My Past In Replay

Can you hear it?

The theme to "The Twilight Zone." Do do Do do Do do Do do.

It's playing because history is repeating itself.

My personal history.

We're in Fargo, ND, with Jake and Josh, our Standard Poodles, at a
dog park. Jake beelines toward a woman and her dog hanging out under
the shelter at the far end of the lot. I, too, head that way. Because,
well, I'm social.

Here's where the theme music gets louder.

The woman is reading a book. John Irving's "The World According to
Garp." A book I read when I was 24, the year it was published. It's an
odd book. It's all over the place. It's not high on my list of great
books to read.

So I ask, "How's the book?"

"Odd," she says. "It's all over the place. I'm almost finished. But
I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone."

She says she's 24.

Do do Do do Do do Do do.

"There's a movie, you know, starring Robin Williams," I say.

"Really?" she smiles. "Well, I know what I'm doing tonight!"

We've connected over a book, albeit an odd one, so we chat about a
lot of others things.

Amazing how things go around.

But, for goodness sakes, Garp?