also known as Time Relativity
File Under: “Funnels”
You say you love someone, but then you miss opportunities to revel In the air outside your apartment. You choose yourself, or you don’t know what to wear, which Is a consequence of not choosing yourself over the long term and wishing you had the time back to re-do It all. Watch the kid climb the trees, oh but you wish you were not fat, and you don’t want the kid to remember you like that, gutted up against your own dreams of pulling up on branches, wild and free.
The theory of relativity states that running faster, slows down time.
The kid Is good at that, super good, an older version of that time in Tampa 2023 when he was a couple weeks from 13 years old, over-heating in a AC blasting house, no shirt sometimes, always soccer shorts and a chain, speech In a cool kid drawl. I call 12 the old age of childhood, so It makes sense.
Dinners were always an exciting and welcome part of the day, sometimes chik fil a or lil ceasars pizza with ranch dressing or pasta or fajita style stir frys. We’d eat together and make some questions back and forth, he always asked A LOT of questions and wanted to know everything about everything. The video game Ipad overscreened kid speaks so well, I’d think. And the topics were ones I’d have to think about, be careful In my answers, to not open or close anything too much. And then he’d kick a ball all crazy Inside the house and go back to his phone or games.
What is the theory again, relativity: Time moves slower when you’re moving faster? Shall I ask the Internet for confirmation? Our overlords, G__g__, officia deseruntcunt mollit anim laborum?
“ All observers agree that a moving frame or a frame nearer a gravitational source shows slower ticking time. The higher the speed, the slower the referenced time. ”
from the website, https://moviesandscience.com/blog/science/time-dilation
Present day, June 2026:
the kid Is a super fast runner, I’m surprised, In a good way. They ran from my place to navy pier, 20 minutes flat. Oak to the lakefront trail, a path I love. From here down oak is interesting blocks after blocks, lights, fashion, and then the lakefront and bam, there’s the ol Ferris Wheel. The kid Is fast, and makes people around them faster and stronger.
There’s a reason why teenage years reach such highs. It’s a time of transmission and outlets. Kids develop different ones, but It’s Important to reflect back truth to them. Kids need a lot of friendly, accountable and caring reflections of people around them, Ideally, and so we try and try to be the people.
Sometimes In life, when you don’t feel like yourself, even as an adult, you go through what can resemble an awkward teenage phase. People say getting older Is harder, and In a lot of ways, It Isnt necessarily harder, but It does get full; full of possibilities jostling around with the likely probabilities and missed opportunities. Santa’s bag gets bigger and heavier, and they spend more time looking for things, and now these are old things, these are vintage things, these are the memory of my original red boots that I gave to the village thrift when I shouldve have kept them and wore them. Memories of memories, that’s when the real work begins. The scholars say that’s around 40, so you have LOTS of time. And you move fast, so time will move slower.
Our encounters have to weigh more, and I have to learn how to be present. I am originally from the planet Neptune, that Is where my moon resides, In the 12th house, which Is already ruled by Neptune, so 2x . Neptune Is an outer planet that was technically discovered mathematically In the 1800s. I just looked that up.
Present day Me:
My movement rate, categorically slow, which would mean time moves faster for me...which might mean, I am swallowing more minutes of air with less movement. My hundred steps are accumulating 12 minutes quickly but painfully slow at the same time. It’s the overwhelm In faster level of Tetris, right before It beats you. I am close to admitting defeat, neigh I think already have. Me today won’t go to Navy Pier from my house, It Is quite far to my leg-eyes, frighteningly so, like a days trek. Yet, Ayaan made me realize how lucky I am to have such a runner friendly city, with so many short and memorable distances. There’s nothing more fun than a teenager shining with all the possibilities of being.
Gratitude:
Thanks for reminding me something really Important about myself when you were here: that I LOVE Football, and I very much nerd about It, so your technical proficiency, dedication, goals and practice are all very Inspiring and I want to support you and watch you play.
Getting fat and out of shape has put a lot of fear In me, the literal fear of God, fear of falling on these Incredible little joints called ankles and knees that stabilize so many things. It slows me down and then time moves too fast, memories don’t have the space to land, so the mind and time spins like an empty CD on a CD player. But that’s not acceptable to people who love and survive on music.