A Quarter Rest

The roller coaster of the year: Clackety clack clack CHUNK clack clack. It’s Spring. Clack chunk clack It’s Summer. And right now, when we start dressing in layers and appreciating cinnamon, is when the ride really starts. We rocket past pumpkins and turkeys, barrel through Black Friday and race through the glow of colored lights and fireworks until the ride suddenly PSSSSSSHSSSHH stops on January 2nd and slowly crawls back to that little dry dock where we all got on. Before all that happens, let me say thank you for reading this column. I’m taking a quick break in preparation for Holiday Hijinks, but I wanted to begin my season by thanking you, once again, for your time. I know that it marches on and waits for no one and apparently can’t be put on a bottle, but time is not a renewable resource: I deeply appreciate you sharing yours. I’m a big fan of time. It’s kooky: inescapable, relative and arbitrary at the same time. I’m surrounded by remnants of my attempts to chronicle it, as if time was a concert and I bought the t shirt (actually, that does explain all the t-shirts). The books on my shelves are the times that I read them, warm and validating memories mapping my journey: conversely my Netflix queue is a unnavigable yawning chasm of time yet to be spent. Time’s a little overwhelming (can something be a little overwhelming? I’m gonna have to look that up…) but when I think about meals, I feel better. Meals are experiences, and you don’t capture them, even if you take a matchbook from a restaurant or a photo on your phone. A great meal becomes a memory that you wear for a while. During this season we all have at least one meal to look forward to, whether a sumptious spread or that special fancy coffee they only serve around now… it all reminds me of the quote where Auntie Mame says “Life’s a banquet…” It goes on, but we’ll get to that part later. Keep warm. Find your gloves. You look great in that hat. See you next week. Get full access to :lowerblackpain at lowerblackpain.substack.com/subscribe