1. The Eccentric Nature of Meaninglessness

It starts to pour. At first, a light drizzle shifts into the sky and then it starts to pour as if mother nature was at first fickle but then she decided to punish this sordid week further. My leather shoes already stink from yesterday's debacle. Now, it is sure to be even more putrid after this blessing shower.

I scramble to collect and consolidate the coins in my hat and place my cello in its case to protect it from the rain. I have heard that all rain is acidic nowadays due to the pollution that we have wrecked upon mother nature. So it is her form of vengeance. Counting my coins in one hand and putting my sloth-like mind through its arithmetic paces, I shelter my instrument with my umbrella. After all, it is probably worth more than me and all my mental and physical possessions put together.

My paltry earnings come up to only $3.94. Not enough to feed myself fully and not enough to buy a sturdy enough rope to construct a noose either, I conclude. The rain patters down continuously and gets heavier. So the rain drops provide me with my only contact in weeks with kisses upon my cheeks and the droplets run teasingly down my nose bridge.

Have you ever stood for a long period in heavy rain before? I have not. But now that I am, let me warn you that it gets old really quickly. Nothing entertains you but the cascading and ebbing crescendo of the harsh descent of H20 molecules as they come crashing into the unyielding asphalt texture of our concrete jungle. But even if they are to be your sole source of entertainment, they are unwilling performers who possess no talent and desire to impress their captive audience. So I stand with nothing to wish for but the end of the rain. I suddenly realize that I did not notice when I slipped into such a moment-to-moment mode of existence. When did I become such a creature that was only content on breathing and to keep breathing? When did I lose sight of my ideals?

The rain stops as though it senses my sudden displacement and it is in conspiracy with the rest of human destiny to sedate me back into the norm of harsh mundane meaninglessness.