Tuesday, July 28, 2009

It's twelve thirty, and I should be in bed. At this very moment I should be packing up my computer, walking across Main Field, defending myself from vicious opossums, sneaking into my cabin, and laying on top of a lower bunk that has been damp since the second week of camp. I should be, but I'm not.

This evening I went to a hookah bar. It was uninspiring. In my head were grand visions of men with dark mustaches offering flavors in ancient golden boxes or bellydancers hypnotically twirling around the table. In reality it was a hole in the wall where shaggy-haired hipsters sat hunchbacked in wooden chairs. I guess they were modern day Aladdins.

And as we were sitting in the "party room," I looked around at the rest of the group lounging on giant pillows underneath huge wall tapestries. All of their faces were illuminated by the backlight from their cell phones. They were sitting right next to each other and never spoke a single word. Inhale. Text. Inhale. Text. For some reason I became incredibly sad.

A lot of things I build up in my head. The hookah bar is just one example. For the past few days, while listening to Wilco's "Impossible Germany, Unlikely Japan" on repeat during rest hour, I've daydreamed about driving out to California. It's not going to happen. I've daydreamed about leaving school to ride the rails. I've daydreamed about deserts and palaces, villages and jungles. I've daydreamed about flying, of sleeping, of loving. It all seems there. It all seems just beyond my grasp.

2 comments:

Jacqui said...

Maybe, just maybe, some realities will be better than the dreams. However, don't be too disappointed about your vision of a hookah bar not living up to your expectations. It isn't worth the dream in the first place, you know? :)

risiblepeople said...

it certainly is nice to have you writing again.