The Barn Exercise

From John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers:

“Consider the following as a possible exercise in description: Describe a barn as seen by a man whose son has just been killed in a war. Do not mention the son, or war, or death. Do not mention the man who does the seeing.”

My first attempt:

The barn held memories, for in all of its structure: the walls, the roof, the loft, the important thing it contained was the stream of memories: the tractor instruction, the square marked on the southeast wall that was 60 feet 6 inches from where pitches were hurled in the middle of winter, the birthday parties attended by country girls and country boys, the table where guns were cleaned after deer were skinned. All of a sudden it seemed as though the barn was the only place where life was lived. From all angles, life converged on the barn – from the kitchen window, from the tiny herb garden, from the small workshop in the basement, everywhere at once focused on the barn. The angles filled the barn, filled it to the brim with memories that both reinforced and made meaningless the experiences that created them. Sure, it was red with white trim and looked like a thousand other barns but this one strangled memories, choked them in and out of the barn – forcing them down and out, impaling into the body and brain alive wresting sobs from eyes alive –no matter the angle. The barn, in all of its inanimate existence, only kept alive what could be, now and forever.

Thoughts?

Be gentle fair readers.

The Words Back There

Been up since 4am, give or take.* The day has gone on like a wet sock: with flustered exertion. Various inopportune events impeded a (insert Folgers theme song) smooth transition to the other events in minutes and hours that we call days. We being you, the reader, and me being the words back there. Actually, this is understated, from the conception of the morning, the day has been fighting me, throwing things at me, blocking happiness or whatever counts as below happiness but not unhappiness, even keeled maybe? Not this morning. I was actually up before 4am. The mind was turning thoughts over, running scenarios of various levels of doubt and mindful mayhem for fitful, fake sleep. Angry at the approaching day, angry at the mind I call mine, angry at the doubts that don’t really appear to be mine; they appear to be placed in their from some unrelated homunculus that while, in my head, does not seem related to me. Homunculus, good vocabulary word. The words back there.

Why can’t you be more like Nelson Mandela?* Why can’t you not hate yourself the way he didn’t hate others. You haven’t even been as bad to yourself as others were to him. Did you ever imprison yourself? Isn’t it a little stupid to compare yourself to Nelson Mandela, dare I say some sort of subconscious egotism. Perhaps you actually think more of yourself by putting yourself in the same sentence as Nelson Mandela* Isn’t this analogy breaking down? Or is it a metaphor?

When is lunch?

Mistakes were made no doubt. Any successes to speak of? Oh sure, now you are going to play the success is relative card. To your advantage or to your detriment? Either way, might you apply that relative argument to the mistakes, to your advantage or detriment? Do you even know what an argument is? Hmm, I used the word argument in the sentence above. I provided context, a reader (you, yes you) might perhaps deduce [do you, no I, you are the reader, do I mean induce?] the definition of argument. So I do. At least in form if not content, no I’m asking. 

Talk to me, yell at me, define me, aren’t t you the context? The words back there, those words are me, they are all you have of me; treasure them and make sure they last into the future, immortalize me. The words ahead?

We need a whole new way to think about this. Why ain’t I smart uhnuff to figger a new thought?

*it is now 9:31am on 5/2/2014 and counting

*This sentence

*An argument is a series of statements consisting of a premise and/or premises and a conclusion.

The Conditions for Altruism

Listening to a live performance (on one of my favorite Rhode Island Radio Stations-WRIU) of Gregory Porter’s No Love Dying and the crowd’s reaction at the end of the song, I came upon the thought that this idea of feeling a part of “something greater than ourselves” and how important it is for the success of our species, is rather easy to manufacture. If it needs manufacturing at all.

Aren’t the people cheering at the conclusion of a song, moved beyond something other than themselves? Haven’t they engaged in a song/music community? Have they not left their own head –between their own two ears to be a part (the very word necessitates “other”) of something beyond their individual body/mind? Haven’t they served witness to the engagement with the surroundings? But, it may be retorted, is this communal experience enough to facilitate this greater than ourselves feeling? Could the community experienced at a music concert be considered equal to ourselves and not solicit the kind of altruism associated with the greater than ourselves sentiment?

No. To exist is to exist as a being-in-the-world. Surrounded. Always. By the world, by others. And this environment (umwelt) is not experienced atomistically, moment by moment needing to be accumulated ex post facto; no, the environment is experienced in a totality, as a gestalt, as a figure-ground, with the figure and the ground forming the phenomenological, perceived world that is always greater than and always a part of the perceiver, always a member of the team, always an inescapable family member, tribe member, nation member, species member, universe member. 

So, this feeling doesn’t need manufacturing for altruism. Feeling a part of something greater than ourselves is the default setting. 

The question at hand is why there isn’t more altruism. Another point to ponder is if this inescapable feeling a part of something greater than ourselves is in fact, the very reason there isn’t more altruism.

The Runner’s Smoothie – Another Cautionary Tale

Most runners like to, what we call, replenish, after a good long run and many replenish with, what many call, a smoothie.

A smoothie is a concoction of various substances like frozen and non-frozen fruits such as blueberries and/or bananas and perhaps, yogurt, either flavored or non, and also juices or liquids of some sort, many of which aim to, what we call, we being runners, replenish, what we call, electrolytes, that are, what we call, lost during long runs.

Now, the mechanism used to create, what we call our, smoothies, varies. Some will use a blender. Some will use a hand held mixer, just like the one you have in your cabinet. You may use yours for soups but us runners, we use it, for what we call, our smoothies. Still others will use what is called a food processor. All mechanisms blend the substances, or what some culinary minded might call, ingredients, into a smooth, drinkable, well, drink. That is how the name, smoothie, came about.

Of the mechanisms involved, be it blender, hand held mixer, or food processor, there is always the issue of what many call, clean up, after concocting the aforementioned, aptly named, smoothie.

One of the reasons, many, let us call them, smoothie makers, opt for blenders or hand held mixers, is the ease of clean up with these particular smoothie making mechanisms.

Clean-up as it is called is much more, perhaps involved, is the right word, with a food processor. A food processor has more parts than either the blender or the food processor. This is why clean up, as it is called, is more, involved. More parts equals, as they say, more clean up.

One of the more difficult parts in cleaning a food processor, after making a smoothie designed to restore electrolytes after a long run, is cleaning the blade and the plastic that houses the blade, especially underneath the housing unit, of the blade. Cleaning the plastic pieces that help to contain the elements, or ingredients, during smoothie making, is easy, or less involved than cleaning the food processor blade and blade housing unit, especially underneath the housing unit. Simply rinsing the, let us call them containing units, or pieces, and placing them in an electronic dishwasher for further cleansing involves less work than cleaning the food processor blade and plastic housing unit. The blade and plastic housing unit need to be cleaned by hand. Hence the term, more involved.

Cleaning the food processor blade and housing unit, especially underneath, or what could be called the backside, requires special care. Very special care. In using the food processor, over the blender or hand held mixer to make a smoothie for after a long run to replace lost electrolytes, left over, or what could be called, remaining, substances, can remain in the, what will now be called the blade housing unit, if not properly, carefully cleansed, by hand, due to the fact that sharp blades should not be cleansed in an electronic dishwasher because they dull the blade.

Recently, a smoothie was made, in a food processor, after a long run, to help restore lost electrolytes, lost during the long run but, care had not been taken during previous hand held washings, or cleansings if you prefer, of the blade housing unit. Because of the careless, less-than-vigilant hand held washings of the blade housing unit, remaining substances from a previous smoothie, now rotten and toxic, clinging to the underside of the blade housing unit, found themselves, inserted, or a part of the, now, currently-being-made-almost-about-to-be-drank smoothie. To restore lost electrolytes. 

These, as previously called, remaining substances, now toxic and rotten and old, entered into the blood stream of the drinker of the smoothie, in an attempt to restore lost electrolytes, causing abdominal pains and stomach cramps in the stomach of the drinker of the smoothie who was merely attempting to restore lost electrolytes after a long run. The long run was seven miles in distance. Perhaps not meeting the definition of a “long run” for many runners, but meeting the definition for the runner who made the smoothie that was drank.

In addition to stomach cramps and abdominal pain, there occurred frequent trips to the bathroom, or what some in England, or the United Kingdom, might call the loo. This could, perhaps somewhat humorously, be spelled, L-O-U. After many hours, enduring pains and cramps and frequent trips to the L-O-U, even including and up until, the middle of the night, defined by some as up to but not after 1:00 a.m. eastern standard time, the pains and cramps and frequent trips to the bathroom subsided, allowing for much deserved, pain-free rest after a long run, of seven miles. The seven miles were run in 55:45 for those interested in pacing the run.

Later, upon review of the blade housing unit, there was spotted, rotted, left over from a previous smoothie, ingredients, probably in this case, frozen blueberries, on the underside of the blade housing unit. It has been determined that these, left over, remaining, turned toxic ingredients were to blame for the abdominal cramps, stomach pains, and frequent trips to the bathroom. As a result, more care will be taken to, hand held, clean the blade housing unit, especially, underneath, where substances or ingredients might attach and rot and fester and enter into the digestive system of a runner merely hoping to replace lost electrolytes lost during a “long run” of seven miles, in 55:45.

It has been gleaned, or learned, that a qtip, usually reserved for cleaning ear wax, or a small wire brush, often called a bottle cleaning brush, is the best implement, or implements, plural, to clean the blade housing unit, especially underneath.

Perspective

Perspective. 

One can never see a thing in its entirety. (You see the front of the font of the word “perspective” above but what might it look like from behind?) 

You are skeptical. 

Click

Vision is limited.

Can one think a thing in its entirety?

You think 2+2=4 but are you thinking it in its entirety or is thinking limited the way vision is?

Vision requires a blind spot. Requires. Vision necessitates blindness.

You are skeptical.

Click

What does thinking (or consciousness) necessitate?