I guess these folks have sniffed out the Literary Priest, that "angelic" quality I talked about last week, and believe I'm a good Ear. I certainly look world-weary enough, like the defrocked character in Night of the Iguana.

Among the confessions I have to listen to, of course, are those of people committed to wasting their lives. You know: what I have come to dub "The Junkie Contingent," ("the J.C.," for short) . One man too close to home has been pulled back in by a succubus down the street who loves to keep people dependant. The culprit comes across as a gentle man, but so does Satan. (Bob Dylan: "...Sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace."

The J.C. has often made our apartment their clubhouse. ("Free" food -- in their opinion, not mine. Matt finally had to intercede.) So it's like I have four(4) room-mates rather than two. A couple of them have given me their confessions, though I can offer no absolution... It would not be so bad if all of these roommates contributed to the bills or the maintenance of the household, but that would be expecting a lot in a city where people focus on partying..

Then there are the protestations that they are about to kick. But it reminds me of a joke an aspiring Substance Abuse Counselor told me:

"When can you tell a junkie is lying? When you see their lips moving."

I watch the drama this infestation has caused and I cringe...

The Others

Some are just sad and sinking souls, full of depression and desperation. This city, New Orleans, seems to attract those types -- one of the reasons I think it was a mistake to move here. There are too many people here who ACCOMPLISH NOTHING, CREATE NOTHING, PRODUCE NOTHING and take solace in the fact there is no one to call them to an accounting. They revel in their tales of debauchery and failure. They celebrate their profligacy.

(Be quiet, Jeremiah!)

I am advised by many to make this aspect of The Big Easy work for me. Everyone is into slack, these advisors say, make it work for you. Take life less seriously. Don't always strive for perfection. What's the point of doing well in a city where nobody cares if you do well or horribly. If you're doing too well, people will work to drag you down to their level anyway... Hhmn.

What I do, instead, is attempt to lead by example. I show up to work every morning early. I go to bed early. I make sure that the basic needs of our pitiful lives here are met: buy food, cook, clean, pay bills. Sometimes it seems to have an affect. And that is probably why I have become the Confessor.

I have nothing profound to tell the people in my booth:

• Showing up is 90% of everything.
• Keep your word, no matter what.
• Peasant values aren't bad.
• All you can do is do the best you can every day, as Abe Lincoln (a reknowned melancholic) once said.

When I step out of the booth, I try to live by these rules, knowing that even I must fall short.

I do and I have. But I keep trying.

My trying seems to be enough to bring more people into the booth, whether I need them or not.

Life of Rod

But during the Holidays proper it looks like I'll be dead broke.

Considering my roommate situation, that could mean more Hard Times for me during Christmas and New Year's. But that seems par for the course, doesn't it?

I believe I am trying to keep things on an even keel, but I'd also like to get my laptop repaired, so that I no longer have to piggyback on Matt's old iMac... Though, today, I've been thinking I should save the money for food and rent.

That is enough for you right now, I think. So don't ask about my Love Life.

Now it's a bit of shameless promotion:

My friend Lionel Rolfe, the Menuhin scion, is doing a book signing in Los Angeles in February. Yeah, that's his picture over there. Here's the skinny: A publication party is scheduled to happen on 3 February at Skyligh Books, 1818 N. Vermont Avenue in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles. For info, you can email "calclass@earthlink.net".

THINGS ON THE ROD-LIST THIS WEEK

Rod was a columnist for the Andover News Network, where he wrote over two hundred articles on web design and development issues. He was also principal writer and Editor for IT Manager's Journal, where he reviewed technology issues weekly, producing 383 editorials. He became the Managing Editor for Electronic Mail/Newsletter Publications at Andover.net at the end of February, 2000, and left in September of the same year. He was a contributing writer for ACCESS magazine, which appears both on- and offline for 10 million readers in 100 newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle, New York Post, Boston Herald, Austin American-Statesman, Denver Post and Orlando Sentinel, among others. Rod was the US reporter for Silicon.com, a division of Network Multimedia Television in London, UK, reaching 3.5 million European readers, until May, 2001.

Rod lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, right now. The new home of the magazine. But he plans to return to Serbia next year.

He continues to be committed to integrity, chastity and a dose of humility.

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