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Friday, March 21st, 2008
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1:34p - With little information about Freud
"I think I read somewhere that Freud was the one who said telephones symbolize desire." Adam said, staring blankly into his drink. "They represent longing better than any other physical manifestation. Think about any movie you've ever watched," he looked up across the table to Don "especially ones from like, the 40's and 50's. A dark street, it's raining, and there's some dude standing in a trenchcoat and a fedora trying to call his woman from a payphone."
Don nodded. Listening silently.
"What's even better" Adam continued "is when the connection breaks - you know, from lightning or whatever - or he can't get through because the line's busy, or dead, or something. Then he's got no choice but to go out in the rain and visit her at her place. It's the ultimate display of the weakness in the human condition." Adam sat back, feeling smug. After a moment, Don spoke.
"What about windows?"
"Huh?" Adam grunted, wondering what the hell windows had anything to do with anything.
"Windows. Did Freud ever say anything about windows?"
"Oh, I dunno. I never studied the guy or anything. I just read that somewhere. Probably one of those newspaper articles where the writer starts out with something unrelated to their real topic, and tries to tie them together in some abstract way. You know, makes 'em seem clever."
"I guess"
"Anyway, why'd you ask about windows?"
"Oh I dunno. They just make more sense in my mind." Don explained "It's more timeless. People have always had windows, they didn't always have telephones."
"Well, before telephones it was letters."
"Yeah, but still. Using your logic, how many of those movies you were talking about had scenes where there was some girl lookin' out a window, probably with violins or a piano playing in the background. The camera slowly zooms in on her looking out the window, then past her to just the view outside the window. After that it snaps to whatever she's supposed to be thinking about. Her kids, or someplace far away, or that dude at the payphone."
Adam nodded. "Alright, I see what you mean"
"Plus - again, using your logic - think about a phone booth. It's made of glass, and there's some metal around the edges to hold it together. When you stand inside it it's a giant 4-way window.
"Windows can also be kind of vain."
"How so?"
"Well, they reflect. Not like a mirror, but partially."
". . . Your point being?"
"Telephones can't connect to themselves. If you try to make them, you get a busy signal. There is no possible singular-mode for a phone. Excluding cell phones and nonsense that we've got today. A window can keep you occupied with yourself if you let it."
"Ok"
"Plus" Adam continued "A window can act as a barrier. It allows you to think safely, inside this bubble. Like saying I'm-different-from-what's-opposite-me."
"Well, I mostly meant open windows." Don said, attempting to defend his point.
"Then that's a whole different ball game. Literally." Adam smiled. "You're not talking about a window, you're talking about a hole."
"Right, but I hardly think a hole symbolizes desire."
"I'm pretty sure Freud would disagree with you there man" Adam laughed.
"Well, if you took it in the perverse sense, then yeah."
"Man, this is Freud we're talking about here. Everything with him was about that shit"
"Yeah, but I meant like, dropping something you don't want down a hole to get rid of it" Don stated, attempting to correct his point.
"Latent desires manifesting, repression of urges. I'm telling you, this guy covered everything."
"I thought you didn't study him?" Don inquired, feeling like he'd brought a cinder block to a shooting gallery.
"Well, I did a little reading after hearing that quote. Just a few periodicals and shit though, it's not like I wrote my doctorate thesis on the guy.
"Right." Don paused "I thought modern psychologists have been finding recently that Freud was a crackpot though?"
"I don't know anything about that man. I just thought the phone thing was interesting."
"Yeah, it was something I saw on the news the other day."
"Ah. Right, well man" Adam said, standing up "I gotta run. I've got a job interview in 15 minutes. See ya around." He put on his coat. "You and Liz coming over to watch the game tonight?"
"Yeah man. Laura and I will be over around 5, 5:30"
Adam, feeling like a fool, lit a cigar he'd been keeping in his pocket. "Right, sorry man. Laura. Got it. Ok, see ya." He walked away, puffing.
"HEY!" Don shouted after him "I told you to stop smoking those damn things."
Adam turned around. "Calm down dude, it's just a cigar."
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I'm not experimenting with formatting or anything, it's just livejournal isn't very good with indentation. Whenever I add extra spaces at the beginning of sentences, they don't show up in the post. This is just easier on the eyes.
This is also the product of more coffee.
(comment on this)
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