So, I'm really horrible at blogging, because I just get bored prattling on about my life, and the news, and whatever else I've attempted to blog. Frankly I'm best at commenting on the rich stream of random thoughts I read throughout the day, which is great, but it's not really a great way to collect my wisdom. So anyway, I'm trying to create something worth reading but I need a theme, a unifying concept, something I can search on and find a new idea that inspires me to the next post.
So here it is: Pessimism. I'm a pretty upbeat, energetic sort of guy, but it's because I draw my energy from the daily confirmation that everything is, indeed, going to hell in a handbasket. And when it doesn't, well, that's just a miracle. Think of me as a black hearted Candide.
So really it comes down to expecting the absolute worst. I'm not here to give you simple heartwarming platitudes and whitewashed anecdotes to warm your soul. If your soul is like mine, it draws nothing from that stuff. It pretty much just makes everything worse, leaving me wondering why my life can't be so simple and beautiful and sensible and free of a dozen caveats. I'm not looking for chicken soup here, I'm looking for something worse. And what could be worse than a cold pail of vomit?
Hey! I am not sure if your old butt is still alive, but Mr. Mallean was much more than you ever gave him credit for. I value the time you took to write about his goal on always being corrrect because you are right. He was correct about you.
ReplyDeleteHe wasn't necessarily happy with the fact you called him "A Cold Pail of Vomit", so you also contributed to his seriousness. I speak on his behalf because I know he always was annoyed with this post, even until he could last remember it. You might not have thought he read it. Well, yes he indeed did. This is something I am doing for him and myself to find closure. You contributed to his hate of the internet and computers because in his words exactly,"Hundreds of years from now, people will look up my name and see what Erik said about me being negative. Whatever is put out on the internet can never be taken back". I want to change that. I want people to see, hundreds of years from now, my comment on your very offensive and incorrect work. George Mallean was a very happy man that I am very sorry you never got to meet. Yes he was serious, so what? You seem to be very serious to me as well because only negative people write negative stories and pretend they are innocent.
Here is what the real George Mallean was like:
ReplyDelete-He was soft spoken and chose his words wisely. Only when he strongly believed in something being wrong did he ever have a temper.
-He was a talented poet with a book called "Exodus out of the Heartland". It is beautiful to say the least. It talks about his true commitment to his family and his reflections on life. If you would like a copy please email me at allanamcampbell@gmail.com and I might be able to give you the wonderful opportunity to meet the "real" Mr. Mallean.
-He was committed to his family and the simple things in life. As he aged, he looked back on his life and often told his grandchildren stories of his childhood and career. George talked about his family's farm in Kansas to how he beat the best coworker that played chess by using beer and one of his girl neighbors. He spent one day a week with his grandchildren, so his single mom daughter could work and be successful as an entertainment lawyer. George was the best grandparent anyone could ever ask for and always supported his children and granddaughter's goals. He payed for and did whatever his family wished him to do. Mr. Mallean was his daughter's best friend and most caring person during her divorce. As an older man, George had a soft spot for his daughter's family dog, Sadie, and would always sit in a green armchair and stroke her golden blonde hair.
-He was an amazing cook and had a major sweet tooth. George made the best sausage pasta and boiled artichokes ever and I am heartbroken I will never get to taste it again. He loved mint chocolate chip ice cream, which his oldest granddaughter, Allana, got him into. Mr. Mallean knew the local ice cream man and would take his granddaughters there every Tuesday to get a fudgesickle. Hershey's chocolate was his favorite Halloween candy and See's Candies was the only motivation he had to go to the neighborhood mall. He knew pleasure and kept the things he enjoyed close in his 50's styled cupboard.
-He was the smartest man I will ever know. He taught me about math and I remember looking in his garage and seeing piles of filled notebooks full of his theories of mathematics and engineering. He knew that people who are correct have a good understanding of life and love their neighbor as he did his family.
- He enjoyed many hobbies. George was a golfer and tried to teach me the basics, which I regret refusing not to learn for his skill could have worn off on me. He loved watching nature and taught me all the birds and monarch butterfly facts you could possibly know and insisted I appreciate the Native American culture. He was also an artist. His sketches were absolutely brilliant and detailed to the last strand of grass. He drew his past and the annoying squirrel in his backyard. He listened to classical music and cursed at the LA traffic.
Henry George Mallean was much more than "A Cold Pail of Vomit"; he was my grandfather and someone I am sad you will never have the privilege to speak with, because I promise you that he really wanted to comment on this, but I did not know how to teach him then.
Please contact me, Erik. I would like to enlighten you more.