No
time for love
Maybe
the good times are on vacation
Dear
Dr. Jones
by GZO
Jones
or
more than a year now, GZO Jones has answered questions from our
readers and it's usually the same old thing: we really have no idea
where he's coming from. But he can be glib and oddly amusing, and
he swears that back in the day he hung with the Beats. That's good
enough for us because, aside from all else, he has yet to miss a
deadline. Nevertheless, at last glance his Brazilian Web site (GZO
Jones Town) still isn't saying much.
Dear Dr. Jones,
Where have all the good times gone?
Signed,
Kind of Blue
Dear Blue,
At first this struck me as yet another softball question,
fashioned to egg me into waxing nostalgic about the '60s. Which
I'm usually more than happy to do.
But at some point, as I've sifted through these correspondences
each month, it occurred to me that yours, Blue, is the recurring
theme. People at large are unhappy with their world and unsatisfied
with their place in it.
I'm just a crusty old scribe, but here's what
I know:
In the early '60s, Jack Kennedy said a man
would land on the moon by the end of the decade and, by God, it
happened. We didn't need to land a man on the moon, but it
sure rallied the masses. And it sure felt good.
So why is no one now saying we must ween ourselves completely
off of fossil fuel and develop alternatives by the end of the decade?
Why aren't we throwing huge amounts of money at fuel cells and solar
power? And creating all those jobs?
Why aren't we talking about legalization with taxation? The
world needs to nurture people with wisdom and vision. Do
these things seem obvious only to me?
Now, instead of a Jack Kennedy, there's a
mediocre little man at the helm of the most powerful country the
world has ever known. And all he wants to do is lower rich people's
taxes and bomb the crap out of the Middle East. Might
as well be Dan-boy Quayle.
That can't be what we're here for!
We need new leaders to step forward with steady nerves and
daring ideas. And we need to learn not to trash them just for the
sake of trashing.
Maybe, if we're lucky, the good times are simply on vacation.
And maybe they'll be back as soon as the rich folk realize that
it's more fun to share. But
that's not always a lesson for this lifetime to teach. I
won't hold my breath.
Meanwhile? Let's all be more creative and learn to make our
own good times. That's an area in which your good doctor has come
to excel. More on that in the months to come ...
Jones
Dear Dr. Jones,
My girlfriend says she wants to try some "new positions."
But just between you, me and the 11 people who read your column,
I like the old position just fine. Who's right?? Help!!!
Signed,
Missionary Man
Dear Man,
You mock me then ask for my help? For starters,
you'd do well to read the answer to the question above.
Beyond that, I'm guessing your girlfriend has already
taken out an ad in the personals; you'd be wise to do the same.
With a Neanderthal attitude such as yours, you're lucky to even
have a girlfriend. But unless you start to show a little respect
and at least the slightest sense of adventure, you won't have one
for long. And the only position you'll need to concern yourself
with is relative to the better of your own two hands.
There's your snappy, wise-ass answer. Now run along
and show the gang in the freshman dorm. Don't you have studying
to do?
Jones
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