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i have been around for a long time. i have seen the man selling fruits and veggies on a wagon pulled by a gray spotted horse. i've seen the coal shuttling down a slide, in front of my window, for the burning in our tenement's furnace.
i remember dad pulling the choke to start the car on cold days. i remember the women tearing at the clothes in the bin at alexander's. i remember the disappearing circles when the tv was turned off. i remember the tubes in the tv and radio getting covered with dust and giving off an aroma.
i remember my dog-tag that i had to wear when i went to school. i remember that on tuesdays i had to wear a white shirt, blue pants and a red tie for auditorium.
i remember the doctor making house calls to treat me. i remember the thrill i would feel to get a nickel for a pack of baseball cards and terrible tasting gum.
i remember that you did not want to mis-behave in school because your parent would be shamed by your conduct. i remember when you were able to see a double feature and a cartoon.
i remember that the past is death. i live in the now. i know that god wants us to be joyful and that we must forgive others and then we must forgive ourselves.
let the politicians be monsters. let the financiers be crooks. let the world go to blazes. my job is to be joyful. i forgive you, and then i may forgive myself.
