Few things in life have ever made me feel like a proud parent. Rather, Denman's masochistic enthusiasm for the Pacific Ocean, and watching him bounce his wiry frame off its not inconsiderable waves, makes me feel middle-aged in comparison.
Upon showing this photo to a certain indie pornographer, I was chastised for allowing my barely-there friend to burn, during his morning playtime. To which I responded that I'd finally talked him into breaking off a piece of an aloe plant and rubbing himself down in it. But only so I could beat off, while watching. Which also made me feel like a middle-aged man.
Totally other story, really. But before the bump, a tribute to this post's namesake.
The Sixth Declaration vs. The Sixth Grade Lunchroom
on 04-24-2008
They shaped the sharpest blade. Then flattened the part that mattered. - Torches to Rome
I will never again, in my life, abdicate my right and my ability to decide who the enemy is. - Utah Phillips
Likely more than a few of you reading this have (on more than one occasion, I'm sure) heard me remark that the genuine assholes of the world number relatively few. Negligibly few, in fact. What counts as a liability is the sea of cowardice in which they tend to swim; in which we all swim, all of the time. To be clear, that's often enough a self-criticism. After all, the degree to which any one of us enables or allows room for thuggish, passive-aggressive, manipulative, elitist or behavior otherwise in keeping with the overall asshole tradition in our lives is precisely the degree to which we're complicit in its occurrence.