Comparison, USA

Just beyond the city limits of Comparison is a little stretch known to some as, “Free Time.”

On this one funny little world I visited in April, they say that the difficulty in overcoming behavior is not in actually overcoming it, but in actually wanting to.  (There is also a splinter group who vigorously opposes the over use of the word “actually.”)

Later that same year, (July, I believe it was), I was traveling through this other parallel solar system when I discovered a man just outside their capital city, who had set up some sort of “retreat in the trees,” and above the main entry road had hung the following banner:

 “How To Be:  Rich without money,

                         Calm without depressants,

                         Alert without stimulants,

                         Healthy without medication,

                         Serene without religion,

                         Sane without analysis,

                         Safe without family,

                         Learned without degrees,

                         Beautiful without surgery,

                         Satisfied without recognition,

                         Successful without deception,

                         Victorious without violence, and…and…yes, and FREE FROM NOTHING.”

During his first years of relative peace and satisfaction, this one guy would oftimes sing to himself, “Oh, I’m so happy I could die,” but then after a certain exhilarating run on that fast part of the back stretch he changed the tune to, “I’m so happy you could die.”  (Now I can’t take the time to explain ALL of these to you Sunday-drivers.)

All stars, just seconds before they transverse that glorious supernova threshold, send out the message, “It’s all just a premise, all just a premise.”

J.