ohio gazimas & aloha2u,
i have been fortunate in very odds way. my Farther died
before i hit puberty and even before then with his drinking
and PTSD from WWII,and my Mothers boundless rage,
he wasn't around much.
before his death he set my lil feet on The Right Path
and assured me that this crazy world would indeed
make sense to me one day, all i had was my Faith in him that it would.
THE BATMAN
lacking an actual father-fugre i adopted 2
The Batman and Sherlock Holmes, both brains and brawn.
then at puberty i began teaching myself
karate/kung fu from books ,an ex NYPD
black cop at the YMCA
and some Chinese black belt friends.
i was lucky that paperbacks came out about this time
and when i began reading sci fi
i stumbled across the Best.....'Doc"Smith,Sturgeon,Bester,
Asimov,Heinlein (sp?),Pohl,Anderson and so on.
and so when i was alone,depressed and very suicidal in L.A.
i stumbled into my first ;chambara'/samurai-ronin
film. the classic Seven Samurai by the immortal Akira Kuorsawa...
it was a revelation.
it was an imago of maleness both soft and strong and not
as case hardened in cement rigidity as American Macho Maleness,
men could try or be gentle with children YET still be Men.
i was confused but felt as tho the anchor i had been seeking
since my Fathers death was now firmly grounded in terra firma.
what sort of peeps & society could produce such men?
i became a sponge for all things Japanese,
(luckily the Frisco Japan Ctr was opened
with Kinokuniya Bookstore from Japan at its heart)
i discovered Zen Buddhism,.Shinto,sushi, geri, on,
the icy resolve to face death without flinching
and the true meaning of self sacrifice.
this was the forge in which i created my maleness
and the anvil on which i shaped my blade was
my years as an armed and dangerous taxi driver.
like any 'ronin' i saw peeps die,some of them i knew,
i saw body parts strewn across streets and freeways
and blood hosed into gutters.when i told peeps
they were going to die they took me at my word...
a promised tale..
4 SAMOANS
Frisco in daytime, taking 2 happy gay lovers downtown
along busy Geary Street .4 Samoans on 4 motorcycles
decide to fuck with me,why i have no idea to this day...
weaving in and out,jamming on their brakes, just stupid shit.
without realizing it i snapped...figured i could take out one
with my right fender then another with my left then
swerve to pick up the other two...
i was seconds away from implementing this plan
of action when the Samoan closest to me turned
and saw murder on my face then signalled
the other three to run a red light to get away from me.
the happy gay lovers didn't even notice,shaken
at my homicidal impulses i turned the cab in early
and went home to check myself.
I CAN KILL, I KNOW THAT,
I CAN KILL IN COLD BLOOD OR HOT,
THIS IS PART OF THE ESSENCE OF
BECOMING A SAMURAI......but only part.
there are Zen tales of killers who have yet spilled
no blood and righteous men who harbor deep seated evil.
*gloomy ominous organ theme song
"WHO KNOWS WHAT EVIL LURKS
IN THE HEARTS OF MEN? THE SHADOW KNOWS."
(*harsh ghoulish laughter)
((see Jungian Shadow archetype...))
me,i know too...sigh.
that is why GUN!
shouted at Peoples Park
left me unmoved and unafraid.
as a Buddhist i do not believe in
a Heaven or Hell
or an indignant mercurial indescribable
Godhead ( and re-incarnation is open to long debates)
but i have seen both GOOD and EVIL in this Life
and those in between like Korak the Killer
and i will err of the side of GOOD thank you
despite the many dark currents flowing thru me.
i can only hope this is a Legacy i can leave to my sons
(long weary parental sigh.)
there was much much more but hope you get my drift...
Peace Now
namaste
mega
i have been fortunate in very odds way. my Farther died
before i hit puberty and even before then with his drinking
and PTSD from WWII,and my Mothers boundless rage,
he wasn't around much.
before his death he set my lil feet on The Right Path
and assured me that this crazy world would indeed
make sense to me one day, all i had was my Faith in him that it would.
THE BATMAN
lacking an actual father-fugre i adopted 2
The Batman and Sherlock Holmes, both brains and brawn.
then at puberty i began teaching myself
karate/kung fu from books ,an ex NYPD
black cop at the YMCA
and some Chinese black belt friends.
i was lucky that paperbacks came out about this time
and when i began reading sci fi
i stumbled across the Best.....'Doc"Smith,Sturgeon,Bester,
Asimov,Heinlein (sp?),Pohl,Anderson and so on.
and so when i was alone,depressed and very suicidal in L.A.
i stumbled into my first ;chambara'/samurai-ronin
film. the classic Seven Samurai by the immortal Akira Kuorsawa...
it was a revelation.
it was an imago of maleness both soft and strong and not
as case hardened in cement rigidity as American Macho Maleness,
men could try or be gentle with children YET still be Men.
i was confused but felt as tho the anchor i had been seeking
since my Fathers death was now firmly grounded in terra firma.
what sort of peeps & society could produce such men?
i became a sponge for all things Japanese,
(luckily the Frisco Japan Ctr was opened
with Kinokuniya Bookstore from Japan at its heart)
i discovered Zen Buddhism,.Shinto,sushi, geri, on,
the icy resolve to face death without flinching
and the true meaning of self sacrifice.
this was the forge in which i created my maleness
and the anvil on which i shaped my blade was
my years as an armed and dangerous taxi driver.
like any 'ronin' i saw peeps die,some of them i knew,
i saw body parts strewn across streets and freeways
and blood hosed into gutters.when i told peeps
they were going to die they took me at my word...
a promised tale..
4 SAMOANS
Frisco in daytime, taking 2 happy gay lovers downtown
along busy Geary Street .4 Samoans on 4 motorcycles
decide to fuck with me,why i have no idea to this day...
weaving in and out,jamming on their brakes, just stupid shit.
without realizing it i snapped...figured i could take out one
with my right fender then another with my left then
swerve to pick up the other two...
i was seconds away from implementing this plan
of action when the Samoan closest to me turned
and saw murder on my face then signalled
the other three to run a red light to get away from me.
the happy gay lovers didn't even notice,shaken
at my homicidal impulses i turned the cab in early
and went home to check myself.
I CAN KILL, I KNOW THAT,
I CAN KILL IN COLD BLOOD OR HOT,
THIS IS PART OF THE ESSENCE OF
BECOMING A SAMURAI......but only part.
there are Zen tales of killers who have yet spilled
no blood and righteous men who harbor deep seated evil.
*gloomy ominous organ theme song
"WHO KNOWS WHAT EVIL LURKS
IN THE HEARTS OF MEN? THE SHADOW KNOWS."
(*harsh ghoulish laughter)
((see Jungian Shadow archetype...))
me,i know too...sigh.
that is why GUN!
shouted at Peoples Park
left me unmoved and unafraid.
as a Buddhist i do not believe in
a Heaven or Hell
or an indignant mercurial indescribable
Godhead ( and re-incarnation is open to long debates)
but i have seen both GOOD and EVIL in this Life
and those in between like Korak the Killer
and i will err of the side of GOOD thank you
despite the many dark currents flowing thru me.
i can only hope this is a Legacy i can leave to my sons
(long weary parental sigh.)
there was much much more but hope you get my drift...
Peace Now
namaste
mega
I rented 'Seven Samurai' awhile ago, because I had asked Rita about your favorite movie, trying to gain some insight. The movie houses a very desperate, seemingly one-sided battle with long odds and I saw your philosophy fitting in with that sort of thinking. Pneumonia four times while you were younger - kicked by Life while you were still fresh out the womb.
ReplyDeleteRita raised us with many philosophical quotes. Whereas Mike was more Western in his discipline, Rita taught us to teach ourselves, usually with the resounding Golden Rule. I'd like to believe it's the way you would've done it as well.
And what was with the bicyclists? Just the *wrong day for them to be doing that? Surprised Mike the Mercenary wasn't mentioned - you giving the 'go ahead' about those crazy crackheads at the hotel; the smart one's eyes lit up and he dragged away his companion when he saw your thought processes change.