And they spoke of Fred (the other Fred, Dr Fred) – said that that would be like sitting in Norm’s seat and so they moved. It was Fred's seat. They felt uncomfortable siting in Fred's seat. “But Fred has a doctorate,” one of them said. “But otherwise he is just like Norm.” “Hey it’s the Duffy Brothers,” they were greeted by a newly arriving customer. His daughter was a friend with one of the brothers’ daughter at Trinity. That brother had been telling the other brother about dropping her off there this morning, about his driving up the circular drive way for the first time – he had always let her out at the street curb before. He had stopped in front of the door and all the other parents behind him began honking at him. The agreed upon drop spot was a ways beyond the door he later found out. He had not know that at the time, he explained. He had not used the driveway before for a drop–off of his daughter there at Trinity.
She did not think him. She was accustomed to miracles and accepted them as part of daily life. She expected them to happen and they always did –Jean Cocteau – The Holy Terrors, 1957 p39
He had thought enough of this story that he is now telling just to be telling it – did he deem it educational, was he trying to make a point, did he thing it was entertaining – no, for no excuse is necessary. Do Irishmen need a reason to take a drink? Does a woman need an excuse to talk on the phone? Do not stories build relationships? Do not relationships build communities?
Note to Jacob
Bring me back a beach pebble
A well-worn cobble
From a fast running stream
A mineral postcard
From the natural world
To display on my mantle piece
Noting from the rock shop
Please!
No sparking beauty necessary
Multifaceted crystal
Of many colors
Our wardrobe is very old: see how the fire reddens it’s sad panels! The worn curtins are as old, and the tapestry on the armchairs stripped of paint, and the old engravings and all these old things. Does it not seem to be then that even the blue birds are discoloured by time? – Stephane Mallarme – Selective Poetry and Prose, 1982 p63
I am plotting my route. I am planning my route downtown. I will walk down Fillmore Street to Sutter and up Sutter to my polling station where I will vote in the primary and to the Japanese Cultural Center. Afterwards I can walk across the street and catch the 2,3 or 4 downtown (all three stop there). I’m at work by ten, oh yeah! I am trying to build my enthusiasm for work but am not really succeeding.. Cindi was getting sewing instructions from Linda - adjusting the bobbin tension, bunching up, extra thread collection at the bottom. Cinidi had asked about draping fabrics. Should I cut on the bias or against the bias? Cindi is off. She had gathered up her belongings, put on her poncho, unlocked her bicycle and has peddled away.
How a person solves his natural yearnings for self-expansion and significance determines the quality of his life – Ernest Becker – The Denial of Death, 1973 p156
I tell Linda, “I’m a short timer, a single digit midget. The last time I counted down the days was when I was in the military.” “Great” she said, “and then you can do anything you like. You can tell them to ‘fuck off’ or pee on your desk. I don’t think Linda is a happy camper either. “Just what I have always wanted to do.” Walter is on a roll this morning. I say to him “notice that I haven’t been writing anything down?” He says “I’ve been thinking a lot” “Obviously” I replied. “Well I’m always thinking” he goes on, ‘its just that you haven’t seen me for a couple of days and I have thought a lot that I haven’t told you about” “Just a moment,” I replied, “I need get out my pen and open my notebook. Now you can begin.”
His surprise was like that of a simple-minded frequenter of the theatre, when he is admitted for the first time behind the scenes, and is able to pry into the decorations and tinsel that are so dazzling at a distance – Emile Gaboriau – Monsieur Lecoq, 1975 p15
Wealth creation is far less interesting than wealth destruction. Runoff is indicative of capacity; seepage is indicative of efficiency.
When you confuse personal love and cosmic heroism you are bound to fail in both spheres – Ernest Becker – The Denial of Death, 1973 p166
It is not the experiences that counts but what you make of that experience that counts
Secularizing its message allowed the religious right to repackage repression as the promotion of mental well-being. What use to be deemed immoral is now presented as likely to induce depressive feelings of self-loathing – Dagmar Herzog – New Humanist (Sept-Oct, 2008)
Let them re-package ideas to make them more attractive, they then become either cynical – having to remember which message is real and which is the consumer message, or they begin to believe in what they have repackaged. A good liar does the later. Does that mean that the religious right will become mental-health advocates forgetting that this is a secular undertaking with a entrirely different set of principles from their original ones? You have to stay true to your principles or you lose them. Good liars don’t have any principles.
Social behavior may be contagious – have you thought about that?
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