thu21jan99
		(manual for friends far away and in need)
		-----------------------------------------------------------

		press.  right here.  and right here.
		girl i gotta teach ya
		how to give decent eye massages
		to yerself.

		if all which is eatin ya up is supposed ta 
		be done right squared away written filed and mailed
		you gotta sleep on it first

		anxiety is burning you up on both ends
		but don't fly by night
		fly by invariants:

		you need three to fly
		four to land

		i am no pilot to talk you down
		i am the jabbering teevee

		be your own calm sense now -- remembered, if need be
		you gotta do it on your own -- there's only you up there
		this is just a receipt for an outline
		of self-preservation the cliff notes edition

		now
		talk it down
		then
		take it easy
		and
		do as i say!

		invariant one
		the physical laws don't change across whathaveu human lines
		i am reminding you of the physical law -- obey it
		and if you cannot bring yourself to outright obey it
		vaguely assume it
		this is your physical law
		and this is your physical law on drugs (vaguely assumed)
		any questions?

		invariant two
		it is ok not to trust anyone but then you gotta make up
		the difference:
		run yourself on a tight schedule
		of postit notes if it comes to that

		invariant three
		keep me
		check here periodically and don't run away
		i am your airstrip beacon
		i am your squawker
		i am your lynn russell the talker
		for the umpteenth spin-me-round cnn headline

		i am your way past the midnight talker
		i am your hearth-break i am your coffee-break
		breaker breaker
		radio check
		pull up pull up dammit pull up

		invariant four
		the medical professional five times out of six knows
		good enough and better than the you ever did
		at the point of acute need
		know this arithmetic the math of greater than signs
		also the math of vital signs

		this concludes the best
		of the emergency alert broadcast system
		this was only
		the best


			Marek Lugowski
			21 January 1999
			Chicago, Illinois