...I'm waiting for you to see the light that shines through, but your eyes are black...They are ancient runes...--imadethismistake
Man, today felt so weird. I dunno what it was about it. I've had a headache all day. Chemistry was enjoyable, as was Mr. Garrett's class. Band sucked, which is kinda weird, and Batchelor was really boring. The bell rings, and while waiting in parking lot to leave, this car with 3 girls I've never seen in my entire life just stops the line and waves me to the front. Well, I go, and they wind up passing me at the top of the hill (near the gate) in the turning lane. Then they all turn around and wave. Kinda creepy. I have no earthly idea how they know me. I just playfully balled my fists up like a prizefighter, made a funny face at them, then let some car go in front of me so they weren't directly in front of me. Problem solved.
I get home and my grandmother is sick with something. I went up to her house to see her, and to get my banjo that finally came in and I think I caught whatever it was. I most certainly do not feel too grand right now. I also found out that my great grandmother (who recently passed away) played banjo. No one else in my family knew that. Hopefully I didn't invoke any bad memories. :/
Anyway, this has been copy / pasted from where I posted it earlier on MySpace. I don't really feel like retyping it.
First off, before reading, this bulletin was not intended to offend nor change anyone's mind about anything. It is just to get the message of one man, Malachi Ritscher, out for all to see. I myself think it's worth the read, which is precisely why I typed it up. Please excuse any grammatical / spelling errors you may stumble upon, as I am a horrid writer.
Malachi Ritscher was a man who lived alone in the big city of Chicago. He had several hobbies including photography, playing a couple instruments, reading, painting, but most notably, a videographer. In his time alone, Mr. Ritscher would find himself going and recording free jazz shows for bands that could not afford "professional" videography done, then virtually giving them the recordings. He would do this 5 nights a week. If there was 5 feet of snow on the ground, he'd still be at the show.
Nearly everyone Ritscher came in contact with him liked him and saw his as an extremely friendly and intelligent person. Ritscher, however, never got too close to people, choosing to follow a slightly reclusive life, but that's how he liked it.
On November 3rd, 2006, Ritscher, sign and video camera in hand, went to the "Flame of the Millennium" statue in downtown Chicago and performed the extremely uncommon act of self-immolation. In case you don't know what that is, that is suicide by fire. It is highly uncommon because it is the slowest, most painful, and messiest way to die.
Why did such an intelligent man do such a thing? The best known instance of self-immolation can be found in a photograph of a Vietnamese monk named Thích Quảng Đức, in flames in the middle of a busy street, protesting the treatment of Buddhists under a Catholic regime. Why choose self-immolation, undoubtedly the most agonizing death? That is precisely why. It shows the great lengths one will go through to stand up for what they believe in.
What did Malachi believe in? He wanted to stop this pointless war we're in. If you notice, I mentioned that Malachi had a sign with him as he went towards "The Flame of the Millennium." That sign read "Thou Shalt Not Kill."
The disgusting part? People on the roads and streets saw all of this happening. What did they do? Absolutely nothing. A slight ripple in the flow of traffic was the only alteration.
You're probably thinking, "Wow. Why did I not hear of this? This is insane." Well, that's because mass media outlets did not mention anything about the story. This story has been spread simply through "the grapevine," aka, word of mouth. I am asking you, if you believe in Malachi's message (not necessarily his means of presenting it) of stopping the war. PLEASE, tell someone, pass this on, just don't ignore it. It's a cruel world out there, don't become one of the people that would just pass him by. I can proudly say, "I heard you, Malachi!"
For more information, or ways to support the cause, check out this site dedicated to what I've just talked about. They're really doing great things.
http://www.iheardyoumalachi.org/index.html
Well, that's all. I'm glad that tomorrow is Friday and that we have a 3-day weekend. It's been a long week. For now, I bid you adieu.
