Hearing: "If You're Not Cute, You Might Aswell Be Clever"

There's something comforting about listening to an audio book. When I was five it was A.A. Milne's "Winnie the Pooh" and "When You Were Young." Then when I was seven: "The Chronicles of Narnia," "Peter Pan," "Ballet Stories," and "Black Beauty." When I had to look up at adults, I needed three things to get to sleep: my Pinkbear, my bed-side light on, and an audio book. It didn't matter if I heard it before. The story would comfort me, the narator's tones rocking me to sleep and the alarming notes keeping me awake and making me aware. I was afraid of the dark so I had the covers over my head every night, with the light on, and a voice lulling me to sleep.

Not many things have changed now. I stare right into the eyes of adults and sometimes look down (I get a secret joy from this). I've listened to "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," "Inkheart", "Runemarks", and foolishly Neil Gaiman's "Coraline." More recently I have listened to every David Sedaris audio book the library has. "Naked." "When You Are Englufed in Flames." And as I'm writng this: "Me Talk Pretty One Day." I was first introduced to Sedaris when in my AP Language and Composition class was instructed to individually mark up the SantaLand Diaries, around Christmas time. It told the story of Sedaris going to get a job as an elf in a mall and how unnecessarily horrific the job of one of Santa's elves. Then, as a class, we listended to his "high-pitched" voice read the passsage.

He didn't quite reach an octave like Truman Capote, whose voice did not change form when he was in forth grade upward, but he seemed like Capote and his lover Jack's lovechild, in that he's genius and seems to know it, secretly. I get a certain pleasure when I listen to this satirical, hilarious, and intellectually blunt stories, his voice immitatable in that it sounds both unemotional and reminiscant to the point of of being on the verge of laughter. Even though he makes up half of what he says, I know some is true and that's comforting. Sedaris feels like a relatable man, with a profound sense of enjoyment that is not heard in his voice, but felt by his audience. I love the little jazz interludes and closings. (I wish him and Hugh all the happiness in the world.)

So excuse me, I need to go meet a fellow chipmunk over drinks, meaning yes, I am "in the buisness." ;)