Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Wisdom Words of OSC

"He lay down fully dressed on his bed, not meaning to fall asleep yet. He just needed to think. About what, he wasn't sure.

So instead he thought about nothing. About things in the room. About the athletic trophies in a box in the closet. How much of his life was that? The shelves of books - so much time reading. Neither of them amounted to anything. He ran. He lost or he won. No one remembered a week later. And the books he read - what did that amount to? University people were always so proud of being readers instead of television watchers, but what was the difference, really? It was a one-way transmission. I read, but it made no difference to the writer. He never knew. And when I'm dead, what will it matter the books I read? My memory is where the book ends up, just like the TV show, and when I'm dead, that memory is gone from the world.

Like running the hurdles. Work so hard, jump over every one, fast, high enough but no higher, because you can't afford to hang in the air. And then, when the race is over, you're dripping with sweat, either they beat you or you beat them...and then a couple of guys come out and move the hurdles out of the way. Turns out they were nothing. All that work to jump over them, but now they're gone."

4 comments:

Lisa said...

So don't exercise and watch more TV, right? Just kidding. I like that. What book of his is it from?

mitchowl said...

Enchantment

Anonymous said...

OSC . . . Occupational Sciences Council? . . . Ohio Symphonies Coalition? . . . Office of Special Council? . . . Orbital Sciences Control? . . . Over South Carolina? . . . Orlando Super Computing?

I give up. What is this special code OSC?

Lisa said...

Oscar the Super Cool (dog). He's very wise.