Fisticuffs Saturday

You start the summer and you figure: YAY! THE POOL!

The thing about Atlanta is that a subdivision isn't just a subdivision. Sure you can call it a subdivision, but it calls itself a swim-tennis community. Unlike a regular subdivision, a swim-tennis community has, among other things, a pool and a tennis court.

Rocket science.

Now, since we don't live in a swim-tennis community, but rather in a loose-basketballs-and-random-bikes-strewn-across-yards community, our neighborhood doesn't have a pool. Or a tennis court. Or a clubhouse. Or a neighborhood association. I know, stop painting the rosy picture.

As a result of our pool-less-ness, every summer I search for a swim-tennis subdivision that takes outside members so that we have somewhere to swim, fry our skin, and basically wear out the child so we need less melatonin nightly.

For the last 4 years we've joined the same pool, and for the last two of those years, we've seen what apparently is a rite of summer in the south: pool fights.

A pool fight takes place when at least two grown men have consumed at least two cases of beer over the course of at least two hours while sitting or standing or stumbling in direct sunlight over the course of at least eight hours, after which one says something stupid to the other.

What happens in fight club stays in fight club.

Tonight's brawl was between two fathers who had a total of six kids at the pool who had been friends for 15 years. Niceeee.

Apparently the wives were at the crux of the conflict, and then apparently one of the husbands said something about the other husband's wife's crux, and fists began flying.

I don't know how many grown-up fights you've seen, but until my pool days, I think I had only seen a couple of bar brawls, the result of falling in love with a bassist who sometimes played in clubs where people sometimes drank even more than pool people do.

Today's fisticuffs was broken up by several other large dad-men at the pool, and the drunker of the two offenders and his wife and children were escorted out by the large dad-men. Some pool goers stayed on after the brawl; others decided it was a good time to take their leave.

I think I did a little of both.

Meanwhile, I had three girls there (mine and her 2 friends), who got to witness the brawl in all its splendor, leaving me with the task of explaining wtf.

They didn't say, "Mom/Miss Jeneane wtf?" but it was written all over their faces.

I explained that some of those involved had been drinking large quantities of alcohol, and things got out of control, but that those people were gone now and we were ok.

And thinking that was lame, I asked the President of the Board at the pool what happened, who said: "Too much booze, too much sun."

What happens in fight club stays in fight club.

What won't leave me alone tonight are the faces of the children who watched the fists connect, the ones whose dads were involved, the ones who were dragged out of the pool and stuffed into the car smack dab in the middle of what was, three minutes before, a fun day.

But that's how it goes with pool fights.

The not so funny thing is, when we were driving out of the subdivision, I saw the offending family outside at their house. The kids skateboarding, the parents were sitting relaxed on the front setps laughing, talking to another neighbor.

Everything was back to normal. Nothing to see here. Don't ask don't tell. They'll all live to swim another day.

What happens in fight club stays in fight club.

Did Prince Just Say Goodbye to the Jehovah's Witnesses?

Any music fan who watched the Super Bowl last night could rightly walk into work this morning and say, "Did you see the bears and colts play football during Prince's Concert?"

It was that good. And, at other levels, it was interesting too.

For any artist familiar with the restrictive, cultish tactics of the jehovah's witnesses, watching the halftime show at this year's Super Bowl represented a lot more than catching a great live concert by Prince. The entire performance was riddled with symbolism that could only leave current and former JWs doing double take after double take, wondering what Prince was trying to 'say'.

I think Prince's merging of All Along the Watchtower with Foo Figher's The Best of You, followed up by Purple Rain, performed while doning his classic symbol, his signature guitar magnified as it rippled against the night sky, full and phallic, larger than life against a ghostly white backdrop, was Prince's way of saying goodbye to the Organization, was Prince's way of saying, "you're not messin with me anymore."

Maybe I'm projectiong. Maybe not.

It's not a simple thing -- the passionate belief and seeking of Truth, the sacrifice of self, the heart vs the mind, all targeted by well-honed thought control vs the single thread of hope for what being human means: Freedom of thought. You kind of have to have been there to grok it.

What I think? That Artist giving that performance at that event, performing those songs that way, wearing that symbol on that stage -- I think he just said goodbye to the Watchtower.

And if he didn't, and they don't disfellowship him for that display, well--it only further demonstrates the hypocrisy of the JWs that makes for madness in those who've ever been shamed at a Kingdom Hall.

(Video Transcription)
Prince's Watchtower Medley

All along the watchtower,
Princes kept the view,
While all the women came and wept —
Their foot servants too.

Outside in the cold distance,
A wildcat did growl.
Two riders were approaching, and
The wind began to howl.

Are you gone and onto someone new?
I needed somewhere to hang my head
Without your noose
You gave me something that I didn’t have
But had no use

I was too weak to give in
Too strong to lose
My heart is under arrest again
But I’ll break loose
My head is giving me life or death
I will choose
I swear I’ll never give in
I refuse

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

Has someone taken your faith?
It's real, the pain you feel
You must
Confess

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Oh…

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

I’ve got another confession my friend
I ain’t no fool.