WEEKLY WHINE

Psychological barriers are fun

I began walking the other day. At first, I was following a particular course. I'd been that way before and knew what to expect. This was nothing more than the same trip I'd taken many times before. I passed familiar landmarks and even familiar people. They were all the same. The only changes, a bit of recycling on theatre marquees and a few new billboards around. There were really no surprises to begin with. The first wave was all the same, but it gradually defocussed.

Soon I reached places I had seen only a few times. Then places I had seen but once. These resembled what I had already seen although, of course, my memory of them was somewhat faint. I then passed beyond that last marker over the highway. Cars whizzed by below following large green signs to who knows where. They knew where, hopefully. However, occasionally I assume there passed by some who knew not where they were going or how they would get there. About forty feet above, I was in rather the same position but heading toward the west. I passed over the northbound lanes and then the southbound lanes. Eventually there were no more, not even exit lanes. There was a grassy embankment. Not much else was present.

Another intersection passed and was followed by a car dealership. Not any car dealership; an expensive one. Jaguars, Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs, even Rolls Royces were to be had here. Thoughts: Might I someday have an opportunity to test drive them, even buy one? Perhaps. For now, walk straight by. Up a minor hill and past some kind of interesting place. Then I headed to the right on some street. Orange Grove or something of the sort. Signs indicated various ways to various locations or routes. On the whole, they were not very interesting. Continuing straight on yielded an interesting building bearing Finnish flags. Regardless of what this was or might have been, the road curved toward the right. This was followed by another intersection. Walnut Street, a familiar name. This would be the return trip.

The highways were different this time, and the original overpass which I passed over about thirty minutes previously was probably visible, though for the life of myself I was unable to discern which of the possibilities was the correct one. The logical guess was the next one over, but it did not resemble what I believed the original one was. In any case, I continued to pass by other roads, seeing many "Freeway Entrance" signs. There were further signs directing automobile drivers to several common destinations. How many people were passing in each direction? It would be a challenge merely to guess.

Continuing on, I saw a rather dull office building. There were no buildings of comparable altitude within a two block radius, so it was definitely easy to see, despite being wholly uninteresting. The correct route had me continue straight on. The next target was a park, but it had no swings, so I continued on.

Eventually I did see some interesting things. There were many fast food-type places, some with walkup windows like the good old days. Of course, the new days are just as good, but they're now. The old days are not now and therefore are "good" in a different sense. Things become random frequently, although there are many interesting places to visit and be non-random. Such places are worth a look, but true fun comes from different and intriguing places. Psychological barriers are fun.