Tuesday, September 18, 2012

PLAYER PIANO (THE NEW ABNORMAL)








You were hardly even today’s news before you became hardly even yesterday’s news, tomorrow’s fishwrap, and was that only last week? 


“They” decided to say that September 11 anniversary attacks weren’t  September 11 anniversary attacks, just miscellaneous spontaneous eruptions of some sort of negative "feelings" fundamentally unrelated to these United States, and supposed that we were stupid and gullible enough to believe them and faithless enough (as faithless as they) to forget you and your agony (which is our agony).





The ground seems solid under me and then to disappear and I’m falling.  The grass grows in fits and starts and is starting to yellow and brown.  Branches fall, the roadway cracks, there are no guardrails.  





The news is reported by people who have jobs and want better (that is to say easier) jobs and earlier Happy Hours.  No easier job these days with more upward mobility than taking dictation and then unspooling like a tinny off-key player piano.  Proof-of-Concept Proposal:  What if all this were occurring and George W. Bush were still president?






As you were going under and forever abroad, I wonder whether you thought about any of this, how you were used and used up?   





I did the other day in New York.  We were fighting our way crosstown east through vicious car and pedestrian traffic, navigating and negotiating Canal, West Broadway, finally Bowery on the way back down to Grand where we wanted to see a painting show, which was splendid but hollow heaven after our lesser hell than yours.  


We two felt only shame.  No, wrong, we felt fear also, at being held in such contempt.

 

 
 

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