Mickey Z

Cool Observer

Saturday, August 27, 2005

I just flew in from Texas...

Posted by Mickey Z on 08/27 at 07:40 AM

  1. Welcome back! smile

    I already moved to Canada, I’m not planning on renouncing my citizenship unless the draft starts up again. So far the worse bit is my “friends” in the states cutting off any political discussion with “Why are YOU complaining? It’s not like your living here anymore.” Sigh, they don’t realize it’s a global issue and not just local. :(

    But hey, last year I didn’t pay any income tax into the war machine. ;) That was nice. Also the people up here are much more aware of political issues in the states.

    Peace, love and good to read you again.

    Posted by Luna_C  on  from Van Coo Ver 08/27  at  12:23 PM

  2. Hey Luna. That’s the classic anti-intellectual canard. I remember talking about the Middle East with an Israeli and his main point was that I couldn’t understand the issues as well as he because I hadn’t lived in Israel (as he had).

    What led you to move to Vancouver? Are you happy with that move?

    Posted by Mickey Z.  on  from Astoria 08/27  at  02:34 PM

  3. Nice to see Mr. DuBois remembered, Mickey.  I read his autobiography, years ago.  Now, there’s a serious intellect, eh? 

    BTW - After arriving in Texas you wrote:  “There’s no one stronger than my mom.”
    A wonderful sentiment, and a wonderful thing to say.  I’ll remember that statement forever.
    Thanks, Mickey.
    And, again, welcome home.

    Posted by joe  on  from Oregon 08/27  at  05:49 PM

  4. Thanks so much, Joe...for everything. My mom has a few months of treatment to go, but seems to be on the right track. She loved all the good wishes from the gang here...especially the “Camp Mom” idea.

    Posted by Mickey Z.  on  from Astoria 08/27  at  07:58 PM

  5. This business about not being eligible to hold an opinion about matters outside one’s neck of the woods cuts both ways. Sometimes those living in the middle of discordant situations lose their capacity to tell what’s wrong with the picture of their everyday society. I just spent a week in Atlanta, GA and was disappointed by the racism that permeates life there in spite of the defensive white party line about “the city that’s too busy to hate”. I was glad in some ways to be back in Texas yesterday even though Texas enjoys a bad reputation in these matters, generally speaking…

    Posted by sk  on  from 08/27  at  09:38 PM

  6. Agreed, SK. The only things truly carved in stone are grave markers.

    Posted by Mickey Z.  on  from Astoria 08/27  at  09:48 PM

  7. I’ve got quite a few American friends who don’t intend on living in their country again in the forseeable, then again neither do I to mine. Love it and leave it, I say.
    Mickey, welcome back, hope your mother is doing alright and here’s 50,000 watts of good will for her.

    Posted by Owen  on  from Barcelona 08/28  at  07:05 AM

  8. Thanks, Owen...much appreciated.

    Btw, I have a friend who writes about travel as a catalyst for social change. I suggest you check out his forum at http://www.transcend.ws.

    Posted by Mickey Z.  on  from Astoria 08/28  at  07:39 AM

  9. In response to your “satan an inch” sighting in Tx, I just heard a great line in a movie: it should be on a billboard facing what you saw in Tx.  “God is an imaginary friend for grown-ups.”

    NK

    Posted by Nechama Karman  on  from NY 08/28  at  08:23 AM

  10. Watch out...Nechama is in the house. Nice to see you here, NK.

    Posted by Mickey Z.  on  from Astoria 08/28  at  09:12 AM

  11. Although, I’ve seen a few people better off for their travels, a larger number seems to turn more chauvinist for their travails in alien lands. (A bit sneaky, but WWI did break out within 10 years of the start of the Youth Hostel movement when those same smart lads started mowing each each other down with heavy guns). In short, the ‘act of travel and its potential for change’ seems to me a cliche whose pretensions need to be ‘rightsized’ a bit…

    As for church billboards, anyone remember that episode of the Simpsons where the letter ‘r’ was missing: “God is our fiend”.

    btw, going by church billboards that have already started going up here in the land of na(t)ive Texans, the padres are fixing (a regionalism) to ply their trade on Sep. 11 which falls on a Sunday.

    Posted by sk  on  from 08/28  at  01:44 PM

  12. *Letter I wrote to Mickey, he thought it would be nice to share. ;)*

    Heya Mickey,
    It was the illegal US invasion of Iraq that decided me on splitting. My
    Wife is from Vancouver and we were planning on bringing her into the states.
    However the events leading up to the Iraq Invasion in 2003. The largest
    global peace marches ever, snubbed by that pResident of ours, on top of
    everything else ongoing in America. Got me nervous enough to decide to leave
    the country and settle up here in Vancouver.
    It was tough at first, left a lot of good friends and a healthy client
    base in SF. It’s all good now, we have a house and I have full time
    employment with some great people. smile
    Vancouver is awesome. The city itself is gorgeous and booming right now
    with all the good and bad that comes with it. The people are generally
    healthier, smarter and pleasanter to deal with then in the states. It’s hard
    to explain because it’s easy to see all the similarities between Canada and
    the US. When family visit they have a hard time realizing they’ve actually
    left the country, “it’s ok to pay with US money, right?” er ah, no! not
    unless you want to get gauged on exchange rates. lol It is very different
    here There isn’t as much myopic nationalism. Also in a subtler way everyone
    is alot less tense on a day to day basis. It’s weird and I only really
    noticed it after I left but it’s very stressful to live in the states,
    especially under a criminal government. The worse bit is that it was so
    unspoken about. Maybe it’s a little different now but when I left, April 03,
    you really couldn’t even talk with “lefties” about criminal activities
    carried about by our Government. Most people seem to still want to maintain
    a blind eye. No one wants to talk about Daddies problem, especially since he
    might suicide you if you do. I think it’s that yawning abyss of a rabbit
    hole that freaks them out the most. Conspiracy theory is so easy to ignore
    when it’s just a catch phrase.
    Conversely up here it’s like, “Yeah he stole it twice, and I bet that
    bastard Cheney targeted the pentagon missile himself!  Why don’t you Yanks
    bounce those bastards out?” ha ha Not really that extreme, except in one
    case. But I think you get the point. ;) Most people are more honestly aware
    of what’s happening even if they don’t get the gory details.
    These days I’m not really sure if anywhere’s really “safe” to be
    anymore. We really are facing a global crisis and if one country falls were
    all gonna tumble. My one regret about leaving is that it does make it more
    difficult to interact in a meaningful political day to day way with other
    Americans.
    Anyways, hope that answered your question. Peace and love to you and
    your family. Glad to hear your Mom is doing well. I hope she’s soon through
    her struggle and does really well. smile

    Peace,
    Luna

    Posted by Luna_C  on  from Van Coo Ver 08/28  at  08:12 PM

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