There are 48 laws
but one power
48 rulers of the universe
but one immortal being
The rest perish like men
like so many discarded thoughts…
Not infrequently, some debris on the shoulder of Highway 17 in Santa Clara, California, catches my attention, typically along a section of highway that passes by the Pruneyard. Years ago — more than a decade — it was a coffee mug. I wrote a song called “Dirty Old Mug.” More recently, it is a copy of Robert Greene’s The 48 Laws of Power, a copy of which is sitting in a pile of “books to be read.” The discarded copy has been sitting on the side of the highway for a couple of weeks now.
Here is the dirty old mug (photo and song):
Photo: Along Highway 17, September 23, 2008.
© 2025, Mark Adams. All rights reserved.