Where the Sky Begins

This was an odd week of political news, for me at least. That is, the story I kept hearing and reading about was a story I thought I had already known, and had a bellyful of, close to twenty months earlier, John Edwards, former Senator, former Vice Presidential candidate and if political pundits held in some regard have truly earned that regard, seemingly, thisclose to have been the nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 campaign.

Before there was "Change We Can Believe In" and "A Leader You Can Believe In"or even "Doing the Dance the Mopey People Do" (it appeared on "An Evening with...", his Zappa-produced debut; I own it; proving selling Manhattan for some glass beads wasn't the slickest con job ever), there was "Tomorrow Begins Today." In short order, John Edwards went from being the Super Cuts endorsed candidate to a legitimate contender before forgetting the run to the White House is more marathon than sprint (or t-mobile, for that matter) and eventually took himself out of the race.

What could have been ruin by a thousand cuts was sped up, considerably, when stories circulated about extra-curricular activities that generated dependents (as the US Army used to refer to childbirth) by someone other than the Senator's spouse. As Wolfman Jack used to admonish his primarily male listeners, 'Swimmin is like women-stay in the authorized areas.'

Like I said, I thought there had a been a ton of buzz on this at the time. And now, it's news again but I'm unclear exactly what part of new is involved or why. We consume famous people, hair and all, don't we? Just inhale them and they're gone.

Once the fifteen minutes if over, life goes on for most. At least I think it does-we're lucky, you and me, because we're not in the side of someone else's lives, we are sufficient unto ourselves. I wouldn't know what to say to the former Senator if I ran into him today, 'how's it going?' just seems so hollow and I wouldn't blame him for popping me in the nose. Is it polite to ask about the child he refused to acknowledge, even when he as only one in the hemisphere still in denial?

In one of the stories, he's quoted as hoping one day his daughter will be able to understand and forgive him but I'm not sure what she will be understanding much less forgiving. And I've picked up enough in fifty-seven years on this Big Blue Marble to know better than to ask a question when you can't stand the answer. That might have been the slogan to put him in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue-but it's a little late for all that now.

"Despite the best intentions,
And a big old man goes up for sale.
He becomes his own invention."
-bill kenny