The Gears of Heaven stop

Lately these lyrics have been going through my mind:

And now the wheels of heaven stop
You feel the devil’s riding crop
Get ready for the future
It is murder

Leonard Cohen

I’m not a hundred percent sure what it means, but my mind doesn’t work in a very logical way. So, what it’s doing, when it spits up lyrics at me, or has a song (TBF that entire song keeps playing on a loop in my back brain) playing, or whatever, it’s that it’s trying to tell me something which hasn’t gelled enough for me to think it rationally.

It occurred to me that this last year (12 months, not calendar year) the wheels of heaven stopped for society. And we are surely feeling “the devil’s riding crop” in the sense that our not-elected authorities are determine to punish us, though not absolutely sure for what. Probably for not having elected them, to be fair. Also our nation, as constituted is what stands between them and what they think is eternal and complete power (which only idiots and *ssholes would think is even possible. But they are both.)

And this brings us to real and imaginary systems.

The main reason — other than the fact that it was being pushed at us in every course, in every channel, in every possible way. Always be ware of stuff that is pushed that uniformely — that I never trusted Marxism was that it was “just so” system.

It had defined villains and heroes, and told you how history was going to go, leading to a perfect future where history would end.

Guys, even for a novel this would be unlikely. No. I’m serious. Yeah, sure, novels where things are that clear cut and happen with no impediment and end in wonderful wonderful ways can be fun. But they’re not very plausible. I mean, you can get away with it in a short story or a movie (about the same amount to story) but not in a novel. Or not for long. If you’re very good and create something like that, people will use them as popcorn reads. But again they won’t be very believable. (Of course, some genres not being fully believable is okay.)

Real life, and novels with a little more substance are messy, there’s back and forth not a straight path.

And history never ends.

The problem is that the people who have taken the structures of our system (note the structures, not the system. It’s not the same. They don’t even understand the scope of the system) are the sort of people who believe in Marxism and other fairytales.

As such, they think that they can stop the system and restart it in a new format. And it will be beautiful, perfect, and everyone — or at least them — will live happily ever after.

The other thing going through my mind is “That is not how any of this works.”

Just remember that while this is going to suck for all of us, they’re far less prepared than we are. It’s going to suck to be us, but it’s going to suck a magnitude worse to be them.

And whatever was stopping my writing, it’s gone away. Nowadays, mostly, I’m having trouble finding time for everything I have to write and do.

At least it keeps me from obsessing on the stupid songs on the back of my head, and from getting mad because real life gets away with villains so stupid that none of us could write them.

I’m going to link Noah’s boy below, because…. why not. Also because I’m going to be finishing (hopefully) Bowl of Red next week.

Which comes after this book.

Noah’s Boy

Tom Ormson and Kyrie Smith are suffering the growing pains of young romance and young business people. Tom worries obsessively about the new fryer in the diner exploding.
As though he didn’t have enough on his mind, though, life decides it’s time for a sabretooth with vengeance on her mind to come to town, and for the Great Sky Dragon to try to arrange a marriage for Tom.
Meanwhile, out at the old amusement park, the one with the really good wooden roller-coaster, a series of bizarre murders is taking place.
And, as if that were not enough, Conan Lung, dragon shifter, ex-triad member and waiter extraordinaire starts his country singing career with an original song “If I Could Fly to You.”
When Kyrie is kidnapped, it’s all Tom can do to make sure he protects her while not eating anyone.