Wednesday 4 April 2007

Precarious

I loved loved Maira Kalman's column today. It began with a panel entitled, "Precarious." It said: "I am at a loss for words. Everything was not said. Things are Bittersweet. Bitter. Sweet."

That is my feeling in any given emotional situation, no matter if the talk lasts for one hour, five hours: "Everything was not said."

Then:
"What is this faint vision? This fragile fleeting memory?...Precarious."

The column ends with an illustration of a World War II poster, which said: "Keep calm and Carry On."

Probably they meant this in regards to air raids, the fear of air raids, the potential for attack. For me, who does not live in a time of air raids, who perhaps lives in a time of terrorist attacks, but in New York City, where we have no need to repeat such phrases to ourselves, because we automatically keep walking and carry on, for me, this seems more applicable to those situations where Everything Was Not Said.

Keep calm. Don't try to say it again. Carry on. Go forward, don't repeat the mistakes past.

Keep Calm and Carry On.

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