Apology for the Fire

So, you may be asking yourself, why does he do it? Why does a grown man feel the need to guide his life into such obvious jeopardy? Why not just sit there in the corner at this party while the more outspoken of your friends monopolize all of the attention? I don't know, call it insecurity, call it immaturity, but sometimes in life I find that the only way to truly self-actualize and get the attention of strangers is to set myself on fire. I suppose I'm just strange that way. My friends say to me "Why not just learn the piano, or the guitar, you're a pretty good juggler -just do that... only don't set the balls on fire." In truth, I appreciate their concern.

But I hearken back to the words of my older brother Russell, who once explained to me his winning "Clear Choice Strategy". He said that there's really no point in competing on an even playing field in anything, ever. Don't ever walk into a situation trying to do or be the same thing that everyone else is trying to do or be in any sense. Don't even play that game, it's called competition and it's for losers (think about it). No, be different. Being in a league of your own removes the competition, and choosing to do things your way becomes no longer a matter of selecting between degrees of some shared quality or method, but a clear choice for something-competely-different. (Soon afterwards Russell cut his hair and went to university.)

I've taken this to mean, in part, that I should be the guy who shows up at parties and sets himself on fire. So what if this only really impresses a very few people. You can bet that the ones it does impress will have their socks knocked clear off. And EVERYBODY notices. Well, if you do it right up next to them they sure do anyways. Especially if it sets things near and dear to them on fire (like say, the host, or family pets), then it's kind of hard not to notice, what with the sudden overwhelming wave of heat and whatnot.

So there you have it. In this perspective, doesn't deviant behavior in general come into a whole new light? I blow fire. It's fun and it gets me attention. I'll teach you if you want to learn. I always offer to teach. This frightens people, which, again, sets me apart. ;-)

Thanks,
-Bradley

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