Leaving Too Soon
I left Brooklyn Heights right as puberty was having a strong conversation with me. I left North Hollywood right after I got my driver’s license and was free to explore Southern California. I left boarding school for college right after my mom told me she was going to die. I left my first college before I ever played a second of varsity basketball.
The Difference Between Wandering and Being Lost
My mind wanders constantly while my body sits in an Article chair at work, staring at a gigantic screen while sunlight pours through my front windows. Cars pass. People yammer. Lights go red, then green. Everybody is on some path.
The Stories We Tell Ourselves
I once rubbed poison ivy all over my body at summer day camp because the girl I liked said the plant in question was not poison ivy. She was smart, and I showed up the next day with Calamine lotion all over my body. Side note: I love the smell of Calamine lotion. I once slept over at her house, in a bunk bed, when I was less than ten. I can see the room. I have a photo of her and me on the beach. It’s sweet. I believe this story to be accurate, but I worry about what happens when it fades.
Boundaries
I played a lot of sports growing up. Basketball, tennis, baseball, football, soccer. What’s the one thing that they all have in common? Boundaries. Courts, fields, or pitches, with lines that mark in or out of bounds. It’s lovely. Why can’t I keep my life set up like that? The answer is, I can. I will. I will create a framework for my work and stick to it. I have earned that right.
Disconnected People
I used to think I was more disconnected than most. I’m not so sure anymore. I think I’m connected just the right amount to the people and things that I care about. The rest are dust particles blown into the next town by one of those new twenty-nine-minute power storms. I’m not sure everyone else is noticing. I’m walking amongst a crevasse of disconnected people.
What’s In a Name
Jonathan Greene. Lame. Jonnie. Jon. Lame. Why couldn’t I have been Jox Hundred? What were they thinking? And what was I thinking when I named my kids? Basic. I am so basic. What’s in a name? Do you want to be rescued in a superhero movie by Zee Thousand or Jon Greene? No contest.