Uranus goes into Pisces?
As much as possible, I am avoiding most media. Sure, I read certain websites, but then, I tend to stick to humor and entertainment, ostensibly, under the guise of research for my own work. Sweets for the frontal lobe – certainly not intellectual nourishment.
That approach to isolation is becoming a problem. As I took a long walk to the bus stop Friday morning, I couldn’t help but be assaulted by headlines that mentioned “Iraq” and “Bush” and “War” and some other words. I purposely missed the state of the onion address because I was sure it would stink and rankle my yellow cur sentiments.
I was passing the dry cleaners, on my way to change a lock in a newly vacated apartment. Day-to-day tasks that go with the high-falutin’ title I’ve got – some temp job this is turning into. The dry cleaner owner was outside, smoking a cigarette, so I detoured over to chat with him.
“Hey, dude, you’ve got to quit littering here: see, your beer cans are blowing over onto my lawn. Means I’ve got to pick up your trash!”
Which turned into a semi-serious discussion about politics and religion. Wherein my point was lost. So was the humor. Turns out that dry cleaner is a Muslim. Doesn’t drink beer. He is an American citizen, and I’m pretty sure he’s not a terrorist.
“Where I am from – Egypt – we’ve been under martial law since 1981, ever since Sadat was assassinated.”
[Trying to do idle chatter from memory is difficult if I’m not taking notes.>I had a quasi-humorous, slightly serious point to make with the dry cleaner guy – I’ve done business with him, we’ve seen each other time and again, he’s affable enough, but alas, my sardonic irony didn’t translate across a culture divide. A lady showed up to pick up her laundry. I had a lock to change.
Now that I know I have a local Muslim, I have a source for information. That’s good. Some of what he said, though, that’s not so good.
This is the second time I’ve run into someone of the Islamic faith who came to America, pays taxes, became a sworn citizen, just because there is freedom.
Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, quit throwing beer cans on the lawn.
Or, there’s the astrological perspective, too: Uranus going into Pisces. Think about that one for a minute. I picked two events, a while back to concentrate on, two historical events that mean something to me. Texas Independence and West Texas Oil.
I can corroborate this historical material with exact dates for that planet and its influence, but I tend to look at the bigger picture, 1835, 1836 rather short and pitched battle – starting in October with the “Come and Take It” flag [Gonzales>, moving on to the “1824” tricolor [San Antonio>, and culminating with the “Lone Star [San Jacinto>.” Or, to put it on a different timeline, within 7 months, a few thousand principally Anglo-Mexican settlers usurped a militarily superior Mexican dictator.
“Remember Goliad! Remember the Alamo!” Yee-haw.
Smaller in numbers, not as well armed, yet absolutely deadly with a long rifle, the Texicans overthrew a monarchy buried in old ways of thinking, burdened by bureaucracy, mired in political troubles. Look at it this way: the odds were not in favor of the Texans. If there had been a Las Vegas with a board up, the odds would’ve favored Santa Anna.
Uranus into Pisces will be some surprising upsets, you know, where the underdog actually stands a chance. Ask the Oakland Raiders about that one.
Most of the United States west of the Mississippi would be primarily Mexico if Santa Anna hadn’t gotten his butt severely traumatized outside what is now Houston. We might have Oregon, but that would be about it, from what I’ve been reading. The American Empire is/was fueled, in part, by the vast richness of natural resources out here in the West.
The other hysterical [historical> data I was looking at was West Texas Gold, the stuff dreams are made of. Another Uranus in Pisces discovery. Uranus is quite sudden with its influences. Barren wasteland is suddenly “resource rich” countryside.
“Honey they leased the back forty for oil – we’re shopping for a double-wide!”
I haven’t actually lived in West Texas. Roswell, NM – just over the line – was home a for a year or so. That land was part of Texas for a while, as a matter of fact, just not recently. But I have worked out there, and I love the area and – more important – the people.
The “oil patch” reiterates a strong sense of “boom or bust.” When thangs are good, life is grand, and when the chips are down, it’s poor situation with no hope. My all-time favorite [as of this writing> was the rumor that Disney was going to build a theme park in the Permian Basin. I’m pretty sure that falls in the “urban myth” category to be polite about it.
Back to the new double-wide. A small number of desperate individuals did well by hitting oil there in West Texas. First the oil derrick then the pump jack replaced the traditional cactus icon for Texas. I remember sliding through that countryside a few years back as the price of gas dropped below a dollar a gallon, many of the pump jacks were idle. That’s changing, even now.
Mineral resources and armed conflict. Not without some precedent, either.
Worried? Not me. What was the point? Quite throwing beer cans on my lawn.
