Our age-gap; no rest for me; the spot
I go with Karin to Constantine, MI, to help her to pack up her grandparents’ belongings so that they can move to a different house. Karin allows me to choose the music for the car ride.
I choose songs from when I was a youth.
“What’s this?” says Karin, who is ten years younger than I am.
“This is ‘Miami’ by Will Smith.”
“Oh, yes. The early Will Smith.”
“I guess so.”
“What’s this?” says Karin.
“These are the Goo Goo Dolls. This song [‘Iris’] was very popular when I was in high school.”
“Oh, yes.”
The next song, she doesn’t ask about. I headbang to it and play the air guitar. After a while, I ask: “Do you like this song, Sweetie?”
“It’s fine. What is it?”
“It’s ‘Self Esteem’ by the Offspring.”
“Yes, it’s good. It’s like Nirvana.”
“Yes. But much funnier.”
“Oh, yes.”
Next is “Lucky Denver Mint” by Jimmy Eat World, whom I never listened to until I moved to the United States.
“I feel like this music was popular in the 2000s,” says Karin.
“Actually, this song is from the late ’90s.”
“I think I like the Smashing Pumpkins. They’re from the ’90s, right? Are they the ones who sing, I used to be a little boy …?”
“Yes. David and I refer to that song as ‘The Killer in Me Is the Killer in You.’ It’s very good.”
“What is it really called?”
“‘Disarm.’”
“Oh, yes.”
We listen to “Disarm.” I wail along with it: The killer in me is the killer in you …
“I like songs like this one,” says Karin. “The ones that are a little gloomy.”
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
IUSB’s summer term will end on Monday. I’d been looking forward to having a few days off. But, last night, Martin told me that work will begin again at the high school on Tuesday morning.
On the one hand, it’s a bit of a shock.
On the other, being oblivious to the calendar has spared me from dreading about going back to my high school job.
I have a strange spot on my back, near to my right shoulder. I made an appointment for a doctor to check it out (September 7). Right now, I feel all right about it, just a little uneasy, but for a couple of days this week Karin & I were very conscious of our mortality. Which is a fine thing, up to a point. The ideal amount of consciousness of mortality is somewhere in between what I have now and what I had a few days ago.
Mary isn’t very worried. Without having seen it, she thinks that the spot is a regular mole that was stretched out when I got too fat.
I choose songs from when I was a youth.
“What’s this?” says Karin, who is ten years younger than I am.
“This is ‘Miami’ by Will Smith.”
“Oh, yes. The early Will Smith.”
“I guess so.”
“What’s this?” says Karin.
“These are the Goo Goo Dolls. This song [‘Iris’] was very popular when I was in high school.”
“Oh, yes.”
The next song, she doesn’t ask about. I headbang to it and play the air guitar. After a while, I ask: “Do you like this song, Sweetie?”
“It’s fine. What is it?”
“It’s ‘Self Esteem’ by the Offspring.”
“Yes, it’s good. It’s like Nirvana.”
“Yes. But much funnier.”
“Oh, yes.”
Next is “Lucky Denver Mint” by Jimmy Eat World, whom I never listened to until I moved to the United States.
“I feel like this music was popular in the 2000s,” says Karin.
“Actually, this song is from the late ’90s.”
“I think I like the Smashing Pumpkins. They’re from the ’90s, right? Are they the ones who sing, I used to be a little boy …?”
“Yes. David and I refer to that song as ‘The Killer in Me Is the Killer in You.’ It’s very good.”
“What is it really called?”
“‘Disarm.’”
“Oh, yes.”
We listen to “Disarm.” I wail along with it: The killer in me is the killer in you …
“I like songs like this one,” says Karin. “The ones that are a little gloomy.”
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
IUSB’s summer term will end on Monday. I’d been looking forward to having a few days off. But, last night, Martin told me that work will begin again at the high school on Tuesday morning.
On the one hand, it’s a bit of a shock.
On the other, being oblivious to the calendar has spared me from dreading about going back to my high school job.
I have a strange spot on my back, near to my right shoulder. I made an appointment for a doctor to check it out (September 7). Right now, I feel all right about it, just a little uneasy, but for a couple of days this week Karin & I were very conscious of our mortality. Which is a fine thing, up to a point. The ideal amount of consciousness of mortality is somewhere in between what I have now and what I had a few days ago.
Mary isn’t very worried. Without having seen it, she thinks that the spot is a regular mole that was stretched out when I got too fat.