The Art of the Peeve
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The Art of the Peeve: PEEVE NUMBER 2: It strikes me as odd that death is not considered cruel and unusual punishment. PEEVE NUMBER 11: Justice for a long time has favored the rich, as do many of life’s finer purchases. PEEVE NUMBER 72: At what point is it that government becomes too much government? I have pinpointed this to the exact moment, which just happens to coincide with the times Congress is in session. PEEVE NUMBER 274: Have you threatened your children with eternal damnation today? PEEVE NUMBER 365: A Call for 40 Days of Rain: One in four children go to bed hungry at night in Arkansas. We're looking for some grace here, to nullify the disgrace. We are all guilty of allowing this. Every politician who turns his or her back on this problem is guilty of turning away from the future. We don't need leaders who allow this kind of thing to happen. If they can't solve it, we will have to turn to God. Let grace pour down like the recent rains. Flood our rivers and lakes with the Holy. Let the dam break and flood our land with unending favors. Favors for the children. Fruit. Cereal. Milk. Hamburger. Vegetables. Pizza. Cookies. Chicken. Ham. And candy. Oh, the beauty of it. Peever Law Number 31: Yes or no are perfectly acceptable answers to most questions. Peever Law Number 55. Because someone is exerting their authority does not make them right. Peever Law Number 100: Here’s the thing: Too many drinks can cause stupidity. An excerpt from INVISIBLE: He walked into my office over fifteen years now, just after I had a heart attack. His skin was fragile, transparent, like a fine piece of china, a beautifully patterned, hand-painted cup, this one with spidery cracks down the side, like they get with age. It looked like the slightest touch of his arm would draw blood. His face had deep wrinkles; his brows were wild and bushy. He walked with a slight limp. It was mainly the booze. Whiskey. Excerpt from BACKWARDS: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6….Moonwalking toward a less advanced civilization. Rearward. In reverse. The opposite direction. Turned around. Upside down. The Dark Ages. ********** People carrying a gun on their hip. Holsters. Feeling safe. Secure. Confident. Don’t mess around with me. The wild, wild, west. John Wayne. Roy Rogers. The Lone Ranger. Gunsmoke. Bonanza. Head ‘em up, move ‘em out. Bang! You’re dead. ********** No more Muslims. Scary. Beards. Hijab’s. Bombs. Virgins. Quran. Mohammad. No Gooks. No Krauts. No Slant Eyes. No Micks. No Polack's. No Jerry's. No Frogs. High fence. Concertina wire. Dogs. Mean dogs. No entrance. Not allowed. Only white skinned, Christian, English speaking. Paleface. Honkies welcome.
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About the Book
The Art of the Peeve has been in the making for twenty years. For sixteen of those years, they appeared as a column in The Zephyr, a paper located in Galesburg, Illinois. The last four years, they have appeared in the blog site thepeever.com. These are the best of the thousands that were written. The book lists the peeves as they appeared each year over that twenty-year span. In addition, each year starts off with a creative nonfiction story that is primarily memoir, personal, meditative, or lyrical. The peeves cover a lot of territory. They are provocative, stimulating, and full of spiritual, psychological, and political commentary using satire, humor, and often laced with a good bit of baloney. They are designed to encourage discussion and challenge the belief system most of us inherit from our parents. They are not meant to demean any person, although at times the author skirts right on the edge of making fun of a particular person. Sorry, but the whole purpose is to peeve you. A lot of the peeves express feelings about things that many people have a hard time talking about. The author has no such problems. Straightforward, unapologetic, and with no remorse, the peeves drive home the other side of most stories. This is not a book for those favoring the status quo or for the faint of heart.
About the Author
Bruce H. Weik is a retired family therapist living in Hot Springs, Arkansas, with his wife, Ann. For sixteen years, he was the author of a weekly column, “Leave It to Peever,” appearing in The Zephyr, located in Galesburg, Illinois. He won various awards over the years from the Illinois Press Association. He has maintained a blog site, thepeever.com, for the last four years. He continues to garden, plays golf, writes primarily creative nonfiction, and volunteers at the Hope Food Bank in Hot Springs.