>Daniel Adler’s Little Brother Grows Up

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Daniel Adler playing the mouth harp
with Little Matthew in a Moscow Subway.
Yesterday, I wrote a post about happiness, death, and bronze plaques. Though condensed, it made me start thinking about the almighty importance of “being in the now.”
We have a beautiful roof, with a view of the Manhattan skyline, and while smoking a cigarette with Matthew, I could not help but understand what it all meant.
My minion has a troubled unconscious. All of his dreams are unpleasant, and usually revolve around not being up to authoritarian standards. This is reflected in his work experience. An example: at the restaurant where he works, on a lonely night when only the manager and her friends were patronizing, Matthew changed the radio to a song he likes. She was not pleased. Or, the other night at La Tortilleria, he put his coat over his chair, leaving a corner of it resting on the knee of a guy sitting behind us. “It’s clean,” he deadpanned, as the guy moved his knee.
But he is learning. His fears about being fired are socializing him, albeit slowly. He needs to be more conscious about how his actions come off to others. Then he can revert to his naturalized “moment” living.
And what about Daniel Adler, you ask? Since I’m writing a bildungsroman, it helps to have one occurring right in front of my eyes. How’s that for immediate living?

P.S. Pine Box finally opens tonight!

By Daniel Ryan Adler

Daniel Adler writes fiction and nonfiction and is finishing his MFA at University of South Carolina.

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