Koyaanisqatsi
We all recognize some of the obvious warning signals that life
is out of control. Naturally life is out of control if you wake
up and drink liquor. Ditto if you light one cigarette before the
last one is used up. But pretty much no one I know smokes and almost
certainly no one I know
greets rosy fingered Dawn with a taste of the creature.
Luckily
there are subtler signals to look for. One I learned in college is that
your life is out of control if rock music moves you more emotionally
than Eroica (or erotica for that matter). A corollary is that you
are lost if your personal national anthem is "Burning Down the House."
Yet another sign is when you have the feeling that every tradesman you talk
to is an idiot. ("My number is 244-4345, could you read that back please?")
It turns out that it's OK if you wake up at 3AM and watch the Beverly Hill
Billies but its NOT OK if you look forward to it. Ditto for eating
spaghetti every night.
I was thinking about this as I held two flaming cigarettes and wept over
Dylan's rendition of "Knocking on Heaven's Door." In particular I was
wondering if you can live your whole life out of balance and what the
ramifications might be. I would consider it the greatest possible
honor if my life echoed my father's but his ideas about idiots extends to
just about everyone outside the family and he typically is looking out the
side window as he passes cop-cars on the right (another warning sign).
Return home
Contact us