I have been out of town the past several days. My cousin, Michelle, died last Saturday, and I went back to Milwaukee this week for her funeral, which was on Thursday. It was a very strange event for me. I have not been back to Wisconsin for 12 years--since my first grandfather died. Michelle died of a blood clot in her lung. She was only 29 and the whole ordeal was very unexpected. I couldn't even tell you how long it had been since I'd seen Michelle or my other cousins. They didn't make it to my wedding, which was the last time I saw most of my aunts and uncles (over five years ago). I don't have many memories of my extended family, but I only have good memories of playing with Michelle, Nicole, and Adam: my cousins. We were still in elementary school, and would play things like "tiger cubs" at my grandparents' house when there. I was impressed that Nicole remembered the last time we hung out together--all six of us had a sleepover at my grandparents' house.
I spent the few days after the funeral at my older cousin Craig's comic shop. They were celebrating their first anniversary. I got to help out. It was a good time, other than the snow on Saturday that kept many people from getting out to the party. I brought back two new games, both of which are relatively simple but fun. Craig was kind of like my older brother growing up. He's maybe 5 years older, and his mom and my mom always hung out together (being sisters), so by default, Craig and I did too. I have vivid memories of getting into Craig's comic books and Star Wars figures when he wasn't home. Thankfully, he no longer seems to mind! I also remember going to one of his (jr.?) high school basketball games. This was in the late eighties, when spitting for no reason was cool. I remember spitting as we walked to the school just because Craig did. Every time he would spit, so would I. Weird that I remember that. The only other thing I remember was not being allowed to throw my candy wrappers under the bleachers.
5 comments:
Sorry to hear about your cousin. Funerals are strange by nature...
I had a friend when I was in Jr High. He was a bit of a misfit...few friends other than me. Once day he took me to his attic and it was packed with stacks and stacks of comics. Shelves of them. He must have had thousands of them. No exaggeration. I would spend afternoons reading them. (One day I ran across a stack of porn in the attic ...and suddenly the comics had less interest...but that is another story.) But it's interesting how I can remember the smell of the room. I can remember the comic story lines...I can remember the feel of the pages...some of them in plastic covers. It is strange what you remember.
Comic books really do have some significance. It is easy for me to say that modern comics aren't art--that they say nothing important. But then I look back at the comics of yesterday, and I see some dramatic significance. I assume I'll see the same of today's, in retrospect. Breaking down (or blowing up?) the human condition for examination. Sometimes my biggest current complaint against them is that people never look "normal" in them--all the women are buxom beyond measure and all the men have more lats than Lou Ferigno. And those aren't even the heros! A few comics stray from that and address the "beautiful people" issues, but most just plow straight ahead with unattainable sex appeal. Why does everything have to be about boobs? : ) Sometimes I feel like a pack-a-day smoker trying to quit, but every fifth stranger I see is offering me a smoke. There are so few people who see the danger of sexiness...or of doing and having whatever you want. Now I'm on tangents...
"There are so few people who see the danger of sexiness...or of doing and having whatever you want."
I like it. Are these two things ("it's all about sex" & "if it feels good, do it") just the manifestation of a weak or undisciplined populous? Like Greg and I were wondering last night, we know our culture plays a role, but what about, say, CAPITALISM? Not to go Marx on everyone, but what's a more popular addage in marketing than "sex sells"...? Sure, consumers can censor or reject things they don't want, but so much of what we want seems to be driven but what commercials and TV and THE MAN tell us we want. Oh, and that whole "human fallibility" thing might play into it, too.
Screw THE MAN, but I'm guessing the likely response is that we still have to have some self-control. Bombs away.
It is not a question of who is telling us what we should want. The problem isn't that people are using the mantra "### sells," the problem is that we, as individuals, hold the mantra to be true. ### sells because we buy it. It is an issue of what we want, not of what people are trying to sell us. Capitalism's "evil" is that it allows such mantras as "### sells" to be legitimized. We (read: US national culture) aren't idiots, and we aren't weak--we have no moral foundation beyond relativism or tradition, and we live in a culture/system that allows and encourages us to pursue whatever things we desire.
Curse you, Net Nanny! ### sells! ### sells! ### sells!
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