Conversation Over Dinner

a- What are you making?
b- Just some pasta and stuff. I'm gonna put these beans in. I bought this '18 bean mix' today, pretty excited about it.
a- Eighteen-
b- I love beans.
a- -Different... Beans...
b- These beans- I've had the beans soaking for a while. They're good for you, I mean-
a- Beans is a funny word.
b- Beans is?
a- Yeah, beans IS. Beeeeaaaans iiiiis.
b- That's just 'cause you're saying it a lot.
a- I'm not-
b- Happens with any word.
a- -saying it a lot, wait. I'm not to blame here.
b- Blame?
a- I didn't buy the '18 bean mix'.
b- What? What are we blaming me for? This-
a- You're bean-obsessed.
b- What?
a- Bean lover.
b- Am not.
a- Earlier you said: I love beans.
b- ...Jesus fuck. You're right, I said that.
a- YEAH.
b- Why are you doing this, why are you being so-
a- Why am I BEIN'? You're not even rational anymore.
b- Oh that's cute.
a- Why don't you start wearing a BEANIE everywhere and sitting in BEAN-
b- You're embarrassing yourself.
a- -bag chairs collecting BEANIE bab- WHY DON'T YOU MARRY MR. BEAN?!
b- Pretty proud of that one eh?
a- You guys can go around telling people where you've BEEN-
b- Look just stop, stop, stop... Stop saying beans.
a- I will when you stop requiring eighteen varieties of them.
b- Seriously. There's other stuff... in here, so...
a- Alright.
b- Just-
a- Alright what else? What else is... cookin' here?
b- Well. I've got some chopped toms, got a little cheese, fried up some zucchini and mushrooms, got some steamed kale. The sauce is kind of a blend I-
a- Kale is steamed.
b- Well that sounds, kinda general, you know, not all kale has to-
a- Man, Kale is so steamed right now.
b- ...Yeah...
a- I've never seen Kale steamed like this.
b- But- I mean like, what do you mean by that?
a- WHAT HAS GOT KALE SO STEAMED??
b- What do you mean by the things you're saying.
a- Sorry, just... You know when you said that, it reminded me of my fake brother.
b- ... ...Levin?
a- No, Levin's real, he's just not my real brother.
b- So he's your fake brother.
a- Right. I'm talking about my FAKE brother. Kale. I couldn't even imagine him steamed, I always imagine him being extremely mellow. He gives surfing lessons, you know?
b- I am... just so lost.
a- Well see, my fake family owns a surf shop in Tofino. It's called Wavelengths. Kale teaches surfing out of Wavelengths. I help out with the shop, a lot, you know, and-
b- Okay, I'm just- gonna pick one- thing here, why Kale? Why would that be his name?
a- Same reason anybody's named anything right? Our fake parents. I mean yeah, sort of an odd choice on their part, but that's Thatcher and Zinnia for you, HUGE hippies you know, never let-
b- Wow.
a- Yeah! They never let us call them mom and dad, either. Something about freedom from unnecessary and ancient societal conventions that restrict... freedom...
b- Right, so you would call them...
a- Thatcher and Zinnia.
b- Wow.
a- Of course those aren't their real names.
b- No, that would be absurd.
a- I mean their original names, like from birth, they never told us. They didn't want to be associated with other peoples' intentions for them; didn't want any negative-
b- Hold on-
a- ...name energy...
b- Do you mean to tell me, that neither you, nor your fake brother Kale, are aware of the real names, of your fake parents?
a- That's a fact.
b- Is it? Sort of depends on the phrasing... I guess...
a- Anyways what is 'real', you know?
b- Do you?
a- I mean they got them legally changed, so that even by society's standards, they'd be who they wanted to be.
b- And they wanted to be Thatcher and Zinnia. God I am just, I just can't stop thinking about your real parents right now.
a- What? Why would-
b- I've met them. They're nice.
a- What do they have to do with anything?
b- Maybe I should send them flowers.
a- Can we get-
b- Or an apology...
a- Let's get back on point here. They chose. You know? They gave themselves the right to choose their own identities-
b- Fake identities.
a- They made use of their own personal power, which I always admired, for sure I did. Thatcher, he just wanted to get back to a simpler time, you know, back to the basic things in life. See, a long time ago, people didn't have last names, so to distinguish amongst themselves they would say their occupation after their name, hence like Smith, Miller, so forth...
b- How much time have you spent with your fake family?
a- So it evolved, like from: "Hi, I'm William." "You're William? I just met William, down the road, he was... taller, and I'm confused now."
b- Wait, sorry, pause. Which William in this scenario is your fake dad?
a- Neither, what?
b- ...tall William, or?-
a- No this is an example. You're missing-
b- Mmkay, maybe just, continue and I'll catch on.
a- K so short William says, "I'm William the Thatcher. Like William comma Thatcher. William Thatcher."
b- Why not just William Short? Like William comma Short.
a- No 'cause I thatch. Like with roofs, I do the thatching. I'm a thatcher.
b- Right, so fake pops is a thatcher.
a- Oh... No, there's not really a market for that anymore. He runs the shop.
b- Oh yeah, Wavelengths...
a- ...Does a little farming, in our yard... as well.
b- Sure, sure, sustainability...is um, is key...
a- Beautiful carrots.
b- Wait what about your fake mom? Why Zinnia? Is she-
a- Why the FUCK, right??
b- -like attention starved, or...
a- Kale and I think so. She's always speaking just slightly... too loud. Thatcher says she's fragile. How are those beans?
b- ...Diverse.

Sunsets

As the orange sun passes over the orange hills, the skyscrapers transform from blue to black. Gradually the shadows lengthen and grow, stretched out to an infinite length, stretched out until they are fully strained and ready to break at any instant. And finally they do. Light struggles and whimpers to its death, like a hoary television turning off. The shadows mock the light as it flees, and then firmly envelop us. One by one tiny lights shine. The yellow warmth coming from homes uncountable and the clinical white of the office towers busily work to restore our faith. Street lamps are tiny dots in the expansive darkness. But why should we grieve for the light? It shall return in the morning, and in the morning the light will be as bright as today. But the night feels so long, so long, so long.

Travel Passtimes

Planning how to survive a jump from the moving train to the ground; making a list of situations in which this skill would be useful.