The R Supremacy

I am enjoying my return to retirement.  I have time to do what I need to do, which is mainly a bunch of nothing but it feels so good.  Went and saw the Bourne Supremacy last night.  I was looking forward to seeing it and glad I did, but it wasn’t quite as good as the first.  I am not sure why.   The film is very well put together and quite polished but it was just missing something. 

The movie does motivate one to travel.   There is a whole sequence that takes place in Moscow.  This was particularly interesting for two reasons.  The first was annoyance.   The row in front of us along with the row to my left was filled with drunken Russians.  A couple of things are worth mentioning here: a) the whole going drunk to the movies thing really escapes me—why pay money to watch something and spend your entire time making an ass out of yourself? This may be fun in some sort or bizarre adolescent dream, but in my reality, you are an idiot. b) If the film is in your native tongue at times or in a city you are familiar with, do not spend the entire time getting giddy.  I understand that some films have a sort of travelogue feeling to them and arouse some feelings of something but please discuss them AFTER the film, not during it.

The second thing about the whole Moscow thing is somewhat related to part 1b.   I am watching the Bourne character board a train in Berlin and go to Moscow and it was eerily reminiscent of my time in the train station in Prague.  I had been in Prague for three days and didn’t know where I was going next so I just went to the train station.  I walked in and just looked at the board trying to decide where to go (and at this point in my travels, feeling invincible) and finally decided I would go to Germany—back to Western Europe.  I then realized I had about two minutes to catch the train.  I missed it.  I went back into the main section of the station; sat down on the floor against a wall somewhere, lighted a cigarette, and contemplated going elsewhere.  It was then that my 4 hour love affair with Moscow began.

You see the next train to Munich didn’t leave for another four hours or so and I was tired from 3 very long days in Praha—didn’t sleep much the whole time.   Looking up at the departures board I was taken by the fact that trains to Moscow left every 45 minutes or so.  I started doing limited research and realized that it would take me about 9 hours to get there.  I seriously contemplated going and dealing with the fact that I didn’t have a proper visa later.   Eventually, I got lazy and decided against it.  Part of me wishes I would have gone; the more sane side of me realizes that it would have probably pushed my charmed luck and ended in devastation.  I would have somehow triggered the end of humanity.  Somewhere, apocalyptical church-goers are gnashing their teeth at my lack of intestinal fortitude.

I am not a big fan of the red-eye flight.  I think it makes people do some of the most nonsensical things.  Case in point—I get this voicemail late last night (early this morning, rather) from an old friend I haven’t spoken with in almost a year.  The message is a hodgepodge of confusion rambling about Boston, conventions, Maine, Canada, and family members.   I am lost and further bewildered by the fact that supposedly I am supposed to know all these things.  Somehow I didn’t have friend’s number; luckily caller-id helps out.  I retrieve the number and return the call only to get the much anticipated voicemail.  I leave a proper message detailing my elation with a call from the long lost and at the same time conveying my confusion with such a cryptic piece of storytelling to my digital answering machine somewhere deep in the hard-drive of some AT&T bunker.  The red-eye etiquette gets better.  Apparently the flight lands, my guess is sometime early in the AM and now the text messages start.  I’ve copied it in its entirety below for your viewing pleasure: 

Nt to worry-on vcation was mnlining benadryl 4 flit  sorry that ws cryptic i agree i have simply wanted to catch up  isnt txt messaging a good xrsize i brevity? Hate it tho so impersonal better go = hope you r well_m

 
At 7 in the morning my phone starts to have some strange paroxysm while the above is transmitted, I roll over and through the blur of my not quite functioning eyes read from the tiny little phone screen.  Somehow it all made sense and I laughed.