Jonathan Carroll's Blog, page 60

CarrollBlog 2.20

"A lover exists only in fragments, a dozen or so if the romance is new, a thousand if we've married him, and out of those fragments our heart constructs an entire person. What we each create, since whatever is missing is filled in by our imagination, is the person we wish him to be. The less we know him, of course, the more we love him."

Andrew Sean Greer

CarrollBlog 2.19

" Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well, yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And y...

CarrollBlog 2.18

Just read an interesting book by Rachel Simon. She has a unique way of seeing life and how to handle its travails.

Have a look at the book trailer:

http://www.rachelsimon.com/videotrail...

CarrollBlog 2.17

Cleaning up after the Dog

by Jason Tandon

Pull plastic bag from pocket

and wave it like a flag

or diploma. Make sure many people

congratulate your care

for the community.

Check bag for holes.

Double check.

Inspect stool for odd hues.

Greens, blues, blood.

Evaluate consistency.

You don't want to leave smears

on the sidewalk or grass—no prints.

Getaway must be clean.

Prepare to go in for all of it.

Hold breath.

Grab, clamp, reverse bag, twist, knot, cinch.

Smell hands.

Hold...

CarrollBlog 2.16

A group of 45 year old guys discuss where they should meet for dinner.

Finally they agree to meet at Kelley's Restaurant because the

waitresses have low cut blouses and nice breasts.



10 years later at age 55, the group agrees to meet at Kelley's because

the food is good and the wine selection is excellent.





10 years later at age 65, the group agrees to meet at Kelley's because

they can eat there in peace and quiet and the restaurant is smoke free.





10 years later at age ...

CarrollBlog 2.15

Whenever he returned, they had a ritual both of them liked to follow: She would pick him up at the airport and they'd go directly to a café near her apartment that served excellent coffee and fresh bakery goods. He usually arrived very early in the morning so when they got to the café the same people were often there. A group of young mothers sitting at the big table who had dropped their children off at the school across the street. A few singles here and there reading newspapers or working ...

CarrollBlog 2.14

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. Hand this poem to someone you like a lot and tell them they're the aces.

Song

by Edwin Denby

I don't know any more what it used to be

Before I saw you at table sitting across from me

All I can remember is I saw you look at me

And I couldn't breathe and I hurt so bad I couldn't see.

I couldn't see but just your looking eyes

And my ears was buzzing with a thumping noise

And I was scared the way everything went rushing around

Like I was all alone, like ...

CarrollBlog 2.13

It's been snowing in Vienna.

Some thoughts:

No one looks chic or fashionable in a real snowstorm. Even when they're beautifully dressed, their scrunched faces betray them.

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Heavy snow at night is romantic and mysterious. During the day it's mostly just snow and quiet-- sort of like an old person, napping.

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No one has more fun in the snow than a dog.

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I pass a blind woman on the street and think if she lives...

CarrollBlog 2.12

"Bud, a bull terrier was smuggled into France during World War 1 when America joined the Allies in 1917, by 'Slats' Slattery of the 82nd division, 325th Machine Gun Company. Bud was gassed in the Argonne and subsequently wore a special gas mask, took part in a big engagement on the Somme and learned to flatten with the men when the shells came over… He managed to fight alongside his master throughout the war, returned home with him and lived to a fine age of thirteen. When he died, his...

CarrollBlog 2.11

Dogs carrying their leashes in their mouths as they trot happily down the street next to their owners.

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Groups of people standing outside buildings, smoking hungrily around a single large overfilled ashtray.

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bums carefully arranging stuff inside their many plastic bags

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the small wonderful talent of a waitress bringing six different people their coffee and cake on her two extended arms at the cafe.