over the line

tap dancing on boundaries

Boundaries have never been my thing.

Most ‘normal’ people live here Jimmy a friend said once gesturing to a coaster on a bar room table, then there’s ‘the line’ right here, then there’s you. He took another coaster that was on the other side of the imaginary line that he drew and tossed it across the room.

You’re too much dude. Tone it down.

I’m not exactly sure what I had done on that occasion. Maybe it was an insult. Perhap it was an impulsive scream. Or just maybe I suggested that we rip someone’s head off and shit down the hole.

It was a joke.

But like a lot of my jokes, I was the only one laughing.

More strange still?

I’ve always loved lines and boundaries.

As a child, riding in the back seat, I wanted my space. I’d draw an imaginary line between me and my sister.

She delighted in tormenting me by making presistant miniscule transgressions. She knew that by crossing the line just a little bit, she could provoke me to rage.

That of course resulted in a parent’s patented hand swing.

You know…