GEMS

Now is either a hunk of stone that you have to put in a ring or necklace, a very small donut or some pearl of thought. I’m fond of all three in case you are thinking of shopping for me for Christmas. Knowing the type of mind that generally reads what I write I imagine it would translate into the donut and I would get one out of a pack of six with teeth marks on it.

Gems that you might get in a jewelry store are always nice. Although as a rule I think guys get the short end in that department. You hear how diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but never how they are a guy’s best friend. The whole jewelry thing seems primarily geared towards the ladies as far as I’m concerned. Men normally get a chance to wear a watch and rings, but it just isn’t as big a priority for guys.

I mention that mainly to point out from my view that in reality the one type of “gem” that a guy like me can honestly except to enjoy is the pearl of thought. You sure can’t expect the first kind as a gift and the donut version tastes great, but the problem is I feel guilty when I eat them. So it is a matter from my view of which option actually works best.

The big difficulty with those pearls of thought is some aren’t as great a pearl as others. They might be in the mind of the person sharing it, but if I end up feeling a need to yawn then I don’t think of it as much of a gem.

I only wish that I had more people around me that weren’t so prone to something other than demented views of life. You can hardly get too many worthwhile gems in terms of thought if you start with a brain that is polluted with absurd philosophies.

Still, one can’t afford to discount the reality either that upon occasion even a few of these minds can have a real gem in their brain. I’m not sure it is worth wading through all the crap at times to get to the good stuff, but I keep trying.

Oh what a great day it would be if suddenly in one 24-hour time period all the little bent brains I encountered could manage a gem. The way I figure the reality is that there is only so many gems one can expect from the noggins of some of my help. So if I knew when they had peaked I could just enjoy ignoring them and get on with my life.

But no, it doesn’t work that way. Instead, I sit and listen to the panorama of curtailed clarity and the other ramblings, convincing myself the journey is going to be worth it.

On some occasions this process grants me a chance to steal a decent thought or two. I will revised it enough to avoid giving them credit. Those are the gems that truly sparkle for me.

Then there are the other moments. Those when I listen and end up in a mental corner asking, “huh?” It is one of those questions I hardly expect a decent answer. Instead I normally end up running away to some bar and using the liquid refreshment to help drown my mind in hopes of forgetting what I was told. I keep telling myself it is a living. It actually works on some occasions.