objects without edges

On Friday I met with Lucy (since Maria had called in sick) for a nuru massage and in conversation I asked her how her day was going and due to the poor weather that day it wasn't busy, so she without any impetus from me indicated that through some of her down time she writes. This of course is of note to me as I write regularly as evidenced by this blog. She is writing a 'zine' (how she referred to it) as part of her master's thesis in sexology. I mentioned about my blog and she asked what I wrote about and I mentioned things happening in my life, nonsense, sometimes politics; and eventually I described to her this post as it was my most recent memorable one. Then she brought up the idea of grief and how that blog post was likely an expression of it. I told her that though I hadn't cognizantly had that term in mind, it definitely is a grief post. She went on to say that grief need not only apply to the death of a person, that we can grieve for the loss of a friendship, of a job, or even for the loss of something within ourselves. Anyhow, this idea of grief, and how and when we feel it or express it is what leads me to post this.

Yesterday I arrived at my church very early for the Christmas mass as I am a greeter for parishioners and visitors. Johnny, perhaps 10-15 years older than I am also comes to our church as a greeter and he arrived early too, giving us a chance to chat. He started about six months ago a job at Walmart to be a greeter. I have asked him about it a few times and he mentioned to me that during this Christmas season it has gotten super crazy; for example, the shopping carts are being collected from the parking lot and at that particular moment there are zero of them available at the entrance. Dozens of incoming customers are waiting, anxious, upset, and Johnny is in the midst of them. Once the carts arrive there is a ridiculous frenzy to get a cart. I asked Johnny if he is thinking of leaving the job and he says no - points to his head and says that he needs the interaction for his brain. He went on to say that the first year or two of retirement was nice to relax and do nothing, but that now six years later he has found that it is too boring; so he got this job and I guess will stick with it for as long as he can. It is convenient for him as he lives very close to the store.

Today I want for an 80 minute walk and got to thinking about what I could do in that situation where I am X years after having retired and want something to do to activate my mind. So the idea I came up with was to create a panel board suit; the kind with a front panel, a back panel and two shoulder straps to connect them. On the panel I would simply write the word 'Questions?' and possibly, somehow, arrange for a hat or a helmet atop which is placed a question mark.

The idea is that I would go into the city and pick different spots where I simply stand and wait for someone to ask me what this is all about. I indicate that it is very simple, I ask you a question and you ask me a question, this can take as much or as little time as you'd like. Then I would offer that person to make the choice as to who goes first.

During the walk I thought of a number of questions; and through this blog there are numerous posts that have questions, so I am not concerned at all about coming up with questions. For example:

If it was legalized, regulated and those rules enforced, would you agree that prostitution should be made legal?

If a milk tree spontaneously grew in your secondary bathtub and when you milked it you got an unendless supply of sugar free pistachio flavoured bubble gum and then you were to post this to social media; what would you say about it?

What are your thoughts on destiny vs free will? Were we destined to have this question conversation?

Describe your family in as much detail as you'd like; is there any family member you are closest to?

If a snake without legs rode a motorcycle without doors into your garage and began singing at the top of her lungs while playing a 5-string Banjo a riveting rendition of Elvis's Blue Suede Shoes and you managed to film this and then post it to social media, what would you say about it?

If a goldilocks zone exo-planet with a breathable atmosphere was found but would take 85 years to get there; would you want to go that your own progeny while ship bound would colonize that planet?

Is there a sport that you would love to play regularly irrespective of your physical condition or the local availability to play it?

I read up on local, provincial, federal, US and world politics pretty regularly so could draw any number of questions from that.

In terms of spots to go, during the university calendar year, hang out around the two English speaking universities in my city. In the summer, head into all of the major tourist areas. In the depth of winter, maybe pick only the better weather days.