I got to hear Toni Morrison give a lecture at the Central\nLibrary in Los Angeles. Well, I wasn\u2019t there, but I heard the recording a few\nyears later<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end, in the Q&A, she said something I can\u2019t forget.\nI\u2019m paraphrasing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018I remember taking it all so seriously when I was young. Being\nso hard on myself to GET IT RIGHT. You are asking if it would be cold comfort\nto give in to superficiality\u2026At my age I take whatever comfort I can get.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Times are hard. I\u2019m living through a collective lonely\nexperience, when time stands still and comforts are few. I don\u2019t mean to be a\ndowner, but it\u2019s getting tough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Toni was a wise woman. Take the comfort you can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They made another change today, because of COVID. shutting\ndown more things that had just opened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We used to be able to make plans, with the only factor being\nif I wanted to. Now, there are a lot of locked doors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, I\u2019ve been indulging in escapism: romance novels. I only\nwish I were better at escapism. Right now, I\u2019d love to have a consuming low-level\nhobby. Like video games or Sudoku.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this is all I\u2019ve got. I\u2019ve always been about books and\nmusic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s down to me in all these responsibilities. A whole lotta\nsameness all at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I thank you Toni. It was a nice to have permission to have\nsome comfort in my escapism. I got a breather from the unrelenting duty of\nstaying home. I can get up to not go out for another day. That\u2019s the endurance\nchallenge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I got to hear Toni Morrison give a lecture at the Central Library in Los Angeles. Well, I wasn\u2019t there, but I heard the recording a few years later At the end, in the Q&A, she said something I can\u2019t … Continue reading