princeton, n.j., 7.23-8.4.2007

i.

transportation security in dallas
confiscated our unopened 1-liter water bottles.

in philly, they confiscated
my daughter's cigarette lighter

(which she'd been allowed to
carry on the plane in dallas).

i asked her if the screener had told her
that smoking is a disgusting habit she should quit

and whether he'd asked her how she liked the new camels.
she said no and yes.

ii.

driving around in my sister's car
listening to john fahey.
at the record exchange in princeton,
i bought a monk tribute cd.

"is he the one whose music sounds like chaos?"
she asked as we listened to "pannonica."
other people's music,
other people's lives.

iii.

one of the nice hospital ladies
who took care of my father
asked if i knew about tax shelters
and was surprised when i told her
that i'm like a child about money.
"japanese and chinese know about these things,"
she said. "i need to get
a chinese person to do my taxes."

iv.

on the way to dinner one night,
my sister and i passed a 40something whiteguy
wearing a t-shirt with a necktie.

as he walked by, he closed his eyes
and solemnly intoned, "mental disturbance."
i was surprised he knew what the topic of the day was.

later, my brother-in-law told me
that john nash, the schizophrenic mathematician,
has a son who's similarly afflicted and similarly gifted

who's kind of a local character around town.
now i can't help wondering
whether our guy was him.

v.

my father told me, "my mind is going crazy"
because his dreams and reality are bleeding together.
i told him, "it's okay. the dreams that you're dreaming
are just too big for your sleep to hold them."