the yoko effect
So last night I went outside at about 1:15, when I reached prelim studying saturation, to put some junk out on the curb for trash pick-up that I'd forgotten about earlier. The girl from upstairs was sitting on the porch with some guy--if it's her roommate/boyfriend, he's cut off his mohawk, and considering that she's leaving for Japan and I used to hear them yelling all the time, he might not be her boyfriend anymore. But anyway.
The girl had previously asked me if I wanted some plants from her garden (they have a little balcony area up there), and I'd said sure, so she told me that tomorrow I'll have some more basil (if only I'd known before I went to the farmer's market and bought some). I asked her where in Japan she was going; she'll be north of Tokyo. I said that she could go visit the John Lennon museum, which I think will be fairly close to her, but that Yoko Ono owns it so she should realize that if she goes there she will see absolutely NO SIGN WHATSOEVER that anyone, ever, disliked Yoko Ono.
"That's HORRIBLE," said the guy from his insouciant lean against the steps. "I HATE Yoko Ono. SHE BROKE UP THE BEATLES."
I found it intriguing how his delivery managed to simultaneously assume that everyone present would agree with such an obvious statement, and yet also convey a sense that this was a brilliant and original theory that had never before been advanced.
The girl and I looked at each other.
"Well," she said, "I wouldn't know. I wasn't there."
"Well, I wasn't there EITHER," said the guy. "But I've READ ABOUT IT."
I decided not to bother mentioning the quote they have up at the John Lennon museum, about John dreaming of meeting an artist girl like him, and how when I read it I figured that whatever happened, it was probably essentially inevitable, like the industrial revolution or the fall of Rome. At any rate, I wouldn't know. I wasn't there.
So I went back into the house, and a little later at least one person went back upstairs (the stairs run right over my kitchen). If that was her boyfriend, I think she's better off with Japan.
The girl had previously asked me if I wanted some plants from her garden (they have a little balcony area up there), and I'd said sure, so she told me that tomorrow I'll have some more basil (if only I'd known before I went to the farmer's market and bought some). I asked her where in Japan she was going; she'll be north of Tokyo. I said that she could go visit the John Lennon museum, which I think will be fairly close to her, but that Yoko Ono owns it so she should realize that if she goes there she will see absolutely NO SIGN WHATSOEVER that anyone, ever, disliked Yoko Ono.
"That's HORRIBLE," said the guy from his insouciant lean against the steps. "I HATE Yoko Ono. SHE BROKE UP THE BEATLES."
I found it intriguing how his delivery managed to simultaneously assume that everyone present would agree with such an obvious statement, and yet also convey a sense that this was a brilliant and original theory that had never before been advanced.
The girl and I looked at each other.
"Well," she said, "I wouldn't know. I wasn't there."
"Well, I wasn't there EITHER," said the guy. "But I've READ ABOUT IT."
I decided not to bother mentioning the quote they have up at the John Lennon museum, about John dreaming of meeting an artist girl like him, and how when I read it I figured that whatever happened, it was probably essentially inevitable, like the industrial revolution or the fall of Rome. At any rate, I wouldn't know. I wasn't there.
So I went back into the house, and a little later at least one person went back upstairs (the stairs run right over my kitchen). If that was her boyfriend, I think she's better off with Japan.