Local restaurant

I was having dinner with family earlier this evening, when suddenly I got a great idea for a blog post. Surreptitiously, as I often do these days, I pulled some business card or other from my wallet, and wrote down a key phrase on the back. The phrase, I see now, was “Local restaurants”. I was quite pleased with myself – the night was still young, and I had already settled upon a topic for today’s blog post.

When I checked later at home, the phrase was staring at me, just as I had written it, but I had no idea what it meant. Yes, I had indeed written the words “Local restaurant”, and there was little doubt that we had eaten at a local restaurant. After all, they are all local restaurants, aren’t they? I mean, if it weren’t a local restaurant, then it wouldn’t be, um, here, would it?

Not to put too fine a point on it.

I have gradually come to terms with all those other little business card backs with the little phrases scrawled on them, each one a two or three word hint that undoubtedly seemed to be a brilliant nugget for a blog post when I first wrote it down – and that now means nothing at all to me. “Frog judge”, “School lunch”, “Apple friends!!!” (I am faithfully transcribing those exclamation points). It’s like I’m visiting some foreign country, where they speak a different language. The language of Ken’s own incomprehensible ideas for blog posts. I hear the natives are quite friendly.

Speaking of which, it was indeed a local restaurant – the one where I had dinner with my family this evening. And it was quite nice. If I remember any more about that, I’ll let you know.

5 thoughts on “Local restaurant”

  1. I seem to be on a roll of reading Ken’s blog “in real time” and commenting on his posts. This one reminded me of one of my favorite Laurie Anderson song “Baby Doll” which begins:

    “I don’t know about your brain,
    but mine is really bossy.
    I come home from a day on the golf course
    and I find all these messages
    scribbled on wrinkled up scraps of paper.
    And they say thing like:
    Why don’t you get a real job?
    Or: You and what army?
    Or: Get a horse…”

  2. ROFL – I wonder what might be written on the back of the business card I gave to you, Ken.
    But I am glad to hear that business cards finally find a useful purpose in your hands. 🙂

  3. I’ve learned in some cases it’s better not to jot down a note, but rather obsess on it the entire evening. By writing down a quick note you will remember you had a thought, but also by writing it down, it’s easy to push the thought aside too early.

    I run into this too because I write a lot of index cards out with my ideas. It’s not uncommon for me to find an old index card with a great idea, or something I should have done, that I wrote out and promptly forgot about. The obsessing step is very important!

    I love your post. It’s something everyone runs into, sometimes multiple times a day 😉

  4. It isn’t always drugs that obscure the writer’s/thinker’s intentions (a la Huxley, Benjamin, De Quincey, Artaud, etc.); it’s time and changing conditions. This is a good post anyway. (Did drugs clarify Hunter Thompson’s thoughts?)

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