Due Date

Last Friday over lunch I went and checked a few books out at the library. (This isn't something I'm in the practice of doing, as I obsessively write in my books and it sort of pisses me off that I have to restrain myself.)

Anyhow, I'd been dying to pick up something by Wendell Berry, so I grabbed his book, Fidelity. I was excited to dive in, so last Friday night I went to one of my favorite people-watching spots, Fric & Frac on 39th St., to sit outside, enjoy a pale ale, listen to some tunes, and get well acquainted with this writer that I've heard such great things about.

I opened the plastic covered little book, and was immediately riveted by something I hadn't seen in a long time - a stamped inside cover with previously inked due dates. The excitement gave birth to an homage in my journal to this antiquated and beautiful practice.

More importantly, it got me thinking about all the old traditions that are dying out in our fast-paced, McDonald's culture, intent on capturing data.

Bicycles used to get yourself somewhere.
Milk bottles delivered to your doorstep.
Writing with pencils.
Going for a walk - not for exercise's sake.
Making tea on the stove in a kettle.
Cooking anything from scratch.
Making a mix tape.
Just dropping by someone's house.

Sometimes it's nice to think of all the old ways things were done. There's something elegant and quaint in the traditions.