Issue 139- "Philosophy of Life 2 One-Shot"

Written pencilled and Inked by: Heath Parker Lail

Hey folks, welcome to a very special issue of Clerk's Cafe. I have been doing some deep thinking again, and I figure it's time to crack out Philosophy of Life, for a one-shot issue. Here goes, hope and pray for big news by issue 150! Here is a question that all of will face in life, whether or not we realize it or not. Is free will a gift or a curse for human beings?

The ability to have free will is undoubtedly important to us measly flesh creatures but do we stop and take the time to consider its total ramifications? I think not. Free will is an incredibly important possession of ours, and yet I think we abuse it daily. We all have examples of this but I will use the loss of Shauna in my life as an example to expand upon and discuss, then let you draw your own conclusions using examples from your own life. It was a great blow to my ego to lose someone I felt was such an important part of my life and at the time I didn't understand why all this was happening to me...the answer was simple and staring me right in the face the whole time--Free Will, or the ability to choose your own destiny. Unfortunately for Shauna she has chosen a life of unstability and pain rather than the road I travel, one of hopeful prosperity as a successful psychologist. Anyway, I now realize that free will caused her to wonder, if only for a second, what else was out there in this great big world of ours and she wanted to go exploring...without me as baggage. Therefore she chose to leave everything she has known with me for the last 4 years and step into the Great Unknown (and I think Great Stupidity) that is Internet Dating. Unfortunately this practice is becoming all the more common and I think it is detrimental to otherwise healthy relationships. I mean, why stay with one guy when you can have cybersex with fifteen guys and never have to touch them or them really know where you are? Never have the baggage of a real relationship, just whiz, bang and your done, let's go talk to the next guy (or gal as it may be). Simple right? Wrong. It hurts relationships that God put together for a reason, and breaks apart couples who were quite close before Ma or Pa goes wandering around on the Net, couples who were relatively stable with little to no problems. Therefore, I see Free Will as detrimental to the human race because it gives us the choice to hurt those who love us the most, and with Free Will backing us up, we can fall back on the excuse that we "simply chose X over Y. X wasn't as exciting and I wanted to spice things up in my life, so I left X for Y." The stories you never hear are that X was a financially stable, mentally stable person who loved this other person enough to give their heart and soul to them alone for eternity and Y is a Internet slave mongul who uses women as playthings and then sometimes even killls them. Something seems off here, does it not? Free Will, when wheeled by people of questionable morals or intelligence is very dangerous. It gives people the opportunity to enact fantasies and dangerous habits that would otherwise go undisturbed in their own head, harming no one. It lures good moral people into ethical traps and snares, while giving those who are manipulative and dangerous the opportunity to capitalize on the niavette of these less intelligent and savvy individuals. This is an unfortunate side effect of Free Will...it gives us power, and as it has been said before by one much wiser than I--"Absolute power corrupts absolutely".

The other side of the coin is this...Free Will ALLOWS us the option of following God (or whatever religion you might follow) and His plans for us, or we may stray as far from His will as we wish. I was talking to the local librarian today, and she reminded me that according to the Bible, Free Will was given as a consequence of Adam and Eve's sin. Therefore, Free Will can be manipulated into a thing of great value such as pursuing a future as a doctoral professional or clergyman, or it may cater to the basest of emotions, such as an Internet slave ringleader or sadistic murderer who grows his following online. Thus it gives us complete freedom to choose our own destiny. This is seen as a positive by many (if not all) of us, because without Free Will, humans would be like unto zombies, blinding following orders in accordance to the Supreme Being's (once again, whoever that may be for different folks) desires. Although one of the best comics I read right now features a bunch of zombies, I digress that I would not like my intelligence to be assimilated into a 'Grand Mind' that holds all knowledge acquired by the race known as humans. I have experienced great spiritual and intellectual growth through the tutelage of books such as Swamp Thing and the J.M. DeMatteis-penned issues of the Silver Surfer, as well as the unmatched stories of Alan Moore's Promethea, and I hate to think of a world where this knowledge is ripped from my mind into a massive hard drive for the entire race. If we lacked Free Will, then our very individuality would simply be swallowed up and we would be forced to do the bidding of others. That seems a poor alternative to the world in which we live, where we can choose to tempt God's world with our very lives by such things as extreme sports, etc. Therefore, there may be no satisfactory alternative to the Free Will world in which we reside. I just pray that everyone reading this considers their actions before letting go of a lover, close friend, saying spiteful things to those they love or giving up and putting a gun to their heads and ending it all. Think damn it...you have been given the WHOLE WORLD. You can achieve anything you want, so grab it. I would, but she doesn't want me to grab her so I will wait and trust in faith that either she receives help and returns or I will find a "nice girl" who honestly loves me for who I am, good and bad. Now I must content myself with grabbing my education and hoping that things look up for me in the near future. G'night. Love to you all...

Best,

Heath

Issue 138- "End of an Era"

Written pencilled Inked by: Heath Parker Lail

Hullo guys an gals. Long time since I've been here. No news on the Shauna front, although I hear rumblings of thunder in the distance occassionaly. We will see if she sees the error of her actions or not. God, after talking to my friend Brooke the other night, I realized just how damn lonely I am. I need someone to hold but I will bide my time, and God will provide as He ever does.

On other subjects, another era has ended...my collection of Swamp Thing is complete, save about 5 issues scattered through the last 50 or so issues. I was unsure of Grant Morrison and Mark Millar's first storyline, but I was suprised to see Millar begin to shine with the awesome story River Run, where Swampy acquires power over all the water on Earth. While this and his new Earth (Rock) powers help him become more powerful, each new Parliament he encounters and gains control over also removes bits of his humanity. So therefore he is forgetting his wife and child, old friends and pretty much the entire human race in his quest for power. This alludes to 'absolute power corrupts absolutely', but in the end, as he stands at the Parliament of Worlds, they instruct him that humans are irreplaceable upon the Earth and that he should live peacefully among them rather than snuff them out. He listens to reason and thus, Earth itself is saved. The last arc from issue 166-171 is entitled Trial by Fire, and although that title is cliche, the story is great. Well, off to finish cutting some grass I owe some folks but I might return later to write more, if I feel something of import rise up in me. Later.

Best,

H   

Issue 137- "Reflection, Part 2"

Written, Pencilled and Inked by Heath Parker Lail

In Memory of those who died on this day in 2001...my heartfelt sympathy goes out to those who lost loved ones this day, four years ago. I can not hope to understand what you've endured but I hope that God has comforted you in your times of need.

Hullo everyone. I'm feeling kind of sullen about today because it makes me grateful for everything I have, and at the same time I ask...could one of those people had better use of the time I have been given? I'm kinda in a rut these days...school has began really fast, and it won't slow down until December. I don't really miss Shauna in particular but I miss having someone to hold, love and call my own. I think God is fixing to move in me and through me in a big way, and I'm not sure that I'm ready to handle the responsibility but I will carry it as best that I can. In short, I just feel lost, and that makes me sad and sullen because I realize that I could be gone just like those people that suffered in 9/11. I don't want to be a bummer so I'll just leave it at this...

When you love someone, love them with every ounce of your very being and hold them tight so they don't ever question your love for them.

When someone is less fortunate than you, help them as best you can and then sleep with a good conscience that night. I have learned that not everyone can be saved, but you never know what that person might do for you one day.

Live life to the fullest...try new things and experiment. You never know what kind of things you will miss out on if you never try them. Expand your consciousness by trying new forms of literature, watching TV shows that you wrote off at least once, there is so much out there that we never take advantage of because we are comfortable with where we are. To Hell with that! LIVE life, because someone else will if you don't. Try this...go outside tonight and lay on your back looking up at the stars. Close your eyes and just LISTEN...you'll be amazed how close you come to God if you'll just shut up and listen to His nature. It is rather therapuetic.

I love you all and I miss you. Hope you have a great day, remember those who have died so that we all may live. God Bless. 

 

 

Issue 136- "Reflection"

Written, Pencilled and Inked by: Heath Parker Lail

Y'know it is weird to look back over the past few years....even folks my age have so much to remember. Hurricanes, for example. The earliest one that I can recall is when Andrew blew through here in 92. It was a harrowing experience for some of us, because we were not sure that things would be ok when it was all said and done. I remember sitting in my class and seeing the rain blow sideways outside, and it was one of the coolest and yet most frightening things I've ever experienced. I can not hope to understand what those who felt the brunt of Katrina felt as they saw this...monster of a storm heading towards everything they had ever known, with the possibility of losing everything looming in the distance. I am quite a bit more thankful for all I have everyday now, because those poor folks lost their homes, their ID, their lives because of Katrina. Some of them have NOTHING....no home to return to, no job to look forward to when and if they do return, and some have lost children or parents now that the aftermath has begun. May God be with them in this trying time...

I think about friends often as well. There have only been less than a handfull of people that I can count on no matter what, with Samantha being first and foremost. She and I have fought like cats and dogs over the years (mostly due to the interference of Shauna in our friendship) but for some reason we always return to each other in times of need or companionship. I love her more than she knows but am content to be her friend, should we never choose to try our luck at dating. It feels good to know that she is there for me, any time day or night. Thanks for everything honey. There are many who have come and gone but when we get together, it feels like the person never left. Elizabeth is like that...when she came up a few weeks ago, it was like a weekend visit between Friday and Monday before class at Marshall resumed. It was as though five and a half years was no difficult gap for us to bridge...no awkward moments of silence in the conversation or personality quirks that caused friction. Instead it was a really great suprise that we were still so compatible after all that time. Thank you Elizabeth, for the great time Monday, and the Saturday two weeks before that. Thank you for listening to my grumbles and bellyaches about tons of stuff, and thanks for helping me better understand my current situation.

These are just some relections I've had on my mind...more later this week.

Heath