Monday, June 30, 2008

Ain't it just like a human

Kris Kristofferson wrote this:

The scene was a small roadside café;
The waitress was sweepin’ the floor.
Two truck drivers drinkin’ their coffee
And two Okie kids by the door.

How much are them candies?” they asked her.
“How much have you got?” she replied.
“We’ve only a penny between us.”
“Them’s two for a penny,” she lied.

One truck driver called to the waitress,
After the kids went outside.
“Them candies ain’t two for a penny.”
“So what’s it to you?” she replied.
In silence they finished their coffee,
Got up and nodded goodbye.
She called, “Hey, you left too much money.”
“So what’s it to you?” they replied.

And the daylight grew heavy with thunder,
And the smell of the rain on the wind.
Ain’t it just like a human?
Here comes that rainbow again.

Some days, I despair when I read the headlines. Take this one, for example, from the morning edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Two women hurt in downtown parking lot brawl.

Here’s what the P.I. reporter said: “Witnesses told police a man driving a silver Honda tried to cut off the woman in the Bank of America Plaza garage. The woman started honking and pulled forward to stop him from cutting in front of her. The man then jumped out of his car, pulled the woman from her car, pushed her to the ground and repeatedly kicked her in the head, according to the report.”

But right next to it was this headline: Neighbors come to rescue in raging fire that kills three.

According to the story, a fire broke out just after midnight this morning at an eight-unit apartment building in Burien, south of Seattle. Three people died in the blaze, but others were saved due to the efforts of neighbors.

One man dialed 911, grabbed a big rock and ran across the street -- shouting "Get back! Get back" – to break the glass of a sliding door. Another fellow ran from window to window, pounding and calling to people to come out. Others helped folks make their way away from the building, carrying children and supporting older residents.

Ain’t it just like a human.