6 December 07
Dogma
I was driving back from Santa Rosa in December 1999. My father was dying in hospital. I was exhausted (but kept reminding myself that my exhaustion was so minor compared to my mother’s; a little like the minor exhaustion I have felt during this oil spill when I was practically keeling over after a 3-hour stint in stabilization, compared to the 16 hours some of the others were putting in. It’s good to get this kind of perspective sometimes).
They were interviewing Kevin Smith on the radio about his then-new film, Dogma.
Absurdity in the face of tragedy. A laugh where it seems almost impossible. Alanis Morissette as God, not at all implausibly. This is what keeps us going, I think, when despair would be a more obvious response.
Dad, your favorites was Jacques Tati and Charlie Chaplin. May wherever you find yourself now be filled with delightful absurdity.
Previous: Thought for the Day Next: Scale
I love absurdity too, and hugely value a shared sense of the absurd. So sorry to respond by being heavy (!), but I was just thinking: maybe it’s also good to get a perspective on how people are all different and how degrees of exhaustion may also depend on what kind of a beast you are and how much of yourself you invest your relationships and in everything you do?
Jean: that’s not heavy, but thanks for the reminder.
(Having seen how those immersed in the adrenaline-can-keep-me-going-for-days routine have now crashed and are almost non-functional, I’m grateful for the insight.)
(o)
I liked this a lot: sad and happy all mixed together.