Sunday, March 27, 2011

Dr. Gallagher's day at the carnival left him fatigued and frustrated: it highlighted his feelings of boredom, despair, and loneliness. With nothing better to spend his time doing than riding a backwards carousel at a carnival run by strange people who stare for just a few seconds too long when making eye contact, Aaron felt worthless. And now, after buying his ticket and some old cotton candy, he had no cash. Luckily, he had plenty left in his bank account from his years of service at the local university before he was terminated when his affair with Janne was discovered. When he left his apartment to go to the ATM in the Stop 'n Shop, he didn't lock the door. "Nothing to steal," he thought frankly. Just as he turned onto Calloway Boulevard, he saw two men pushing a handtruck running out of the Stop 'n Shop. On the handtruck was the ATM. "Great," thought Aaron. His frustration heightened, he turned back to go home. He passed a disheveled young girl who was obviously under the influence of something stronger than cough syrup. She didn't make eye contact as they passed, didn't even seem to notice him. She was mumbling to herself and wandering without direction, every once in a while stopping to stare at her shoelaces, which she left untied each time. Dr. Gallagher enjoyed this lack of interaction, and he was thankful for the feelings of pity and condescension the girl elicited. He was thankful to have an object on which to place his sympathy other than himself. It comforted him to come in contact with someone worse of than himself.

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