Last night, New York Times columnist David Brooks was on television discussing his new book, The Social Animal, which explores the importance on unconscious emotion in the lives humans lead. One thing he said got me thinking as I took something he said quite literally.
Road Report
There’s a lot of emotional traffic inside them that
most human beings are not even aware of.
David Brooks, PBS Newshour, 3/8/2011
Well, we’ve got several trouble spots this morning.
First of all, heavy fog over Memory Lane has brought
things to a near standstill there until the fog lifts,
if it ever does. Then at the big merge between Thought
and Feeling, there seems to be some sort of emotional wreck.
Traffic is able to get by taking the left side of the brain,
but slowly, very slowly. Meanwhile, congestion is heavy
near the Coronary Bypass, where we have some major
reconstruction going on after that broken engagement last week.
Unfortunately, alternate routes are scarce since all the major arteries
seem to be clogged at this hour. One way traffic continues
southbound from the Human Head Highway - with little
movement northbound from Intuition Avenue.
Now below the Beltway, we have reports of a
backup as the drawbridge is up - and has been up
for over three hours. Lots of rubbernecking going
on there. You know what a mess that can create.
And to make matters worse, all the signals
are out of sync along the Interneuron Connector.
Things will only get worse during the Sunset Years
as the glare ruins everyone’s eyesight and slows them down.
All in all, it’s a good day to remain in the fetal position.
Notes to foreign followers (and non-Washington D.C. residents):
1. "Taking a stroll down Memory Lane" is a common American expression for reminiscing.
2. The traffic report is a common feature of most American radio stations, so the whole premise of the poem is that we have someone reporting on someone's internal traffic.
3. "Rubbernecking" means to slow down and stretch your neck to see something odd, like an accident or a "drawbridge" stuck in the up position.
4. Several features of this traffic report echo features of the D.C. traffic report scene: Indian Head Highway, Constitution Avenue, the Wilson Bridge (a drawbridge), the Beltway (a highway that encircles the city), the Intercounty Connector. I hope that people outside the area can still get the picture.
Road Report
There’s a lot of emotional traffic inside them that
most human beings are not even aware of.
David Brooks, PBS Newshour, 3/8/2011
Well, we’ve got several trouble spots this morning.
First of all, heavy fog over Memory Lane has brought
things to a near standstill there until the fog lifts,
if it ever does. Then at the big merge between Thought
and Feeling, there seems to be some sort of emotional wreck.
Traffic is able to get by taking the left side of the brain,
but slowly, very slowly. Meanwhile, congestion is heavy
near the Coronary Bypass, where we have some major
reconstruction going on after that broken engagement last week.
Unfortunately, alternate routes are scarce since all the major arteries
seem to be clogged at this hour. One way traffic continues
southbound from the Human Head Highway - with little
movement northbound from Intuition Avenue.
Now below the Beltway, we have reports of a
backup as the drawbridge is up - and has been up
for over three hours. Lots of rubbernecking going
on there. You know what a mess that can create.
And to make matters worse, all the signals
are out of sync along the Interneuron Connector.
Things will only get worse during the Sunset Years
as the glare ruins everyone’s eyesight and slows them down.
All in all, it’s a good day to remain in the fetal position.
Notes to foreign followers (and non-Washington D.C. residents):
1. "Taking a stroll down Memory Lane" is a common American expression for reminiscing.
2. The traffic report is a common feature of most American radio stations, so the whole premise of the poem is that we have someone reporting on someone's internal traffic.
3. "Rubbernecking" means to slow down and stretch your neck to see something odd, like an accident or a "drawbridge" stuck in the up position.
4. Several features of this traffic report echo features of the D.C. traffic report scene: Indian Head Highway, Constitution Avenue, the Wilson Bridge (a drawbridge), the Beltway (a highway that encircles the city), the Intercounty Connector. I hope that people outside the area can still get the picture.
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