This is a good song, Andrea. Sad yet hopeful.

Many times in my life I've thought I found a loving Utopia, be it a church, a political group, a tribe of street people banded together for survival, where folks really seemed to love and support each other in perfect harmony, only to find that wherever you go people eventually act like people. "We have met the enemy and he is us," I believe Pogo once said. My utopian dream of unconditional love would then give way to disillusionment and kneejerk cynicism. But lately I've been able to put these things in perspective a bit better. As in compared to what. This little internet family of writers, readers, commenters, zips, tranks and lobos is vastly more supportive & willing to communicate honestly than my birth family ever was (or given that most of them are dead, ever will be...) We're not always perfectly thoughtful but I believe the spirit is here, a relative friendliness (considering that some here have their own lives and aren't so invested in this place as some sorta haven); sometimes we just need a reminder. Like Erin's THINK BEFORE YOU COMMENT or an honest heartfelt entreaty like this from my sweet sister Drea...
~~hugs, Laika
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[Leave it to Jill to zero in on that line from OFFICER KRUPKE, that song is Sondheim at his funniest ("We're depraved on account of we're deprived!"). Oddly enough, I allude to this number in my next Jackie Kaiser story, which is a bit kinder to Jackie than my previous two tales about her had been. Jackie and Sherrie having all kinds of silly fun at Sherrie's apartment after Church, at one point bursting into song:

"We are sick, we are sick, we are sick! We are psychologically de-stoibed!"

Sherrie's mom hears this, sticks her head into the room: "My God! What are you girls- er, kids singing?"

"Officer Cupcake!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, from that movie you watched with us. WEST SIDE STORY..."

"Oh, that's right," she said, sounding somewhat relieved, "But I don't think his name was Officer Cupcake..."]