Frequency: And (lists)

AND (lists)

and it is you who are many

In his studio, Roger assembles lists of his dreams: free-fall from the skyscraper in Malaysia, horse-farm idyll, circus clown rapture, relief from drowning in a glacial lake, the choir of shrieking gnomes, the ant breakfast.

and one sentence will follow another

Maggie lists the things that make her feel happy: Thanksgiving turkey, board game nights with her nephews, LeCarré thrillers, memories of her teenage boyfriends, spiced rum cake, crisp autumn mornings, fireworks on the fourth of July.

and this time will come back no more

Howard is the type to spend no fewer than two nights packing for a weekend trip. He makes lists and pays strict attention to them as he packs. He has a nervous nature but a carefully arranged life. His suitcase is nothing if not efficient. He travels light but allows for contingencies.

and you need to live

As watches her dance, Charlie silently lists the locations where he and Helen have made love, from the library in Newark to the boiler room at the factory to the hotel room in Paris to that birthday party in Chicago so many years ago. She dances with another, she twirls. She gazes up at him. He smiles and then quickly looks away.

and you read another page

Howard reviews the lists of incident reports, areas of concern ranging from ongoing investigations of sleeper cells to minor demonstrations in front of consulates in Europe. So little love in the world.

and you ask why time is short

When he gets bored, at work or family gatherings, Johnnie will sometimes stare off into space and assemble all-time great lists: concerts he has been to, movies he has watched, meals he has eaten out, even arguments he has had with ex-girlfriends, best make-up sessions.

and you move through the land

Johnnie lists the all-time great parties he has been to: Mardi Gras in New Orleans the year before the flood, Halloween at the Hard Rock in Vegas, Bastille Day in Paris, Carnival in Rio, Butch’s pig roast last year.

and you try your kind hand

Before she accepted the proposal, Anna made lists of pros and cons. He seemed to have changed, but she wasn’t sure, she could never be sure she could trust him completely. It wasn’t that he was unkind. It was just that he had his own vulnerabilities he had never quite figured out how to manage.

and the end may not change a thing

After each election, Dave spends a day making lists of lessons he has learned about the desires of the electorate. His shop has lost a couple more elections than it has won, but it doesn’t seem to matter, there is always someone new waiting in the wings for a new attack ad, and his pitch rarely failed to impress a desperate candidate. Every war needs dogs.

and the day is so long

Johnnie lists and sways to the music, stumbles through the crowd. Someone is feeling him and he is feeling someone. Warm to the touch and distant, full of Ecstasy and still empty.