“If you don’t like country music, get outta the way! Cause we’re KBUCK and we’re gonna keep comin’ atcha!”
(A radio station, name disguised)
In Arabic, ignorance is expressed with a verb, not a predication. It’s not a state you are in, but an act you perform. The root is j-h-l and “I am ignorant” is ‘ajhal(u). A closer translation might be “I do ignorance.”
A perspective emerges in which a state of unknowing is achieved by an act of avoidance; it’s not a condition foisted upon a supine recipient.
That small meditation on language sparked what follows, which coheres, if at all, by the sheerest of threads.
Truly I have done ignorance, for I fear men in Stetson hats. In my little boy brain they waft a profile of aggressive callousness, a hankering for dismissive swagger.
It’s phobic, not objective, and has caused me to ignore country-western music.
By shunning an art form embedded in my culture, I’ve cold shouldered an ethos that recoils from things I hold dear, but also exults in postures that feel elemental to me.
Hey, KBUCK, I’m gettin’ in your way now. Come at me! I’m listening on the radio in my car. Yours truly, JMN.
“I feel like a stone that you’ve picked up and thrown to the hard rock bottom of your heart.”
(Refrain on the radio)
On my walks in Fairview Cemetery one day I found a puppy hanging out there. Took him home, named him Mel. When the vet examined Mel, he found a festering bullet wound. The projectile had passed through the pup’s neck, narrowly missing his trachea. Mel lived with me to be a grizzled old sweetheart. On our many walks in the small town, he would always sit down abruptly and refuse to move whenever he spied a man in a Stetson hat. You’re probably imagining the same thing I did: The man that shot him wore a hat. I would always let the dog lead us in a different direction.
(c) 2025 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved
EthicalDative 
Great paintings – I share your discomfort on seeing a big bush hat. (We have Akubras in Australia which look a little different. Have you heard the Australian phrase “the larger the hat the smaller the property”?)!
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“Akubra”! You’ve taught me a new word, Sue. I must Google it to see what this hat looks like. I actually show non-Stetson hats in my daubs. They are Hollywoodish. The phrase I’ve heard here is similar to your Australian one: “All hat and no ranch.” There’s also the old phrase “drugstore cowboy” for a fellow who dresses the part.
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And don’t forget: All hat and no cattle.
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Yours is a pertinent addition to the meme, Josie. It occurred to me after my reference to “drugstore cowboy” if it made sense in Australia or the UK. It’s dated now. Our drugstores (now pharmacies) used to have lunch counters which were hubs of socializing. A young man could don his western finery to strut his stuff there, fishing for admiring glances. My granddad ran cattle but also acquired sheep when WWII made wool profitable. So I guess we can also say “All hat and no sheep.” (Props to Sue for hosting this dialog!)
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We share phrases and sentiments!
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Language forms as an act you perform. Yes. Love that. So may fun opportunities for play. And these are great paintings.
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Thanks so much, Josie. Your words are raise my spirits.
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