Tedium's Large Metal Tent Pole

The day is mercifully ended- it was kind of a long one, but that's what they pay us for. And boy did I get messed with today! I was in an older-model troop transport truck, one without many of the bells and whistles that the newer models have. One of these turned out to be a working dashboard fan... But at any rate, this truck was old and soon to go the way of all scrap. Installed on most of these trucks is a way to alert the driver, as the cab is separate from the bed of the truck. The newer models, the ones I'm familiar with, have an intercom system- simply pick up the mic in the truck bed (which has fold-down seats, obviously- ride comfortably and a little safer, too), and what you say will be transmitted to a speaker in the cab. However, this older truck had a switch- press the switch, and an alarm goes off in the cab, likewise to alert the driver of anything he should be aware of. I didn't know these existed, and figured something was wrong with the transmission on the truck. Actually, something was wrong with the transmission, but that would also mean one of the idiot lights on the driver's display would be coming on. Of course, the guys who decided to mess with the switch knew perfectly well what the switch did, and knew that neither of us in the cab knew what it did. So the whole way back the thing was intermittently going off. We got to our dropoff point, I hopped out and checked under the truck, looking for perhaps a damaged part, a leak, or anything to indicate why the warning alarm was going off in the truck. The front transfer case was leaking, or failing that something above it, I wasn't sure which. There was some fluid all over the place, though- this explained the bucking and slow shifting the transmission was doing the entire time. Give me a stick shift any day! This automatic Alison transmission nonsense is for the birds. So of course, one of the guys in the back of the truck, brilliantly and convincingly feigning puzzlement, asked me what the noise was in the truck- they heard the alarm back there. I said I didn't know, I thought it was the transmission. My friend looked puzzled, saying he wasn't sure, could be anything. Brilliant, I have to admit, at making me look like a fool. When I finally figured it out, I smiled the whole way back off post. The second trip out, the exact same thing happened- of course, it didn't occur to me that the only time I was having problems was when there were people in the back of the truck... I thought it was because the truck had sat idling for a while as the troops boarded and got their supplies together. On the second trip back, the same thing. A friend of mine stepped out of the truck, grinning ear to ear. "Did you hear that alarm? What was that?" At this point I knew something was up. Finally, an explanation was given, that it was the switch back there in the truck bed! And did I look like a complete fool, crawling around under the truck looking for a nonexistent problem! I have to admit, as practical jokes go, that was one for the history books. So guys, you got me on that one! It's important to be able to laugh at yourself, and I have to admit, that was funny as hell.

So in other news, I stumbled across an interesting little video interview- one of the oddest people I've heard from, Marilyn Manson. He was discussing a correspondence with Anton LaVey, renowned Satanist and author of the Satanic Bible. Satanism is an interesting, though perhaps flawed philosophy. You are basically your own god, for better or worse. There is nothing higher than yourself. This, I find, puts an awful lot of pressure on you- if you are god, and there is no higher good than yourself, doesn't that mean you constantly have to work for that good? Because wouldn't everyone else, either directly or under a facade of religion or self-righteousness, be doing the exact same thing? They would regard themselves as god- ergo, whoever comes out on top in this power struggle is- what? More god than the other guy? More effective? Hard to say. But at any rate- Manson mentioned various ideas put forth by various philosophers- how interesting, I thought! And I have to admit, he can defend a philosophical position and seems to be more well-read than your average Fundamentalist. I found myself in agreement, that there are many valid points to many philosophies, not the least of which is Christianity. I've always regarded LaVey as rather a flake- I don't believe his philosophy is as thoroughly thought through (sorry about the alliteration there) as some others. It seems that when carried to its logical conclusion, it would seem that it doesn't quite pan out. But are there some ideas that can be derived from it? Certainly. The problem I find here is a Judeo-Christian one; that there's only one right philosophy; only one source of truth. This kind of exclusivity is, of course, limited to the individual's own philosophy, religion, creed or what have you. At best, a misguided defense against a strange and frightening universe, at worst LaVeyan philosophy in extremis and an excuse to commit atrocities, one should never abandon searching for the truth. We all get a piece of the puzzle, it seems- and ultimately we see islands becoming connected in a greater pattern.

Well, enough keyboard philosophizing for now- it's almost the weekend, and it's almost the day we celebrate independence, at least in this country. Independence means the freedom to pursue who you are, and what you value in life- but let's not forget, with this we extend this same right to others. We are not all the same- let's embrace the fact that we're all freaks under the great big circus tent of life. And this existence is so much richer because of that.