Hi, it's Major. The best way to support the slowdown is with a monthly gift.

Show your love for the slowdown and help us plan for the future today at slowdown show

dot org slash donate.

I'm Major Jackson and this is the slowdown. On several occasions I have felt myself drift into a state below consciousness.

Once while driving home after a long night shift, so tired,

I drove my car into a tree in Germantown, Philadelphia.

In my days, I had slowed down to five miles per hour. Fortunately only my

right fender was dented. The tree and I survived. I remember on that drive trying to keep my

eyelids open. I tried it all, playing loud music, opening all the windows, reciting the

FASB rule for recognizing profits and losses for real estate sales. I was still in college then. No matter my technique, I could not

stay awake. It was 1 a.m. I had only another five miles home. My eyes dropped and dropped, then bang. In another instance, my dentist gave me a sedative just before a procedure.

She leaned over me, gave instructions to an assistant, easy listening music from the 80s played in the background.

The doctor's headlamp faded to a pinpoint.

Then Total Darkness.

Hello, twilight sleep.

I heard someone say recently that reading a certain author's poetry was like a siesta.

Falling asleep while reading poetry is common, but why some and not others.

Is dozing off a verdict, a judgment, of how bad the poetry is?

I actually admire the poet's work, which was likened to attending an

orchestral concert. No matter how hard I listen, I fade and only awaken when

everyone applauds.

We are entitled to dislike in author's work, but I wonder if that is because we simply are not equipped to appreciate certain aesthetics.

...