You are not what you own

Back in my horror hay day; circa 1989/90 I would listen to what the films told me. Don't smoke pot. Don't have pre-marital sex. Don't make fun of the miss-formed. While horror film was my visual interest, music was my love. Boy did I love Fugazi. This band taught me more than my parents. Fugazi actually turned me into a straight-edge, hardcore, poet. My friends and I listened to Minor Threat and talked with glee about how we would take over the system. Fugazi transcended us into a life-style of "you are not what you own." While I can admit, I have not practiced this mantra all my life. I have long since been straight edge. And I admit my short comings. "You are not what you own" still sticks with me. Fugazi, lead by Ian McKaye and (my hero) Guy Picciotto stressed the need for personal, internal wealth. This, as opposed to wealth in the sense of commodity. Here we are, in 2009. Where we all pay the price for living beyond our means. We have all smoked pot. We have all left our friends when the monster is in the house. We are targets. We have not applied the long-standing lessons followed (somewhat) blindly in our youth. Most of us were different people. We swore we would never let this happen. Recently, I have challenged myself. To remember the things I fell in love with when I was young and impressionable. Things like poetry I have never forgotten. But Fugazi...not being what I own... and the concept of being straight-edge... have escaped me.

In looking at my life, I have it all. A family. Poetry. And a whole catalogue of horror films and great music. Furniture, has no say in life. Lately I have felt like a bookcase, gathering dust. I want to be re-read...knocked over...or the books should be stacked in a corner and the shelf should be sold. I am not what I own.