Hiding From the World In Plain Sight
It was nice to get away from the News on my run North. Thanks to my new Creative Zen Jukebox (MP3 player), I tuned out the world. Driving a noisy truck and listening to the radio gets annoying fast. This new toy enabled me to just plug my ears and drive 940 miles in two days without contact from the world outside. I’m a bit leary about not being able to hear a siren, but sitting in the cab of a diesel cab-over design is quite noisy, so I might not hear anything anyway. I know I can’t hear my cell phone when it rings whil I’m driving (a collective sigh of releif from the peanut gallery) A nuclear blast could’ve happened, and if not too near, I wouldn’t have known until I got home. I had a chance to switch on the TV in the hotel but, for those who don’t know me yet, that’s like asking me to dance on a highway - naked. No appeal there - for anyone!
Besides, I just discovered the book “Cluetrain Manifesto“, and I’m liking it! So here I find myself in a strange town reading in a restaurant with earbuds in. How strange is that? Have you seen anyone do that lately? Outside of midterms in a college town, reading in public is not generally done. People my age don’t usually walk around plugged in unless they’re on a treadmill.
Also, there are logistical difficulties in trying to eat a double cheeseburger while reading a fresh book. the burger is too big for one hand, and the oversized paperback is too big to comfortable read with one hand, so to avoid getting grease smeared on the book, I either read six words per bite, or I eat very slowly. At one point, I had the book wedged under my thigh to hold my place between bites. Must have looked comical.
But then I’m used to being the odd man out. I had fun and got the job done, coming home safely. that’s what matters.
May 19th, 2005 at 2:09 pm
Okay, you freak! reading in public is shameful and embarrassing… and a helluva lot more fun than just staring at the walls or the traffic.
Have you tried using your fork as a bookmark? I find that using the tines to hold the pages open works wonders (two outside tines behind the pages, the two center ones in front of the pages you’re reading — but you can probably work our your own logistics). That way, you can set the book on the table, continue reading, and not worry about the pages flipping shut on you. You still have to be careful about ketchup getting all over things, but it frees your hands up a little better.
Besides, what else is that silly piece of metal good for? Surely not lifting food from the plate to the mouth… isn’t that why God gave us fingers?
BTW — I’m too cheap to buy the book you mentioned, so I started surfing it online. It has potential. Especially after suffering at the hands of a couple of notoriously stupid dinosaur corporations.
Of course, a fairly good parody of the 95 theses exists, as well.
May 19th, 2005 at 2:11 pm
Sorry. That second link was supposed to be this.