Steps to Nowhere
These Steps to Nowhere, spotted on a walk, reminded me of a childhood friend because there was part of her street where a sidewalk just…ended. And she once told me that EXACT SPOT was the inspiration for Where the Sidewalk Ends, and I was like “Shel Silverstein has never been to your street,” and then we got in a spat. Which isn’t that unusual for kids, you know? (That said, I may have been a bit of an instigator because another time I told this friend that Santa wasn’t real after an assembly featuring a jump roping “team” as we were all outside trying to do our own tricks with those beaded ropes. She was so upset, and I probably did deserve one of those things whipped my way…)
I’ve been on the receiving end of “judgement” too. Sometimes regional accent quirks snuck in, and I guess I used to call a pillow a “pellow.” Another friend had just moved to town from somewhere very *exotic* and told me sharply, “In Pennsylvania, we call them PILLOWS.” Well la-di-da! She and I probably had a spat too.
Of course, in strict terms, Ms Pillow was correct. Just as I was correct about Santa & terminating sidewalks. But it’s sort of a matter of perspective too, right? It’s hard to understand what others value, what beliefs they might embrace. For (exaggerated) instance: The piece of ornate driftwood that Kate Winslet clung to in Titanic just sold at auction for $700,000. Just because I’m not into Hollywood props doesn’t mean they have no value. (Clearly 🤑) (Also, I’d love to see a SNL sketch about Hollywood prop collectors.)
I read Erasure, the Percival Everett novel that American Fiction is based on. (Post forthcoming!) Plot-wise, the movie remains pretty true, but I think Everett focuses a bit more on the idea of what different people value in literature and why people get flummoxed when their tastes aren’t valued. (The title comes from an imaginary conversation between deKooning and Rauschenberg about perceptions of art.) We all want to be “right,” but that’s not how it works — frustrating as it may be.
Maybe the steps aren’t actually to Nowhere; maybe there’s something to see. As Matt likes to say, “If something isn’t worth nothing, it’s worth something.”
originally published on instagram