Cry Me A River
After a time she heard a little pattering of feet in the distance, and she hastily dried her eyes to see what was coming. It was the White Rabbit returning, splendidly dressed, with a pair of white kid gloves in one hand and a large fan in the other: he came trotting along in a great hurry, muttering to himself as he came, ‘Oh! the Duchess, the Duchess! Oh! won’t she be savage if I’ve kept her waiting!’ Alice felt so desperate that she was ready to ask help of any one; so, when the Rabbit came near her, she began, in a low, timid voice, ‘If you please, sir—’ The Rabbit started violently, dropped the white kid gloves and the fan, and skurried away into the darkness as hard as he could go.
Alice took up the fan and gloves, and, as the hall was very hot, she kept fanning herself all the time she went on talking: ‘Dear, dear! How queer everything is to–day! And yesterday things went on just as usual. I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I’m not the same, the next question is, Who in the world am I? Ah, THAT’S the great puzzle!’ And she began thinking over all the children she knew that were of the same age as herself, to see if she could have been changed for any of them.
— Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, chapt II The Pool of Tears, by Lewis Carroll, pub. 1865
The first day of spring was five days ago. Today is Saturday, gray with intermittent rain and wet snow. Here I am, contemplating the words of Lewis Carroll, to imagine myself following the white rabbit into a hole. Would I? I hope so. The kid in me now is in company with the adult. Nevertheless I hope the kid is yet willing to risk adventure, falling into a bizarre neighborhood populated with language-enabled animals. WTF exclaims the adult… Com’on gestures the kid, you only live once, and now is the time. And away we go.
In this passage Alice feels self pity and shame in a strange environment, unable to control the physical effects of growing and shrinking on account of her surroundings. She begins to cry. Alice is surprised by the appearance of the White Rabbit, who wrings his hands (paws) anticipating encounter with an angry Duchess who he has kept waiting… Alice picks up his fan and kid gloves. She begins to fan.
Dear, dear! How queer everything is to–day! says Alice. Is that not the temptation for you and I on any given day? It’s always possible to look around, to note chance circumstances that have brought us to this place in time. And then, to cry a river…
The next question is, Who in the world am I? Ah, THAT’S the great puzzle!’ Indeed that is the greatest of questions. On my ‘good days’ I keep asking myself. Does the question have an answer? I do not know.
Exactly! Could that be the definition of adventure?
How about a tune for today? This one is perfect! Pride and Joy by Stevie Ray Vaughn. Why this one? The guitar work is nothing less than an improvised adventure.
