February 4th

There may be something wrong about stand up comedies when one stays awake, keeps watching a show in hope that maybe, maybe at the end there will be the punch line that made it all worth it, that made it all ok to persevere. It was the second time now – if one can say in a row – that this has happened. I do not like it and I find only two explanations: either these comedians i watch getting old and start losing touch or I am getting old and losing touch. For this latter I could borrow one of my mum’s recently favourite phrase ‘I’m just not as young anymore as I am used to be...’ Well neither am I and unless one finds the fountain of youth we all have the ready answer to whatever comes our way. Had I been younger it would probably had been a more fun show (although I doubt it, being ‘old’ – well maybe not so old actually – and grumpy). Show me a stand up that I find painfully funny at least in my stomach muscles and I will owe you the price of your choice.

I couldn’t help reading in the news this morning that the USA, its government now want the Egyptian Mubarak gone, and hopes to have him replaced with his former minister for secret services... one shall not comment on that but I fear for the peace in a country where seems to be a genuine hope for a democracy. The army will probably take over, best case scenario that the European Council and the UN will organise elections... then comes - my concern here - that the people will have voted ‘wrong’.

Reading news has happened before going to the market, before taking Liliom to school and after having breakfast and although we were late to school it was a brief session of reading nevertheless. So I derive my analysis from minutes of news reading. I perhaps got it wrong.

After dropping Lili off, Ernest and I turned towards the market which usually a blissfully oblivious browse for me as by the time we get there, he is almost always asleep. Ususally his is covered by his shawl so people just know me there as the guy with the buggy. They rarely see Ernest. But today it was different. He was awake and he wanted a piece of the action so we experimented with him on foot. I wrapped his shawl around him in some manner so it didn’t obstruct his movement and didn’t strangle him either. And off he went. Invincible.

Twice I lost him completely following the signs and waves from friendly vendors as I was chasing after him. It was a laugh. Eventually we came to an agreement to take turns leading the way and waiting up on each other. This system worked well only to break down rather explicitly when the appearance of satsumas –especially ones in crates under the vendor tables. In the beginning our agreement was like that of the great powers on the security council of the UN. We wanted, we dreamed of a future – and at the time a present – without conflicts, of mutual understanding only to have it gone in an instant degrading back in to pity self interest the moment our common dreams became an obstacle of the corporations that controlled ‘our’ governments, the moment those satsumas were in sight all deals were off.

I caught up with the news later so maybe my hypothesis has some more ground than it first seems. Yes, I am very clever.