Weather Report
Today marks the first day of Hurricane Season.
Lately life has felt like a hurricane. You may have noticed with the lack of writing lately. Hurricanes have names, but I can’t even think of one to call my life right now. It all started four weeks ago and doesn’t seem to be settling down. About that time I ran into my old high school librarian that I hadn’t seen in some time. Over the course of our conversation I was happy to tell her that I finally, after all these years, started to read books. I was a big frustration in this women’s career. My high school English teacher required all students to read the first 10 minutes of class. If she allowed me to then I would spend most of that time in the library looking for a book that I had no intentions of really ever finding. I questioned why we couldn't just read magazines. I was always turned down and therefore would find large-print books in the library and use them to cover my daily readings of glossy print celebrity and world news. Since then I've been reading magazines for years. I didn’t realize how addicted I became until I sat down and counted my subscriptions one afternoon and quickly realized I had more magazines than fingers. I made some changes and decided to check out the book world. Soon thereafter Amazon.com became my friend and I found a whole new life of used books for cheap! It’s been almost two years now and I’ve been finding some great reads that I can’t put down at night. It has to be a real-life scenario type of book. None of this fantasy and sci-fi junk, it has to be real or I won’t give it a minute of my time.
On a flight recently I settled into seat 14B. Walking down the center isle in any aircraft I carefully calculate which seat is mine as I stand behind some non-frequent traveler who has no idea how to proceed down the center isle without hitting everyone already seated with their oversize luggage. I usually stand there and count the seats to see exactly where I am sitting while the helpless soul in front of me struggles to put their bag in the overhad bin.
As I settled into my seat I noticed a guy sitting in 15A, the row behind me. I was currently thankful for my new seatmate, an older woman, after exchanging glances with the grunge sitting behind us. After buckling myself in I cracked open my new book and turned to page 11 where I had left off the night before. So far my book was a complete disappointment, but I thought it was worth the effort to read another chapter or two before returning it. My seatmate looked over to see my book and started up a 15 minute conversation on my book and all the books she has ever read in her life. She had listened to the book I was currently holding in my lap on tape, and agreed with me that it wasn’t the easiest book to turn the pages in. She recommended I buy the book on tape as well which led us into another conversation about uploading books onto an ipod. She found no reason to ever own such tool until I informed her that books were for sale online that she could download and travel with easily all on her ipod. I won her over easily.
The conversation soon ceased and I couldn’t bring myself to read any more pages in my horrible book. I leaned back and closed my eyes only to start eavesdropping into the conversation happening behind me. The man in 15A started up a conversation with his seatmate and went on to explain that he was returning from London having visited his girlfriend for three weeks. She teaches literature in some grad program on the south side of London. He can’t talk her into moving to the states to be with him. Now he is setting new goals in life and will possibly move over to London to be with her. Seat 15B carried on the conversation encouraging him that it was good to set life goals and achieve them one at a time. Eventually 15B was was interrupted by 15A when he informed him that his wife was murdered one day six years ago and he’s nowhere he had planned to be in life now. Shocked at what I heard, I noticed others sitting around us leaning in a bit to hear this guy go off on how bad his life was. Basically his life was a hurricane. There wasn't any fancy magazine sharing his storm with rest of the world. Instead of the slick pictures we usually find on our nations hurricanes he was experiencing his all alone.
At that moment my seatmate leaned over and said, “Who needs to read fiction when you can hear it for yourself going on behind you.”
Lately life has felt like a hurricane. You may have noticed with the lack of writing lately. Hurricanes have names, but I can’t even think of one to call my life right now. It all started four weeks ago and doesn’t seem to be settling down. About that time I ran into my old high school librarian that I hadn’t seen in some time. Over the course of our conversation I was happy to tell her that I finally, after all these years, started to read books. I was a big frustration in this women’s career. My high school English teacher required all students to read the first 10 minutes of class. If she allowed me to then I would spend most of that time in the library looking for a book that I had no intentions of really ever finding. I questioned why we couldn't just read magazines. I was always turned down and therefore would find large-print books in the library and use them to cover my daily readings of glossy print celebrity and world news. Since then I've been reading magazines for years. I didn’t realize how addicted I became until I sat down and counted my subscriptions one afternoon and quickly realized I had more magazines than fingers. I made some changes and decided to check out the book world. Soon thereafter Amazon.com became my friend and I found a whole new life of used books for cheap! It’s been almost two years now and I’ve been finding some great reads that I can’t put down at night. It has to be a real-life scenario type of book. None of this fantasy and sci-fi junk, it has to be real or I won’t give it a minute of my time.
On a flight recently I settled into seat 14B. Walking down the center isle in any aircraft I carefully calculate which seat is mine as I stand behind some non-frequent traveler who has no idea how to proceed down the center isle without hitting everyone already seated with their oversize luggage. I usually stand there and count the seats to see exactly where I am sitting while the helpless soul in front of me struggles to put their bag in the overhad bin.
As I settled into my seat I noticed a guy sitting in 15A, the row behind me. I was currently thankful for my new seatmate, an older woman, after exchanging glances with the grunge sitting behind us. After buckling myself in I cracked open my new book and turned to page 11 where I had left off the night before. So far my book was a complete disappointment, but I thought it was worth the effort to read another chapter or two before returning it. My seatmate looked over to see my book and started up a 15 minute conversation on my book and all the books she has ever read in her life. She had listened to the book I was currently holding in my lap on tape, and agreed with me that it wasn’t the easiest book to turn the pages in. She recommended I buy the book on tape as well which led us into another conversation about uploading books onto an ipod. She found no reason to ever own such tool until I informed her that books were for sale online that she could download and travel with easily all on her ipod. I won her over easily.
The conversation soon ceased and I couldn’t bring myself to read any more pages in my horrible book. I leaned back and closed my eyes only to start eavesdropping into the conversation happening behind me. The man in 15A started up a conversation with his seatmate and went on to explain that he was returning from London having visited his girlfriend for three weeks. She teaches literature in some grad program on the south side of London. He can’t talk her into moving to the states to be with him. Now he is setting new goals in life and will possibly move over to London to be with her. Seat 15B carried on the conversation encouraging him that it was good to set life goals and achieve them one at a time. Eventually 15B was was interrupted by 15A when he informed him that his wife was murdered one day six years ago and he’s nowhere he had planned to be in life now. Shocked at what I heard, I noticed others sitting around us leaning in a bit to hear this guy go off on how bad his life was. Basically his life was a hurricane. There wasn't any fancy magazine sharing his storm with rest of the world. Instead of the slick pictures we usually find on our nations hurricanes he was experiencing his all alone.
At that moment my seatmate leaned over and said, “Who needs to read fiction when you can hear it for yourself going on behind you.”
posted by Mr. T at 2:01 PM
4 Comments:
Welcome back Mr. T - how we've missed your clever rhetoric the past few weeks! Sometimes all I have to do at work is catch up on my blog reading & it's always nice to have something fresh from you. I love people watching & people listening as well. Hope you have a great weekend!
Matt! It's been so long...I have my own blog now. Check it out at www.becky-shelfer.blogger.com. I would like to hear more of your hurricane of a life. Let me know what you're doing now.
HMPH
I think your hurricane has moved to the East and I am now experiencing some of the effects. I'm certain it's nowhere near as strong as what you have endured but stormy nonetheless. Do you have a spare umbrella?
Post a Comment
<< Home