Friday, July 11, 2008

Not related

Yesterday I stopped at the burrito chain Chipotle on my lunch break. As I was leaving I thought I heard... yes... I heard Jamie Lidell's "The City" playing faintly on the Chipotle sound system. This is Lidell's angriest song: The City, it don't like you, and it never will. Won't stop, won't stop, till it's got you on your knees. The chord progression is black and his vocals are sharply distorted. Still, somebody at Chipotle HQ decided "The City" was palatable music for their fast food chain. This had the effect of a bad omen.

Later, around 10:30 p.m., I left the house for a jog. Before starting my run I always walk a block north to the 10 Mile Rd/696 service drive and then turn around and run a mile south to 9 Mile Road and back: the point of walking the block north is so that my jog can be in two one-mile increments. When I was almost to the top of the block, about to turn around and start my run, I suddenly heard a cracking and hissing sound behind me, like fireworks. It startled me not just because it was loud but because I hadn't noticed anybody being outside at the late hour when passing. A moment later I was running down the block but quickly stopped where a massive branch about the width of my house had broken off a tree and fallen on the sidewalk path I had just crossed. I would guess it missed me by about 15 seconds.