You’re coming home with me, little chickadee.
Why?
Because you glitter.
And you shine.
Trudging back to the car, with two rocks in my right hand, I didn’t feel odd.
Should I have though?
Is that something anyone besides a geologist would do?
But, as usual, I’m skipping ahead, and I’m going to confuse you if I start from the end, and work… backwards.
It’s not your fault.
It’s me.
*ahem*
Are you ready for some music? These posts just aren’t the same without it, friend. But, it’s your call. If I’ve convinced you, then you can find today’s track here.
Recently I was in Phoenix, Arizona. I’ve been there… six, maybe seven times, and I’m surprised at how colorful everything is. The sky, the critters, the plants, and yes, the rocks. Definitely the rocks.
I looked my infant niece in the eyes, and she reached up and touched my beard. So tiny. Fingers that small seem… fake. Like… placeholders. Not real. My brother and I have similar facial features, and I felt that, at some level, her young mind was trying to reconcile the sudden presence of reddish hair on a face she’s familiar with.
I went to a scenic outlook for a few hours.
On the way up, I passed a young, dark haired woman leading her black Labrador on a leash.
Thirty seconds later it occurred to me that, although I could recall her dog’s face, I couldn’t actually recall hers.
At the memory address in my brain, which her face should have occupied, there was nothing more than a blur. Generic female face.
“Alright, well, that’s just… that’s just how I am. Yeah. Typical.”
Then, oddly, the same thing happened.
Another woman, dark haired as well, this time with a terrier of some sort. This one smiles, and I catch myself before grimacing, and nod back amiably.
For testing purposes, I’m going to remember her face.
Thirty seconds later, it’s still there: I can still remember her face. All good.
I sat on a cliff, and watched the world below. There was a golf course nearby, but turning the other direction… a bright horizon, blue sky, and a plane landing in the distance.
Wait.
What did that woman’s… face…
Fuck.
I lost it.
That memory address is… corrupt. Damaged. Unusable.
I ate some almonds, then I half climbed/half stumbled down, seeking reprieve (for once) from all the colors of the world at Phoenix’s amazing library.
Curiously, outside the library they have these strange buildings, very solidly constructed, but far too small for most purposes. I’m honestly not sure what they are:
I’ll tell you what they look like to me.
They look like the Ayleid Ruins from The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion:
See what I mean?
There’s also a weird, brass sculpture of a couple pandas nearby:
I’ve seen it twice now, and wondered the same thing both times, which was: “What’s this supposed to make me feel?”
By the way, I updated the meme section of the site with a few new chestnuts from the past month. Take a look here.