Get Normed or Get Out

"There are moments of glory and hope," he says. "But it leads to an eventual hangover. Life is too damned hard for permanent victory."

I wasn't sure if he was talking about the election or something else. More likely, he had conflated things. I didn't want to get into it with him.

"Sure. You bet."

"Don't patronize me," he said. "You sound like Palin."

"I'm not patronizing you. What you say is true. Who would argue with that? It's almost a truism. I like what Bukowski said about it all. It's how well you walk through the fire."

"Bukowski's dead and all that kind of weirdness is laid to rest. It's a new world now. The old weirdness is just weird."

I had to agree with that. I find myself staggered by it at times. Things change quickly rather than slowly. He had made his point.

"Yes, it's true. Adapt or die, I guess. There's a tide of social norming going on, or probably a tidal wave of it. The old "'love it or leave it' has been replaced. 'Get normed or get out.'"

I still didn't know what he was trying to say. Or maybe I did know all too well.

The weather breaks. The sky is blue.