August, The Summer's Last Messenger Of Misery,

I Think In Rural Settings, People Have A Different Appreciation For Animals Than Might The City Dweller. In Parts Of India Where Poisonous Snake Bite Is Common, People Have A Much Different Value System. I Live In A City. I'm Not Thinking About Wolves, Lions, Etc.

My Optimism Wears Heavy Boots And Is Loud.

I Would Like To Get Out To The Region In The Caspian Sea. I Would Like To Go There. I Would Like To Get To Darfur. I Would Like To Get To Khartoum In Northern Sudan. I Would Like To Get To Zimbabwe. I Would Like To Go Back To North Korea, If I Could. I Would Like To Go To Yemen. I Would Like To Get To Kashmir. Most Of Those Destinations I Will Get To.

The Perpetrators Of The Actual Bad Stuff That Does Real And Lasting Harm To People, Like Leakage Of Industrial Chemicals Into Water Systems, Seem To Get Not So Much As A Second Glance; The Bloviation From Media Pundits And Think Tanks Creates False Problems That Waste Time And Energy Debunking.

Every Year, August Lashes Out In Volcanic Fury, Rising With The Din Of Morning Traffic, Its Great Metallic Wings Smashing Against The Ground, Heating The Air With Ever-increasing Intensity.