We left Phoenix on Thursday after work and school, hooked up the mothership, picked up April, and headed north. This was the 4th of July weekend, but Flag has a no-fireworks ordinance, so we didn't plan to see any. In fact, I'm not even sure it being the 4th of July weekend is relevant here, because it could have been any weekend. But the kids were all with the exes that weekend, so we had a rare long weekend to ourselves and decided to take up April on her offer to go hang out with her and Nick, where Nick has an apartment that he uses on weekends. Nick is a part-owner of a business up there that does most of it's business on weekends (take a guess what it is, but there is a stage and his employees work mostly for tips) so he lives in the valley during the week in the house April rents a room from. I took my Nomad, optimistically hoping I'd have an opportunity to ride, but it didn't happen unfortunately. Too much to do, too much to see.
We picked a camp spot just up the road from the cattle guard on Shultz Pass road, near the creek and secluded. The usual camp site was occupied by people I didn't recognize in the dark as we drove by, but had K or any of the other regulars been there, we would have camped there. Anyhoo, after erecting the mothership, we headed back into town to hang out with April and Nick at "The Joint" and relax for awile.
The Joint is an interesting place. It's the only place of it's kind in Flagstaff, and as such, it can do well without a lot of capital investment. But, like all clubs like that, it's an awesome place for people watching, which Amy, April and I eagerly took part in. And the subjects were not too bad to look at (I've seen better) but the interactions between the employees and the patrons was priceless. It's fun people-watching from your own VIP corner of a club were the drinks are free and the view is uninterupted.
I've been to a handful of strip clubs in my time, and the interaction there, the "value transaction" is unique. For 10-40 dollars, a man (or a woman, for that matter) can get 5-10 minutes of uninterupted attention, adoration, appreciation, and general ego-boosting by a semi-naked woman that is most likely way out of the patron's league in the looks department. (Author and present company excepted, of course...)
I've never been the type to really "get" that interaction...I mean, I see it, but I feel weird participating in it. A good friend (thanks Mike) replied quickly, ""Oh, well, you're gay then".
Uh, no. Amy will vouch for that. But nice try dude. Not that there's anything wrong with that...
In fact, that weekend, the only one who paid for lap dances was Amy. I will admit though, knowing her, it truly was from the artistic perspective. But it was fun to watch.
So I have to ask, why do these places exist and thrive? I would venture, from the male perspective, it's because there is a general lack of appreciation in society for the need to value, love, adore and appreciate your spouse or significant other. I would further venture that a lot of that is brought on by the judeo-christian belief in God-centeredness, (which leads to church-centeredness) posession-centeredness, self-centeredness, or the myriad other centerednesses (is that a word?) that distract from the people in your life that actually deserve and need your attention. I'm sure the most active patrons at "The Joint" (meaning, the ones spending the most money) are the ones with the biggest gaps in their soul.
Let's face it, most people are needy.
If you have decided to set up a mutually-beneficial domestic arrangement (commonly known as marriage) that doesn't take into account the higher needs of the human pshyche (beyond air, food and shelter) you are potentially caging a soul and setting yourself up for failure. Some people (Surprise!) have evolved beyond the need for just food, air, shelter and social acceptance. They need constant intellectual stimulation, challenges, and goals...as well as recurrant reminders of love, appreciation and adoration. Why? At the risk of sounding like a Eugenics supporter, is it because these are the advanced members of the species, the Darwinian genetic experiments, and they deserve it, just as much as the more normal members of society deserve respect for thriving without needing to really try?
If you are "normal", are you are not evolving?
If you are "high-maintenence", are you merely a natural genetic experiment?
Whoa...where was I going? Oh yeah, back to Flagstaff...
I don't think it's really a matter of evolution, tribal superiority, whatever...I think it's more a matter of individual integrity. In other words, it doesn't matter why "we" do what we do, it matters why "we as individuals, disinct from the masses" do what we do. Being true to yourself matters more than conformance. Conformance at the expense of the individual equates to social disaster, on any level...family or nation.
Carl Jung argues that the individual...outside the dictates, doctrine, or dogma of the State or the Church, is what must be respected and the only true indicator of what is "real". I've chased other people's dreams or ideals. I've been in a place where I feel comfortable with myself, as dictated by others and as long as I was living by the rules or dictates of some organization that defined what was real or acceptable. But at the end of the day, that was an infantile state; a feeling of security based on what the outside environment could provide. Like the paradise of childhood...no real responsibility, and no reckoning for who or what was going to pay for my existence. Just follow these rules, be this way, and you will be safe.
In other words, not my reality. I lived in someone else's. Shame on me.
Do I value what prophets and preachers, kings and presidents say? Sure. As long as it makes sense and its well thought through, conceptually and fiscally. And, as long as I don't think they are bullshit artists.
That Flagstaff weekend ended as it began...undocking the Mothership in the parking space next to the house. We had a blast. Every minute with Amy is an awakening, a reminder that I have so much yet to learn, but that I am so valued by the gods that I am given so much. Screw the Church and the State. I am what I am, and being true to that is the greater contribution.
