Madness

Figure 1

Madness has been defined in many different ways, some fundamentally opposed from each other. It is at the same time described as insanity, lunacy, and folly, while also categorized as extreme elation and excitement. Whichever side of the emotional seesaw you place madness, I like to view it as a state of psychological chaos, of unstable thought, and irrational behavior. The latter derived from the former.

Some would argue that if you claim madness to be irrational and unstable, therefore nebulous and inconstant, how can it be defined at all? Well, that's the point altogether.

Have Americans Lost Touch?

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin

Like a failing marriage, Americans seem to have lost touch with the principles that once guided their purpose. America was founded out of the struggle for economic freedom in Europe. Europe was dominated by monarchies and aristocracies that existed for the purpose of existing, and nothing more. The people's of Europe were heavily taxed and no development to the land, to infrastructure, or to industry was realized from those taxes. The funds collected from the people were used to support a disproportionate government and its extravagances. The opportunity to build a government whose sole purpose was to support the development, prosperity, and happiness of its people was only possible in the New World.

Mind Your Watch in Mexico

Leilani was carrying a bag full of clean clothes and handmade Mexican clay pottery her grandmother had insisted she take with her before leaving Mexico City.  The heat was unbearable but she was wearing a thin sweater to protect her delicate skin from the sun. She tried desperately to cover her face from the sun, but the weight of the bag was straining her arm joints, forcing her to switch the bag from hand to hand every 60 seconds.  Her husband towered over her and she tried to walk in his shadow, but with little success due to the angle of the blinding rays.  "It's too hot to be out here. I want to go home," Leilani said. "We have to keep going, we're almost there," responded her husband Brent. The two had been walking down the Mexican freeway for nearly 20 minutes.

Escaping Juárez: Part 2

There was no way Gloria could ever put the death of her parents behind her.  Instead, their deaths became the necessary air, the oxygen giving life to the growing fire within.  The loss of her father, while not tolerable, was manageable because of her mother's continued dependence.  Once they were both gone, the recurring thoughts of the circumstances which brought about their demise drove her passion and at the same time gave her a prolonged sense of their presence beyond their worldly existence.  She was not exactly certain of her path, her goals or the methods of obtaining them.  All she knew is that something had to change and she was going to be the catalyst.

It wasn't until after hiring a professional cleaner to remove all residual evidence of her mother's passing and a glass repairman to replace the broken window of the shop that she realized, "This is my store now."  It would remain vacant she decided, since she never had the desire to be there in the first place and no longer had her mother as a reason to keep it operational. She immediately put the store up for sale, all items and inventory included.  It was a successful business, relatively speaking, and it wouldn't be long before someone would solicit its purchase.  [A small "For Sale" sign hangs in the front window with a chain and lock across the front doors, securing the business.] 

Escaping Juárez: Part 1

Ciudad Juárez, México. El Paso del Norte, as the Spanish originally referred to it, has been a gateway through the southern Rocky Mountains for centuries. The first wood bridge crossing the Rio Grande in the 18th century handled local commerce, general foot traffic and the Spanish slave trade. [Spanish soldiers in uniform and local trader carrying a satchel of corn on his burro crossing the bridge.] It wasn't until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, establishing the border between the United States and México, that Ciudad Juárez and El Paso Norte would gain new importance.


Ever since there has been a border, there has been someone guarding it and for as long as there have been guards, there have been ways to get around them. Today, in our time, some cross the barren desert, risking dehydration. Others stow away inside refrigerated cargo trucks, suffering the threat of deep freeze. Many cross legally, with valid documentation, never to return to their homeland. What is it that drives them to risk their very lives? Are they simply reaching for a better future? No... that's not it. They're fleeing from the bloodbath they call, "home." [A small family staring into your eyes with a deep look of desperation, helplessness and death on their faces.]

Lopi Kuwak: An Intergalactic Beverage

It was his work that brought him to this part of the galaxy. As a young traveling salesman, Bodoh methodically scouted out potential buyers for his company's new cleaning product, NGC 409.  He had made his way across the four Jovian planets of the Sirius Star System and had done quite well in his efforts.  After establishing several recurring sales accounts and thereby establishing a certain residual income, Bodoh intended to celebrate. 

The next morning Bodoh decided to sit down for an expensive breakfast, "Perhaps some of the local river food, which I usually can't afford," he thought to himself.  So, after some minimal inquiry at the local travel station, he found himself sitting at the bar of the “Jovial Café,” the solar system’s premier coffee house.  While browsing the menu, he came across a beverage with the unique name, Lopi Kuwak.  He recalled some years ago his friend Lelucon telling him that, "On the smallest of the four Jovians, you will find the home of one of space’s most rare and sought after beverages, Lopi Kuwak."  He couldn't believe it, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  An overwhelming sense of curiosity had taken over all thought processes of our friend, he was consumed with this advantageous situation he found himself in.  The time had come for him to order his very first vial of Lopi Kuwak.