[lit-ideas] Re: Dr. Feelgood and the Interns
- From: "Mike Geary" <atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 01:05:20 -0500
Eric yosted:
> Consciousness is
> just dandy as far as I'm concerned. Even when I'm between assignments and
the
> funds are running perilously low, or writhing in the agonies of loss,
> consciousness seems to be exactly what it should be.
Aha! Another enigma unenigmized. Long have I pondered the psychology of
Eric Yost, so contraditory he has seemed to me. Be he red or be he blue?
Or be he he both, a mixed-up brew? Well, now we know, Eric's problem is
lack of boredom. ABD (Adult Boredom Deficiency) is a growing problem in
this country and people should not stigmatize those who suffer from it. The
symptoms are usually an undue interest in life, unsavory satisfaction with
existence, obsessive smiling, unbearable 'good spirits', etc. These people
cannot help it if they aren't bored and not in constant need of
entertainment. I have a good friend who suffers from ABD who sometimes
spends hours studying the back of his hands. "Why?" I asked. "Because,"
he said, "I don't _really_ know them." "Really?" I said. "Really," he
said and kept studying. I got bored and left.
I confess that boredom is the number one motivator in my life. I don't have
enough brights to light up the unknown and I don't have enough energy to
play sports, so, bat-like, I flit after the echoes of my own desires. I
like that image. When I was a kid every evening bats would come out in
Memphis along with chimney swifts and we would throw peebles in the air and
the bats would follow them half way down to the ground. How they figgered
out they were rocks and not bugs, I'll never know, but it was a fun game and
held boredom at bay for a while each day. I haven't seen a bat or a chimney
swift in Memphis for many years now. I blame Reagan.
> The real problem is having time to pursue one's interests.
Oh, my dear friend, you are so wrong. The real problem is having time.
Period. Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and
tomorrow and tomorrow...it just goes on an on. They're aren't enough
interest in the world to fill up that vast expanse of time. Every
instant -- instant, not hours, days, weeks -- every instant you mind
screams: ENTERTAIN ME! That's why pornography is such a hot sell -- but
only for a while. A brief while really. How sad when sex gets boring! The
old 38 starts looking good then. Say good-bye to Broadway!
But there's always Lit-Ideas.
Mike Geary
bored in Memphis
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