About me

With everything going on at this moment in history, it’s hard not to feel sorry for yourself. You’re probably up late, holding onto a tub of half-melted soupy ice cream for dear life (why bother with the bowl at this point? No one but the NSA is watching). Thinking, “but wait, how does all this affect me?” Any situation, no matter how seemingly global in scale, is best understood by reducing it to the most human, most personal level. You only know what you know. Ya know? 

Activism sounds great in the abstract, but everyone needs a personal angle to actually get involved. Before picking up that placard, you need to make it about you. 

When a train derails, you’re not supposed to worry about the state of the rails or what will happen to all those spilled sandwiches now. Instead, you reminisce about the times you’ve spent riding in the Amtrak bar car and how rocky it’s gotten around tight curves and steep inclines. You’re no stranger to locomotion, so why not acknowledge it? 

When someone stubs their toe, it’s not an unfamiliar feeling. You have toes. You know what it’s like to have a throbbing foot digit, pulsating inside your overly thick wool socks. Tell your story.  

Say there’s a fire on television engulfing an entire city block. You’ve roasted a few marshmallows, grilled some salmon and probably burnt yourself lighting Hanukkah candles. You’re no pyro punk. Share it with the world.

It reminds me of the rather obscure sous-chef, Peregrine “Bivalve” McMurphy shucking at the popular and aptly named oyster bar, Pearl Harbor, located in Westerly, Rhode Island. On December 7^th, 1941, Bivalve raced around the bar screaming, “It could’ve been us! It could’ve been us.” He only stopped a few times to offer lemon slices to befuddled citrus-loving patrons slurping up New England’s finest raw delicacies. How could anyone argue that the Empire of Japan hadn’t considered his seaside outpost as a legitimate target? They couldn’t. They didn’t. They let him have his day. 

This is empathy. At least as how we currently understand it. Seeing the world through only your eyes and bringing that perspective to the fore. But every so often, there are those oysters that make you violently ill. Be careful out there.