[orig to FB]
A bunch of really great birthdays today in my corner of the internet these days, mostly people I would have lost were it nor for FB. Lots of people say the birthday thing is one of the few legit great things about this swamp, and I agree, but it often leaves me thinking that something’s wanting — why?
Wishing someone happy birthday is easy, as we see every day; but telling them how or why they mean something to you can involve a bit more resistance. Don’t believe me? Try it! 😹 Maybe you’ll have more luck than me, but I often hear a little voice whispering
I’m in the middle of a personal Jacques Tati film fest, and again and again I find myself mourning the loss of that exquisitely delicately naiveté — not just Mr. Hulot’s but that of Tati, too, who trusted that that our collective well of humanity was clear enough to care for everyone, down to the unseen drivers of all those other cars.
Telling people how and why about how and why you care about them, care for them, care with them, is one way to restore a bit of that, if only for a moment. Debord put it well in the title of one of his films: on the passage of a few people through a rather brief moment in time. That’s all we have.