Diving right into the subject on this one. I’m sure I’ll dip in and out of anything I have to say. Thought about all of this six hours ago. My favorite book of all time is Post Office by Charles Bukowski. If you haven’t read it well. Well you should have by now. Bukowski is something else. Amazon has labels, the library has a section, but to me Bukowski is life. With that said is Post Office the greatest book ever written? Probably not. Could careless if anyone or no one else likes it.
The thing about Post Office that I love so much is this feeling. This feeling that life will never get better. This feeling that life is a trap. This feeling that you will always be stuck doing the same thing forever. I struggle with these issues on a daily basis as I’m sure most of us do. This doesn’t go away as we get older. But in a sense you have to settle. I hate to use that word and by definition what I’m about to say would go against that word. You get a fucking Treasures I’m writing here.
Point is that in life not everything is perfect all the time. Not every aspect of your life is what you dreamed it would be. One realizes with time that the only power they have is to choose which aspects of their lives to focus on. You can only spin so many fucking plates until it all comes crashing down.
I work hard at my job. Ask any of them and I’m awesome or whatever, but that place could burn down tomorrow. I’d be more pissed that I now have to find another job I don’t care about then anything to do with that place. I settled for my job. Oh well could give a fuck. I need money for things I actually care about.
I didn’t settle on my family or the time that I spend with them. I don’t settle on my writing. Maybe after draft eighteen, but most of the time I don’t. These are things that I can make perfect. Things that I can care about. Things that make me happy. Yes I have that emotion somewhere deep down in there. Things I won’t settle for.
Post Office didn’t teach me any of this. What Post Office did was made me realize I was trapped. That I was lost. That I was going to get stuck. Post Office made me think and that is why books are important. I saw the parallels that I was living to the main character, and I knew that, that was not what I wanted. I knew I didn’t want to just get by in this life. I had a goal and I needed to do more than hope. I needed to do more than let the waves drag me under. Fuck what happens. That is what Post Office left me with. This feeling that what was going to happen was going to happen anyways. Might as well fuck with it until it does. We get one life. Take a chance.
“In the morning it was morning and I was still alive. Maybe I’ll write a novel, I thought. And then I did.”
Charles Bukowski, Post Office
This resonated!! Big time! One of the reasons I like your stuff is this connection you make. You’re human! You’re real!
This was also very touching. Great post!
Now I want to read Post Office. 😒
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Yes! What she said 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼💞
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Thank you… : )
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😊💞
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It may change your life… It changed mine… You are too kind Mel.. Thank you for reading my broken thoughts…
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They may broken but the heart that strings them together is pretty cool. 😉
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Yes, exactly! I agreed with Mel.
This is a great post.
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I see what kind of powerful fascination you find there.. and yes… so do I in those words that you quoted… hmm.., you convinced me.. it’s good to be my next reading..🤗🤗
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It is an amazing book… I hope you enjoy it…
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I’m late! Just read this now! This is just so good 🙂 even though is broken, but seriously good.
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: )
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I share you’re love for Bukowski, and I enjoyed reading thoughts on life. Don’t forget Bukowsky got away from the post office 😉
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I hope one day to get away as well… Go down to the Race Track and win big on a horse named… Fuck It All… Still waiting on the horse… but I keep the name close to my heart…
Which book is your favorite? Do you like his poetry better or his stories?… Bukowski is God around my house… He’d hate that, but love it all the same…
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I think my favorite so far is Ham on Rye, which had me ejoying myself as a little child 🙂 I’ve still have a lot of poem reading to do, though, but what I’ve read is awesome.
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Ham on Rye is his best written book and very amazing… I like his poetry for the fact that they are basically Micro and Flash fiction before they were really a thing… I still have a lot to read myself… I’m taking my time…
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I know! They were in fact my first meeting with flash fiction. Poetry and fiction as once, the best kind.
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Oh my god! I love such posts. This is realistic unlike all the other blogs which go
“Ohh there is so much positivity in this world!!!!”
I think I’ll read Post Office and you’re right about every word you said in there
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Well, I don’t know if I am right about every word… I have an inclination to be an ass sometimes… But I appreciate your kind words… Please do read Post Office… Bukowski is an Amazing writer… Ham On Rye is really good as well…
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Yep!
Imma check it out
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I have to read it now or what kind of soul friend am I? I get bothered when I can’t get the reference!!!
But I loved this post. Felt like we were chatting over a drink and you intimated all that to me. It’s the way you have. Well I’m sure I’m not the first to tell you.
X
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