How should I spend my time now that I’ve given up on the American experiment?

So many things to choose from.

  • Clean out my garage.  You’ve seen my garage, right?  You haven’t?  It’s a mess.  Decluttering is all the rage.  Maybe I’ll start there.
  • Read A Theory of Justice by John Rawls.  Reading about his theory clarified for me why I’m a liberal.  But I’ve never read the book itself.  It’s, um, long.  And if I read it, maybe I’ll have to read all the books that have been written in response to it.  And meanwhile the garage will get messy again.
  • Listen to more Brahms.  How come I got to be as old as I am without listening to his string quintets?  They’re great!  What else am I missing?  I can listen to Brahms while cleaning my garage.
  • Finish my novel.  Faster.  Luckily, my novel doesn’t have anything to do with politics.  Of course, it’s entirely possible politics will sneak in before I’m done with it.
  • Re-read Shakespeare.  I’ve let that go for too long.  Now would be a great time to start it up again.  Also, there are a couple of Shakespeare exhibits at the Boston Public Library.  How come I’m not there right now?

Of course, there’s always the chance that at some point I’ll rethink my current attitude.  As that noted optimist Samuel Beckett famously said:

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.

Failing better is the American way.

6 thoughts on “How should I spend my time now that I’ve given up on the American experiment?

  1. Pingback: An update on my garage (and my mental health) | Richard Bowker

  2. Pingback: Santa must be reading my blog! | Richard Bowker

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