I'm sitting about a kilometer from the ex-pat cafe I was sitting at before. The conversation there about the US Presidential debate died after a mere 15 minutes.
It's understandable. It's a sunny but cool day in Sitges. There is a strong wind coming in from North Africa, and there are bare breasts on the beach. Life is good. Why would one want to sit in a cafe and debate a debate taking place in a country where life *isn't* good? It's like what Curtis said recently when the latest "Hi, I'm Enlightened" guy came through the swinging doors. To paraphrase, Curtis sug- gested that listening to someone talk about their own enlightenment was like listening to someone talk about their latest orgasm. Who really cares? Similarly, on a fine September day such as this, why should the residents of a country where life is good a *lot* waste time talking about American politics? It would be like sitting on the rim of the Grand Canyon gazing out at the wonder and talking about the sani- tation workers' strike back in New York and how garbage is piling up in the streets. It just doesn't make any sense to sit in a place where things make sense and dwell overlong on a place where they don't. "What you focus on you become." As true in Sitges, Spain as it is in the high Himalayas or in Fairfield, Iowa. This posting week will start as so many have done lately, with people trying to suck our attention to the garbage strike and debate it endlessly. And we will...sadly, me among them. But hopefully I will wake up from time to time and notice the beauty in front of me, and feel the desert wind on my face, and remember that there are better things to talk about.
