevitable mythic, mighty maw of a sewer drain down which you will spiral unless you get your shit together right quick. The kind of void commonly dealt with via red Miatas and mistresses a generation too young.
***Contrary to popular belief, Thomas Crymes did not invent the asterisk. He is, however, generally credited with the first casting of the Ironstorm spell in the fall of 1987, which led to the Great Rift of Korax and the untimely demise of several NPCs. Be sure to ask him about it!
****Meant ironically. Sort of.
posted by Ryan Rasmussen at 10:19 AM
4 Comments:
I love sayings that mean everything and nothing at the same time.
It's great when people do something odd like that. I dare say that "God Bless Amercia" does not have the same impact.
It certainly does not. Nor is it clear to me that Amercia, that tiny island nation in the Mediterranean (not too far from Cyprus, if I'm not mistaken), actually warrants a blessing from God.
The Amercians will not stand for this outrage!
HA!
"Truth is one, the sages speak of it by many names"...
That got lost somewhere in the boat ride.
James
nice blog
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