EXPLICIT LANGUAGE: SHOULD I, OR SHOULDN'T I?

Cursing, what I grew up calling "cuss words," is generally considered a no-no in good books.  By good, I mean writings acceptable to almost everyone.  Some readers get butt-pucker squeamish about the use of even mild cursing, and they most certainly won't tolerate what my mother used to call "nasty talk."  A friend once told me that I should never write anything that would embarrass my mother, and had I followed his advice, nothing in print would have my name on it.  I write fiction, but I want my books to come off as realistic, something that could've happened.  I try to write about everyday people, real people, the kind of folks we all run across on a regular basis.  I also write about working class people, contemporary cowboys in particular.  And, I try to depict them as I know them, and that requires come explicit language.

In real life, most cowboys (and other people in general) don't use words like darn, shucks, shoot, sonofabuck, dadburnit, heck, and a variety of pseudo-slang words.  They don't go to the bathroom to poo poo, poop, tinkle, or pee pee.  They aren't likely to say something like, "You know, pard, those beans I just ate are working on me, and I need to expel a little gas."  Real men don't make gaseous emissions or pass gas, they fart.  That's just the way it is, regardless of what the squeamish reader had rather see in print.  Sorry, guys, but you won't likely find that sort of soft rough talk in my stories.  If the real words upset you, better not read my stuff.

That doesn't mean my books are rife with obscenities and curse words.  It does mean, however, that I'm not out to change the way things are, clean words up for you, or polish them to where they become more acceptable to more readers.  I guess it all depends on where you're coming from, what your intent is when you write, but some things require clean, no rough language stories.  If you're going to be realistic with your writings, you also have to accept that some people just don't curse, don't use rough language.  If you write about them, the do it right and keep it clean.  If you're writing about rough, more worldly people, then let them be what they are in real life.  That's doing it right.

There's another point here that needs to be made about obscenities in print.  A writer can create with words a situation or event that is absolutely obscene and not use a single obscene word.  Is that not just as bad or worse than actually using the words?  Violence, blood and guts stuff, can be more obscene than anything relating to sex.  In short, it's not so much the word that counts; it's the context within which it is used.  When it gets right down to it, the English language has very few obscene words.  Like a former Supreme Court justice once said, "I can't give you a definition of obscenity, but I know it when I see it."  Obscenity is in the eye of the beholder most of the time, not in the construction of a particular word or sentence.

THE GOOD TIMES, THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'

My grandson has come to live with us for a while, and that means changes.  He's 21 years old and has been frustrated by several disappointments since graduating from high school three years ago.  The kid was a good football player, turned down chances to play at several colleges.  His problem is that he doesn't know how to do much.  Nobody ever required much of him, other than excelling at sports, which he has done.  He's also been involved in MMA fighting, did well at it.  But simple things most people learn early on aren't in his bag right now, and he came here to follow me around and learn them.  I'm talking about working with tools - how to work on a vehicle (my old truck), or get a fussy lawn mower running, or build gates for the backyard fence, or do house repairs.  And we've started doing some of those things, and he says he enjoys it.  Yeah, he's clumsy with the tools right now, but he'll learn.  But that's not really why he's here.  He says he wants to be a writer.

This young man is my only grandson, and we've had a tight relationship since he was tiny.  He's always been an avid reader, and his imagination is bigger than he is, and he's a big kid.  He knows computers, how to use them and all that.  His thing is fantasy.  He's already written a script for a computer generated movie done by a group of college kids.  I watched the video, was surprised that a bunch of college sophs could do that.  Looked like lots of the stuff I've seen on television, that made for kids stuff about fighting monsters and all that.  He's working on a story that's medieval, sort of like what you see in the Game of Thrones series.  I'll support those efforts, help him along, show him how to self-publish his stuff.  And he can help me get some graphics done for several novels I've been bogged down with.  Times around here were already pretty good, but the good times, they are a-changin'.

For one thing, I'm slowed down with some crippling injuries that keep me from doing much real labor.  I don't last long with heavy work, and that's where he comes in.  I'm  hoping to toughen up some as the injuries heal (and they will), but a 72 year old is capable of only so much.  My contribution is that I've done a lot of things in the past, and I can pass that along to him.  And I don't do this with the intent of making a handyman out of him.  It's the work ethic that's important.  Leaning to work translates over to "building" books because it takes effort and a stick-to-it mindset.  Like watching a house go up and taking pride in knowing you built it, the writing of books is the same.  I don't really start enjoying my work as a writer until the foundation and the framework is up.  That's when you can clearly see where you're going, what your hard will is leading toward.  So . . . today, we'll do some work in the yard, like trimming hedges and moving things around and getting ready for springtime.  And believe it or not, that's indirectly important to writing.

FLUCTUATIONS

SO, THIS ASIAN LADY WALKS INTO A BANK TO EXCHANGE SOME YEN FOR DOLLARS.  THE EXCHANGE BETWEEN HER AND THE TELLER WENT LIKE THIS:

"A FEW DAY AGO I COME IN AN EXCHANGE YEN FO DOLLA AND GET TWO HUNDRET DOLLAR.  TODAY YOU SAY THE YEN IS WURT BUT A HUNDRET AND EIGHTY DOLLA.  WHY THAT?" THE ASIAN LADY ASKS.  THE CLERK SHRUGS AND SAYS, "FLUCTUATIONS," TO WHICH THE ASIAN LADY SAYS, "WELL FLUCK YOU WHITE GUYS TOO."

I speak English fairly well, but I have the same problem with clerks.  For some reason, we don't speak the same language.  Since the world is run by clerical staffs at various places, that's a problem.  I often have exchanges with them over "policy."  What we're talking about here are people who live and die with what the computer tells them.  I've always assumed that a computer is only as smart as the people who use it.  If they don't know what they're doing, neither does the computer.  I'm coming to the realization that I've been wrong.  The computer is indeed smarter than the person using it these days.  That makes me wonder if the time is coming when this artificial intelligence will decide that us humans are a waste of time and decide to get rid of us.

I go to the doctor's office these days and am greeted by computer slugs, that person sitting behind one looking at my records, etc.  The folks in retail sales places are the same, totally dependent upon what the computer tells them.  Call up some government agency some time and see what you get, or take your car in to be fixed and get zapped with hundreds of dollars in diagnostic charges.  I'd be a lot more concerned about this were it not for the understanding that the people who actually serve me are not as smart as the computer.  I'll take my chances with electronic wizardry before I'll trust my well-being to someone who's much better trained in how to use the computer than they are with the actual problem I'm having.  It's often infuriating, but it's fact.

I'm somewhat of a modern day Luddite, a machine hater who revels in accomplishments people can perform that a machine can't do.  I'm especially grateful when I occasionally discover something that the computer can't tell us about, much less solve the problem.  I've seen some pretty fascinating art that has been computer generated, but regardless of how perfect it is, there's something missing - character. A computer doesn't have a soul, regardless of how good it's memory is or how well it can perform certain tasks.  A good example of that is the advancements in music reproduction, the digital era of sound.  It's flawless almost, but it lacks something.  The old analog systems produced music with some flaws, sounds that it couldn't filter out, and that's what gave the music of that era a character missing from today's music.  The old music had a warmth to it; the modern music is sterile and cold.  I'm a collector of vintage sound equipment - tape decks, turntables, cassette recorders, and even 8-track stuff.  I've also got some fancy digital stuff, and I'd much rather listen the the vintage stuff than the new stuff.  

The music thing is just an example of a direction in which we're headed, and that concerns me some.  I'm not opposed to progress and new technology because I know it's needed for the years ahead of us.  We will solve lots of problems with it, and newer things will come along.  But I'm wondering what happens to us in the process.  Are we too losing our character, our personalities, our very essence as human beings to advancing technologies?  Are we losing it, or is it changing our character?  I don't know the answer, but I see what's missing in the people of this generation versus those from my generation.  They're less able to communicate, to look you in face and talk without staring at a screen or notepad or something like that.  Something is lost here that's discouraging to me.  I think that comes from no longer having a mind that says, "You know, I think that I can figure this out.  I think I can do this on my own."  We will always need people who can think without being dependent on an intelligence that's is machine manufactured . . . and I don't know where we're going to find those people in years to come.  In fact, I don't really know where we can find them now.

GETTING STARTED IS HARD BUSINESS

My grandson, Colton Hamilton, has moved in with us for a while, partly 'cause old grandpa is too old and infirm to get done some of the things that need doing around here.  In short, I can't do much hard work these days, maybe only four or five hours a day, and he's a strong young man who needs some experiences in life.  Mostly, he needs to learn how to work, and not at just one thing.  Getting started in life has always been hard business.  That's a part of my life I wouldn't want to live back through, and I came out of a generation that put more pressure on young people to get started doing something productive.  By the time I was 25 years of age, I was already a full-fledged college professor, and I got off to a slow start.  My grandson is 21 and isn't at all sure what he wants to do with his life.  That's where grandpa comes in, at least for the time being.

I was a college professor for 35 years, but I learned to do all sorts of things that have made my life better.  I'm a good painter, used to have a sideline house painting business.  I've been a carpenter, used to work part-time for a building contractor.  I've even done some roofing and concrete work.  I've been a cabinet maker of sorts, a furniture maker, and I still own a guitar shop where I make guitars.  I've done some work as an auto mechanic.  I like building things, and I've got a lot of tools around here . . . and my grandson needs to learn how to use them.  Even if he ends up graduating from college and being a white collar professional, knowing how to do other things is important.  It keeps you from being overly dependent on others to do things for you, and it saves a lot of money along the way.  He's only been here a few days, and a buddy of mine has already said he'd probably hire him a couple of days a week to work in his vineyard.  He grows grapes, is a wine maker.  Getting work experiences is important, and the more you learn how to do, the better off you are.

It's amazing what you can learn out of necessity and curiosity.  I've always been one to look at something and wonder, "Can I make that myself?"  I got into guitar making because I couldn't afford to spend thousands of dollars on expensive guitars, and I didn't want to play junk.  I don't work on guitars as much as I did at one time, but I try to build a few every year, and I do other projects at my shop across town.  Maybe my grandson will take an interest in that.  Maybe he'll like the carpentry work I have him doing.  He did a pretty good job of building a gate for my backyard fence yesterday.  I had reached the point with "chores" that I needed to hire someone, so it might as well have been him.  He
needs the experience, and I need the help.  Maybe I can teach him a few things.  Maybe I'll learn a few things.  There's no maybe when it comes to one thing - I'll enjoy having him around.  He's my only grandson.

CAN YOU TRUST YOUR DOCTOR? THINK AGAIN

Whatever happened to the grumpy old sawbones who fussed at us about our living habits, made house calls, made judgment calls without the help of expensive testing, and gave medical advice without being asked for it?  You could actually reach him at home without getting cut off by an answering service, and he returned your calls.  Have you had that happen lately?  Not likely.  We don't have doctors like that these days.  Doctors now are better businessmen than they were back when people my age were growing up, and even then, the doctor was likely the richest man in town.  Are doctors better trained now?  Do they do a better job of taking care of people's medical needs?  Nope.  They're a lot more independent, and they're most certainly a lot more expensive.  In short, health care in America has been hijacked by commercial interests, and not all of that is the doctor's fault.  He must work within a system that is run by people who do not have your best interests at heart - corporate owned and run hospitals, insurance companies, drug companies, and the sellers of medical supplies and equipment.

An elderly man here in my home town had a problem with a painful shoulder and was told he needed surgery.  He also had a breathing disorder caused by a lung condition, and the doctor he'd been seeing for that told him to avoid the surgery, that he might not survive it.  But the doctor doing the surgery on the shoulder assured him that he'd be fine, that there was nothing to worry about.  He had the surgery and died two days later, of respiratory distress.  He trusted the wrong doctor, and now he's dead.  This is not an isolated case.  It happens all the time in this country.

Our health care system is one that pumps the patient for every dollar they can get out of them.  They say that all the tests are necessary because they need the information, that it saves lives.  I think they're probably right about that, but lots of tests are unnecessary.  People who work in the system these days have all these wonderful high tech things to use, and they are very expensive, and they need to do things to recover the money.  It's like going to a car mechanic theses days.  You get the bill, and it says $50 for parts, another $250 for labor, and another $200 for diagnostics.  Right.  Cars are too high tech these days for a mechanic to know what's wrong without diagnostics.  But people are pretty much the same as they were fifty years ago, or a hundred  years ago.  Today's doctors are dependent on high tech diagnostics, can't do the things a doctor of fifty years ago could do.  Doesn't know enough, that's my take on it.  What he knows about is fancy equipment, etc.  He knows less about people, a lot less, and that makes him less trustworthy.  So you might as well accept the high tech diagnostics because they're more dependable than the man himself.  More trust in high tech machines and medicines and stuff, and less trust in the doctor.  Is that what we're facing these days?  Well, in some cases, that's exactly what's happening.

And the moral is:  Don't be easily talked into anything.  Seek second opinions if you have doubts, any doubt at all.  There's lots of doctors out there, and finding a good one isn't all that hard.  ALWAYS BE SUSPICIOUS of anything medical practitioners tell you . . . unless you have found that right doctor.