How many bullets are left, Chino? Enough for you, and you? All of you. You all killed him! And my brother, and Riff. Not with bullets and guns. With hate! Well, I can kill too because now I have hate! How many can I kill, Chino? How many? And still have one bullet left for me?
Maria ~ West Side Story
A story of passion revenge, a bunch of boys in their pubescent prime playing w/ their guns. I remember watching this wonderful musical when I was a wee lad, I loved The Jets & The Sharks and the group loyalty each had. As an audience member it is so frustrating to watch these stories of misunderstanding and sillyness that lead to people dying. We all are expected to learn the lesson of community, diversity respect, unfortunately these lessons are generally short lived until we go out and ruffle a few feathers w/ someone else. I absolutely love the speech Maria gives at the end of this movie, standing their in her nightgown w/ both hands around a shaking pistol pointing to the crowd of gang members. She lays it down realz good here, far from the "I feel pretty" scene she sings in the earlier act.
I felt like Maria the other day minus the nightgown & gun, I'm a terrible shot & also not a cross dresser. I was ravaged w/ anger, frustration & betrayal! yes, I'm going for drama on this. Lets just say my lemonade stand was shut down by a couple of thugs and instead of sharing my lovely lemon nectar to the local hop scotch & jump rope kiddos, the contents of my stand was poured over my head, and I was left standing in my own sticky mess! Thank god I wasn't selling hammers! Yeah, it was a rough one. I had to step away and unload the bullets from my mind gun, because I had a few zingers in the chamber that would've flown had I left them.
Having had a couple of days to reflect on this, I am now frustrated that I was allowed to be arrested by this moment, my goal moving forward is to be more like Keanu Reeves in The Matrix and move my hands super quick and simply flick those assaults to the side like pesky flies. I've certainly got more to learn, today I begin w/ a fresh start and a positive perspective w/ a mild dose of skeptisism.
here's a poem:
Shrek drives me nuts, Shrek is haggared, slimy & a big bully; all green with no worldly experience & roams to the mutterings of a prized Jack Ass. I much prefer The Gingerbread Man when pulled out the oven and yells "Eat Me!" Pinnochio the boy/puppet, the Ole shop keeper creation who fights against the world and demands "I'm a real boy!". Lessons from fiction, Life mimicks Art, Trial by Fire. You've got a friend in me, somewhere over the rainbow, stand by me
got to cut loose-- footloose.
