Ramblings of a Manic Depressive

By Ed Franklin

Heres a zany book that is basically a commentary on our crazy lives here on planet Earth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 30, 2005
• ISBN: 9781465314857

Ed Franklin

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Copyright © 2007 by Ed Franklin.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

It seems I’ve usually been the one swimming upstream against the current. Why a few seem to end up out of the herd is hard to answer. Perspectives and evaluations tend to shift when viewing life from different angles. Growing older, I’ve noticed that sometimes, just once in a while, I was the one swimming downstream, finding shortcuts, and making discoveries few were privy too.

I’m writing this because I wanted those I love to at least have my crazy thoughts documented. I will not consider this undertaking a failure if these words are never published. This book is not intended to hurt or malign but if nothing else, to give some alternate ways of looking at life.

I was the kid in school that had glasses, was curious about learning, played in band, not too good in sports, and was generally laughed at. I learned not to worry too much about what others thought and that, sometimes, being ostracized had its benefits. My father was a sergeant in the Korean war, later studied English, minored in Spanish, and became a newspaper reporter, then editor. He was dichotomous in nature, a strict disciplinarian but also a free thinker. He met my mother while studying for his master’s degree at Mexico City College. My mom was incredibly intelligent, beautiful, and witty. She lived for her children but suffered deep long bouts of depression and their relationship was a tenuous one at best.

Being half Mexican in a border state definitely influenced my thinking and loyalties. I was born in San Antonio on American soil and knew that my duties and obligations were to my country, but my soul always felt the tugging and sympathy for the freewheeling passionate life and Latin spirit. Almost every summer, my brothers, mom, and I would spend a month or two in Mexico City with my wonderful family. The life, sights, sounds, and food stayed with me.

CHAPTER ONE

The Land of the Not-so-Free

I’d bet that most people all over the planet want more or less the same thing: the ability to have a family, raise and educate their children, have money for food, clothing, and shelter, and generally to be left alone from outside influences. This probably holds true for the Russian, the German, the French, the African and the Chinese alike.

All societies have humor, kindness, evil, family life, ideas, etc. The basic divisions probably come from cultural differences that drive us to look at life somewhat differently. That old evil specter of nationalism is used to make one proud of his society, homeland, and way of life, to the taking away of dignity of others’ lifestyles. Dehumanizing and vilifying the enemy is step number one needed before killing them (eliminating, rendering useless, etc.). It’s easier to kill a ‘gook’, ‘commie’, or ‘kraut’, than a real person. You’re simply cleaning up the world.

Freedom is a large complex word. I’ve gotten the impression that we seem to think we have a corner on the market concerning it. You’d think that we actually invented and propagated the idea. Never mind that Greek and Roman societies nurtured and passed laws protecting the concept.

There are countries that actually have freedoms we don’t have. I can drink all night long in Mexico, smoke hash and visit brothels in the Netherlands, and have free college education and free health care in Cuba. Even if one argues that one doesn’t need to have these rights, they’re still options we don’t have in this country. Some of us would like to do all those things. We can’t even legally travel to Cuba or worse, import Cuban cigars.

Let’s talk a little about war. Please do not misconstrue this as an attempt to malign our servicemen or their families, many of whom have suffered in incalculable ways or have given up their livelihoods or lives in the service of our country. The case for revolution against England was laid out in our Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government… Mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations… it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

Some may argue that we’re in that middle area where rights are slowly being given up but that our situation is not so bad as to warrant revolt. Without our war of independence, I imagine life in the US would be similar to life in Canada or Australia. We would be less of a world power, basically aligning ourselves with the British ideals of decency, quest for knowledge, appreciation for art, music, and literature, but also tempted with the desire to colonize