It's coming on Christmas and there will be ample time around gatherings dinner table to have conversations. Some of you may even be seated around tables with people with whom you will disagree on various political and religious topics. How will you survive? Well, that's a bit of drastic characterization. Perhaps I should rephrase this as, "How will you have a conversation, and enjoy it, and feel that you've come away with a better understanding of the person with whom you've been talking?"
It can be so hard to have a reasonable conversation with people about matters of consequence and substance. Why am I dismissive and uncharitable to people who, when they express their thinking on an issue, seem to me to be, well, off? Really I'd like to be able to engage in a "dance me to the end of love" conversation with them, but I expect that we'd soon be doing the old chacha right past one another. And thus dancing will not lead to ... a good conversation.
So I guess that means we'll end up talking about the Leafs or the Canadiens or whatever. And in this way perhaps we can say that a local pro-sports franchise could save your world. If only we could get those Iraqis and Afghanis big enough TVs with satellite packages including ESPN. After today's football game there would be a kind of post-coital buzz and sleepy harmony in the world. Sure one of us would have lost, and one of us would have won, but we'd both be secure in the knowledge that at another time this same game would resume, and the rules would be the same, and there would be dancing girls on the sidelines (maybe even in the snow), and buckets of chips and drinks for all. So much like heaven don't you think? Even if you're a Vikings fan (14-40 to the Bears tonight). Poor Brett? Nah. Nobody gets too much heaven no more.
The ride in: Temp -17 Wind SE 20 ks
The ride home: Temp -11 Wind NE 20 ks
2 comments:
Ah yes, the dread of having to empathize. That's only part of it, I suppose. There is also the fear that the other party hasn't thought out their position in any substantive way; that they are simply parroting any number of the pink faced idiots mantras being trumpeted about these days. Or the fear that their thinking may actually appeal to you and make you think about your thinking and/or position.
And these aspects of fear and dread are the main reasons that I have put off making a real plan to visit family in this province, and now I am finding that some of them have made plans to be elsewhere. That makes my planning a bit easier, I suppose, but I still feel obligated. This frustrates D - she doesn't really approve of making plans out of obligation - and I see her point. But I nevertheless feel obligated/guilty/fearful and full of dread all at once about visits with certain folks.
I wonder if those folks want me to feel that way? I doubt it? I wonder if they feel similarly about visits with me? Perhaps, perhaps not. I should probably ask them. During a visit. Maybe while watching a local sports team demonstrate it's superiority or inferiority on that day in comparison to another area's sports team...
Well it's nice to hear from you Tim! It's been awhile. By "this province" which province do you mean? Is it true that we may see both of you at the end of January? Was Fit recalled? Are you riding your bike in heavy snow? How's it performing? I'm quite happy with my "new" ride. These last two days we've had a bit of heavy snow, and I have a lot more control in this configuration. The Deore derailleur and SRAM grip shift are working really well together. I really appreciate being able to get to the low gear in a timely fashion. How does the Rohloff work in the low gears? How well does it shift on the fly?
We should skype over the holidays.
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