Wednesday, October 10, 2007

When I grow up I want to be an astronaut, and if I can't be an astronaut then I want to be a blogger.

Last night we watched 49 Up on PBS, the latest in a series of documentaries by Michael Apted following the lives of a group of Brits every seven years since 1964. I first saw 42 Up while living in London; it's hard for me to believe all that has transpired in my life since then, much less theirs.

I couldn't help but wonder (à la Maggie's timeline) what it might be like if someone checked in on my life every 7 years with questions like the ones Apted asked his kids/teens/adults.
Age 7: "Do you have a boyfriend?" "I have lots of them!"

Age 14: "You spent the summer playing second violin in the orchestra at music camp, and now you're volunteering for a local alternative rock radio station. Does this represent a shift in your taste in music?" "I like Bach and all, I just do it for the free Chapterhouse cassettes and Violator bumper stickers."

Age 21: "It's been a volatile couple of years for you, has it not? Do you feel you have a sense of who you are?" "I'd be happy to say that I know who I am, but at this point, I'm just happy to be out there enjoying life, you know? And who's to say I'm not already myself? I mean, who am I? What if I die soon? How will anyone remember me?"

Age 28: "Last time we met, you were a very melancholy girl. But, now, you seem much happier. What happened?" (She smiles knowingly and looks at the camera. The camera pans out to show her husband at her side.)

Age 35: [in production]

posted by zan at 10:35 PM

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      a cup of tea & a wheat penny is written by Zan McQuade, who lives in New York and occasionally translates Latvian fiction. a cup of tea & a wheat penny is Sunday Zen and nostalgic to a fault. a cup of tea & a wheat penny is [zan at thatcupoftea dotcom].

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