i had one of those make-you-think moments on the plane today. the woman sitting across from me must have been 95 or so; completely shriveled up, protruding very blue veins, and completely out of it. she had her flight info on a piece of paper, and she obviously had no train of thought ever -- the flight attendants were shepherding her, and basically she was being treated like a child. a child from a different culture; the mental analogue of the oedipus riddle.

this is what would happen if we had immortality without eternal youth. what struck me, though, was that i can't possibly imagine what it would be like to be like that. to be totally discombobulated all the time, with presumably little continuity to your past (and no future to boot) -- it really seemed like this lady needed to put all of her mental energy into being alive, and didn't really have anything left for a personality or a mind or a history. i'm not sure i would really call that being alive, but i admit i have been known to throw that sort of phrase around.

at any rate, i am back. time to respond to my eight billion emails (i think eight days is the longest i have ever gone without checking email), wash off the traveling grime, and restock my larder before the afternoon rush at berkeley bowl. presumably i will give the recap of dallas later.

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