I don't know, just lately, now and then I'm up to blogging not on a particular issue or on something I find on the 'net, but things that I witness while living my life. Like today. Today, I went on a trip with several people in the Legal Society at the college I attend, to the court in Islip. In a way, I really wasn't up to going, as it's criminal court and I'm looking to go into civil law. But at least one of my courses is giving extra credit, and it's not like I have anything better to do with my day.
The first thing I see is this cavalcade of cars and trucks, there had to be close to 10 of them. They were the vehicles of students going on this trip. No one was carpooling; the lady I went with offered, but only two students (I was one of them) took her up on it. Not that I had much of a choice, as anyone who knows me can attest to. But I got a first-hand glimpse of how wasteful we are. I'm a firm believer in global warming, and that we have to come together and act immediately. On top of that, you have gas heading towards $3.50 a gallon, and it'll soon be $4. By joining together and maybe taking, say, 3 or 4 cars instead of 9 or 10, that makes a huge difference when it comes to the amount of gas that we use and that we have to spend the next time we fill up. And of course, it's good for the environment too. I think it's rooted in this belief of independence that we seem to have, and that we're somehow ceding it if we accept or look for the help of others. Don't worry, we're not going to turn into socialists if we ride with someone.
The court was okay. I always feel a little uncomfortable when I go to one, as you have to go through a metal detector and stuff. Several colleagues had to take off their shoes. It just feels so militarized, I guess you'd put it. Police everywhere. I guess you have to expect it in a court. A teacher who also works in the court, I'm not sure what his exact title is, he handles the prisoners, he talked to us for a good half hour before giving us the tour. He was talking a lot about the American system of law and how superior it is to most other places in the world. I did feel that he's a little too idealistic, that our system does fail us and is in fact raping the Constitution daily, but I admired his energy.
We were in a courtroom to hear some of the arraignments. I couldn't really hear that much, but one thing I did hear, and which gave me a laugh, was when this homeless black man was brought before the judge. The judge was reading from the police report, I guess, and he read that this guy said to the arresting officer when he was approached, "I'm just minding my own business, man. I'm smoking crack." You can't make this up, lol.
After that, we went to Applebee's for lunch. I'll never be good with groups. I felt uncomfortable, and Denise (the lady who drove us) teased me about it on the way home. I don't know, I don't have problems with expressing my feelings and some secrets, my opinions, on a virtual contraption like this one. But I do a total 180 in a group setting. I'm shy, quiet, reserved. I took it harder when I was younger. I always got depressed and felt they were just ignoring me. But I probably come off as a boring guy. As I've gotten older, I've learned to accept it. I have a quote that I use as my email signature, from Einstein: "I live in the solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity." It does taste a little delicious, because I value the time I have to learn and enrich my mind. I have been after friendship and more for a long time, and I feel that if it were to come to me now, I wouldn't know what to do with it. So maybe it just wasn't meant for me. Not all of us can get along easily with people and have people like them.
If you have Sirius, you should listen to Ron Silver's show on channel 110 from 9 to 11. He's an actor, you've probably seen him, but he's also very asute and intelligent, and knows a lot about world affairs and politics. I don't agree with a lot of what he says, but he comes across as being very reasoned and has a measured tone; not like the typical talk radio people like Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck, who have this tone of "I know everything, and you have to listen to what I say." He even has people like Phil Donahue on and actually lets them speak; he doesn't yell over them every 2 seconds.
Anyway, have a good night, and as Ron Silver says at the end of every show, try to appreciate the beauty in each day and look for that silver lining in the sky.
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