I am a "Slow Roller"

I feel the days growing more sluggish; I fear if you throw salt on me I will unzip myself and flip my insides out. But that's just me.

I have done exactly what I shouldn't have--procrastinated on my outside reading book. Before you jump to conclusions and accuse me of complete laziness, I will defend myself by saying I did not catch one break over Thanksgiving holiday (but here I am complaining again). It's not that I don't enjoy Song of Solomon. I do, it's great. Before I started reading it I expected some black pride book, something like Glory Field (shiver) or maybe Their Eyes Were Watching God. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised when the opening scene started with a man jumping from a building and the story of the origin of Not Doctor Street. This book is so great I nearly died laughing more than a few times, especially when Milkman, the main character, remembers how he earned the name Milkman (I'll give you a hint and say that his mother didn't give him milk out of a glass even though he was five).

It's very strange when I think about history in this book. Like Invisible Man it exists within a time period of social upheaval, but there is no direct mention of big names (MLK, Malcolm X). Specifically, there is a scene where Milkman enters a barbershop and overhears the barber talking about "Till." It took me a few moments to place importance to the name, but then I remembered an Emmett Till, who was murdered by white men for flirting with a white woman. And I thought how clever, now I understand that Toni Morrison is not just another writer speaking out for social injustice; she is simply telling it like it is. But if that's so, why include the history at all? Well, I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with the personal discovery of Milkman and his life in context, especially since he is from an affluent family sheltered from reality. I am really excited to revisit this story.

Today some random kid asked me if I was satisfied with my life. My only response was, "mostly," but I can tell you now that this slow rolling is really starting to take a toll on my mental health. Three more weeks...