“life goes on and on anon” stephin merritt.
if a person spends enough time in their own company, they soon realise that their life is made up of a tremendously long and impossibly boring list of activities. lives are not primarily composed of “great” events. believe it or not, that day when you married your high school sweetheart came and went in a heartbeat and your first child will not be born again (expect, perhaps, though some vague religious gesture).
the large part of a person’s existence is spent anonymously. if it could be boiled down to a single moment, it would be that instant in which you stare blankly into space, bored to the point of perversion by another conversation with your great aunt june. am i being too frank? well i’m not your father so i’ve no reason to lie to you.
it is all so perfectly encompased in the word ‘etcetera’, meaning ‘and the rest’. ‘i was born…and the rest.’
i re-familiarise you with this truth not only to make you miserable but also to debunk the myths surrounding heroes. it is perfectly easy to become a hero. save a baby from a burning pram and your heroism is solidified, even if it took you less than a minute and only cost you the hem of your trousers. it is so much harder to live day to day. i find myself constantly amazed by people’s willingness to get up in the morning and watch a batman omnibus again and again and again ad nauseum. that is to say, i am impressed by the way in which people face the etcetera-ness of their lives each day and only rarely consider the joys of self-immolation.
i hope you’re taking notes. this will be in the june exam.
