In my life I have developed various proficiencies and a smattering of random expertise. I can down a mug of lukewarm coffee from brim to bottom with only the slightest shudder even if it doesn’t taste very good. I can tell just by glancing at most people whether it would be a better idea to speak or to remain silent or to get the hell out of there, though I don’t always go with the better idea. I can juggle up to three items or two tasks at once. I can convert, through suppression and denial, rage and frustration that would otherwise manifest as murderous violence into slow-burning depression and general malaise. I can often talk people out of things they think they want me to do for them, or wait them out until they forget, thereby avoiding up to 75% of what is requested of me. I can sit and make small talk with my opponents, even gaining their confidence and trust. I can, using only the power of my mind, call down celestial fire to consume my enemies or to cook my supper.
Some people are sheltered and comforted in life with deep, wide friendships that surround them and cover them on all sides at all times. Some people have friends so present and intimate that they become like one organism, keeping nothing from one another. This kind of friendship, in the metaphor I’m crafting, is a blanket of such area and thermal efficiency that it fully suffices for the job of blanketing. And now, the contrast. Some of us, you see, grab scraps of friendship in passing where we can. Some small talk in a meeting. A joke at the coffee shop. Standing for a few minutes in a circle of conversation at some occasional party, everyone holding and sipping from a bottle or a glass dripping with condensation or perhaps nibbling from a small plate of party food an hour or two past its prime. We gather these little patches of friendship around us as well as we can in order to keep warm, in order to feel that we have some context in this vast, impersonal void. We have various reasons, healthy or pathological, for this vagabond behavior, this hobo companionship. Sure, there are drafts and exposures, but we survive out here. Give us a blanket and we’d just tear it to pieces, send you away bewildered and offended. It’s not that we don’t appreciate it, it’s just that we don’t need it. Well, maybe we need it, but we just can’t take proper care of it. I don’t know. This metaphor of engagement, this engagement of metaphor, has left me tired and I just want to be alone now. It was nice to talk to you for a minute. See you later.
You know how people say, “Always leave them wanting more?” I think I live by the inverse of that. If I am enjoying your company then I will usually walk away. I don’t want to wear out your welcome. I want to end on your high note. This is another talent I have.
Hello, friends. I hope you can see a way out, unless you like it here, in which case I’m happy for you.
Later. Love.
