Masterpiece 6: The Peaceful Transition of Power

A friend recently attended a lecture by Vicente Fox, the former president of Mexico. When asked about corruption in Mexico or about the Mexican drug lords or some such thing, Fox pointed out that he was the first president in Mexican history who was able to stay in the country after leaving office. Fox reportedly pointed out how lucky the U.S. is to have such a history of smooth transitions of power, something that Mexico is just growing into.

Isn't that a masterpiece? We smoothly flow from Hoover to FDR, from LBJ to Nixon, from Billary to Bush, and now Bush to Obama never thinking twice how impossible that is in so much of the world.

Credit much of that to our electoral college system, some of it to a three branch system with checks and balances, and lots of it to the American culture's insistence on of the rule of law.

It's why people are still lined up all over the world to get here.

Masterpiece 5--Southern Cross

This qualifies as a masterpiece.

To my untrained ear the harmony is as good as any (tho, maybe not so much in this live version) and the imagery vivid.

Two lines always stand out.

So we cheated and we lied
And we tested
And we never failed to fail
It was the easiest thing to do.
You will survive being bested.
Somebody fine
Will come along
Make me forget about loving you.

Anyone who's ever screwed up in life--which is probably just about all of us--can surely relate. And find comfort in the song.

The other line is part of the chorus.

Spirits are using me
larger voices callin'.

Creativity--one of the great mysteries. Where do great ideas come from? And great symphonies, novels, and paintings? How about a great invention or a unique solution to a problem?

Taoists speak of the Uncarved Block. Within the block of stone lies a statue. The sculptor connects with the Tao in a Holy Act of creativity--carving the statue to reveal what is Meant To Be for the block of stone and what is Meant To Be for the gifted sculptor. And the whole world is rewarded. The statue was always there, the sculptor always had it in him, and final product is what's Meant To Be.

Surely, this is what is meant by "Spirits are using me/larger voices callin'"--Crosby, Stills, & Nash sing of the Holy connection between Spirit and Artist.

One need not be Leonardo da Vinci or Paul McCartney to connect with the Spirit, tho. One can be an artist just by living a virtuous, passionate, and loving life. It's in every one us.

Thanks to Lyrics Depot for the text of the lyrics.

Masterpiece 4--The Supermarket

One morning recently a water main in Montgomery County broke and we were all told that for three days we were to boil our tap water before drinking it. Word got to me about 9:30 in the morning.

Along about noon I decided to run up to the Safeway on the corner to buy a case or two of bottled water. The thought of boiling water for two days just didn't sit well. Just as I was climbing into the truck it hit me that I must be dreaming: there won't be a drop of water left. Everyone in the neighborhood has beaten me to it, the shelves will be bare.

Much to my surprise, I was way off. At the head of every aisle and in the free space in the meat and produce sections stood pallet upon pallet of bottled water, much of it even on sale. No price gouging there. Seemed like there were even a couple extra checkout registers open to handle the rush of soccer moms and seniors who were similarly disinclined to boil for three days. Safeway recognized and responded to the market demand in a matter of hours--in a matter of minutes, really.

The American supermarket is itself a masterpiece.

This is not my original idea. A George Mason University econ professor in the summer of '83 must be given the credit. Tho I can't remember his name, I will never forget his eloquent soliloquy on the American supermarket.

Stop for a second the next time you're at Safeway or Giant, for that matter, Walmart, Staples or Lowe's--they're the same thing. Appreciate the abundance around you--the complex economic system necessary to bring it all together. Fresh produce, meat, and dairy. Frozen dinners, ice cream, orange juice, and pizza. Canned goods, cake mixes, pasta, potato chips and sodas of every variety. Accross the river in Virginia you can even buy wine and beer.

Today's supermarket offers a much more international fare than its ancestor just a generation ago--roses from Ecuador, salmon from Chile, strawberries from Mexico, apples from New Zealand, shrimp from Costa Rica. Asparagus year round.

And it's not just the food. Think of the packaging--the boxes for cereal, the bags for chicken nuggets, the cans for everything from beans to blueberry pie filling. You have bug spray, matches, medicine, make-up, magazines. Every soap and detergent you can imagine, every paper product you'd ever need for your Sunday picnic. Diapers for the baby, Depends for the mother-in-law.

Somehow it all comes together in this one magical place. From around the country, from around the world. Seven days a week, the shelves always full.

How lucky we are.

Masterpiece 3--The Thousand Mile Stare

This picture of Lance Cpl. James Miller was taken by Luis Sinco during the battle for Fallujah in December 2004.

It's a masterpiece.

How timeless is that look, that fatigue, that momentary comfort found in a cigarette. "If ya got em, smoke em."

It's begun but it's not over. And it ain't easy.

On this Memorial Day, may we all be thankful for the sacrifices made by those who serve.

Go here to read Sinco's story behind the picture.

Masterpiece Two--"Enough Dymamite, Butch?"

"Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?"

This classic line from the 1969 movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid qualifies as a masterpiece. While robbing a train, Butch (Paul Newman), Sundance (Robert Redford), and their Hole-in-the-Wall Gang come upon a safe that's just a little too sturdy. Butch, tasked with blowing the safe, overdoes it with the dynamite and the whole thing--train car, safe, and contents--is blow to smithereens creating a snowstorm of dollar bills. Our two heroes are knocked off their feet by the explosion at which time Sundance, chewing a wad of tobacco, surrounded by outlaws running around snatching money from the air, turns to Butch and asks the immortal question.

It's the line that launched Robert Redford's career. And interestingly enough, it reportedly was ad libbed.

Of course, the true beauty of this line is its appropriateness for use on those rare but inevitable occasions where a touch of humor is needed to recognize a noble, strenuous, and well-intended effort that has resulted in disaster. How many times in your life have you or someone in your family or workplace tried to do the right thing but used too much dynamite? At times like these, one needs a little laugh.

Masterpiece One--"Dock of the Bay"

This is the first in what will be a string of posts revealing what IMHO are masterpieces. Songs, pictures, phrases, whatever. I can't define them, but I know them when I see them--better than good, greater than great.

(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay was recorded only hours before the untimely death of the great Otis Redding in December, 1967 and released a month later. At the time I was five years old and living in San Diego. The dock of the bay for me will always be the submarine pier where we would go for an occasional, extra special tour of the boat, sometimes topped by a dinner in the ward room. With Boston cream pie for dessert. A diesel submarine--what an adventure for a five year old boy! All these years later I can still smell diesel and creosote, still hear the sound of the band playing Sousa marches as subs departed and returned from six month WestPac cruises, and still be enthralled by the crispness of orders barked and salutes snapped.

For Redding, it was something completely different, I'm sure. "Two thousand miles I roamed, just to make this dock my home." It can get no better than that.