Jeremiah's School of Levitation
Upsy-Daisy!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Blog Catchup Day
Friday, Oct. 20, 8:25 am
I'm driving to work, still sitting in traffic, even though I'm now taking this new, low-stress, country road route which, apparently, got leaked to the New York Times and is now the preferred route for all the people I used to spend time with on the freeway. In fact, I thought I recognized a driver or two, sitting next to me, grinning over the steam of their coffee cups. Or, at least that's what my strained mind was telling me I was seeing. Anyway, I'm thinking of the Friday poetry word, which was a phrase, which was "left behind" and I came up with a thought that bubbled from my discomfort at idling away my years on the road to a corporate job. I'd love to be strolling these country roads instead of polluting them. So, in light of that phrase, I was reminded of an old friend who had long dreads, but managed to get himself a job at a corporation, where he worked for years, accomplishing all sorts of boardroom-laudable goals. But, one day, he confided in me, saying:
"You know, Jeremiah. I feel like, everyday, all I do is walk around juggling a dozen glass balls. Juggle, juggle, juggle. And I scar up my heart with the stress of keeping all those glass balls airborne. Well, you know what? One of these days, I'm going to stop juggling, turn my back on those glass balls, and walk away, with the sound of a dozen glass balls smashing on the floor behind me."
I loved that imagery (he was an expressive soul--he inspired me to speak more "astrally" when I was around him, if for no other reason than to see if I could keep our conversation intelligently, yet georgeously, abstract), and I never forgot it. However, it wasn't until I saw the Friday word that his own words came back to me.
What really made my heart swell, though, was that I remembered that a couple of years after our conversation about the glass balls, I called on him at his job. He was no longer there. He'd resigned, they said. I smiled, as I imagined his desk now empty, except for dozens of twinkling shards of glass scattered all around his space.
Saturday, Oct. 21 1:39 pm
Had lunch with the family and friends at a great Vietnamese place downtown. I had the "anchovery soup," which was only slightly anchovery, and ancho-very good. As I walked back to my car, though, I walked a couple of blocks through an alley and, for the entire time, I was assaulted by the flat, ammonia odor of urine. I couldn't escape it. I didn't want to hold my breath because my evil imagination, which loves to screw with me, said that I would then be holding urine breath. And, however, I didn't want to breathe because my evil nose, which seems to get more sensitive the worse an odor is, kept me in full realization that I was breathing up a good dose of urine. I just walked on through, finally emerging into the fresh air of car exhaust, and I wondered--how are we going to get that smell out of the alleys? Should we douse the place with bleach early one Sunday morning, and rinse it? Should we release some sort of urine-eating bacteria in there (of course, if we did, I suspect there is enough urine in that alley to make the bacteria grow to the size of cats)? Ugh. I'm going to stop thinking about that now.
Monday, Oct. 23 5:25 am
I read that US envoy Alberto Fernandez retracted his comments to Al-Jazeera where he'd said: "undoubtedly there was arrogance and stupidity from the United States" when you look at the US policy in Iraq. He now says that he "misspoke" and that those comments don't represent his views. Ha. Yeah, I often call someone an "arrogant bastard" when I really meant to say "Good morning!" I can imagine trying to weasel out of shooting the finger at a fellow motorist by saying "Oh, I'm sorry. I meant to just show you my real cool wedding ring! I always misshoot my fingers. Darn me!"
No, I think he spoke his mind, but retracted only because he got a call from someone in the department who basically told him something like:
"Oh, Alberto. It is so terrible how you misspoke on US policy and how you were so terribly misunderstood and mistranslated, isn't it? I think the world just didn't understand, is all. Maybe you can explain this unfortunate mistake to the world? Yeah? So, how long have you been with the department? Really? And, I bet it's been real good for your family, huh? Yeah. Well, I hope we can continue to provide you with the best! Okay. Goodbye now!"
Yep. More like that.
I'm driving to work, still sitting in traffic, even though I'm now taking this new, low-stress, country road route which, apparently, got leaked to the New York Times and is now the preferred route for all the people I used to spend time with on the freeway. In fact, I thought I recognized a driver or two, sitting next to me, grinning over the steam of their coffee cups. Or, at least that's what my strained mind was telling me I was seeing. Anyway, I'm thinking of the Friday poetry word, which was a phrase, which was "left behind" and I came up with a thought that bubbled from my discomfort at idling away my years on the road to a corporate job. I'd love to be strolling these country roads instead of polluting them. So, in light of that phrase, I was reminded of an old friend who had long dreads, but managed to get himself a job at a corporation, where he worked for years, accomplishing all sorts of boardroom-laudable goals. But, one day, he confided in me, saying:
"You know, Jeremiah. I feel like, everyday, all I do is walk around juggling a dozen glass balls. Juggle, juggle, juggle. And I scar up my heart with the stress of keeping all those glass balls airborne. Well, you know what? One of these days, I'm going to stop juggling, turn my back on those glass balls, and walk away, with the sound of a dozen glass balls smashing on the floor behind me."
I loved that imagery (he was an expressive soul--he inspired me to speak more "astrally" when I was around him, if for no other reason than to see if I could keep our conversation intelligently, yet georgeously, abstract), and I never forgot it. However, it wasn't until I saw the Friday word that his own words came back to me.
What really made my heart swell, though, was that I remembered that a couple of years after our conversation about the glass balls, I called on him at his job. He was no longer there. He'd resigned, they said. I smiled, as I imagined his desk now empty, except for dozens of twinkling shards of glass scattered all around his space.
Saturday, Oct. 21 1:39 pm
Had lunch with the family and friends at a great Vietnamese place downtown. I had the "anchovery soup," which was only slightly anchovery, and ancho-very good. As I walked back to my car, though, I walked a couple of blocks through an alley and, for the entire time, I was assaulted by the flat, ammonia odor of urine. I couldn't escape it. I didn't want to hold my breath because my evil imagination, which loves to screw with me, said that I would then be holding urine breath. And, however, I didn't want to breathe because my evil nose, which seems to get more sensitive the worse an odor is, kept me in full realization that I was breathing up a good dose of urine. I just walked on through, finally emerging into the fresh air of car exhaust, and I wondered--how are we going to get that smell out of the alleys? Should we douse the place with bleach early one Sunday morning, and rinse it? Should we release some sort of urine-eating bacteria in there (of course, if we did, I suspect there is enough urine in that alley to make the bacteria grow to the size of cats)? Ugh. I'm going to stop thinking about that now.
Monday, Oct. 23 5:25 am
I read that US envoy Alberto Fernandez retracted his comments to Al-Jazeera where he'd said: "undoubtedly there was arrogance and stupidity from the United States" when you look at the US policy in Iraq. He now says that he "misspoke" and that those comments don't represent his views. Ha. Yeah, I often call someone an "arrogant bastard" when I really meant to say "Good morning!" I can imagine trying to weasel out of shooting the finger at a fellow motorist by saying "Oh, I'm sorry. I meant to just show you my real cool wedding ring! I always misshoot my fingers. Darn me!"
No, I think he spoke his mind, but retracted only because he got a call from someone in the department who basically told him something like:
"Oh, Alberto. It is so terrible how you misspoke on US policy and how you were so terribly misunderstood and mistranslated, isn't it? I think the world just didn't understand, is all. Maybe you can explain this unfortunate mistake to the world? Yeah? So, how long have you been with the department? Really? And, I bet it's been real good for your family, huh? Yeah. Well, I hope we can continue to provide you with the best! Okay. Goodbye now!"
Yep. More like that.
Elliot, 5:43 AM
6 Back at me:
Yea for blog catchup day!
The twinkling shards from the left behind balls is such a powerful image that I'm sure I won't forget it.
What do ya mean? You never mistake the words arrogance and stupidity for, say, wisdom and long-sightedness? May Mr. Fernandez hear the glass balls crashing behind him soon for telling the truth?
The twinkling shards from the left behind balls is such a powerful image that I'm sure I won't forget it.
What do ya mean? You never mistake the words arrogance and stupidity for, say, wisdom and long-sightedness? May Mr. Fernandez hear the glass balls crashing behind him soon for telling the truth?
we were somewhere recently, when that urine smell came wafting by... I really don't like that!
Peter drives a country road to work; his only foes are big tractors and people on horses. that and the fact the road is barely wide enough for a Mini.
I love it when I'm misquoted! hee hee hee.... my country, sweet land of liberty....
Peter drives a country road to work; his only foes are big tractors and people on horses. that and the fact the road is barely wide enough for a Mini.
I love it when I'm misquoted! hee hee hee.... my country, sweet land of liberty....
don't you wish you could drive around with a sign that said, "I was driving this road first."
It's true we stress ourselves out over the things that really aren't important. I think of the movie The God's Must Be Crazy:
"Civilized man refused to adapt himself to his environment. But he didn't know when to stop. The more he improved his surroundings to make life easier the more complicated he made it. Now his children are sentenced to years of school, to learn how to survive in this complex and hazardous habitat. And civilized man, who refused to adapt to his surroundings now finds he has to adapt and re-adapt every hour of the day to his self-created environment."
UH-HUH.
It's true we stress ourselves out over the things that really aren't important. I think of the movie The God's Must Be Crazy:
"Civilized man refused to adapt himself to his environment. But he didn't know when to stop. The more he improved his surroundings to make life easier the more complicated he made it. Now his children are sentenced to years of school, to learn how to survive in this complex and hazardous habitat. And civilized man, who refused to adapt to his surroundings now finds he has to adapt and re-adapt every hour of the day to his self-created environment."
UH-HUH.
"left behind"... story of my life these days! So much to do, so little time!!
Checkin' in, just to let you know I'm still on this side of the grass!
Checkin' in, just to let you know I'm still on this side of the grass!
Lucia: It's still one of my favorite things that anyone has said to me, partly because, well, here I juggle...
Ipod: Hey you! And, how did you know that "That Urine Smell Came Wafting By" was one of my favorite songs from the Big Band Era?
Su: You got your tractors and your retractors. Both can do a lot of damage.
Emma: You get a star for quoting "The Gods.."!
TG: Good. I'll call off the search!
Ipod: Hey you! And, how did you know that "That Urine Smell Came Wafting By" was one of my favorite songs from the Big Band Era?
Su: You got your tractors and your retractors. Both can do a lot of damage.
Emma: You get a star for quoting "The Gods.."!
TG: Good. I'll call off the search!
"Anchovery" must have been at the Green leaf. I checked with a Vietnamese friend and it's a typo :)
