Fallback To Normal

You know how right before you drift into dreams this one profound definitive conclusion will suddenly reveal itself, kinda like the Invisible Man who as it turns out was there the whole time? Sometimes it feels like the Wonder Years Narrator only this time, you can hear his insights! (That sure would have saved Kevin and Winnie lots of heartache while also developing any number of fascinating paradoxes in the space–time continuum). That’s…an embarrassing amount of nerd references in just a couple of lines. Right, moving on then…

Last night my definitive conclusion was: “I’m attracted to ideas, images and for now, let’s call them individuals that don’t/can’t retire.”

For example Superheroes. There’s no pension plan for Superheroes, evil is evil right? Evil is relentless and comes at us in many forms and shapes that’s what makes evil…evil. Evil will always be present. Superheroes can’t retire they just…die. Same with the best writers, they don’t stop writing and receive a handsome gold watch from their publisher (“Great job!”). Writers may stop publishing but that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped writing.

Which is strange, right? I mean how do you just…stop?

I’ve been watching Doctor Who (Team Matt Smith). Bow Tie miraculously appears all infectious whimsy and contagious wonder, his Blue Box a willing partner in the ongoing seduction effortlessly whisking Amy and Rory away to…wherever, whenever. Even after just one adventure how can you go back to “normal” life. At least they get to journey with the Doctor repeatedly, it’s not a one way ticket. It’s like the rich celebrity who rents Disneyland for a evening, soon as the ride is over you can clap your hands and say “Again! Again!” And off you go.

Seeing Amy and Rory I’m constantly reminded of Apollo 11…the Moon Landing: you get like one shot at this. There’s no such thing as coming back. Out of the millions of lives lived on this earth…great lives, astonishing accomplishments and what…10, maybe 15 individuals in total have been on the Moon. That’s hard…it makes the journey to get to the Moon feel easy. It’s coming back and trying to fit in with society…watching football games, paying bills, burning the roof of your mouth when your coffee is too hot that seems so small so unnatural.

Think it was a Ryerson grad student who wrote a thesis on Batman. Factoring in all the punishment Bats garners…stabbings, shootings, poisonous gassings etc. I believe the grad student theorized Bruce Wayne has basically a 3 year window to do his good work saving Gotham. 3 years, that’s all. After that his badly and broken body would breakdown, some of the damage would set in and Bruce would have no choice but to stop. He’d no longer be able to honour the memories of his parents which would break his heart. Stopping would be far worse than anything the Joker could do to him.

I don’t understand how rock stars who go around the world in this massive tour, all that momentum and energy meeting hundreds of people and parties and then it all. Just. Stops. And they have to pack up and go back to an empty yet lavishly furnished condo in New York City. Fending interior decorator questions about the curtains and wondering why the wifi is down and who to call to fix it.

Society has established a when you stop. 65 years old for most jobs. If you’re in the NBA and 33 years old or even older you end up in those infographics they release at the beginning of every season listing the oldest players in the league. That’s when. When is not how. How is a mindset. You almost have to be willing and more often than not, nobody is willing to. Just. Stop.

How do you just…stop?

-28-


Also published on Medium.

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