Every morning I have my breakfast of English muffins with peanut butter and a touch of blueberry jam facing my street and always that abandoned car in front of me. About two months ago, I saw a young man in that car, but it seemed like he had trouble starting the engine. I ate one side of the muffin slowly, and from the first bite to the last, it was exactly how long it took him to start the car. After that, I never saw him again, but I am reminded of him whenever I see his car, which happens every morning.
To distract myself from the sight of the car, I started to read Miguel de Cervantes' "Don Quixote," but the car kept distracting me from the reading. I could easily remove myself from my seat where I have breakfast all the time, but I started to resent the fact that I had to move, not the car. The feeling of anger in the morning is not a good feeling at all. But the car in front does change; it gets dirtier and dirtier. Also, the front door windows are open, so who knows what goes on inside the vehicle when I am asleep at night.
The other day while I was walking, I went near a car. I didn't want to touch it because it was so dirty. But I did give it a quick glance, and I thought I saw an image of Kate Moss, maybe a photo taken by Francesco Scavullo, on the back seat. It was such an odd juxtaposition that I returned to my house and played some records.
Once inside the house, I picked up the Quixote book but changed my mind and read one of Susan Sontag's essays from her "Styles of Radical Will." For whatever reason, I played the original cast recording of "Hello Dolly" with Carol Channing and something by Ethel Merman. I just wanted something glamorous and sophisticated in my life.
But again, I felt a depression sneaking up on me as I ate my breakfast of English muffins with Peanut Butter and jam, facing that same image of that abandoned car.
Intriguing synchronicity, yesterday I was both reading and writing about Quixote. Also am a huge fan of Sontag and Styles of Radical Will.