Fellow Travelers Represent you, me and the Average Joe Blow

"Auburn Nights" 16 x 20 Oil on Canvas, framed

I saw a lot of colorful people on our vacation; first in the airplane, and then at the places we visited. What stories they could tell. And yet, we are all so alike. As we worried about our plans to deplane and whether to stay on board or go out for an hour to walk, eat and relax.

The woman a few seats down expressed the same concerns. 

The catch, we all agreed was the required removing of our luggage from the plane and then having to again re-board. We all made a group decision to escape for awhile in exchange for waiting in line a brief time before reclaiming our original seats.

Across the aisle, a man in his sixties captured my attention as he read an actual book rather than a Kindle. How did he read such small print? His gray hair was pulled back in a ponytail hanging down his back. His face was covered in a scruffy short beard and mustache; a new retiree perhaps heading for Florida?

"Window on Pine Island" 16 x 20 Oil on WrappedCcanvas

A red-headed young woman on my right hovered over a hand-held device playing a game. She didn’t say a word the whole flight. Finally she buried herself in a shroud of covers and went to sleep for the duration. When she awoke, I was stunned to see that her lips and jaw protruded far beyond how the average young girl might look. Later, my husband described her as looking “old for her age.” When it was time for her to leave, my heart went with her.

On the airplane, people of all colors, shapes and sizes laughed, talked, slept or read; each adapting peaceably to their surroundings. In this setting, it was hard to imagine that any would seek war or choose to maim, kill, or jeopardize the safety and well-being of others. And yet we read about this happening almost every week. We wonder about the mind-set of those who are capable of such atrocities.

"Blending In" Acrylic on Canvas
(We saw a few of these in Redwing, MN)

We are always on guard. When the airplane finally puts up its wing-flaps and the craft slows, we breathe easy that we’ve almost made it. Prayers of gratitude are mumbled. The passengers collectively brace themselves as the plane hits the runway. They apply imaginary brakes together and sigh when the plane makes its way to the gate.

For the length of this flight, the people have smiled politely at one another, gone out of their way to be courteous and respectful, even assisted with luggage when necessary. Where are the violent protesters and the mobs that create chaos and harm to law enforcers and business owners? Where are the bullies who wreak havoc on others? Who ignites the spark that sets off a chain reaction of destruction? What is their agenda?

My friends it is lawbreakers, gangsters, international syndicates, terrorists; and unfortunately, our local, state and national officials. For their own nefarious purposes, they set ablaze communities, instill fear and anger, destroy law and order to gain power over people, and the control of city and national power structures. 

When the party is over, they scatter like rats. Disguised as innocents, they offer money and support as they feign ignorance over cause and effect. And they get away with it! Not only do they play deaf and dumb, but they blame someone or something else for the carnage.

There are stories to be told, all right. But the tales are not about average people who go about living their lives in peace; who work and play, travel and contribute to society and in their neighborhoods. The bigger story is about corruption in government, about power-hungry ideologues who seek world dominance, and about why the people who elect them are willing to ignore their dishonesty and the stench that goes on right under their noses.

"Americana" 16 x 20 acrylic on canvas, in barn wood frame

Are the Values of Honor and Integrity Lost?

"Insett Kirke" Norway

The news media hammers us with negative news 24/7. We are bombarded by seductive ads, sleazy commercials, and tales of woe. Crime, including murder, happens every day in our communities. Nothing is sacred. Nothing is safe.

What does this have to do with art? Even though most artists make a small pittance for their work and for the hours put in, rather than pay for their work, it is being copied and reproduced for free. In our digital age, ripping someone off is easy. First it was downloading music and now it is artwork.

You see it everywhere: Dishonesty in the work place; theft in the marketplace; even our neighborhoods are unsafe. We are being assaulted by our own decay. The firm handshake of the past when a man’s word was his bond is gone. That scenario has been replaced by empty promises and contracts that can be broken with a wink of an eye or the point of a pen.

"Moody Blues"

What has happened to us? Have we turned off our conscience so many times that we no longer hear it? Have we lost our moral compass? Do we think because no one sees us our actions are all right? Have we lost our way – our belief in God?

And why is it nobody wants to talk about God? Is God “unfashionable” and so uncool that we’re ashamed to be a believer? Do we disregard God so much that his laws and commandments seem “old fashioned” and out of date? Have we turned our creator into a legend, a being of fantasy that we turn to only in the proverbial “fox hole?”

"India Rising -- Prince of Thieves"

If ever the world needed a God it would be today. We have lost our way in a world that shouts about “rights” and pursues their dreams even if it means stepping on someone else. We think nothing of destroying someone else’s character in the name of humor or politics as long as it boosts our ratings or success.

In a disaster such as flood, fire ants cling together. Microscopic hairs on their body trap air bubbles and make them float. They form huge living rafts. Alone they would die, but together they stay afloat and survive the raging waters.

"India Rising -- the Found"

In order to preserve goodness and integrity in our world, we need honest and upright individuals to “stick together” and form groups, and communities, and citizens who are willing to preserve what is good. We need people to stand together and fight this assault on our property, our lives, and our survival. Let it be me! Let it be you!