“Oh, she says well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And I go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope.”
We’ve all got that one friend that is always sending us random stuff on the internet. I’ve got several in fact, which is occasionally interesting and often annoying but sometimes something comes through that actually resonates and gets me thinking about things in a different way, at least for an afternoon, so I tolerate them…
I think a lot about process, the way I’m engaging with things, with my work, machines, materials, routines, etc., which often descends into some existential crisis about what I actually should be doing instead of what I am doing and this of course leads to total dread and futility concerning everything in light of the eventual and inevitable heat death of the universe… And I still enjoy the process. I think that’s the point. And I think that’s why this little excerpt from a Kurt Vonnegut interview a friend sent me got me thinking, at least for an afternoon.
“I meet a lot of people. And, see some great looking babes. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And, and ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don’t know…”
I went to the grocery store yesterday morning after dropping my son at school. It was a cool morning and nice ride and some guy started chatting me up in the parking lot about the ridiculous cargo bicycle I putz around town on, and we had a quick laugh concerning Cadillac cars before I went in to buy grapes and berries. I stopped at the Mediterranean grocer on the way home for olives and hummus and the Palestinian guy that runs the place looked pretty down. I asked him how he was and he said “eh, I’m getting by” and I said good for you man, that’s the best any of us can do and he smiled and said you’re not wrong. It was a good morning. I rode home and made some eggs.
“And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And, what the computer people don’t realize, or they don’t care, is we’re dancing animals. You know, we love to move around. And, we’re not supposed to dance at all anymore.”
“We’re put on this earth to fart around” Vonnegut has been quoted as saying, and I could’t agree more. My neighbors, who are very nice young people with 2 children and 2 very expensive cars, have things delivered by doordash multiple times a day, everyday. I wonder if they miss talking to someone at the grocery store or sitting in cafes? Sometimes it feels like the shared experience of just existing in the world, buying grapes and envelopes and dropping kids at school and having a laugh in the parking lot has been replaced by same day delivery and streaming services and apps and various pieces of technology that we didn’t know we couldn’t live without. I’m no Luddite, but at some point we really seem to have crossed a line.
I don’t know what this has to do with photographs or art or my work or anything, but it’s what I’m thinking about, at least this afternoon. Either way, the full excerpt is below for what it’s worth, but honestly, you should probably get off the internet and go buy an envelope.
I leave with a picture of my kid when he lost his first tooth at a beach bar in Puerto Vallarta back in January. We had fresh guacamole. The tooth fairy paid in dollars. It was a good night…
DAVID BRANCACCIO: There's a little sweet moment, I've got to say, in a very intense book — your latest — in which you're heading out the door and your wife says what are you doing? I think you say — I'm getting — I'm going to buy an envelope.
KURT VONNEGUT: Yeah.
DAVID BRANCACCIO: What happens then?
KURT VONNEGUT: Oh, she says well, you're not a poor man. You know, why don't you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I'm going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope.
I meet a lot of people. And, see some great looking babes. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And, and ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don't know…
And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And, what the computer people don't realize, or they don't care, is we're dancing animals. You know, we love to move around. And, we're not supposed to dance at all anymore.