Open Letter to the People of the Future

Dear People of the Future,

I want to let you know that people living at the time I am writing spend a lot of time on the internet. Americans do, at least. We spend hours and hours a day reading text on computer screens, much more time than we ever spent reading newspapers and handwritten letters. I mention this because you have probably heard this about us and wondered whether it was one of those exaggerations like everyone in the 1920s being flappers and everyone from 1200-1400 catching the plague and perhaps tangling with the Inquisition. It is absolutely a true thing that we all spend humongous amounts of time on the internet. It is underrepresented in media because we are not interested in watching other people use computers rather than because we ourselves do not spend a lot of time using computers. Even homeless people do this. They use the computers at the library. It is a central part of all our lives.

Maybe this is not novel to you and what is novel is that we spend a certain amount of time, some of us, not on the internet. Maybe you all have internet implants when you are born. Maybe it is like male circumcision. That is another thing we do a lot in America right now. It is an old Jewish tradition, but most of us are not Jewish. We just do it. Some people think about it and decide not to do it, but most people don't think about it. We like doing stuff that's in the Bible, I guess. I don't know.

Regards,
Romie

Would swallowing your teeth be more interesting than fiction?

People who say to me, "I don't read fiction. Real life is interesting enough" - fuck you people. Fuck your interesting lives which are not usually interesting. I act nice when you ask me what I am reading as a setup to tell me that you don't read fiction because real life is interesting enough, but what I am thinking every time is "fuck you." Jesus Christ, you arrogant fucks. Like you have a monopoly on truth. Your preferences are no more than preferences, and the books you read could be fakedy fake fake fake and you would never know because they are more removed from your personal frame of reference than most literature. Shut up. I read nonfiction too, and even if I didn't, shut up.

Nice Things That Happened

Yesterday:

- Ciro and I made chicken and plums for dinner (in a red wine reduction) and it was delicious and all of the ingredients in it were on sale.

- I switched over my Driver's License at the DMV and everyone there was friendly and efficient and thorough and pleased with my new name, even if my new photo is fairly grim (although unfortunately not quite grim enough for bragging rights).

- I got to hang out with my friend Ed for a couple of hours, catching up on things and dissecting current events, and she gave me her grandmother's shooting jacket, which has lots of cool patches and unusual reinforcement.

- I phoned my mom to wish her a belated birthday because on her actual birthday we were both busy - her cooking chili and cornbread and having all her friends over. I wish I could have been there, both because I like her friends and because I like chili and cornbread.

Today:

- I went to the bank to change my name there, and a whole series of people was pleasant and congenial and effective. While I was pulling out of the parking lot, a woman in another car used wonderfully clear hand gestures to quickly communicate the best way for us to coordinate our automobile movement with ideal efficiency.

- At work, I passed my on air test with flying colors and today three supervisors went out of their way to tell me how impressed with my work they have been and continue to be. They've been pretty warm throughout and have offered me lots of positive reinforcement, but it continues to be nice and therefore belongs in a list of things that happen that are nice.

- At work, there is a microwave and some days (like today) I assemble my lunch from several packets of freeze-dried ingredients, which makes me feel like a spaceman.

- In my coloring book, I got to color some poppies and poppies are pretty.

- My favorite security guard was on duty. All the security guards are nice, but he's especially nice and it makes me happy to see him. He smiles a smile that is huge and genuine and doesn't seem to demand anything of anyone, and he watches me as I leave the parking lot and presses a button at his desk to open the gate when my car gets there so that I don't have to fish in my purse for my key card. It is a very small thing but it means a great deal to me.

- Ciro is putting the finishing touches on some spaghetti sauce that includes red bell pepper because he loves me and also red bell pepper.