The Good Fight

My past life can be interpreted as an expression of everything that is wrong with our culture. I did not take the straight and narrow way, but wandered down the road and took every detour that I came upon.

Like Henry David Thoreau, I have followed "the bent of my genius, which is a very crooked one, every moment."

It was a voyage of discovery and once I embarked there was no turning back:

If you're going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don't even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery--isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you'll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is.—Charles Bukowski