@madboomer47

and a look into the crystal ball

Maybe your future can find you early. Show up totally unassuming on your doorstep and slap you right in the face. Oracle. Warning. Call it whatever.

But sometimes clues left in used books are less a springboard to a creative writing exercise and more a straight line to the internet presence of its previous owner — and in my case, a glimpse into the crystal ball.

is this what a substack will look like in 10 years? probably.

I’m not sure what it is lately, but every book I pick up is laced with some sort of strange history. Irrelevant notes. Reminders. Let me live, laugh, love in peace. Please universe, please.

All I wanted to do was read this wildly outmoded novel from 1973 — Richard Stern’s Other Men’s Daughter’s— that’s it. Instead I slam face-first into the brick wall that is Donna Lee Michas.

Not to put Donna on blast, as I am sure she’s a great person, but as I worked my way through the aforementioned book I couldn’t shake her ghost. Her margin notes were not typical. Her underlines were seemingly random. In green marker nonetheless. Is Larry in his new apartment? I would hope he had a successful move by now.

Donna and I are bonded. Similar animals I think. Both drawn to read this book out of an endless sea of titles. Both in our own heads, jotting down our own little notes, shouting off into the abyss.

I had to see if there was any trace of this person online. There is — blog, twitter, you name it. I wish I had just left her alone though. Gosh. The internet is an embarrassing place. There should be an age limit on all types of social media. Over 25? Retire your accounts and find a hobby.

We are all going to look back on everything that is left behind in this weird hellscape (this post included) and cringe. But time marches. Methods through which to spout our own insecurities and prognostications change. But life is enough to drive a person mad. Is this fate of mine avoidable? Only time will tell. Peace and love.

XOXO,

The Mad Boomer