"That's a funeral in the mirror and it's stopping at your face."
These past two days have been spent indoors, feeling habitually cranky and stagnant. Since I didn't really seem to be accomplishing anything except a head full of white noise, I decided to walk to school. The rain came pouring down as soon as I got outside but my bad mood was washed away in it and replaced with a cinematic bad mood. I was listening to Songs of Love and Hate, an especially gloomy album, and with the rain slamming against me, I developed that cheery feeling of hatred for nothing and everything at once accompanied by the knowledge that, if this experience was in a movie, it would be a very thoughtful, poignant scene.
The path that I normally take was flooded but my feet accepted the challenge. All of a sudden, I was looking up at the spattery sky (spattery because my glasses had been sprayed to the point that it was probably more dangerous to be wearing them than not). My regret was that I did not witness the fall - it must have been terrific. One quick schlooorrp! Foot seemingly flying over my head in a way that isn't impossible for those damnable athletic, karate-inclined types. It's strange to think that as you're falling, you're not thinking about survival. No, it doesn't seem to enter the picture at all. Instead, you're thinking about dignity and how much you've lost in the act. The first thought that fills that blank second when you don't know what's happening is: Did anybody see? Damage control! Damage control! My backpack was pinning me to the ground and as I writhed to and fro, summoning all of my upper body strength, the moments that I would have needed in order to somewhat successfully save face had already ticked on by. As I regained my composure, I heard from behind me "Are you okay?" That was my cue. The obligatory laughter and redundant warning to "watch your step" left my lips like a bad habit.
But why is the act of falling such an embarrassing, hilarious thing? Television shows exist to commemorate the event; the fear looms forward when it's icy or rainy out. But what is it, really? A confession of the most physical sort that you don't always have your feet firmly on the ground - that nature still has the ability to surprise you. Is that so disgraceful - isn't it more fun that way? I say: Balance is overrated! Let's all fall down at every opportunity!
I mean, I like a good fall as much as the next guy. In fact, this topic enticed me to type 'falling' into youtube and now I might procrastinate even more. The fascination still seems a bit ridiculous, though.
The path that I normally take was flooded but my feet accepted the challenge. All of a sudden, I was looking up at the spattery sky (spattery because my glasses had been sprayed to the point that it was probably more dangerous to be wearing them than not). My regret was that I did not witness the fall - it must have been terrific. One quick schlooorrp! Foot seemingly flying over my head in a way that isn't impossible for those damnable athletic, karate-inclined types. It's strange to think that as you're falling, you're not thinking about survival. No, it doesn't seem to enter the picture at all. Instead, you're thinking about dignity and how much you've lost in the act. The first thought that fills that blank second when you don't know what's happening is: Did anybody see? Damage control! Damage control! My backpack was pinning me to the ground and as I writhed to and fro, summoning all of my upper body strength, the moments that I would have needed in order to somewhat successfully save face had already ticked on by. As I regained my composure, I heard from behind me "Are you okay?" That was my cue. The obligatory laughter and redundant warning to "watch your step" left my lips like a bad habit.
But why is the act of falling such an embarrassing, hilarious thing? Television shows exist to commemorate the event; the fear looms forward when it's icy or rainy out. But what is it, really? A confession of the most physical sort that you don't always have your feet firmly on the ground - that nature still has the ability to surprise you. Is that so disgraceful - isn't it more fun that way? I say: Balance is overrated! Let's all fall down at every opportunity!
I mean, I like a good fall as much as the next guy. In fact, this topic enticed me to type 'falling' into youtube and now I might procrastinate even more. The fascination still seems a bit ridiculous, though.