therewereanumberofcelebrationsgoingonyesterday. it makes sense, I told myself. didn't even need to solemnly lower my gaze and ask why anymore. good ol' bud dry was available. it's more or less that time of year. that distinctive subset or cluster of moments when people go outside in casual dress and start celebrating. jumping up and down energetically in pure, unadulterated excitement. slapping high-fives over and over for no discernible reason. I approached them, somewhat timidly. they made a semi-sincere welcoming gesture. I responded with a similar gesture of semi-sincere acceptance and gratitude. before I knew what was happening, an immense jumble of spoken words was cascading wildly forth from my mouth. then I paused, took several deep breaths, and regained my composure, while a different but semi-related jumble, much more immense, cascaded wildly forth into my ears. my brain was quiet, more or less, unaffected by the pulsing sense impressions sparking on and off in the ecosystem surrounding us. there was a little campfire crackling. s'mores were also available. for several moments we examined our innermost motivations.
there were also a number of seductions moving full steam ahead. some people brought their favorite animals. some people brought musical instruments. some people went behind the barn and ingested organic mind-altering chemicals. some people slapped their thighs in pure amazement. they couldn't believe that somebody actually said that! in public! some people dropped out of the conversation altogether and buried their noses in books or personal handheld devices. some people climbed up trees. some tunneled into the earth. some set their clothing on fire. some danced very primitive jigs. others danced jigs that were very much "up to the minute." when I asked them for professional/financial advice they suddenly warmed to my presence and obliged me immediately. when I looked certain terms up in my pocket dictionary because I couldn't understand their particular usage they referred to my communication habits as "peculiar on certain occasions", which I took as a compliment, and not just in the semi-privacy of my own mineral skull, but overtly, by giving expression to the bizarre things I was thinking and feeling at that very moment in time. there was some good-natured chuckling, some hearty slaps on the shoulder and back, a few empty stares, and a few moments of the perennially undefined and semi-awkward silence.
there were a number of journalists in attendance. some of them "scanned the horizon." there were some comments related to weather, and some of those comments led to amusing personal anecdotes. a lot of new ideas being presented, and a lot of old ideas being discredited. heads were spinning. mouths were moving up and down for various reasons. the entire region was picnicking. a "multi-species affair", one might call it. audaciously, we left our troubles behind for a spell. later on, when we returned home, they would still be there, waiting patiently.
until then, though, we celebrated in the most earnest and legitimate way that we knew. insiders, outsiders, front and side and back porchers, root cellar explorers, patio gamesters, attic lurkers, nappers in lawn chairs, master gardeners, roamers thru backyards and alleys, etc. at times it felt like this was indeed the "moment we all had been waiting for"- at other times it felt like a mere extension of the previous but now almost totally forgotten "seasonal neighborhood gathering". oh well, I heard some of the people muttering to themselves or each other. take it as it comes, I heard a disembodied voice intone on the radio. we danced in rings, danced alone, danced as the sun started setting, continued dancing even as certain people began to fall to the ground from exhaustion. the barrel of bud dry was emptied so we all crouched down next to the river and gulped many mouthfuls from this so-called primordial source. feeling refreshed, we returned to our former activities. it makes sense, I assured myself- doesn't matter what voices I hear on the radio. these are the people I live with. we track each other's personal development closely and carefully.
it was late at night when I decided it was finally time to head back to the outpost. I took a shortcut thru the junkyard, and then walked along the tracks for awhile, playing some of the evening's conversations back on my handheld device. sometimes I scavenge material from social events like the one just described. other times I just leave it there, gathering dust, like a fossil.
