Thursday, October 11, 2007

Consider The Danger



I was sweeping my kitchen the other day (a very rare occurrence -- I try to avoid my kitchen altogether as a rule, using it as a storage space for Dr. Pepper and Halloween decorations) and found a fortune in the bristles of the broom -- Consider the danger when things are going smoothly. There's a lot of voodoo superstitions involving brooms and scissors, things about getting people to come to your house, leave your house. I thought about the fortune, that thin slip of paper that I must have liked enough to keep and how it ended up with all the other debris of living. I'm not a person for whom things "go smoothly" as a rule. As for considering danger, that's pretty much all that I do. Occupational hazard, I'm guessing. Writers are not paid for their happiest most ecstatic moments, their smoothest dreams.

So I'm cleaning the space and the eating disorder documentary Thin is on in the other room (thank you HBO on Demand!), and I'm watching these emaciated girls, most of them who look ill and a little on edge, a little strung out. And the most crazy of all is one that looks pretty normal but details her daily eating plan (no more than 200 calories a day, all written out -- one bite of chicken, two grapes, etc.) and she says, If I have to die to be thin, so be it. It's all I've ever wanted. And I think of all the normal situations that have gone from fine to snafu to fubar without any warning. Once I was at a lunch with friends, all in varying degrees of crisis when one expressed her desire to live in a storage unit so that nobody could find her and things would be easier. What does one say to such a plan? It's like the one bite of chicken, two grapes idea. It's not very practical! It doesn't make sense. But the heart wants what the heart wants. The mind can get as sick as the body and a whole lot faster. I left most of my food on my plate that day. Appetite is a strange thing -- it comes and goes according to mood as much as anything else. When I got there, I was starving. But someone came along with a broom and swept it all away in the time while I wasn't thinking about anything, not considering the danger at all.

Michelle's Spell of the Day

"Like art, revolutions come from combining what exists into what has never existed before." Gloria Steinem

Cocktail Hour
Drinking book suggestion: A Lifetime of Secrets Frank Warren

Benedictions and Maledictions
Happy Thursday!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

You've hit another patch of just consistently fine posts. You make me laugh in spite of the heartbreak you're writing about. Thanks again.

Brianinmpls said...

"Inspiration stems from love and stress compounding." - Atmosphere

Anonymous said...

The Lady or the Tiger?

Cheri said...

How obsessive anorexia is. I think that I could find a million other things to worry about because I just enjoy food far too much.

Unknown said...

I always disliked superstitions. I can't accept things which are not proved.

I am 6"5 and 145-150lbs and I eat average amount and I don't think I am fat. So you can find out my opinion about these weight losing actions plus a lot people do it because stupid things like to be more attractive.

Anonymous said...

Did you know that there's no period after the "Dr" in "Dr Pepper" pop? Check out the label on the bottle and while you're at it also note how many different flavors there are in the old Dr. Wow.

Anonymous said...

Kudos, Doris Lessing. Nobel winner in literature. Her essay about her father is a biographical classic. Catch it when you can.

Pythia3 said...

First of all - love the dress and love the doors behind you! Now that I got out . . . I agree with Cheri - I enjoy food - love food - although I had my fair share of bouts with anorexia in the past. With me, there's pretty much always an obsession or indulgence of some sort.
About brooms, yes, so much superstition. I can never bring myself to sweep when someone leaves my home until they safely reach their destination or return home.
Another great post . . . I'll drink to that!

eric1313 said...

"It doesn't make sense. But the heart wants what the heart wants. The mind can get as sick as the body and a whole lot faster."

No truer words...

Peace out

the walking man said...

I'm glad only my body lives in the material world.

Charles Gramlich said...

I've gone through plenty of times where I wanted to be a hermit, so I can sympathize with the woman who wanted a place where no one would find her.