Who is SocietyRed?

J&L 047My name is John Whitney. I live and work in Seattle. I used to journal a lot and reflect on the things and people in life that pissed me off. Maybe my tolerance improved with age or the journals stopped helping me deal with the bullshit; either way I stopped writing. Recently I found that collection of written vile in a box full of spiral notebooks. I picked one up and read a few pages. Then I took them all outside and burned them in the back yard.

I like to write. And too much crazy and cool shit happens not to write it down. I have a great life: a wonderful wife, three children, and 3 granddaughters. I like to build things and work in the yard and hike and cook and read. I love a warm beach.

I’ve worked in local county government for over 24 years and continually fight the mindset and brain-damage that comes with that territory. It is sometimes funny and often appalling. I write to share my interpretation of life in a hopefully funny and not appalling way.

If you want to contact me via email, here it is: draglyne (@) gmail.com

This blog is called SocietyRed. There is no hidden meaning; SocietyRed is the name of one of the characters (played by J.D. Cannon) in one of my favorite movies: Cool Hand Luke. It’s a movie about heroes and nonconformity. If you haven’t already seen it, you should.

I got Pressed!FreshPressed!2

99 thoughts on “Who is SocietyRed?”

  1. I like the sentiment, “Too much crazy shit happens not to write it down..” Please excuse me as I use this one on Twitter (with full credit to you). I couldn’t have said it better myself! Love your blog.

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  2. Oh, I do relate to the desire to burn one’s old journals. I stopped journaling because I found I was just puking up the whirl of insecurities in my mind. You are, indeed, funny and not at all appalling. Well, the image I got in my brain of a man’s back covered with mosquitos is pretty disturbing….

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    • Funny, I still have “mosquitos buzzing my ear” dreams. Those things can make you crazy(er)! You put it so well about “puking up the whirl of insecurities” when journaling…so glad to be done doing that!
      Thank you for the encouraging comments!

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  3. Hi John: Thanks for leaving such a lovely comment on my blog. I love your writing and your pictures. How is it that you’re sporting a Seattle with no rain? Is the rain an urban legend? :) I keep trying to get my husband to visit Seattle and all I hear about is the rain, the rain, the rain. Glad you’re writing.

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    • Elinor, come visit us! It does rain a lot here, but when the sun shines, there is no place more beautiful. Period. And now you know two of us from the Emerald City’ish. I’m actually an hour north, but close enough. For the record, the rain is a bit of a myth… to keep too many people away. ;-) (Just had to say hi!)

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  5. ‘Continually fight the mind-set & brain damage that comes with that territory’ – OH I bet that’s a battle!

    I love it when I hear men say so openly “I have a wife & 3 children” or whatever. I sometimes feel they try & hide it but I love to hear it proud.

    Thank you for subscribing! I am very honoured :) I can’t believe you burned your “vile writings” though… oh, yes I can. You just look at it sometimes and think ‘where WAS I at?!’ The only things I’ve kept is journals and diaries yet I have ONE diary in the sequence that I think, I do not know, but I think I destroyed it because it contained painful detail of my childhood. I can’t think of any other reason for break of the continuation in that year.

    For sure, too much crazy shit happens to not write it down. I don’t know if it would interest you but I read an article – not too long; perfect size – by aurora today about those orange faked tanned people. I really related to it because I’ve seen some REALLY disturbing shades of orange.

    Anyway, dropped by to see just who it was that was “onto me”! Thank you, and all the best to your whole lovely family. N’n.

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    • N’n, Thank you for checking back and for the very nice comments. About the journals-I came to realize that I used them to vent my disappointments and frustrations and anger. As I change(d) the sources of those things I no longer felt the need to have the reminders of them. I destroyed them because I didn’t want to look back. I felt like encapsulated Pandora’s Box, crushed it, and removed it from my life. I try to write with a smile now.
      Thanks again my new friend!

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  10. Hi John! When will you be back with some more writing? Would love to hear from you. Here in the Sydney area it’s very much like winter already. Truly, last night the temperature went down to 7 Degrees Celsius.! I reckon that’s pretty cold. But during the day the sun is out and the temperature goes up to 20 Degrees Celsius. What’s it like in your part of the world right now?
    Regards, Uta H.

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    • Hi Auntyuta! I hope to be back writing soon. I’ve had some difficulty putting words on paper but I have a lot going on in my head! Been very busy lately with work and kids and Grandchildren and helping my mom move. Sounds like you are well into the season change as are we. Lately we’ve had some warmer weather but mostly just a lot of spring rains. We’ll talk soon! Thanks for the boost.

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  13. John, I came to your blog from Snide Reply after seeing your remark about eternity being right now. That could be rather a game changer. I’m quite looking forward to embracing that concept. And I laughed out loud when you said you burned your journals. I tossed mine in the trash; hopefully my recitation of every ache and pain and bitch and moan will never resurface.

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  20. It’s a pleasure to meet you, John. I imagine you must have tons of stories working in local government. I’m glad you decided to return to writing. I think both funny and appalling things need to be shared.

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    • Thank you Amy,
      It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. Working in government I am constantly amazed at how many people are ok with being dull and unmotivated. I may have to focus on them again soon.
      At the exact opposite you are bright and motivated, good luck with NaNoWriMo! Very impressive!

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  21. Hi John, I’m not sure how I stumbled my way here, but I’m glad I did. I never wrote anything down and now I can’t remember any of it. Maybe that’s ok too, but for some strange reason about six months ago I started writing and I am enjoying sharing our crazy and cool experiences of retirement through my blog. What an interesting world has opened to me with this newest adventure. Glad you found your way back to writing. Great blog!

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  22. Just read your Vanilla Ice Cream: Revisited post and thought it was very haunting but sobering. On another note, I don’t think I could ever bring myself to burn or otherwise destroy anything I’ve written, I guess I’m a bit of a hoarder when it comes to things I’ve written.

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  25. ..yeah…i hear ya, man! sure enough theres too much crap going on not to write about it…!
    i too had a diary somewhere where i poured out my feelings way back on the 80s, when i tried to emigrate to seattle from the uk….seems my 15 years of experience coupled with graduate qualifications didnt cut the ice with the companies who interviewed me there…maybe they preferred hiring illegals rather than someone who was wanting to come over legally…i dunno! anyway, i did even better…i moved to vancouver…yayaaay! hi, neighbour!

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  26. Planning a mass journal burning for the Solstice! I got yes Yule Log right here baby. Arghhhh what a bunch of truly shitty writing and remembrances. At least they’re between ten and fifteen years old. Greatest Fear: I’ll croak unexpectedly and my kid or mom will see that crap.
    Yeah, too much cool and weird shit does happen not to write it down.
    Sometimes I’m unable to do so… so I shall live vicariously through you ;)

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  29. heroes and nonconformity – two of my absolute favorite things. they just go together, don’t they? what a great fortune to have found them here in your writing. what we have here is a meaningful way to communicate. ;)

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  31. I look forward to knowing you better, and sharing a few stories. I know you have good taste in movies; Cool Hand Luke is to rebellion like The Big Lebowski is to zen. As in life, great movies are supremely entertaining and full of, ahem, “profound” insights that make us uniquely fabulous.
    Keep your chin up, and remember… Nobody Can Eat 50 Eggs!! :D

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  35. Hey Red,

    Thanks for stopping by today. I’m looking forward to getting caught up on you posts. My grandparents live in Bellevue, Washington and I’m planning a trip to see them in the next couple of months. Small World.

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    • Brother Jon,
      Well that’s pretty crazy because I did a lot of growing up in Bellevue-moved there in 1970 when I was 13. Maybe your grandparents were neighbors!
      We’ll keep in touch, maybe meet up when you visit!
      Thanks for stopping in!
      Red

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  36. Cool Hand Luke is just one of the many classic movies I’ve never seen. My unfamiliarity with some of the cinema’s most highly-regarded masterpieces is a little embarrassing. However I have seen Freddy Got Fingered, Beerfest and all but the latest Pauley Shore movie.

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    • Smak,
      In junior high our english teacher was a drunk. Every day he would put a classic movie on and go out to his car and drink. We watched Cool Hand Luke around 5 times that year. I think you would like it, but Pauley Shore isn’t in it…

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    • Thank you Happyzinny,
      I’m not sure about well-written, and not too much of it was funny. I’ve learned to let shit go now so I’m in a much better place now.
      Please tell me you’ve seen Cool Hand Luke…
      Red

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    • Thanks brother, good to know you as well!
      I first watched that movie in lit class in 8th grade. It’s one the few movies I own; I’ve watched 100 times at least.
      Great to see you here!
      John

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  47. You had me at Cool Hand Luke. I love that movie. So awesome. I learned about you from the blog “She Said What?” and came on over here to check you out. Looking forward to reading your posts from here on out. :)

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