The Taste of Our Indiscretions

That's the title for a story I have notes on in my ramblings file. It's a strange, surreal little story and I don't know if I'll ever write because there's so many other things in front of it. The entire thing hasn't really come together yet and since it's Friday I figured I might share the skeleton concept with you. The story deals with a man who wakes up in a waiting room outside of Heaven, something akin to waiting at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Everyone's impatient, the staff is disgruntled, and no one at all really wants to be there.

The man realizes he's dead, and after an attendant reviews his records, he leads him to a large warehouse-style room filled with shelves and shelves of water cooler jugs. The attendant then proceeds to lock the door behind him on his way out.

See, the thing is... the guy was kind of a prick when he was alive. A corporate suit that cheated and robbed and stole. An asshole on the streets, turning a blind eye to the poor and needy, and keeping kindness and good will tucked neatly in the pocket of his pants.

The attendant explains to him that every ounce of grief, every shred of pain, every tear that he's caused in his lifetime has been captured and is waiting for him. The jugs are filled with the tears he's caused, and to walk through the pearly gates, he needs to drink them all and experience the hurt, the pain, the grief that he was responsible in life; The Taste of his Indiscretions.

Told you it was an odd little story, and I don't even remember what triggered it back when I wrote the notes. Been seriously busting ass lately at work and I guess my mind has been turning things over inside on a smorgasbord of topics.

Poor choices that most people wrestle with after the fact, our indiscretions can take many forms. I'm a firm believer in karma; you get what you give. Be an ass, people will be an ass back. Don't love? You won't be loved. Be open and true to your friends, and they will be to you. I hate to break down emotional aspects, but it ties into physics really. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

There's a fine balance in life, held together by gossamer strings that break with the faintest of touches. Take care what you do and how you treat people, lest you want the same in return.

Or someday you'll taste your own tears as a result.

In the words of Maya Angelou, People will forget what you said. They'll forget what you did. But they'll never forget how you made them feel.


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Current Reads
Lee Thomas' The Dust of Wonderland. VERY cool read and I'm ashamed to say it's the first thing I've ever read by Lee. Almost to the end and the pages are burning my fingers to get done. Next up: I suppose I'll trudge back into No Country for Old Men, though the first twenty pages gave me a headache when I attempted it last time. Then, the Raw Shark Texts because it's been a while since I read book that sold for six figures.

Recent Movie
Hmmm. Actually, I haven't watched a damn thing lately except AMC's Mad Men.

Current Music
The Kooks: A band from the UK that kicks more ass than a donkey. Think acoustic Strokes with less edge. Very cool.

The Subways: Caught them on Sundance Channel's Live from Abbey Road. A three-piece band that jams. And as a bonus, the guitar player is quite the cute rock-chick.

Delta Spirit: Bluesy and kickass. Click here to check out their track titled "Trashcan" on their MySpace page:


Current Infatuation
Hmmm. Nope. I got nothing... except maybe Chapter 14 of my novel.

Current Frustration
Uhm... among other things... clients that give me lo-res photographs to use in their layouts.


behave yourself,
b