"Mirror, Mirror....."
"who am I? Depends on who you ask. Some see nothing more than a mindless monster, an egotistical freak of nature to be pitied or feared. Others see a man guided by a singular purpose. Who am I? As I stand under this hot light and look into this mirror, I see a monster and a man. But I also see a bullied fat kid. A son looking up to his old man. A youth in search of a road. I've since found that road and soon, I'll know how far I've gone and who next I'll become.
"MY HERO"
To my younger brother Daniel. I love you. You are my best friend and I will always be there for you. It was great to grow up with someone like you. A brother to lean on, a brother to count on... A brother to tell on!
All for one and one for all
My brother and my friend
What fun we have
The time we share
Brothers 'til the end.
Death is always on the way, but the fact that you don't know when it will arrive seems to take away from the finiteness of life. It is that terrible precision that we hate so much. But because we don't know, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember as certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps 4 and 5 times more. Perhaps not even. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps 20. And yet it all seems limitless.
The Sheltering Sky, Paul Bowles, 1949
THE SQUAT
Down this road, in a gym far away,
a young man was heard to say,
"no matter what i do, my legs won't grow"
he tried leg extensions, leg curls, and leg presses , too
trying to cheat, these sissy workouts he'd do.
from the corner of the gym where the big men train,
through a cloud of chalk and the midst of pain
where the noise is made with big forty fives,
a deep voice bellowed as he wrapped his knees.
a very big man with legs like trees.
laughing as he snatched another plate from the stack
chalking his hands and monstrous back,
said, "boy, stop lying and don't say you've forgotten,
the trouble with you is you ain't been SQUATTIN'. "
-----------DALE CLARK-----------
The Mighty Squat By; Joe Skopec
We've come to squat so run and hide
You bicep freaks must step aside
Just take your sissy selves elsewhere
You'll turn your heads but still you'll stare
Go right ahead and pay attention
Glimpse into this strange dimension
Yeah you're still weak and never grow
This world of pain you'll never know
Your shouts upon the leg-press, phony!
Noodle legs like macaroni
Some day I hope you'll understand
And wrench free from the poser band
Puny curl bars, leave this spot
The rack named for the mighty SQUAT
