Yesterday morning, seemingly out of nowhere, rain began drumming on the magic cottage and the light began to shift.

Just back from traveling, I looked in the mirror and thought about what I wanted to happen before the end of the day:

And then I walked out front, started my car for the first time in two weeks, and pulled up to the stop sign.

Only my car didn’t stop, the brakes failed, another car narrowly missed the front end of mine, and I was somehow able to tap the brakes for about a mile to a repair shop.

Shaken, but fine, my fervent wish for the days ahead is for all of us to live gloriously—so if that car had hit me, I would be proud of how I spent the days before and after.

Filmmaker Benjamin Reece asked fifty people in New Orleans the same question in the beautiful video below; I’m especially moved by the beginning of this video, the moments before the answers, when the focus adjusts and the subject smiles bravely.

New Orleans is a place that has had many things happen before the end of a single day.

Fifty People, One Question: Restored from Benjamin Reece on Vimeo.

What do you want to happen before the end of the day?

And please share your thoughts with Benjamin and see the video in HD here. I plan to look him up the next time I’m anywhere near Magazine Street—

Related posts:

1. examining life
2. lagniappe
3. very certain slants of light

1. Ben:
   September 17th, 2008 at 8:39 am

   oh my, so glad you weren’t injured. why did the brakes fail? are they fixed? i’ll remind your readers as well of the many queer invitations that lurk, mostly unnoticed, in a single day:)

2. Kristen:
   September 17th, 2008 at 9:57 am

   Well, I think it was time for the brakes to be replaced, and happy to report they’re fixed. Good reminder of lurking invitations, Ben—

3. Stewart:
   September 21st, 2008 at 3:59 pm

   I think the world should take the focus away from fueling deadly cars, and put money into learning how to fly. I’m so happy you’re okay! (And, Ben, I received three queer invitations this weekend. You’ve equipped me to notice them).

4. Kristen:
   September 21st, 2008 at 6:02 pm

   Thanks, S, so am I. It was scary. And I’m happy Ben has equipped us to notice those invitations.
   As I don’t have a convenient jetpack lying about (I agree we should be studying rocketeering), I’m researching commercial flights to that country music haven where you now live in early November—

5. Benjamin reece:
   September 27th, 2008 at 2:55 am

   thanks for sharing my video call anytime

6. Kristen:
   September 27th, 2008 at 6:57 am

   thanks, I will :) I’m in New Orleans in December–

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Posted Wednesday, September 17th, 2008, 6:59 am * Filed in Beauty, Video, light. * Tags: benjamin, day, happening, kristen, kthread, life, reece, taylor, want, wish. Follow responses through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.