FollowWords and behaviors were passed on to me by my mother (her picture hangs right over my computer screen). Too many times in life, we don’t clench our fists and hold tightly, vestiges of time. If only I could get back and listen to my Mom while we sat at the kitchen table at 2 AM; she dominated time with wisdom and common sense. I wonder how many baby boomer guys make this same statement; I have no recollection of my father ever talking to me about anything, except saying, he was tired and going for a nap. An hour ago, a 60’s music infomercial magic carpeted me back to that decade and I wondered why, intestinally, there were really strange good vibrations. For many years, inexplicable feelings grab me by the gut, like almost wanting to deposit me back to New Years Eve 1960. In my novel, “Vichy Water”, characters are possessed with feelings of déjà-vu and so am I. (Interjection time: this is such a heavy rambling topic, that literary elements of cohesiveness might be lacking, so just go with the stream of consciousness. I’ll get to the point) Déjà-vu covers my retina and macula and I’m always drifting away, thinking I’ve been there or I’m going back. Research on the phenomenon indicates that a side effect of all my trips to Sedona was experiencing lots of déjà-vu; it’s almost 24/7 with me, and I like the feeling of warmth and familiarity; sounds like a return to the womb. I feel like a famous chef following a recipe and guest hosting with Martha or Rachel. Now you mix the déjà-vu with a spoonful of sugar (no medicine going down) and pour some parallel universes under the watchful eyes of intelligent design and all of a sudden it’s really dark for a minute. You blink your eyes a couple of times. Whoever you’re having dinner with asks, “Is everything alright?” You say, “For a moment I was somewhere else in another time. Like another earth. Weird.” What would be a great gift? I’ll take the heaven thing maybe next time. I’d like it to be dark for a minute and be back at beginning of the 60’s decade with all the great music and protestations.