The Bright Side of Doom & Gloom

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08/10/16: This is an opportunity. Take advantage of it. Why not? It will cost you a trip on the L-train. There and back. How much is that? Four dollars and fifty cents. True: It’ll cost more if you are assaulted. But assault is unlikely. Particularly in the middle of the day. Especially since the authorities are on “High Alert” following the most recent spate of assaults. None of which have occurred in the middle of the day. But consider: if you are assaulted, you’ll have something to write about. Assault —for the author — is an opportunity. (Assuming the author survives. Assuming no permanent brain damage.) What’s more, you have no pressing commitments. You can afford to take advantage of this opportunity. So… do so. Even if you aren’t assaulted, you’ll come away with something. And let’s be clear: What, at root, is it, i.e., this opportunity, after all?* From the moment you set foot outside you are confronted with the possibility of inspiration. Shouldn’t that be enough? Again, this assumes no freak (and fatal) “Act of God” or reckless homicide or first degree murder or terrorist attack. Either way, experience is all we get. You know this. And yet you take such great pains to limit all possible experience beyond the walls of your apartment. Forever guarding against the worst. Is the long life ensconced within a plaster and brick cocoon (aside from the queen size bed, great water pressure, decent view, and nifty kitchen appliances) worth the trade-off? 

*[07/11/21: FV had indeed planned to attend a legitimate event of some sort. But, in keeping with tradition, he let the opportunity slip by.]

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