DISTRACTION

i love sandwiches.

and sandwiches love me right back.

in fact, they love me back right.

that's real.

homemade bread, of course, is the first and most important ingredient-

because if the bread ain't right, ain't nothin' gonna be right.

that's a fact.

good bread makes better people,

and also the best sandwiches.

i used my new dough, and it did whaat it was designed to-

which is to say:

it brought the lightning-striking viking victual victory to the table.

expert!

and then i just went ahead and got sexxxy with it.

check the teleport:

SWEET, SMOKY TEMPEH!

grilled leeks!!

shaved carrot ribbons!

arugula, pea shoots, purple cabbage, and cucumber!!

hummus!!

neighbors,

this one did the trick, and only took a little tiny bit of time, too.

*i made the bread in the morning.

but, i'm just sayin'- look at how luscious it is, though:

C'MON!

the bread recipe is here.

the rest is pretty much self explanatory.

that tempeh, though-

half a block, sliced thinnish, and halved diagonally,

hydrated in a bath of 1/2 cup vegetable broth, 

with smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper, GPOP, 

agave, liquid smoke, tamari and vegan worcestershire sauce...

bubbled on medium heat until the liquid was gone, 

and activated in the same pan with some olive oil 

just until the edges caramelized a little baby bit.

mmmmmmm.

you can't eff with that much flavor.

unfortunately, i seem to have lost my appetite.

...that's no joke.

i had half and saved the rest.

what?!

yeah. i know.

something IS wrong.

but, i'll figure it out and resume our regularly scheduled shark-gluttony, for sure.

don't stop moving, don't stop eating, and most of all, don't stop.

or, full stop, drop, shut 'em down, and open up shop?

i have no idea anymore.

***********

man,

have you ever been preoccupied with something,

and looked forward to a busy day of distractions,

to give your brain a chance to catch a breath before blasting back into 

the pressing and/or distressing situation you've found yourself in?

yeah?

whew. i though it was just me-

but,

have you noticed that the welcome respite almost never works?

dudes-

i had last-minute appointment cancellations yesterday,

and the pizza parlor was closed,

and nate was off somewhere deep in the throes of some kind of love story-

so i was alone in the building, and alone with my thoughts.

and that had me thinking, and lonely, and i'll tell you what-

Positive Mental Attitude adjustment is HARD in those circumstances.

why? because i revert to systematic logical mathematics, and math doesn't lie-

so it's math that makes the final call.

and when the factors involved don't add up, we've got to try another order of operations.

i'm serious.

what do you do when it's subtraction leaves you with a more positive result?

you probably just minus-sign the sh!t out of whatever is negatively affecting the results.

but that's the opposite of everything i ordinarily espouse-

too much is the right amount, and the object is MORE, right?

right.

so, what if LESSENING is the way to get it??

damn, dudes- that's weird, going negative to be positive.

but math doesn't lie.

-

how far can travel in the wrong direction before you have to turn around?

depends on if you're traversing a sphere or not, i suppose, right?

and is it really the wrong way if you end up in a better place 

than where you initially intended to go?

what about if you get where you want, and it's not what you need?

or, if it's exactly what you need, but nothing at all like what you're gonna accept?

the variables are numerous,

and the outcomes are kaleidoscopic,

and almost all seem catastrophic, at least if we stay the course we're currently on.

the only thing i DO know without question is this-

something has to change, 

and by something, i think i really mean something else.

it's all really happening,

the food, the fury, the forlorn and forsaken Folk Life & Liberty Fortress.

if it's got to all be different, 

let the secret universal plans plot the route of greatest development,

and if that's the path of greatest resistance,

i hope i'm up to the challenge;

never quiet, never soft.....