Something in the air
Weather here has returned to strictly normal summer after the superhot June and early July. Fine cool mornings, highs in the mid-80s, few 90s, few 70s. All normal. But something seems weird. Apocalyptic. I can't place it. We're seeing a lot of weird pointless crimes, dramatic suicides on bridges and towers, a pedestrian vs car that looks a lot like an attempted suicide.

The latest attempted suicide [Later note: Fortunately unsuccessful!] has an inappropriately and accidentally humorous headline....



I've been listening to lots of 'Strange as it seems' episodes, with titles like The Web of Gold, The Banquet of Ghosts, The Mystery Vault of Barbados, The Devil Tracks of Devonshire.

So The Bridge Of Monroe stupidly resonated with those fable-like titles. It also reminded me of anatomical designations like the Foramen Of Monro.

Possessives. Genitives. Crucially important.

Let's say your name is Jason. You're 20 years old. It's 1960. In a small town there's a good chance that something is already known as the Football Victory Of Jason or The Painted House Of Jason or The Champion Calf Of Jason or The Fast-Packed Grocery Bags Of Jason. You've done something that everybody knows about. If you're the town hardass, you're known for The Smashed Windows Of Jason. Positive, negative, doesn't matter. It's still your own Of.

In 2015, Jason can exert the same effort, achieve the same goals. But nothing is Of Jason. The only achievements that count at all are utterly and totally unachievable. They are the product of a billion dollars of meaningless buzz surrounding zero talent. You can aspire to be the next Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner, but unless you've been gathering buzz since birth, you aren't going to get there. You're never going to have an Of.

Solution? I dunno. Something big has to break down. Place and locality and walls and borders have to rebuild. Will they? I dunno.

Labels: STRONG!, the broken circle

  ¶ 3:27 PM