The other day I was out and about and trying to stay alive. There was a heat on, and it was stifling. That wasn’t a problem, however, as I was mentally prepared for it. The challenge was dealing with other people who were clearly not prepared for the heat. Those folks were downright dangerous. They aimed their cars at me in parking lots. They swerved all over the danged place on city streets. I didn’t endure any verbal altercations, but I kept my wits about me, just in case. And for the record, I truly believe the hazardous situations I faced were indeed caused by the heat. I didn’t get the feeling that people were out there, being vindictive or confrontational. It seemed like folks were just unable to keep their heads in the game. That the heat took away their basic abilities to function. At least that’s how I saw it.
Later, while talking with a friend about the circus that is American politics, we spoke of how hate-filled some folks are these days. And I realized that when I’ve witnessed people getting riled up about the upcoming elections, I’ve watched their faces contort while their voices grow louder and angrier. And I don’t believe any of those people have a clue about how their physical transformations make them appear. I’ll just say this: it ain’t good. Hate ages you, from the inside. And all the face cream in the world can’t fix that.
And then I started thinking about how, no matter what the cause of our ugly behavior (be it heat or hate), I sure do wish we could get a clue and take a cue from Jules, Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” —
Jules: Nobody’s gonna hurt anybody. We’re all gonna be like three little Fonzies here. And what’s Fonzie like?… Come on, Yolanda, what’s Fonzie like?!
Yolanda: Cool?
Jules: What?
Yolanda: Cool.
Jules: Correctamundo. And that’s what we’re gonna be. We’re gonna be cool.
Of course, Jules isn’t exactly a prime role model, so maybe I’m wrong on this one. But I stand by my hope that calmer heads will prevail. Cooler heads, too. Hate won’t get us anywhere, friends. And heat will just wear us out. Let’s do our best to rise above. There are already too many people clogged up in the muck and mire of ugliness. And there aren’t nearly enough Little Fonzies.
I vote for Little Fonzie. Word.