happy birthday jack kerouac!

The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!”
- jack kerouac's on the road 1957



things to do to celebrate jack kerouac birthday:

• read one of his books; such as: on the road, the dharma bums, big sur, the uubterraneans, and visions of cody.
• drink red wine, beer, or anything really.
  
• speak in french. his parents were french-canadians & he could speak it, he was 6 when he starting learning enlgish.
• play football. he played during high school & was offered scholarships from notre dame, colombia university, boston college. he accepted colombia offer & played there also
  
• if you're in san francisco, go visit jack kerouac alley. i've been there a few time, it's like walking with his ghost. i could see him everywhere i looked.
• then go to city lights bookstore which was the spot for beat poets, such lawrence ferlinghetti (who i've had the pleasure of staring at - too shy to introduce myself).
• carry around a notebook & write it in when the fancy strikes you.
• take your car on a road trip! now! don't pack, don't plan, don't pick a destination, just do it!
• try some buddhist meditation or a buddhist bible.
• try your hand at stream of consciousness writing, or as kerouac called it 'spontaneous prose', which is the style of on the road. here are the essentials of spontaneous prose as he described it.
• listen to some jazz.