6:36 PM, Monday evening. So, as I was saying...
Through the window, comes a breeze like a caress. Cooling. Whisper-soft. And David Bowie is singing "Seven Years in Tibet" on the CD player. Just had dinner, and a cup of coffee. My thumb is on the "rewind" button. Experience is so flexible.
Press it.
Phantom of the Opera, under the vaulted elegant dome of the Benedum Center. The loveliness of the day eclipsed only by that of my companion (Hi Kelli). Walking in the city, the splendor of the play, drinks afterward...
A soft surge further back, memories of the beach:
John’s Speedy Vacation Book Reviews (continued):
Starfish by Peter Watts (ISBN 0-312-86855-3). Involving. Lenie Clarke (and the world) don’t get many breaks, but her character is vivid and captivating. The descriptions of life at the bottom of the ocean for a crew of surgically altered psychopaths is memorable and spooky -- even if the plot seems a bit tacked-on.
The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil (ISBN 0-670-88217-8). Excellent. Though I am no expert, I believe that Dr. Kurzweil is more often right than wrong in his predictions regarding the evolution of computers (and consciousness) in the 21st century. When I am a "software-based" entity and you can access this website as a fully convincing 3-D virtual reality environment, we’ll know for sure...
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King (ISBN: 0-684-86762-1). Excellent. A slim little book that manages to be involving, scary, and ultimately very moving. Highly focused and very quiet.
Well past the beach now. Random accessing the last days of August...
At this point we haven’t experienced the final day of Summer yet. Remembering the Blair Witch. Dancing under the flick and flare of colored lights. Getting closer to the present. Worries about Floyd. Summer ends and the skies cool and deepen, stretching up forever into pure cerulean. Out at Star Lake in my biker jacket and mirror-shades. Bob, Amy, Steve, Kelli and me. Hot pretzels, Corona, and a comfy blanket on the grass. Perusing Halloween costumes at the malls.
And the heat returns.
In Autumn, sweat trickles amid bright air and flowers still holding the line. Moving forward. A lot more than moments behind, but no time now. Presently: Vegetarian chili. And coffee. Bowie on the stereo (though now it’s Outside).
7:15 and I’m back.
--- JWR, 9/27/99