From Hank David

I have been thinking tonight about Thoreau…. his statement that most men lead lives of quiet desperation. Even when unhappy, there can be a control from positive isolation. And everyone likes control, especially if they are unhappy.

When I worked at Union Station I befriended a few homeless dudes, and would occasionally get them food. They weren’t grateful for just anything. They wanted what they wanted. Very specifically. If you’re doing a nice thing, you want it to be nicely received, but what I took from that experience was this: somehow not having control makes people try and assert a control that may be inappropriate. I’ve noticed this occurring among those in poverty of all sorts.

Desperation and distance makes people distance themselves even more to be in control. They judge to be right. To make their decisions, their work, their unhappiness, right.

The full Thoreau (paraphrase, apparently):

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.

Big ups, Hank Dave. Big ups.