4:33

Have to trust Glenn on this, he's nine degrees smarter than me, and still has all his hair. Obviously we were talking about John Cage, and I'd called him, to talk about the docenting movie that we'd been talking about doing. In the planning stages these projects defy grammar. Future pluperfect. Out there on the fringes of know-ability. But I understood some things, in this conversation, that I hadn't quite got before: how the me, a character, would elide into being. Not a big deal, and certainly not played with a heavy hand. "The Docent" of the title is actually a recluse that gets called out of hiding. He lives in a tree-tip pit in Southern Ohio. I've met him, we've talked, I have a way with hermits. You let them ramble and ask leading questions. I carry a book and a flask with me everywhere, it's only ever a question of when you'll be trapped in an elevator, so I'm always prepared for the odd encounter. The two groups I took through the Carters yesterday were oddly pensive, their teacher had referred to me as a genius, and I was batting that aside while talking about Carter in Europe, 1927, and what impact that had on his career. I defer quite well. What I mean, taken literally. He never embraced the modern. That's the single reason I resisted him as long as I did. But he's a good painter, and I know him now, very well, and my attitude is changed. Mac said I was writing well, and I trust that, if we're being honest. but the boat sinks, regardless. Glenn said it was attention to detail and I agree with that. It feels great to go back and take out a few commas. In control. Not the confused, sloppy, homeless guy you met at Wal-Mart. I have to laugh. Maxwell's second equation. Just saying. I have to go and put on some soup. I amuse myself.