Materialism and enlightenment makes me think of the old adage, A fool and his money are soon parted.

I went with two buddies to the CN Tower in Toronto. It was a an awesome display and spectacle of industrial and technological might. We were in TEE-O on business, and, everything wrapped up, were now kicking back to enjoy ourselves in the big city. The view was like nothing any of us had ever seen. Well, as cool as the tower was, the food was exactly the un-coolest for farm lads like ourselves. A waiter went by with a bowl of soup. I stopped him and asked what it was. He gave me some overblown bs French name for it. I looked at the bowl of soup, and all it was was water; a little off-colored water, with something green sprinkled on top. Now in amusement, I asked how much it was for this delectable bowl of off-colored water with something green sprinkled on top. "Thirty-nine ninety five, sir", was the eloquent reply. Yeah, rrriight... Sorry, Jack, we're not as dumb as we look...  

I turned to my companions, and said, "This is b.s. We're not payin' a hundred and twenny bucks for three bowl'sa warm water! C'mon, lads--let's go find a steak joint and get a REAL meal!" They whole-heartedly agreed. We took a last look around and headed for the high speed elevator. Once back on the solid earth, far below, we took off in search of somethin' good to eat. Using our infallible countryboy noses, we found a little restaurant that smelled right. We went in, sat down in the deeply upholstered, super-comfortable chairs, enjoyed the company of a lovely hostess, and her impeccable service, and feasted ourselves on three of the most perfect, thickest, juiciest, fantastically flavorful steaks of our lives. They were served along with almost grease-less fried mushrooms, big baked potatoes and a heap of fresh, colorful vegetables. I forget what desert was, but I think it was either chocolate cake or pumpkin pie, and no scanty portions of it, either. We left only 80 bucks lighter and later for all three of us, thoroughly and satisfactorily stuffed to the bursting point with top quality food. It was a meal none of us will ever forget. That's the difference between bs 'enlightenment' and plain ol' common sense.

The above is kinda like the 1.8 million dollar 'Voice of Fire' painting in the Ottawa Museum of Art. It's a painting of three vertical stripes. That's it. Three vertical stripes. I painted three vertical stripes on my bedroom wall when I was a teenager, and ten years before 'VOF'. Nobody was stupid enough to offer me 1.8 million dollars for it. I guess I hadn't run into anyone enlightened enough at the time.

In my collection of farm memorabilia, I've got a 1945 Massey-Harris Farmer's Handy Catalog with a wartime England painting of a tank rumbling up a dirt road beside a Massey-Harris 21 Harvest Brigade combine, working on the other side of a stone fence. It was painted by one of the Group of Seven, A.J Casson. There is depth and plays of light, and the many different textures of the dirt, the dust, the rough, weathered stone fence, and the golden wheat, waving in alternating silk, velvet, and velour ribbons as the wind played over it. Now that was art to me. It took skill and effort, and both in abundance. I'll bet, professional artist though he was, and the quality of the work infinitely greater than VOF, nobody ever offered to pay as much as one percent of the price of those three enlightened stripes, even when the original painting by A.J Casson was over 60 years old.

Yeah, enlightenment is pure stupidity, in all's it's nonsensical glory. The 'artist' that broke out his paint roller to make that garbage may have been a li'l far out thinking he'd accomplished an artistic feat, but he wasn't the FARTHEST out in the scandal--the ones who PAID the money were! It all hearkens back--and even morseo due to the financial scale of it--to that old adage about the fool and his money. Unfortunately, being the Museum of Art, the ones making the purchase were the government, and the money they were squandering was OURS!

I'm tired of talking about people that throw away good ol', plain ol' common sense for 'enlightenment', so here's a li'l art for you to feast your eyes on:

A tractor's a beautiful thing, isn't it? Now that took some skill and effort. Three stripes my butt!