A Message Gone Awry

i overhear a man about my age say
"if not now, when?"
i wonder if he heard that first,
as i did, from peter marin,
with whom i taught at l.a. state
in 1964-65. he was right, of course,
some people postpone living in an endless
preparation for a life that leaks its fuel before it
fires from its launching pad.
prufrock, for instance, and john marcher.
newman's idea of a university:
make it as close to life as possible;
you only learn to live by living.
still, all ideas go too far: the wise youth
does defer a few things while arming
himself for the fray, takes his
lessons gradually, doesn't take foolhardy
risks, doesn't strike out to do battle
with or tame the sharks until he's
learned to swim. we inner-directed children of the
cautious 50's needed to be urged
to act, but all too many of the
very young have perished in the decades since,
impetuously, and from acting far beyond
their age, or any age.

- Gerald Locklin

Oh, for schools it will either be University of Chicago or University of Minnesota. I'm thinkin' Chicago...

Right, so welcome to spring everyone. I got my hair(s) cut on Tuesday night. Over ten inches gone, snippity snap. Just like that, all choreographed to the tunes of the softrock station they had playing over the speaker system. So yes, now I look like I am seven. A neat trick, and I will be sure to whip it out at opportune times in the future when I reach that inevitable age of desperation for anything to make me feel and maybe even look a bit less my age. But for now, well, let's just say it will take some getting used to. Today was the first thunderstorm of the year and it was smashing. I still miss watching snow fall, but I am ready to not have to build a chrysalis around myself at the mere notion of going outside. I had a wonderful time walking around the 'downtown' of my fair city today. It is one of my favorite places to find solitude. Also, there is nothing like watching the bus you wanted to catch pull away from the curb just as you get the walk signal from a particularly apathetic stop light. But it is nice to have rain and it is nice to have short(er) hair, and I am ready for summer. I have been cooking up a storm here (I am on Spring Break, woo hoo[or notsomuch]) and it has been delicious fun. I also remembered how much I truely enjoy studying in libraries. I am very excited for next year, being as homework is probably all I will be doing. And I will be paying for it, literally. And I look forward to it. I also look forward to bed and writing a very over due letter. Goodnight.