1:12 a.m. - 2003-08-08
Uncertainty Principle
In the spring I wrote about a visit to my brother's home to view his latest wood working project. At the time, he did something very unusual for him. It has been the practice among us, since leaving the parental abode, to send care packages or special offerings to each other through a chain of hands.
For example, if I knew one of my sons was going to visit my Dad at work after school or if my Mom came by for a visit, I would check to see if they would be seeing the sib I wanted to "gift" in the near future. Since I don't have access to a vehicle and because my sibs all have very busy schedules like mine that just don't mesh, it was the most effective way to ensure that someone received the "baby gift", for example, before the child it was meant for was in college.
If neither of my parents were going to be seeing that sib, then they would pass it on to the next sib in line that they connected with who would be visiting with the giftee. Complicated I suppose, but it worked well. It also made visits among us even that more exciting "What did you bring me?". Kind of like the backpack express (through our school aged children) we stay at home moms used when we needed to pass volunteer work between us or deliver to a staff member at the school, but didn't have the time to get away from a house full of pre-schoolers to deliver - but that's another day's entry.
Anyway, on the day of that particular visit, my Dad and I were saying our good-byes when my brother went and retrieved a book which he handed to me directly and said I should read. I got the impression that he'd had it for a while, but didn't want to send it to me through the chain of hands method. The other odd thing is that although my brother loves to "debate", he rarely tries to influence anyone by handing them a book or magazine and saying "you've got to read this." It's just not his nature.
That book seemed to follow me around the house begging "read me, read me" since that time, but I haven't had the time or appropriate mental state to give it the attention I felt it must merit. For some reason, even though I was really busy the past few days, I felt like I really needed to read it now. In a lot of ways, the reading of this book had the same effect on me as watching "Three Days of the Condor" did about a month ago. The movie was filmed nearly thirty years before the social upheaval it predicted so accurately. This book was written in 1998 - three years before some of the events it predicts. The title of the book is "The Overseer" by Jonathan Rabb. It is written in the genre of a mystery/international intrigue.
What was equally spooky about it was that it described things that meshed with some disturbing activities and behaviours I've witnessed in some of the volunteer work I've done - particularly with Amnesty International and the Survivors of Torture program. When I've mentioned some of those observations in conversation with family and friends the word "paranoid" has arisen. Maybe. The other odd thing was that it coincided with the visit of the mom I haven't seen for twelve years the other day. Some of her work also has a connection to the story. Synchronicities - again. Schroedinger's Cat too.
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