I won't grow up, I don't wanna wear a tie...
You know, when I was in writing class in my senior year of college, my professor had a theory. She said that she thought most people fell into two categories as children: Narnia kids or Neverland kids. You could love both, but there was one you wanted to find more than other. You either dug in the back of every closet looking for snow, or you jumped off the furniture, convinced that if you could come up with that perfect happy thought, you'd fly.
I was a Neverland kid. I had read the Narnia books as a child and adored them, but if Peter Pan had showed up outside my window, I would have lept before the fairy dust had even tickled my nose (and broken my leg). I've loved every incarnation; I watched the Mary Martin musical and the Disney cartoon as a child, then Hook, I read the book, and waited anxiously for the release of the film several years back. I used to get called on assuming the "Peter stance" as a kid, whenever I was feeling stubborn or up to something. It's only now that I've come to realize that my preference may have something to do with that wide gap between these two worlds where children play; in Narnia time moves forward, things change and the world is grounded in its history, the times the people have suffered through and overcome. Neverland is a place of repetitive motion; when Peter leaves, the whole island moves in a neverending circle until he gets back.
Peter Pan is the boy who doesn't grow up, he doesn't change or wither with the passage of years. Perhaps his desire to remain that way is his "greatest pretend", as Barrie says, because monotony and a lack of choice are bound to wear down even the youngest of us. It doesn't change our general fascination or any desire we have to join him on that island.
It's a very roundabout way of getting to my point, really. I've been thinking lately on friends, and how friendships change over time. And some of it has to do with age, and some of it has to do with time and other things I can't put name to. All I know is, of late, I've been increasingly depressed at the states of my friendships; it used to be I could call someone up and say, "Let's go do ____!" and more often than not the voice at the other end said, "Yes!" These days... there's no one like that (besides Kelsey, my dedicated partner in crime). The people who still would say yes live in different states or seem to be fading from my line of sight. The people who are nearby aren't easy-going friends, they're planners, people with office jobs or at least office deadlines, who like to know where they're going and when and how long.
I had planned to do something hilariously fun tonight, but no one could come with me. For various reasons, some legit, some not-so-much. And because going to Brooklyn in the middle of the night to hang out with strangers really isn't a smart idea these days, I'm sitting here, writing this and waiting for Kels to get home from work.
Wallowing sucks, but you know what, so does modern life. So does our lack of spontaneity. People should be able to take a day off from work when they need to. They should be able to hop in a car and drive for hours and find something new. They should leave the security of their own apartment, go out and get drunk or do something silly, not because they're young but because you just have to sometimes. You have to go to Neverland and fight some pirates and remember how to fly. Fine, it's a crappy metaphor, guess what? excuses are also crappy. I can't count the number of times I say things like, "Let's do that project" "Let's take that trip" "Let's worry about how much sleep we'll get later". And how often people just delay on me until I give up, or serve me some ridiculous excuse. Time is happening now, in case you were wondering. I'm not giving the "you might regret it" speech. I'm saying have some fun outside your living room.
...sorry. Rough day.
Oh, by the way, uh, Happy Birthday to Captain Kirk. I should watch some Star Trek now, I suppose. On the up side, the internet is working again. Is there anything I need to respond to that went unanswered in the past few weeks? Anything at all? It was like fiddling with rabbit ears on old tv sets trying to get my connection to work, so I know some things got lost in the shuffle. Also, new journal look. Just testing it out to see if I like it before I keep it. See how it goes.
I was a Neverland kid. I had read the Narnia books as a child and adored them, but if Peter Pan had showed up outside my window, I would have lept before the fairy dust had even tickled my nose (and broken my leg). I've loved every incarnation; I watched the Mary Martin musical and the Disney cartoon as a child, then Hook, I read the book, and waited anxiously for the release of the film several years back. I used to get called on assuming the "Peter stance" as a kid, whenever I was feeling stubborn or up to something. It's only now that I've come to realize that my preference may have something to do with that wide gap between these two worlds where children play; in Narnia time moves forward, things change and the world is grounded in its history, the times the people have suffered through and overcome. Neverland is a place of repetitive motion; when Peter leaves, the whole island moves in a neverending circle until he gets back.
Peter Pan is the boy who doesn't grow up, he doesn't change or wither with the passage of years. Perhaps his desire to remain that way is his "greatest pretend", as Barrie says, because monotony and a lack of choice are bound to wear down even the youngest of us. It doesn't change our general fascination or any desire we have to join him on that island.
It's a very roundabout way of getting to my point, really. I've been thinking lately on friends, and how friendships change over time. And some of it has to do with age, and some of it has to do with time and other things I can't put name to. All I know is, of late, I've been increasingly depressed at the states of my friendships; it used to be I could call someone up and say, "Let's go do ____!" and more often than not the voice at the other end said, "Yes!" These days... there's no one like that (besides Kelsey, my dedicated partner in crime). The people who still would say yes live in different states or seem to be fading from my line of sight. The people who are nearby aren't easy-going friends, they're planners, people with office jobs or at least office deadlines, who like to know where they're going and when and how long.
I had planned to do something hilariously fun tonight, but no one could come with me. For various reasons, some legit, some not-so-much. And because going to Brooklyn in the middle of the night to hang out with strangers really isn't a smart idea these days, I'm sitting here, writing this and waiting for Kels to get home from work.
Wallowing sucks, but you know what, so does modern life. So does our lack of spontaneity. People should be able to take a day off from work when they need to. They should be able to hop in a car and drive for hours and find something new. They should leave the security of their own apartment, go out and get drunk or do something silly, not because they're young but because you just have to sometimes. You have to go to Neverland and fight some pirates and remember how to fly. Fine, it's a crappy metaphor, guess what? excuses are also crappy. I can't count the number of times I say things like, "Let's do that project" "Let's take that trip" "Let's worry about how much sleep we'll get later". And how often people just delay on me until I give up, or serve me some ridiculous excuse. Time is happening now, in case you were wondering. I'm not giving the "you might regret it" speech. I'm saying have some fun outside your living room.
...sorry. Rough day.
Oh, by the way, uh, Happy Birthday to Captain Kirk. I should watch some Star Trek now, I suppose. On the up side, the internet is working again. Is there anything I need to respond to that went unanswered in the past few weeks? Anything at all? It was like fiddling with rabbit ears on old tv sets trying to get my connection to work, so I know some things got lost in the shuffle. Also, new journal look. Just testing it out to see if I like it before I keep it. See how it goes.