It's all about the conversation

What is it about car trips that enable good conversation?

Today's conversation was as much about the relationship with the person as it was about being in a car; we have excellent conversations where ever we are.

Last week's conversation was revealing for both parties. Is it the lack of eye contact?

I've also written whole songs while driving alone. Thank goodness for recording apps on my iPhone! I've heard tell that driving engages the left brain. While the left brain is busy, the right brain is free to play. I've certainly found this to be true.

I like being the passenger when I'm confident in the driver. Today I was so relaxed I took out my knitting. I was on a knitting deadline and needed to finish the second sock of a pair by the end of tomorrow. It was the car trip or it was never going to happen. At one moment my mind wandered and I had a flash of death by knitting needles if there was an accident.  Was this the catastrophic thinking about which mental health professionals speak? I choose to think it was a little flight of fancy taken by my right brain.

Back to conversation in cars...I recall many occasions when I've bonded with someone or made deep discoveries or found myself on a journey of revelation when on a road trip.

In my world we could abolish interrogation techniques and instead embark on a road trip with a high value prisoner.  All would soon be revealed without the need for inhumane actions (unless you count the carbon output).

Is there a PhD in this? Alternative questioning techniques? I worry that the world isn't ready after discovering all the bins at Flinders Street Station have been removed because of "security". We'd better brace ourselves for the trains to become even more of a garbage tip.

The conversation isn't as good on the trains. Maybe it's the impact of being observed.

I'll continue that conversation over dinner in Wangaratta.

Friday thoughts

It's a long weekend. I love the feeling of signing off for three days in a row. Apparently we're celebrating the English Queen of Australia's birthday. I don't know what that means, but I'm very happy to have an extra day where I can wake up when I'm ready, instead of when the alarm goes off - which seems to be very early these days!

*****

Winter is setting in. It's not really cold yet, but I put some towels out on the line to dry today. They went out in the dark at 6:15 this morning. I took them off in the dark at 5:30 this evening and they weren't dry. They nearly were, but they weren't. This is my measure of the seasons.

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I'm watching the television show "Nashville" at the moment. It's a soap opera set in the Nashville music scene and has everything from the country music queen whose latest album hasn't really sold, the upcoming blond starlet who needs autotune to make her sound okay, the sexy, enigmatic cowboy/lead guitarist with a dark past and the two young hot things who accidentally start songwriting together. Add to this mix some local politics and financial corruption and you've got everything. I'm loving it.

The character of Scarlett is a gorgeous blonde girl who has been writing poems, but never considered herself a songwriter. Gunnar sets one of the poems to music and they smoulder as they sing together. They get a publishing deal and she speaks about songwriting at a dinner to welcome them to the fold.

She says that she has noticed that the more specific the image, the more universal the truth. YES! What a great summary of all kinds of writing.

I'm looking back at my songs and thinking about this idea.

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I'm thinking of going to the movies this weekend. On the list to see:

The Broken Circle Breakdown

Fading Gigolo

The Zero Theorem

Under the Skin

No blockbusters! What have you seen lately?