October 28, 2021:
My rowmate is reading a fat novel about dragons, magic and royalty. Nothing wrong with that. I'm reading Carlisle's history of the French Revolution and Suzi Weissmsn's biography of Victor Serge. Nothing wrong with that either. If we wanted to, we could talk. I feel the press of time, and I don't want to.
Behind me a verbose man is browbeating his friend in the name of the Lord. "If you follow that path you'll hurt a lot of people and I pray and pray and pray the Lord gives you strength to do the right thing instead of the easy thing." My instinct is that this is what the Commandment forbids: not cursing, or swearing false oaths in court, but speaking in the name of the Lord in order to control others. If I say that out loud, am I guilty of the same behavior?
The plane is broken. We can't push back: the parking brake is stuck in the on position. After 90 minutes we deplane, waiting in the terminal for an alternate vehicle to become available, my exhaustingly-delayed chariot home.