Does facebook
replace face to face? Did radio and TV replace front porches? Do big boxes
replace mom and pops? Do apples equal oranges? What about picking cherries or
crab apples? Are clever phrases better than nuance. Do my thoughts negate
yours? This is not an argument. And it's not both or neither. Or a little bit
of one and a little bit of another. I had the best apple crisp I have ever
eaten at a friend's house, oh, maybe it was a couple of months ago. Maybe it
was last year. She's a little older than I am. But man, is she funny. I wish I
could tell you how. But I'm not that good with words. Not even if I were
talking to you could I tell you how she is funny. To tell you truth, I don't
understand it myself. Anyway, I don't think I've known her for more than a few
years. We're in a book group together. I usually don't read the books. But
nobody minds. Sometimes we don't even talk about the book. But that's not the
point I was making. I was talking about apple crisp. And my friend. Who I don't
really know very well. I don't think she's on facebook. But she would be a hoot
on facebook. She says 'hoot' sometimes. She likes me. This was never about the
apple crisp, but it is. I don't want to talk about Eleanor, I want to talk to
her. To Eleanor. But with this damn virus thing I don't know when that's going
to happen. And there's this other friend. Well, she's half my age. I met her at
the coffee shop that I hang out at. She's a barista. But the coffee shop is
closed for the duration. As they say. But nobody says 'duration.' Anyway,
Bailie says 'fuck' more than she says 'hoot.' And she has two daughters. And
her older daughter says 'fuck' more than I do. I try to keep up. But there was
this time.I was showing her this math trick. Did I forget to mention that I was
tutoring her in math. Maybe I should tell you her name so I don't have to use
pronouns so much. It's Cassie. Short for Cassiopeia. Not really, I'm making
this all up. Well not all of it. Just the names. Now why would I do that?
That's rhetorical. Anyway, it got to be that Cassie and I just messed around
more than we did math. But I was showing her this thing with a Mobius strip.
You cut it in half... but that's not the point. Anyway, she kept on saying she
knew what was going to happen and I said keep cutting. And then what happened,
happened and she looked up at me and said, 'what the f...' She couldn't even
get the whole 'fuck' out, she was so surprised. I will never forget the look on
her face. And I can't tell you how many times she looked at me. Never the same,
but always her. Cassie. And Cassie keeps changing. I couldn't count the changes
if I wanted to. You should have seen the look on her face. And I don't even
know her that well. Do you know you can see Cassiopeia in the night sky if you
know where to look. And when. And this is just rambling pointless nonsense.
Fucking words. I get so goddam tired of facebook. You shouldn't have got me
started. I should have quit when I got to Seymour. Get it? That's a lame joke.
Bailie would have laughed. Did I tell you I go to a coffee shop to drink iced
tea? That's the truth and a lie at the same time. And don't take that as my
point. I don't want to make a fucking point. I don't even want to make an
ordinary point. I just want to see someone. And not just anyone, And I don't even
know who I want to see more. And why am I telling you this? Am I telling you
anything? Something? I guess I should finish this. I've got laundry to do.
That's what my Mom would say at the end of her letters, Or something like that.
It's been a long, long time. Her name was Evelyn.