working on the porch today, reading marÃa’s beautiful article while she’s taking a nap. she must have just closed her eyes when three young guys decide the side-walk in front of our house is a good place to sit down and smoke pot and have a conversation. it’s the things they say…
… as long as if you take good care of yourself… it doesn’t matter if then you’re an asshole or a good person… cause if you take good care of yourself, nobody can hurt you… they can’t touch you… the most important thing is taking good care of yourself…
almost funny. if it weren’t for the fact that meanwhile i’ve heared too many americans say variations on that sad hermetic theme. soon the side-walk friends leave, in their own reality, stoned. i go back to marÃa’s writing, all about care for others, kinship and companionship, creating shared worlds and lives. how scarry it would be, to be here alone, with this rather wide-spread american illusion of fortress egos that can, with more protection (and security) remain untouched. (here they tend to call it independence, or even freedom.) but reading marÃa, and seeing her finally getting some sleep on the bench on the porch, brings me a smile of gratitude.