Gary Beck has spent most of his adult life as a theater director and worked as an art dealer when he couldn't earn a living in the theater. He has also been a tennis pro, a ditch digger and a salvage diver. His original plays and translations of Moliere, Aristophanes and Sophocles have been produced Off Broadway. His poetry, fiction and essays have appeared in hundreds of literary magazines and his published books include 32 poetry collections, 14 novels, 3 short story collections, 1 collection of essays and 5 books of plays. Gary lives in New York City. Doctor Visit The ill line up and wait hoping for treatment, cure. Officious clerks ignore you as you stand on frail legs, unsure if you might fall before you’re called. You’re sent to a waiting room and wait. And wait. Then, name mispronounced you’re taken to an examination room, where you wait. And wait. And… A nurse comes in, takes vitals, says: “The doctor will be right with you.” You wait. And wait. And… It is almost an hour after your appointment time. The doctor comes in, tells you to do things at home, tells you to come back in three months and quickly departs without giving you a chance to discuss your condition. You go back to the desk, wait with others to make an appointment. Moderates When it’s not too hot and not too cold urban residents enjoy themselves more than in extreme weather, conditioned to indoors spending most of their time with climate controlled tv, or the internet, not as hardy as their forebearers. DebateOver the years many have argued whether or not there is dignity in labor. If one toils mightily yet gets no fame, fortune, other reward except subsistence, some believe we are just slightly evolved from the beasts. If we are part of the great mass of undistinguished humanity living obscurely by the sweat of effort, many more fed it is insufficient to justify the purpose of our species’ existence. Growth Spur In 1814 we weren’t more advanced then in 1714. But in 1914 we were industrialized and made modern wars with tanks, airplanes, powerful weapons to kill each other. By 2014 we progressed enough to destroy the planet, leading some to speculate that by 2114 we could obliterate the solar system Faker Spout The President complains
about fake news as if he invented the concept used by so many before him and frightened followers believe him, as he leads them to confusion hopefully not persuading them to drink Kool-Aid.
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