Surviving The Fall, 29

I am not going into gross detail here, Gentle Reader, but my toilet is clogged, and the reason it is not flushing is all because of that most human of reasons, which is to say that I do not dispose of old New Yorkers in my toilet. And this also assures you that I am not a bot. I am very human. I am taking my time with this process of toilet unplugging. Using the plunger from time to time, then letting it rest for fifteen or twenty minutes while nature takes her course, then going back to it again. Tiresome process, this, but it just takes patience and, hopefully, I won't have to bother the management staff in my building about it. They are very kind about it when it happens and help is needed, but frankly this is embarrassing and there are certain functions of my being that I would prefer to keep private. Which gives me a whole new appreciation for our public sewer maintenance workers. By the way, for all you lovers of Reggae, do you know what makes sewer workers so special? Movements of the People!.....Still with me, Gentle Reader? Have you finally stopped gagging? I'll just give you another couple of minutes for your dreadlocks to lower. by the way, speaking of dreadlocks, I often think of this unfortunate hairstyle as the ultimate visual symbol of what is so wrong about cultural appropriation. Hey white guys, listen up[. Dreads look good on people of African heritage. Everyone else is a wannabe. One ex-friend of mine, a tall, blonde, very good-looking white guy from the American Midwest, has always had a huge identity crisis, only natural given that he grew up on Christian fundamentalism and has since tried to put all that embarrassment behind him while still wanting to hold true to his faith and still wanting to be a hip, cool and badass kind of guy. So, he's done all kinds of things with his hair, but when he gave himself dreadlocks I could only visualize Goldilocks having a bad hair day. I am also reminded of this tall, slender Asian guy I saw once in a Safeway, some twenty-two years ago, or so. He was proudly sporting his hair in dreads. What makes this particularly dumb is that Asians have poker straight hair and this does not naturally accommodate dreadlocks. But there were also these absurd degrees of separation for cultural appropriation: an Asian, making like an American, making like a Jamaican, making like an Ethiopian. Now, being a firm believer in freedom of expression, I still think that people should be allowed to culturally appropriate to their dumb little hearts' content, though I think it is dumb, in extreme bad taste, and I understand that people belonging to the appropriated culture would take offense. On the other hand, they are equally free to express their outrage. Here is the caveat: in a free, democratic society, no one should have to stifle their free expression, no matter how dumb and offensive, and equally so, no one should have to stifle their resentment and outrage, no matter how they might be overreacting. I still think its in bad taste. An Anglican priest whom I won't name, who is also German (go figure!), used to delight in wearing a Scottish kilt. Now, my mother is German, my father is Scots, so Gentle Reader, you can imagine how conflicted I was feeling. So, all did was congratulate him on his drag, while thinking that maybe it was at least a mercy that he didn't opt for lederhosen! Ohhh, valgame Dios (Spanish for, God, help me!) I am going to return to my dear little toilet.... ............ Still no luck. It's going to take a little time and patience. In the meantime, the plunger stays in the toilet, there has been no overflow, and I assiduously wash my hands after, keep the fan on and the door closed. Management staff will not be available for another two hours, which gives me lots of time. I am also thinking of breakfast, and you can imagine that with my background in health care some things, though I prefer not to give them a lot of thought, just no longer make me squeamish. It's all part of nature, and you know something, dearies? It's all nature. We are part of nature. And next time some mouth-breather tries to persuade you that such and such a colour is not found in nature, just tell them that if it's colour, it's nature. It's all nature. And now I am going to make a cheese omelette. I also just baked a lovely fresh loaf of bread this morning. Hey, life has to go on, eh?..................Well, I tried the toilet again, still no luck, but I'm going to try it again......The bread is lovely, one of the best loaves I have made and the crust is tender. I had it with natural peanut butter (just peanuts, absolutely nothing added ) and apricot jam, along with a cheese omelette. It is my friend Ron who taught me how to make a French omelette. I was an eighteen year old mouth breather, then, and Ron is one of my many friends who took me under his wing and kept an eye on me and taught me a few important life skills, as well. I haven't seen him in years, but I will always remember him as one of my dearest friends. The bread by the way is made with whole wheat flour, one hundred percent, of course, milk, baking powder, a bit of salt, bit of brown sugar and a bit of sunflower oil. Wonderful. Considering that I'm on a low income, I do eat very well and I feel blessed.... back to the toilet.....Still no luck, but now nowhere near as filthy, and if I still need help at least it isn't going to gross anyone out. I just responded to an email from my friend in Monteverde, Costa Rica, and mentioned to him how important it is for me to cultivate and maintain many distinct friendships since I don't have any family, neither can I expect everyone to be at the ready for me.....back to the toilet..........Still not working. And that's all I'm going to bore you with today, Gentle Reader. Ta-ta!