Reality Bites for the week of Nov. 16 by James Norton

“Marge, it takes two to lie – one to lie and one to listen.” – Homer Simpson

As in life, there are many levels of humor ‚Äì this is evident in the title of this column.  Sure, Homer seems to hit the nail on the head when he said this, but the real humor is beneath the fluffy exterior of the statement itself.  Underneath the instant laugh it generates, is the original quote from Thoreau, which is:  ‚ÄúIt takes two to speak the truth ‚Äì one to speak and one to listen‚Äù.  The twisted and sophomoric interpretation is where the gold is struck.

  This way of interpreting things is kind of like local politics here in what some people have dubbed the new ‚ÄúCambriville‚Äù.
  Before you get all excited, I am not the creator of that phrase/name for those who persist in assuming it was me on the weblog.  I‚Äôm witty, but that person invested WAY too much time thinking up all that stuff ‚Äì and I just don‚Äôt have that kind of time.
  In this year of never-ending elections, we have been faced with many choices.  Or have we?  Those of us sitting in the middle of the road politically, who have both liberal AND conservative beliefs, have let ‚Äúvoter apathy‚Äù and our own ‚Äúbusy‚Äù lives interfere with the progress of local politics.  We‚Äôd much rather think of ourselves on a global scale instead of taking care of business right here at home.
   Is change good?  Sometimes.  Then again, sometimes not.
  Occasionally it‚Äôs better to have the devil you know than the devil you don‚Äôt.
  I had to laugh when I wrote those last two lines ‚Äì they bring to mind what an old friend of mine referred to as ‚Äúinnuendo-fest‚Äù or ‚Äúmetaphor-mania‚Äù.
  Personally, I can‚Äôt wait to see the next series of people who line up to take a stab at the open State Rep seat vacated by now State Senator Jehlen.  Why anyone would want to self-inflict that kind of personal pain and torture onto themselves is beyond me.
   This coming from the guy who, as a kid, wanted to be a Congressman.  I wasn‚Äôt cut out for it, not because I didn‚Äôt know how to get things done, but because I can‚Äôt help but blurt out what I‚Äôm thinking at any given moment.  Nobody wants to hear the truth anymore.
   Aside from my personal opinions about different people running for public office, I will say this ‚Äì anyone who puts their name on a ballot should be applauded for at least caring enough to make a statement, any kind of statement, about how our ‚Äúlocal‚Äù world is run.
   In the path of destruction our lives have become from a ‚Äúquality time‚Äù standpoint, we tend to miss out on the little things.  I have babbled on here about being nicer to other people, but that isn‚Äôt going to happen any time soon.  But it could.  Try spending some time with the family, your friends, yourself.  Take up a hobby, go back to church, start playing a sport ‚Äì it‚Äôs never too late to be physically active on some level and it sure wouldn‚Äôt hurt.
   The 3rd Annual Writers Festival the other night was a great time ‚Äì a welcome retreat from the bustle of everyday work and the insanity of local politics.  As it did the two years before, it has inspired me to write more often, not necessarily in the pages of this paper, but definitely to a much broader base of readers.
   I just might take myself up on that offer.
   I imagine there will be some poetry and some short stories ‚Äì both fiction and non-fiction.  There may even be a novel in me, who knows.  For more years than I care to admit, I have been yearning to write a screenplay, but considering my creative process for merely writing this bi-weekly column, I would do best in starting off with baby steps.
   Sure there are many things I wish I did or completed when I was younger, but now I have a whole new set of things I want to do and I plan on taking a stab at some of them eventually.  Writing, spending time away from work, the internet radio station, taking new classes and studying for my next licensure upgrade exam.
   Seems like only yesterday I was 14 and so excited to do so many things.  Well now I‚Äôm going to be 38 in March and I don‚Äôt plan on spending the next 20 years lamenting what I could have done, because now I know better.  Or do I?