A World We Knew

    Today I walked in the woods. It wasn't far from the hubbub of the city. If I paused to stand instead of walk, then the space left by the clunking of my hiking boots was quickly filled with the ocean-like constancy of traffic in the distance. This didn't bother me though. I know where I live, in the city. I just wanted a momentary reprieve to think. We're considering buying a house. More accurately, we're planning on it. I'm torn between competing values. The value to own something - put my hands in earth that belongs to me, look out across a field or even just a 10 sq. ft. picket-lined area and know it is mine. The other value is that I not fritter my life away with the incessant checkpoints of a 21st century life. I know this is the next step in many ways. Marriage, kids, a home, etc. I don't just want to avoid it because it's the obvious one. I want to avoid it because I don't want to change. I think of myself owning and becoming a slave to debt, b...

Is the currency of punctuation the Pound or the the Somali Shilling? "Does that work for you or did you want to do something else?" I texted. "That's fine." My friend replied. Such a simple reply.  Too simple.  I found myself frustrated at its simplicity.  "That's fine" you say?  My mind immediately and against my will started thinking why wouldn't they say more?  Why would they use a period?  Why wouldn't they use an exclamation mark?  Or several? Or a smiley face at least?    Why are they upset right now?  These thoughts all went through my head in a nano-second, and I suspect that they have gone through your head at some point in your adult life.  This mindset is symptomatic of the world we live in and the degradation of punctuation's value.  These days you can communicate satisfaction several ways that all portray you in vastly different moods... Good = I can live with it Good. = I'm not pleased, but I ...