Still Human 33: The opposite of zen
Still Human Table of Contents / Originally posted at Neighborhood 99 on 12 February 2012
Yesterday, Thomas gave an elder the courage he needed to stand up to a bully, and in the evening, he re-united a little girl with her father.
Now, here's what really happened: he influenced an old guy to prank someone, and the kid joined her father at gambling when Thom got up from the mah jong table. He'd prefer the first version to appear on his citation for good citizenship, however.
Alan King is a changed man, thanks to Thom's influence. Today, he doesn't wait for Tamara King (no relation) to bully him. He marches right up to her and picks a fight.
Oh, god, he's going straight for her eyes!
(Laughing Mask mocks your display of senseless violence.)
Tamara dodges his gouging fingers and wrestles him into a headlock.
Now he has her! It's been a while since his last match, but Alan wasn't the high school wrestling champ for nothing. He slips out of the hold and body-slams her to the ground. Tamara is down for the count!
Tamara salvages her dignity at the bar. She needs a stiff drink after being defeated by a guy old enough to be her grandfather.
Wow. Is she actually regretting the way she's behaved?
Meanwhile, in the lobby, a young lady is telling Alan that his machismo is a real turn-on. Since he' s not married to Tamara King, as she had thought, perhaps they could fool around, some time. Yes, this is the start of a whole new life for Alan, and it all began with a prank.
Thomas is having breakfast with George in their room, so he's oblivious to the impact he's had on his fellow guests. Let's check in with them.
Well, this is pretty typical. Thom wants to meet somebody new, whereas George only thinks about his boyfriend.
Thom's hair (Tennis) mesh by Newsea, re-coloured by Simgaroop
And, look! They're playing footsie with their bare toes, again. Other people's lives may change overnight, but George and Thomas are always the same.
Once they finish that mound of pancakes, George and Thomas visit the Immortal Zen Garden to reflect upon the (im)mutability of life. The beautiful flowers they see there inspire them to take a tour of Takemizu's natural sights. They sign up to fly out for a tour of a bamboo forest.
The serenity of the Garden is shattered by the arrival of the noisy helicopter.
As they walk through the humid forest, the tourists spot a panda and its cub among the tall bamboo stems.
I don't want to ruin this moment, but we all know how George feels about wildlife. It's there for him to exploit! Thom is good with animals, so at George's prompting, he gently reassures the panda. Once she trusts the humans, the panda lets them approach her cub.
That sense of wonder and awe is short-lived. When they return to the Zen Garden, they discover Tamara soaping the fountain.
Okay, to be fair, that happened after Thomas started free-styling for tips.
What? Some people like to meditate to music.
George ignores them both and meditates.
(If this is what zen looks like, then I'll stick with its opposite.)
Thom agrees with me. When he notices that George is no longer paying attention to him, Thom keeps queuing up auto-talks. From the look on his face, I can guess what he wants to say.
“Are you done, yet? Can we go? You look funny like that. Hey, Geo? Geo! Are you listening to me? I'm bored.”
George knows that Thomas will continue to distract him, so he gives up on the meditation and they go shopping for cool Japanese gadgets.
(They don't find any, though. I need to add some kiosks to the vacation shops.)
And just to round out the events of the day, Tamara slaps Alan to show him that she regrets nothing.
Alan doesn't back down, this time. He slaps her back!
Tamara takes refuge at the bar, again. Her pride is so wounded that she gets positively drunk.
I'm not kidding. She was wobbling around and gesturing clumsily. Here she is rambling away to a teen.
“Thinks he can mess wi' me, duzzy? (hic!) Well, I'll show 'im who calls the shots 'round here! Justa soons I finish this drink.”
Bonus Photo: If you think that Tamara is a real stinker - you're right!
Thanks for reading!
Yesterday, Thomas gave an elder the courage he needed to stand up to a bully, and in the evening, he re-united a little girl with her father.
Now, here's what really happened: he influenced an old guy to prank someone, and the kid joined her father at gambling when Thom got up from the mah jong table. He'd prefer the first version to appear on his citation for good citizenship, however.
Alan King is a changed man, thanks to Thom's influence. Today, he doesn't wait for Tamara King (no relation) to bully him. He marches right up to her and picks a fight.
Oh, god, he's going straight for her eyes!
(Laughing Mask mocks your display of senseless violence.)
Tamara dodges his gouging fingers and wrestles him into a headlock.
Now he has her! It's been a while since his last match, but Alan wasn't the high school wrestling champ for nothing. He slips out of the hold and body-slams her to the ground. Tamara is down for the count!
Tamara salvages her dignity at the bar. She needs a stiff drink after being defeated by a guy old enough to be her grandfather.
Wow. Is she actually regretting the way she's behaved?
Meanwhile, in the lobby, a young lady is telling Alan that his machismo is a real turn-on. Since he' s not married to Tamara King, as she had thought, perhaps they could fool around, some time. Yes, this is the start of a whole new life for Alan, and it all began with a prank.
Thomas is having breakfast with George in their room, so he's oblivious to the impact he's had on his fellow guests. Let's check in with them.
Well, this is pretty typical. Thom wants to meet somebody new, whereas George only thinks about his boyfriend.
Thom's hair (Tennis) mesh by Newsea, re-coloured by Simgaroop
And, look! They're playing footsie with their bare toes, again. Other people's lives may change overnight, but George and Thomas are always the same.
Once they finish that mound of pancakes, George and Thomas visit the Immortal Zen Garden to reflect upon the (im)mutability of life. The beautiful flowers they see there inspire them to take a tour of Takemizu's natural sights. They sign up to fly out for a tour of a bamboo forest.
The serenity of the Garden is shattered by the arrival of the noisy helicopter.
As they walk through the humid forest, the tourists spot a panda and its cub among the tall bamboo stems.
I don't want to ruin this moment, but we all know how George feels about wildlife. It's there for him to exploit! Thom is good with animals, so at George's prompting, he gently reassures the panda. Once she trusts the humans, the panda lets them approach her cub.
That sense of wonder and awe is short-lived. When they return to the Zen Garden, they discover Tamara soaping the fountain.
Okay, to be fair, that happened after Thomas started free-styling for tips.
What? Some people like to meditate to music.
George ignores them both and meditates.
(If this is what zen looks like, then I'll stick with its opposite.)
Thom agrees with me. When he notices that George is no longer paying attention to him, Thom keeps queuing up auto-talks. From the look on his face, I can guess what he wants to say.
“Are you done, yet? Can we go? You look funny like that. Hey, Geo? Geo! Are you listening to me? I'm bored.”
George knows that Thomas will continue to distract him, so he gives up on the meditation and they go shopping for cool Japanese gadgets.
(They don't find any, though. I need to add some kiosks to the vacation shops.)
And just to round out the events of the day, Tamara slaps Alan to show him that she regrets nothing.
Alan doesn't back down, this time. He slaps her back!
Tamara takes refuge at the bar, again. Her pride is so wounded that she gets positively drunk.
I'm not kidding. She was wobbling around and gesturing clumsily. Here she is rambling away to a teen.
“Thinks he can mess wi' me, duzzy? (hic!) Well, I'll show 'im who calls the shots 'round here! Justa soons I finish this drink.”
Bonus Photo: If you think that Tamara is a real stinker - you're right!
Thanks for reading!