A MOMENT OF PEACE WITH ONESELF

You become writer by writing. It is a yoga.

 - R.K. Narayan, novelist (1906-2001)

This will be a separate post as I have one in the wings just waiting to upload. I’ve been in Brooklyn and Manhattan and have had some issues with both internet access and time. I had one meeting that required a certain amount of preparation and yesterday was spent working on Monsterwood again. Making all kinds of progress there and we are all pretty excited about it.

So now sitting at Grand Central Terminal waiting to have lunch with a friend before I head back upstate. I just love this place. Question: how is Grand Central Terminal like Elvis Presley’s Burnin’ Love? Answer: it never fails to put a smile on my face. Walking through the center hall, where the clock is, the sound is so soothing, a beautiful white noise instantly relaxes me. That should be a sound option on those white noise sleep machines.

One downside of this place is that there is no free WiFi, and it is also not so easy to find an outlet for mobile charging. I thought I found one but when I checked, there was no juice. Oh well.

I will have to get back down here soon as I have Brooklyn Library books to return. I finished Dispute Over A Very Italian Piglet a couple of weeks ago. I recommend this one to fans of noir, Italy, and comedies about the cultural diaspora. I did BookDart a few passages:

I think of the Milanese proverb that Maritani is always repeating, Chi vusa püsè, la vaca l’é sua, the one who shouts the loudest gets the cow.

and

I get up late. The alarm on my cell phone didn’t go off. I forgot to charge it before going to sleep. I take care of that right away and while I’m still in bed I run through my pearls of wisdom. One cannot live today without the new technology. We’re constantly connected to the external world: too much, I would say. It’s almost impossible to spend a moment of peace with oneself. We all have to be available, wherever we are; there’s no way to detach ourselves from the collective torture. There are very few people who resist, who don’t yet have a cell phone. They’re considered maladjusted, lost sheep who will sooner or later return to the fold.

Okay, I am going to sit here concentrating on making my lunch date arrive. It is almost two and I have had nary a bite. Why yes, I am quite hungry, and this point, I am surrounded by food smells which certainly does not make it any better.