Landing

Case for God: I ordered brownie, brownie excellent.

Case against: so cold my ears hurt.

Case for: things bloom.

Case against: sometimes.

Case for: woman I paid for my groceries asked if I wanted my newspaper rubber banded.

Case against: As I was walking out, I said very quietly to myself, “I hate this song.”  That “Shut up and dance with me” song, which was also playing when I bought some other groceries last night.  

Case for: actual Irish bartender at Irish bar pours a glass of wine up to the rim.

Case against: alcoholism.

Case against: lost my job.

Case for: dropped off my laundry, someone else is going to do it, probably the short guy who is so friendly and seems to enjoy his job.

Case against: no one else in the apartment will wash dishes.

Case against: monsters under bed.

Case for: the moment you are done peeing, when you really had to pee, and the whole thing’s over.

Case against: sore throats.

Case for: hexagonal tile floors.

Case against: stucco.

Case against: my shower water was only hot enough to get clean, not to stay in there an extra second.

Case for: antibiotics.

Case against: failure.

Case for: sometimes success is worse.

Case for: I haven’t paid my rent yet, but I can, it’s no problem.

Case against: lots of people can’t pay their rent.

Case for: but lots of people can, it’s no problem.

Case against: margaritas with too much sour mix.

Case for: when I waltzed into the conference yesterday, hours late, the women at the table gave me the last folder, and when I said, “Am I so late I shouldn’t go in, it’s insulting?” they said, “No, go ahead,” when clearly I was that late.

Case for: kids on the train who sit on their knees and watch out the window although there is nothing to watch but the black of the tunnel.

Case for: anesthesia.

Case for: yesterday a guy came in from the street and asked me to borrow my pen, I said, “Sure, no problem.”

Case against: no Sunday New York Times on my stoop today.

Case for: plenty of Sunday New York Times at the grocery, it’s no problem.

Case for: when people say, “No rush.”

Image: Wenchang, Stellar God of Literature, China, 16th Century, Metropolitan Museum of Art.