It's kind of like one of those George Romero movies, the zombies line up quietly, go to their seats, sit and wait. Snooze, read, watch TV. It's just a dead zone, even if there's some live wires in the crowd, they all turn down the after-burners. It's one of those situations where you become part of a faceless crowd. No joy, no beauty, no love. That's the beauty of the thing. A docile crowd. Just point us to our seats, tell us when we can go to lunch, when we need to be back, listen for our number, wait until we get our check, give us permission to go home. I think our sheep-like instincts come out. There's comfort in the herd.
This is your constitutional right! A jury of your peers! What a sweet lot!
My number was never called, so I sat and read a book. I read "Crosstown Traffic" a really great little book about Jimi Hendrix and the world he came from, and a history lesson about the blues, gospel, r&b, soul, jazz and rock & roll. The pages are filled with people who were total live wires, with the after-burners turned all the way up, it's a story of joy, beauty, love and sweat, pain, hardship, betrayals, early death, lost opportunities. Did you know that Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix were talking about working together?! Now in some counter-factual universe those two great musical beings are jamming and making some incredible challenging sounds. You sit quietly, you can almost hear the great, beautiful music they created together.
So, I almost finished the book in one sitting. I collected my check for $17.20. I guess it's not bad pay for playing a zombie for a day!