Halleluiah. Pepper in some witticism and somebody’s 'bout to brandish the best available spirits, no doubt

. Or shall we linger in some manifesto of continuance, some middle-aged cynicism, some flagrant air to feed the worst energies of humankind, hereabouts, so that they may grow ever more grandiose in girth and magnitude (by sheer will of acidic absurdities alone). May as well, as we are getting older & more peeled from our skins? Or…

Nay! Fuck that. Even though my wife (precious breath of fresh air lost) will never know the turn that one day we may finally take, the corner that leads finally to something less like a zoo operated by tyrants for the scared & cold & abysmal, then if that spark of possibility still lives in us here among the living then, although I woe plenty with every wake-up . . . woe among the fractured & sorrow for those even more woeful & woe begotten than myself, still I will aim to choose to shoulder up to the stone. Sure I'm only as tough as the last blow I withstood, but I’m a far better backstop than a projectile. & I don’t wish to be fodder to the absurd. Not if I can help it.

I’d be lying if I said I don’t miss the wit & wrangle of Dr. Wahoo Capybara: therein was both the message AND the bear. No blatant fodder for the morose mill...because it was too tall a climb in too heavy winds & low the fiery chasms to endure. Along with the fan stuff & books, & film, & music, & current events in science, world, & politics, & of course the noteworthy drop-ins that made this forum extraordinary above all others, it was the depth of wit & literary aim from time to epic time that raised the bar: that was DBIS to me. It was the decline of THAT which made it so easy to opt out . . . & the hint of its return (as well as a compassionate post regarding my private loss) that drew me back on a personal level. But I stopped reading certain characters long ago. Opting to “Mark all as read” after I get the whole gist o those whose efforts still command the best intentions o my 21st Century attention span. FWIW

So thanks for this particular post, Reg. Good to see your softer grit of underbelly beneath that veneer of earnest chainmaile & plate armor. I mean, metaphorically speaking.

If we stopped feeding the trolls ten years ago, dbisly, there’s no telling who or what entities would have become attracted to the ebb & flow of that alternative sack o seeds gone seedling… ((would that it could've been))