Trajectories

Every moment you make idle decisions that send you on new trajectories with unknown, unpredictable outcomes.

Last night I stopped at the grocery store to get a gallon of milk on the way home from work. I don’t usually go to that particular store. 98% of the time I go to another. Came out of the store to find a woman waiting for me near the Marble Slab ice cream shop. She had scraped the side of my car with her front bumper when she pulled into the parking slot next to mine. As far as damage goes, it’s fairly minor, but it’s a huge blemish on my shiny silver car that starts in front of the back tire and extends to the midpoint of the driver’s door. Not only a scrape, but a dent as well. First time I’ve ever had to exchange insurance information with someone and file a claim.

The woman stuck around to report the damage to me, which was the only good thing about the situation. She said she had to live with herself and couldn’t just drive off without telling me. She said, “I wish I hadn’t stopped for ice cream.” Her trajectory, too, as well as mine, intersecting in a shopping center parking lot where we had both spontaneously decided to go just a few minutes earlier.

Last night, while nursing dark thoughts about the blemish on my car, I watched Big Brother (Sunday’s episode). I’m not sure of the logic the HoH team came up with to put the one team they had promised was safe on the block. I know what they said, but it was a terrible decision for them strategically, IMHO. Interesting preview for tonight’s episode shows someone being taken out of the house on a stretcher. Then I watched episode two of Dexter, which is keeping my attention. The ongoing scenario reminds me a little of the miniature killer plot on C.S.I. I like Dexter’s sister—she’s flighty and insecure and whimsical and vulnerable, and she has absolutely no idea her brother is a monster.

As I progress further into Comfortably Numb, I’m going back to the pre-DSOTM Pink Floyd backlist. I was introduced to PF in 1979-80 when I went to university. (My musical horizons expanded a lot that year.) The Wall came out that year and was everywhere. I picked up DSOTM and Wish You Were Here, eventually got Animals and kept up with them from that point onward. I remained, for the better part of two decades, virtually oblivious to their earlier works, except for Umma Gumma, which I liked more because it was bizarre than for any other reason.

When I heard Obscured By Clouds, I chastised myself for not exploring these early albums. I’m normally a completist. When I get into a band, I get everything they’ve ever released. So I went on a completist binge a couple of years ago and got everything else. Some of it I found a little hard to listen to, but every now and then I get in the mood for Meddle or A Saucerful of Secrets or even Pipers at the Gates of Dawn. That’s what I listened to this morning, and it must have worked. I wrote two full chapters, nearly 2000 words, during my normal writing period. I think I’ll try Zabriskie Point tomorrow.

The essay I wrote over the weekend that I was asked to contribute to an upcoming project was met with an enthusiastic and positive response from the editor. Payment to follow shortly. Very cool.