Need a bit of extra cash? Seriously.

[slumcamper]

22. REJECTED! (a little levity here)

In these times of unbridled madness and the incomprehensibility of things all around us, e.g., police militarization, assassination of fellow citizens, ideological and fiscal wars against women and the poor, rejection of science and denials of anthropocenic global warming, "corporations are people, my friend," and other outrages ad nauseum, it is heartening that sometimes, still, there is cause to laugh.

I experienced a brain aneurysm in 2002 and, surviving the initial rupture, underwent a 10 hour emergency neurosurgery, and was discharged from the hospital 3 weeks later. Aside from a half-shaven head and occasional manic tendencies, I emerged in better physical and psychological condition than I'd been in since my 20s! After rigorous (fanatical) fitness regime I returned to my job in education research and development a month later.

The Bush years sucked hugely but like many of us I grimaced and endured...the sway of Big Oil, the idiocy, and graft that renders the Teapot Dome Scandal a fading asterisk in history ("pallets of hundred dollar bills LOST in Iraq??). I sighed and occasionally cried as my fellow citizens--disproportionately black and Latino--were sent to a living hell half a world away.

Amid this national miasma I immersed myself in "Jeep culture." Attendant with that obsession came another: mobile audio. A mortgage, student loans, credit payments, and kids on the verge of college pretty much tapped our financial resources, yet my desire for high voltage head units, clean amps, subwoofers and high-end speakers only grew. One morning as I drove past the "plasma place" in Iowa City (students queued up as the door before 8 am), it occurred to me that the financial path to my audio needs was there! Next day, I entered the fray, a 40-something audiophile amid 20-somethings seeking cash for Ramen noodles, 12 pack, and perhaps a biweekly pizza!

As if that weren't disconcerting enough, imagine how I felt when they REJECTED me as a donor! In truth I had answered the questionnaire and indicated that I'd received a bone adhesive. Indeed, the doctors had glued a silver-dollar sized "plug" of cranium back into place after my surgery. No matter that I had survived; for some reason this disqualified me from the plasma donation center!

As I reflect on this I'm compelled to laugh out loud. I deal with rejection well. But you know, seriously, they could have procured some especially good plasma!

Running Kenwood 4 amp, 50 watt head unit with dual low-outs, driving Infinity Kappa 6X9 (rear boxed), Kappa 6.5 (soundbar), and Kappa 5.25 (dash), powered by Polk Audio 50w X 4 channel, and Blaupunkt 2 channel bridged mono to Apline 12-inch ported sub in Wrangler. CLEAN, loud, chillin'.