"if you could have a super power, which would you pick—to be invisible, to have telepathy, or to fly?"
i, I was simply listening to the conversation, inadvertently eavesdropping while attempting to.
both agreed that invisibility was by far the better choice—"why you could listen to everyone's conversation then."
and apparently, i was already invisible, or at least the incident proved to me that i need not be in order to be privy to the deviant.
as i am a fuddy-duddy and do not hypothesize much just for fun, i opted not to participate in this chat. besides, i sardonically thought to myself that "man can already fly."
haughtily, i continued to think quietly, that the conversationalists had based their choice on the lack of interest in their own lives. for immediately before the question was posed, they had pruriently gone through the exposes in a tabloid which boasted "photo exclusive! stars without make-up!"
this was the first piece of evidence that indicated to me that something was amiss, or rather missing from their lives. certainly, they seemed happy enough otherwise, but i knew the vacuity would inevitably pang echoes of emptiness eventually.
as i tried to continue reading, the conversation turned to the newspaper, which is something i no longer read, and thus once again, i tend to be excluded from a lot of conversations amongst the hoi-polloi. i don't watch tv or the nightly news either, which makes things all the worse.
granted, on the surface, my reticence to engage in the public discussion may easily be misconstrued as arrogance. i do not feel i am in any way superior to anyone in regards to how we individually choose to bide our time and entertain ourselves. i have simply made some choices after having discerned what is worthy of my limited personal time. and although it may often counter public sentiment, i am happy having had my druthers. others are likewise free to choose, and likewise free to lose themselves to the sway of the masses.
not too long ago i was sitting at a bar with corporate counsel waiting to negotiate a contract, when a commercial for football came on, on the set looming above. he asked what i thought about a so-and-so team. with a grin, disguised as a sincere and coy smile, i confessed, "i'm not a sports fan. i love to play, but rather not just sit there and watch." he responded "you must miss out on a lot of conversations. it's such a great ice-breaker." i thought to myself, "well, i probably don't miss much." nonetheless, we somehow still managed to have an interesting conversation.
returning to the other conversation, i readily admit i was completely oblivious. at one time i was zealously interested in world affairs, but then recently, about a year ago, i realized that almost all the news was not news at all—the names changes but that which i could not change, what i could not, or rather did not, partake in, or that which did not immediately impact me—went on all pretty much the same (as it ever was).
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful Wife
And you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?
Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/in the silent water
Under the rocks and stones/there is water underground.
Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
~ Once in a Lifetime, Talking Heads
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