bLOG # 205 IN A DAY OF MY LIFE. THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE & LAST MEN STANDING!

     Well, it is over. Done! The sounds are no longer there. We go on with our lives. Tragedy strikes in Conn. What happen there makes the lives of 174 people seem trivial. Yet, it happened and that is the truth. Lives being taken- one with a gun- the other with a stroke of a pen. As a society- where are we headed? Why these awful happenings? You can not compare the two except "THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE" ring true in both. I pray- I reflect- WHY the little ones? I had thought long and hard about writing this- then it happened and I knew that I had to go ahead. For you see, it weighs heavy on my mind , there were a loss of jobs and a loss of lives within hours of each other. Both traumatic in their  own right.

     I pray for the little ones- the innocent ones-senseless- evil-maddening-WHY-WHY-WHY? IT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN! YET IT IS MORE AND MORE! HUG EACH OTHER-LOVE ONE ANOTHER- DO NOT LET THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE INTO YOUR LIVES. BE AWARE-BE TRUE TO YOUR BELIEF AND IF YOU BELIEVE IN GOD- BE TRUE TO YOUR GOD. WE MUST CHANGE THIS CRAZY WORLD- PRAY FOR THE LITTLE ONES.

     Now , it is time, time to reflect back on what was- and know that there is no noise-no laughter-no humming of machines- just emptiness-a shell with equipment- just as they left it. A result of the recession. There is a reality show on TV called Abandoned. It is where a husband and wife team along with two others, visit abandoned sites- they comb through the areas hoping to find old treasures that can be purchased and restored. Something on the line of American Pickers. Many are just like they left it years ago when they closed the doors. Will this be the fate of Olean Tile years from now when they are done stripping the interior and selling it off? ABANDONED? Are we not the product of corporate America downsizing to become lean and mean ? What exactly does this mean? What pressure does this put on the people? How do they handle it mentally and physically?

                                            "THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE."
                                                 SIMON & GARFUNKLE

Hello darkness, my old friend 
I've come to talk with you again 

                                                       BODY PREP-WHERE I STARTED 45 1/2 YEARS AGO

                 

                                                        AS IT WAS LEFT WED. AFTER THE CLOSING

Because a vision softly creeping 
Left its seeds while I was sleeping 

             EMPTY CHAIR- EMPTY LIVES- DUCT TAPED OVER TO PREVENT START UP!

                                     A LONELY HAND TRANSFER-A QUIET PLACE NOW

WHERE THEY PARKED THE LAST DAY- LEFT THEIR SHOES- A SYMBOLIC REFERENCE

YOU CAN TAKE OUR JOBS- BUT YOU CAN NEVER FILL OUR SHOES- THE ONLY WAY THEY COULD EXPRESS THEIR SADNESS AND LOSS OF A JOB.

                                                    MACHINE SHOP AND MAINTENANCE AREA

And the vision that was planted in my brain 
Still remains 
Within the sound of silence

                                                                  THE PRESS ROOM

n restless dreams I walked alone 
Narrow streets of cobblestone 

                                                 THE MOUNTING ROOM

                                            TILE LEFT OVER-WAITING TO BE MADE

                                            INTO SHEETS-NO ONE TO DO IT!

                                         EMPTY TABLES-NO NOISE-NO BUSY HANDS

'Neath the halo of a street lamp 
I turn my collar to the cold and damp

                                                                    THE KILN

                                                SOME WRAPPED UP TO MOVE WHERE?

When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light 
That split the night 
And touched the sound of silence

                                                              AN EMPTY KILN

And in the naked light I saw 
Ten thousand people maybe more

People talking without speaking 
People hearing without listening 
People writing songs that voices never shared 
No one dared 
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools," said I, "you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sound of silence

                               " THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE."  SIMON & GARFUNKLE