(I) I like watching people reconnect in public. I just saw two dudes go in for an awkward hug. Now one of them is using his hands too much and the other one is toying with his rings behind his back. Behind them there is a posh dog of an unidentifiable breed. The dog has squat legs and a stubby tail. Behind them is a girl with legwarmers apologizing to her friend for being an hour late. It’s sunny outside and I’m having a cappuccino.
But what else? Eggs are so expensive now. I acquired a nice loaf of crusty bread to make toast with. I might splurge and have an egg with it. I’m eating a great salad very messily. My parking meter is probably almost out, but Silver Lake is nice on this late winter day.
It’s the big mixing bowl says E. She means to say “melting pot,” but I hold on to the idea. I don’t know about America, but the universe itself is probably a big bowl. Or like, a rock tumbler full of sludge. Or a glass of water. Did you see that the 2024 YR Asteroid is now very unlikely to hit us?
(II) Now I am at a public library in Orange County. There is lots of natural light coming through the windows, but the day still passes slowly in here. I love a table with multiple strangers. I love that libraries have their own magazine subscriptions. I sifted through the secondhand book stands and got a Debussy cd and a Natalie Imbruglia cd. I saw high schoolers with cute keychains on their bags and started to need a walk in the sun.
Now “Torn” is stuck in my head and I’m almost out of iced tea. The leaves twitch on the trees outside. I feel sleepy and alone. I think about the unanswered (but much appreciated) letters on my desk. I think about how I have thousands of photos in the “cloud” somewhere that I probably will never look at again. I think about humor, and how it’s never really the same twice. I think about how all I really want to do with my life right now is make lists of things. Now the sun is going down and the lights inside feel brighter and the ice has melted in my tea and a man picks up a magazine off the shelf, and he’s nodding and reading it cover to cover.
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