Update to foot-putting-in-mouth

Way #1 not to not-put-your-foot-where-your-mouth is:
Use Space-Jam references in all circumstances all day long.

But something just clicked and I can't stop myself!

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Just because the birds are doing it...

...doesn't make it trendy or awesome.  (<--Life lesson of the day.)

Once when Charlie and I were in the midst of a heated conversation Charlie interjected 'Put your foot where your mouth is!!'

I gave him my 'that's not right' look and we burst into a fit of laughter and entered into a state of jocundity.  (<-- Eat that, GRE vocab section.)

Charlie's point was meant to be something along the lines of 'put your money where your mouth is.'  What emerged, however, has provided significant succor to our marriage.  Exclaiming 'Put your foot where your mouth is!'  has diffused many an argument, ameliorated tensions and helped us articulate our reticence in those moments of stupor where we're low-on-coffee intake or just plain speechless.

This past week, though, I have excelled at putting my foot where my mouth is unintentionally and in ways that aren't as humorous.

I've also been reading through Proverbs.  Even though it's chalk-full of what could be interpreted as passing quips, there are recurrent themes.  One of the most prominent of these themes is shutting your trap and thinking before your speak.

The tongue has the power of life and death,
   and those who love it will eat its fruit.  (18.21)


A gossip betrays a confidence;
   so avoid anyone who talks too much. (20.19)


The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint,
   and whoever has understanding is even-tempered. (17.27)


Sigh.  Not my strong suit... being patient and quiet or heeding what I read.  Putting my foot in my mouth, although it seems a bit awkward and uncomfortable, is way easier.

It's just that good.

HBO’S ‘The Wire’ is a critically acclaimed show that traces crime, corruption and dysfunction in Baltimore as it weaves itself through the drug trade, the seaport system, the city government and bureaucracy, the school system and the print news media.  In a city as complex and variegated as Baltimore, you can imagine the difficulty in attempting to encapsulate and portray these sinuosities.

In spite of the difficulty of the task at hand, David Simon, the creator of the show and a former police reporter in Baltimore, and his team propel themselves above and beyond the challenge.  They develop a series that is so effective at capturing the challenges and complexities of urban poverty and bureaucratic entrenchment that it could stand alone as a go-to, classic, 'media-textbook' of sorts for developing an understanding of the under girding forces of urban development.

And on and on, with never-ending sentence after never-ending sentence, I can go… Anyway, moving forward.  Charlie and I moved to Baltimore in the fall/winter of 2009 and we didn’t know a soul. (Actually, we knew – 1 person.  But he was often busy skateboarding, and who can blame him for that?)  So, who did we befriend, but the TV Show about our new homeland, The Wire?

And boy, am I glad we made that choice (as depressing as having a TV show as a friend sounds) because now, almost two years later – different subplots subtly emerge and challenge me in ways unimaginable prior to watching the show.  The connections from the show pop up in all facets of my daily life.  They span from the challenges and difficulties I encountered when I 'taught for America,' to the observations that I take-in on my daily commute, and even to issues currently facing the aid and development organization where I work.

Anyway, enough gushing about the Wire.  There's a particular subplot that's been brewing  in the caverns of my mind which will surely lend itself to a forthcoming post.  In the meantime I’ll close with one of my favorite scenes.  (Worth noting: I probably have at least thirty 'favorite' scenes.)

Disclaimer: there's significant incidence of distasteful language in the video.  But don't let that stop you. It's worth it.

{You think Ronald McDonald gonna go down in that basement and say...'Hey, Mr. Nugget! You the bomb!?}

Closing charge: Winter is just around the corner.  Instead of feeling blue, consider holing up and making a new best friend, The Wire.