Chain Game

I can remember the first moment I was introduced to stream of consciousness literature. I was in the 8^th grade and we were reading Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. The very idea of someone recording their thoughts as they have them rather than taking the time to organize and edit them feels very organic and truthful to me. Since that time I have become obsessed with this idea in every capacity.

I often play this game in my mind where I stop my thought process, pick out the topic and compare it to a thought I had earlier. If they are sufficiently random, I try to remember how I transitioned from one topic to another. For example, let’s say I am currently thinking, “I love the smell of a tobacco pipe,” and a few minutes earlier I remember thinking, “there’s something in my teeth.” These thoughts are completely unrelated, so how did I get there? Let me break it down.

“There’s something in my teeth. I never have any floss in my bathroom, how come Dewie gets all the floss? She gets all the Q-tips too. I never have Q-tips. Maybe it’s because there’s no storage in my bathroom. I never did cut that wood so Dewie could build that shelf. I hate dragging that saw out of the shed. It’s heavy. What are we going to do when that shed finally falls down? Maybe the neighbor’s tree will fall on it and their insurance can buy us another one. If one more tree falls in that crazy guy’s yard, he’s going to lose his mind. I could probably convince him that his house is possessed. That could be fun. I wonder if he ever sold his half a drum kit and collection of trucker hats in that last yard sale. They haven’t had one in a couple of months. Maybe they finally got rid of all their stuff. I wonder who bought that old timey wall mounted ash tray. I could go for a cigarette right now. I wonder why cigarettes stink and pipes smell so good? I love the smell of a tobacco pipe.” So it’s teeth – floss – Q-tips – shelf – shed – tree – crazy neighbor – yard sale - ash tray – cigarette – pipe.

It’s like my own version of 6 degrees of separation, but only I have the answers, so no one else can play. I don’t know why I do this, and yes, I know it makes me sound crazy.