he liked to mine mindspush buttons

                                        it was his nature

if someone knew him they KNEW that 

few did

          some thought their dictatestheir authority would subsume that

but they didnt know him   

he got into peoples headsperplexed them 

                                          cracked them like black walnuts he made battle  nuts confronted  crushed together in his hand  those whose shell broke he ate  he set aside the winners for rematches

to managements dismay the winnersthe shelled gladiators from bulk twentypound bags were celebrated  he set them atop three edges of his cubicle 

they had stipulated that nothingno personal effects could be visible  if they understood himthey hired him they should have known it was of no consequence to him 

                                                it wasnt their cubicletheir personal spacetheir working environment atmosphere

It seems to me  I don walk into your offices tell you wha personal things you may or may not display on your walls  Walls  Imagine  or your desks DO  I    So who are you to tell me

they backed off

how Wise were they

but despite his efforts he was the only one who refusedcrossed them

his coworkers toed the linedidnt follow his leadrefused  to side with him

their unequivocal submissionthey felt  allowed him to flout the norm

Its a gawddamn work place we spend eight or more hours a day here  It shoud be comforting

management was aware  they were content he was a one offan oddball 

                                                                            how flexible of them     

had he not been a linchpin between corporation and consumers things might have been different    

he knew that

they recognised it

so they turned a blind eye

mining minds isnt a sure thing

                                 anymore than staking a claim in Coloma California or working the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon

he turned soil

dug furiously

panned

sluiced

sometimes hard work doesnt pay off

which isnt to say it wasnt worth the effort

2125,  Monday,  18  7. 22

0104,  Day-between-Two-Ts,  17  8. 22

Neil Young  Old Man  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAtDrFdomN4