Love Cool Love

"I like it when things break down. There's something about a flat tire, or a train getting stuck, or long weather delays at the airport--any time when the earth stops turning the way it's supposed to--that releases me. I am a child again, curious, confused, not knowing what will happen next. For a moment, a space, a breath, I'm not responsible. All I have to do is respond--until time catches up with itself, the tire is changed, the train starts rolling again, or the snow melts, and the weight of accountability is hoisted back up on my shoulders. Sometimes I wish for a tornado or a hurricane, even a war. Anything to stop the inertia for an instant. Being an adult, the awareness of opportunities that have been compromised, the stunted growth I feel in my bones, is simply exhausting. A disaster striking can be a relief--as long as it isn't your fault."

-Ethan Hawke in "Ash Wednesday"

Despite my stalwart committment to despising contemporary authors, in an effort to be open-minded, and rather begrudgingly I must admit that Hawke has written something not only true but rather elegant.