I love how you combine both affection and the confidentiality shared between a couple who have obviously grown together for many years, with quiet observation.
This crazy life... a true story! Yours, I can never tell? a little bit real and a little fabrication maybe, just little though.
“I think the curse of our time is meaninglessness,” also an addiction, we have the proof!
Apologies for the tardy comment, it's been one of those crazy-life weeks, and that was without any YouTube farçades !
Sometimes I feel like a magician doing slight of hand with words, now you see it, now you don't, is it real or is it an illusion? I remember chatting to Kimberly during that interview on Unfixed about fiction and non-fiction being heavy handed genres and that we should have more fluid and delicate ways of thinking about writing. Isn't everything a little bit real and a little bit not? I didn't actually meet any YouTubers but I did fall into a kind of trance where I thought about YT's. :) I hope that helps 🤣
Thanks so much for being here, Susie, and for your always very beautiful comments, never tardy and always appreciated. I'd be really interested to know what you think of tomorrow's post ...
My goodness, Jonathan, the intimacy in this piece is so lovely—to look on the world and show what you see is one thing; to add the perspective of looking on those scenes from a deep enduring connection—chef’s kiss.
Location somewhere Mediterranean. Uzo licorice cold with a cube swirling around. Your pleasant story under the tamarisk tree has a delightful flavor that portrays worldly characters in conversation that can only bring a vacation home to enjoy several more seasons.
The Gods on Mt Olympus were laughing at we humans for sure, finally through our insane antics to entertain the antiques :) Thanks so much for reading and (beautifully) commenting Richbee
'I think the curse of our time is meaninglessness'
What a piece... to begin as you did, in what felt like personal relationship story, and expand into your gifted artform of acute observation and social commentary.
I was at a Fontaines /Kneecap gig last night in Manchester with my husband and a line from one of the finale songs stuck in my head. 'Life ain't always empty'. Maybe they could have dropped the 'always' , but it would lose its umph...
You are a writer for our times, Jonathan! With umph
I’ve just driven 600 kms to take my daughter to a course she’s going to do, got out of the car exhausted and read this very generous comment Síodhna! Thanks so much “a writer for our times”! I won’t need to pay for petrol on the way back coz that’ll get me home on smiling alone.
“A few young Americans wandered about, flabbergasted by flesh, perturbed by their own, hissing to each other, titties at two o’clock, titties at two o’clock!”
“…the chaos of human intimacy going on around them”
“They ordered a carafe of white wine and sat side by side like two chuffed love birds silhouetted in the sunset. He had Poseidon’s beard and shoulders and she seemed to be falling toward his gravity.”
Jonathan, not only was this a delight to read, but also the exact antithesis of going to the beach in a small town in way way up north ,VT. Let’s just say that if Paul (my husband) and I were
watching humans doing what humans do on a beach, our average response would be , Oy, or the nonverbal equivalent of. Which would include various facial expressions and a great amount of eye rolling. Since I am never 100% sure if you are writing nonfiction or fiction, often blurring the lines between both, I like to think you and your wife are the observers, which makes it all the more endearing . I know, I am on a quoting spree, because there are so many here that I love, oh wait, I have to include just one more ;
“You mean it’s just as good under a tamarisk tree as in the expensive seats.” I was curious to know what a tamarisk tree was, so I did a quick search. Apparently it is just as good , if not better to sit under a tamarisk tree. The dictionary’s definition read like a poem;
“scalelike leaves borne on slender branches, giving it a feathery appearance.” And it seems it has biblical roots, literally.
“The tamarisk tree is mentioned in the Bible, notably in Genesis 21:33-34, where Abraham plants one in Beersheba…”
But you probably already knew that.
“It’s always better to be kind though”. I like your wife ( if indeed we are talking about your wife) . Either way , kindness makes it much easier to exist in the “chaos” of a human world.
I wonder sometimes if my actual life is fiction or non-fiction so maybe my writing is just reflecting that :)
They grow all over the Mediterranean those tamarisk trees, like hardy desert plants clinging to the beaches in the pounding sun, not surprised they are in the bible because on a scorching day they are a godsend for sure.
And thanks Lor, again, for your close and smart reading, I know it's boring to say I appreciate all you beautiful people but you really are the wind in my writing sails :)
A greatly engaging story, thank you Jonathan. The youth of today, hey, haha. It seems we are in 'an age' of change, but also at 'the age' we notice it pushing us out of our comfort zones. Thankfully, we all still love stories, even if they're YouTube ones. 😄 We all try to escape one way or another.
I know what you mean Alia, I get that, although in my case I've noticed an increasingly sharp veer toward the left, toward community, toward desire for radical change as I get older. Maybe it's because I've got no assets to protect or no nostalgic fantasies to indulge in :)
“She” resuscitates meaning with her interjections and play - Yep, she totally is. I remember writing the line "Soon she will head into her day, not to take part in the world but to be the world" in another piece and that's the same idea, that "She" is the vitality and meaning of life :) All we need is more kids hissing "Goddess of Meaning at two o'clock, Goddess of Meaning at two o'clock" and the world will start righting itself 🤣
God, I loved this read. It's held by the intimacy of your connection with your partner- those shared observations and quiet conversations- and that perspective in the context of the larger thing that you are saying here was really powerful. As a person who actually reads paper books on planes, I loved the landing as well.
Thanks so much Kendal, firstly because you've perceived that the intimacy in the enormity, which I was trying to achieve (you never know) and secondly because it's always such a boost when a great writer enjoys your work. So thanks pal :)
Oh, wow, what a delightfully reciprocal comment, Jonathan! Thank you. And you most certainly achieved that goal. It read like a love story, with a mischievous glint shimmering through it.
Thank you for the humanness and warmth of the ending, Jonathan.
.
“On the plane a woman sat in the fifth row reading a book, beside her sat a man also reading a book. He leant over and whispered something to her and she laughed…”
There's always humanness and warmth lurking below the surface of all this craziness I reckon, Ann. We've just got to let it out :) Thanks so much for reading and commenting too, I really do appreciate it.
Very pleasant read, thank you!
My pleasure Jaap, glad you enjoyed this one :)
I love how you combine both affection and the confidentiality shared between a couple who have obviously grown together for many years, with quiet observation.
This crazy life... a true story! Yours, I can never tell? a little bit real and a little fabrication maybe, just little though.
“I think the curse of our time is meaninglessness,” also an addiction, we have the proof!
Apologies for the tardy comment, it's been one of those crazy-life weeks, and that was without any YouTube farçades !
Sometimes I feel like a magician doing slight of hand with words, now you see it, now you don't, is it real or is it an illusion? I remember chatting to Kimberly during that interview on Unfixed about fiction and non-fiction being heavy handed genres and that we should have more fluid and delicate ways of thinking about writing. Isn't everything a little bit real and a little bit not? I didn't actually meet any YouTubers but I did fall into a kind of trance where I thought about YT's. :) I hope that helps 🤣
Thanks so much for being here, Susie, and for your always very beautiful comments, never tardy and always appreciated. I'd be really interested to know what you think of tomorrow's post ...
I find quite a lot the feels 'not real' - could be an age trip though!
Now I am intrigued... I will look out for it!
And that was meant to say façades no 'r' 🙄
My goodness, Jonathan, the intimacy in this piece is so lovely—to look on the world and show what you see is one thing; to add the perspective of looking on those scenes from a deep enduring connection—chef’s kiss.
Thanks Holly, that's a real compliment coming from you pal :) Which reminds me I need to go and read your latest...on my way, on my way.
Location somewhere Mediterranean. Uzo licorice cold with a cube swirling around. Your pleasant story under the tamarisk tree has a delightful flavor that portrays worldly characters in conversation that can only bring a vacation home to enjoy several more seasons.
The Gods on Mt Olympus were laughing at we humans for sure, finally through our insane antics to entertain the antiques :) Thanks so much for reading and (beautifully) commenting Richbee
'I think the curse of our time is meaninglessness'
What a piece... to begin as you did, in what felt like personal relationship story, and expand into your gifted artform of acute observation and social commentary.
I was at a Fontaines /Kneecap gig last night in Manchester with my husband and a line from one of the finale songs stuck in my head. 'Life ain't always empty'. Maybe they could have dropped the 'always' , but it would lose its umph...
You are a writer for our times, Jonathan! With umph
✊
https://youtu.be/jLNt8aMNbvY?si=csTO3ISloR362G6D
I’ve just driven 600 kms to take my daughter to a course she’s going to do, got out of the car exhausted and read this very generous comment Síodhna! Thanks so much “a writer for our times”! I won’t need to pay for petrol on the way back coz that’ll get me home on smiling alone.
Love Kneecap. Hope you enjoyed the gig pal
“…their nonchalant four-fifths naked bronzed breeziness.”
“A few young Americans wandered about, flabbergasted by flesh, perturbed by their own, hissing to each other, titties at two o’clock, titties at two o’clock!”
“…the chaos of human intimacy going on around them”
“They ordered a carafe of white wine and sat side by side like two chuffed love birds silhouetted in the sunset. He had Poseidon’s beard and shoulders and she seemed to be falling toward his gravity.”
Jonathan, not only was this a delight to read, but also the exact antithesis of going to the beach in a small town in way way up north ,VT. Let’s just say that if Paul (my husband) and I were
watching humans doing what humans do on a beach, our average response would be , Oy, or the nonverbal equivalent of. Which would include various facial expressions and a great amount of eye rolling. Since I am never 100% sure if you are writing nonfiction or fiction, often blurring the lines between both, I like to think you and your wife are the observers, which makes it all the more endearing . I know, I am on a quoting spree, because there are so many here that I love, oh wait, I have to include just one more ;
“You mean it’s just as good under a tamarisk tree as in the expensive seats.” I was curious to know what a tamarisk tree was, so I did a quick search. Apparently it is just as good , if not better to sit under a tamarisk tree. The dictionary’s definition read like a poem;
“scalelike leaves borne on slender branches, giving it a feathery appearance.” And it seems it has biblical roots, literally.
“The tamarisk tree is mentioned in the Bible, notably in Genesis 21:33-34, where Abraham plants one in Beersheba…”
But you probably already knew that.
“It’s always better to be kind though”. I like your wife ( if indeed we are talking about your wife) . Either way , kindness makes it much easier to exist in the “chaos” of a human world.
I wonder sometimes if my actual life is fiction or non-fiction so maybe my writing is just reflecting that :)
They grow all over the Mediterranean those tamarisk trees, like hardy desert plants clinging to the beaches in the pounding sun, not surprised they are in the bible because on a scorching day they are a godsend for sure.
And thanks Lor, again, for your close and smart reading, I know it's boring to say I appreciate all you beautiful people but you really are the wind in my writing sails :)
It is never boring to be appreciated by a friend.
( P.S. I wish you had a PayPal option for donations)
A greatly engaging story, thank you Jonathan. The youth of today, hey, haha. It seems we are in 'an age' of change, but also at 'the age' we notice it pushing us out of our comfort zones. Thankfully, we all still love stories, even if they're YouTube ones. 😄 We all try to escape one way or another.
I know what you mean Alia, I get that, although in my case I've noticed an increasingly sharp veer toward the left, toward community, toward desire for radical change as I get older. Maybe it's because I've got no assets to protect or no nostalgic fantasies to indulge in :)
I guess if you're veering somewhere, that's a nice way go :)
Swimming against the current is a speciality :)
Ah! So true! “I think the curse of our time is meaninglessness…”
I think:
“She” resuscitates meaning with her interjections and play.
“She” resuscitates meaning with her interjections and play - Yep, she totally is. I remember writing the line "Soon she will head into her day, not to take part in the world but to be the world" in another piece and that's the same idea, that "She" is the vitality and meaning of life :) All we need is more kids hissing "Goddess of Meaning at two o'clock, Goddess of Meaning at two o'clock" and the world will start righting itself 🤣
I loved this read too, as I see others here also did.
Thank you for your always unique , super interesting reads, Jonathan.
And big yes to “ It’s always better to be kind though,” she said.” ❤️
And thank you too Michaele, it's always so encouraging to feel seen and properly read, I really appreciate you for that :)
God, I loved this read. It's held by the intimacy of your connection with your partner- those shared observations and quiet conversations- and that perspective in the context of the larger thing that you are saying here was really powerful. As a person who actually reads paper books on planes, I loved the landing as well.
Thanks so much Kendal, firstly because you've perceived that the intimacy in the enormity, which I was trying to achieve (you never know) and secondly because it's always such a boost when a great writer enjoys your work. So thanks pal :)
Oh, wow, what a delightfully reciprocal comment, Jonathan! Thank you. And you most certainly achieved that goal. It read like a love story, with a mischievous glint shimmering through it.
Thank you for the humanness and warmth of the ending, Jonathan.
.
“On the plane a woman sat in the fifth row reading a book, beside her sat a man also reading a book. He leant over and whispered something to her and she laughed…”
There's always humanness and warmth lurking below the surface of all this craziness I reckon, Ann. We've just got to let it out :) Thanks so much for reading and commenting too, I really do appreciate it.