"They're in meetings too," I would say that to Langston. "The world is as you left it: perfectly untidy".
I'm reading Langston Hughes and imagining how a conversation between him and I would go if he were alive today and some how in front of me, face-to-face. This is a conversation about people and not things. I will not get carried away by the idea that new technologies, movies, and music have been introduced. This is an exercise in humanity.
"It's funny," I would tell him, "the world is so small and yet I hardly ever see my own family". "Well, naturally," I would respond, "I'm busy getting stuck in meetings". "I do this because I love it and it allows me to take care of my family". "What's that?" "I do want to be with my family - and even if I had the time, they wouldn't have the time". "That's funny, Langston, you say it's basically the same as when you were running around for years and then just dropped dead". "Life is funny - it seems so short and yet meetings never run short, dragging on like a slowly rotting carcass". "I mean, meetings drag on mercilessly, ravenously with an appetite that engulfs everything in it's way". "Yeah, you see, not exactly my favorite thing". "What would I rather do?" "Have us all hang out with little drinks in our hand, playing Coltrane, and talking about all of the critical matters while some one dutifully records and takes notes later".
"I wouldn't want to speak for you". "There have been numerous wars since 1967, naturally". "War is the thing we do when we need things, Langston". "There is only so much power in the world and naturally that power should only exist in the hands of a few people." "Of course!" "There is nothing to gain with many people eating and sleeping in comfortable beds." "We need big, comfy beds for us to think about when we are sleeping on another comfy bed". "That's about it, you know." "There should be a way to count all of our money when we're busy at meetings". "These are inventions that we constantly think of so that we can ease our discomfort with the messy business that we're going to die one day". "Exactly! "We die and somebody else gets all of our stuff". "Well, there's not much else to say but the accumulation of wealth is a lifelong pursuit and if you were still here you would be going after it too". "It's what we do."
"What is it I do for a living that requires so many meetings". "I'm in the business of building roads to get me to work and home and to my family's places." "You see, sometime in the 1950s, someone had the wonderful idea that cars were great and they should drive them everywhere". "Yes, your assumption is right, Langston." "We haven't stopped driving". "That's why I love my work". "I get to sell multi-million dollar roads so that cities could have smooth, black roads to drive on". "There's just something so freeing about driving on an empty road, cranking your music really loud". "It's about as close that I get to being able to fly". "I want to give people that opportunity". " America?" "Oh, she's still moving and turning and yelling and complaining - just like you left her." "We need cars to remind us that we have places to go, people to see and buses are just painfully slow".
"Oh, that's a good question." "I live my life everyday as if the world will one day write extensive books about me about all of the wonderful things I have done or written". "I know, this is a bit ambitious." "Yes, it must happen. I wouldn't want to be here for any other reason, Langston". "I implore you to listen." "Someone dragged my ass over here to live and make a family, so I demand that books be written about me!" "I'm sorry, I'm losing my cool but you touched a nerve". "I demand for people to know that I existed and that I count too." "I'm a pretty nice person." "I mean, I try to make jokes when I'm in a good mood to make people smile". "Oh, I see, you don't think that that would make for an interesting book".
"I knew you would ask about it." "You shouldn't ask because you already know." "Everything is exactly how you left it: untidy". "If you bring up race, you're really bringing up the race card as if a game is about to be played in a parlor". "No one wants to admit that we're in the same race, and that's to feed ourselves or our loved ones". "Oh, people hate when I tell them that." "They want us to be different". "All the same stuff". "Clothes, language, music." "Well, people are just different." "Men work on their masculine traits while women work on their feminine traits unless you enjoy messing with those black-and-white lines which confuses the shit out of everyone."
"I pretty much covered everything you were wondering about". "Thank you, sir. I hope that one day there is a heaven where we can meet and chat face-to-face". "For now, thank you for the things you've left for me to think about and read." "You are a formidable man with a formidable mind and I would have never thought about writing if it wasn't for you".
I'm reading Langston Hughes and imagining how a conversation between him and I would go if he were alive today and some how in front of me, face-to-face. This is a conversation about people and not things. I will not get carried away by the idea that new technologies, movies, and music have been introduced. This is an exercise in humanity.
"It's funny," I would tell him, "the world is so small and yet I hardly ever see my own family". "Well, naturally," I would respond, "I'm busy getting stuck in meetings". "I do this because I love it and it allows me to take care of my family". "What's that?" "I do want to be with my family - and even if I had the time, they wouldn't have the time". "That's funny, Langston, you say it's basically the same as when you were running around for years and then just dropped dead". "Life is funny - it seems so short and yet meetings never run short, dragging on like a slowly rotting carcass". "I mean, meetings drag on mercilessly, ravenously with an appetite that engulfs everything in it's way". "Yeah, you see, not exactly my favorite thing". "What would I rather do?" "Have us all hang out with little drinks in our hand, playing Coltrane, and talking about all of the critical matters while some one dutifully records and takes notes later".
"I wouldn't want to speak for you". "There have been numerous wars since 1967, naturally". "War is the thing we do when we need things, Langston". "There is only so much power in the world and naturally that power should only exist in the hands of a few people." "Of course!" "There is nothing to gain with many people eating and sleeping in comfortable beds." "We need big, comfy beds for us to think about when we are sleeping on another comfy bed". "That's about it, you know." "There should be a way to count all of our money when we're busy at meetings". "These are inventions that we constantly think of so that we can ease our discomfort with the messy business that we're going to die one day". "Exactly! "We die and somebody else gets all of our stuff". "Well, there's not much else to say but the accumulation of wealth is a lifelong pursuit and if you were still here you would be going after it too". "It's what we do."
"What is it I do for a living that requires so many meetings". "I'm in the business of building roads to get me to work and home and to my family's places." "You see, sometime in the 1950s, someone had the wonderful idea that cars were great and they should drive them everywhere". "Yes, your assumption is right, Langston." "We haven't stopped driving". "That's why I love my work". "I get to sell multi-million dollar roads so that cities could have smooth, black roads to drive on". "There's just something so freeing about driving on an empty road, cranking your music really loud". "It's about as close that I get to being able to fly". "I want to give people that opportunity". " America?" "Oh, she's still moving and turning and yelling and complaining - just like you left her." "We need cars to remind us that we have places to go, people to see and buses are just painfully slow".
"Oh, that's a good question." "I live my life everyday as if the world will one day write extensive books about me about all of the wonderful things I have done or written". "I know, this is a bit ambitious." "Yes, it must happen. I wouldn't want to be here for any other reason, Langston". "I implore you to listen." "Someone dragged my ass over here to live and make a family, so I demand that books be written about me!" "I'm sorry, I'm losing my cool but you touched a nerve". "I demand for people to know that I existed and that I count too." "I'm a pretty nice person." "I mean, I try to make jokes when I'm in a good mood to make people smile". "Oh, I see, you don't think that that would make for an interesting book".
"I knew you would ask about it." "You shouldn't ask because you already know." "Everything is exactly how you left it: untidy". "If you bring up race, you're really bringing up the race card as if a game is about to be played in a parlor". "No one wants to admit that we're in the same race, and that's to feed ourselves or our loved ones". "Oh, people hate when I tell them that." "They want us to be different". "All the same stuff". "Clothes, language, music." "Well, people are just different." "Men work on their masculine traits while women work on their feminine traits unless you enjoy messing with those black-and-white lines which confuses the shit out of everyone."
"I pretty much covered everything you were wondering about". "Thank you, sir. I hope that one day there is a heaven where we can meet and chat face-to-face". "For now, thank you for the things you've left for me to think about and read." "You are a formidable man with a formidable mind and I would have never thought about writing if it wasn't for you".
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