With Continual Reference to Justin Kahn.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Dry Your Eyes, Justin.

My readers will no doubt be suprised to see that I am posting on Monday when my last post clearly stated I wouldn't be back until Wed. There are two exceptions to
this otherwise absolute sense of suprise that will be present in the Concept of Irony commmunity:

1) Maggie, who though raising the standards of COI Reading by setting her homepage to COI, doesn't necessarily hit refresh when her browser opens and so probably won't see this post until late December.

2) Those who skipped reading the last post and went right to the comments. Which is pretty much everyone else, except the ultimately very loyal Mind Curry.

The point being, this weekend marked a new low in my life. You see my book bag,and closest friend, is no more. I haven't felt this way since I lost Edgar.

Goodbye Bookie.

You knew I didn't need to carry around the four volumes of the collected works of Kurt Godel. You knew I didn't have time, and how also I only read on the third grade level, so even owning, let alone carrying around Godel was pointless. But still you tried to hold those weighty volumes.

And I will miss you.


In one single moment your whole life can turn 'round
I stand there for a minute starin' straight into the ground
Lookin' to the left slightly, then lookin' back down
World feels like it's caved in - proper sorry frown

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, but here it's Sunday. Still. Sorry about your Bookie, but you know, it's best that he go first. Otherwise, sooner or later, he'll send someone for your kneecaps. And anyway, how do you afford that when you really can't even afford cheesecake? And how did you convince him to follow you around carrying your books? He was in to you for that much? Are you psychic and place bets based on visions? or what? And did you strangle him with that strap? Geesh, Justin.

Nessa said...

Dear Justin:

I am so sorry for your loss. I know it's early yet in the mourning process, but as soon as you can, you should get a new bag. It's the best way to heal the pain you are feeling now. I know your relationship with a new bookbag will not be the same as the one you had with Bookie, but life goes on. He would have wanted it that way.

Nessa

Justin said...

maleah, you've sort of complicated things. I have visions, but I'm not psychic. Being psychic would be an added hassle, because then I would see other people's visions. But mine are pretty accurate in and of themselves.
j.

Justin said...

goldennib,
Those are such beautiful words. But, you do know that we are talking about a bookbag, right?
j.

bitingblondewit said...

Justin, I have a gazillion bookbags...you can have whichever one you want. I will even throw in a book. Maybe the Oxford History of Christianity which you so coveted a few months ago?

Justin said...

bitingblondewit, Don't you see that this is much more complicated than just replacing bookie? I mean if you had a gazillion bags, and gave me four or five, then I could see considerably emotional healing coming about rather quickly. But to offer just a single one feels almost like you are saying that I can just replace bookie. Which hurts.
j.
P.S. I have broken four wineglasses this year????

Mary Lois said...

This is existential loss carried to its most ironic extreme. Again, I am impressed with Justin's ability to elevate and illuminate our daily lives.

I hear he can tapdance too.

Comrade Kevin said...

Justin, I'm sure you could have used the miracle of duct tape to keep him going for a few more years. Yet, I can't help but feel you made the right choice.

What kind of quality of life would Bookie had left all covered in duct tape? Should technology overcome the natural order? Just like Dr. Hfuhruhurr learned in Steve Martin's bioepic movie "The Man with Two Brains", what right have we to play God!?!

What right indeed...

Angry Gnome said...

I am sad for your loss. Sometimes words are not enough.

Justin said...

finding fair hope, modesty bids me to make a clarification--I can illuminate the human condition, but not while I'm tap dancing.

Anyway, I don't feel much like tap dancing these days.

j.

Justin said...

angry G: Words are not enough. But I think bitingblondewit is on the right track. Donations are key. J.

Justin said...

Comrade K: It wasn't so much out of compassion but out of political necessity. Why should a disproportionate amount of resources go towards a single individual, who is no longer able to contribute to the community.

I learned that from Steve Martin's the Jerk.

j

Taihae said...

Maybe we're on the wrong track here...instead of "replacing" bookie with a bag of the same cloth, so to speak, why not accept the loss and move on into different territory with, say, a briefcase, or hello kitty purse?

Anonymous said...

Wow. I feel like a celebrity... super sweet link too.

So sorry about Bookie. It's kind of like losing a favorite pet. Sad at the beginning, but then you get a replacement and after a while things start to feel right again... maybe? I Suppose that's a bit morbid.

Justin said...

Maggie,
Stay tuned! My life has gotten so much worse in the last couple of hours.
j.

Justin said...

taihae, It is a good idea, but I'm not real good with change. It makes me feel like I'm latching on to things that aren't essential. So tomorrow Hell Kitty Purse, Next Year (maybe sooner) a briefcase, and then five or six years down the road I'm experimenting with doingg stuff like keeping all of my belongings in a port a potty on wheels. Please, I think to myself, don't let that kind of downward spiral start.
j.

Charlene Amsden said...

Justin, you are a cruel task master. You should have retired Bookie long before his service left him crippled. As soon as I find the number for your local chapter of People Against Cruelty to Bookbags, I am turning you in.

Justin said...

stvnimmortal,
I love what you have done with your blog.

I'm struggling for the right words.

However, I do think you conclude with a non sequitur.

But other than that I find your comment to be airtight. I am truly a wretch.

j.

Mind Curry said...

it was an honor figuring in one of your posts!! :)