Hi friends, today's episode is hosted by the inimitable poet Shira Erlichman.

Hang tight and I'll be back on August 28th.

I'm Shira Erlichman and this is the Slowdown.

I'm a junior in college home for the summer, the doorbell rings.

It's my childhood friend, Jake.

Where any two friends would exchange halos, he and I say nothing.

We get in his car without a word.

On the ride to the Brookline Reservoir, he keeps the radio off, I gaze out the window.

Are we in a fight?

Not at all.

Lauren Gytis?

Nope.

We are musicians who recently discovered John Cage and meditation.

Our band called it quits with the end of high school, but we still write songs together and obsess over a favorite record.

Jake is basically a prodigy.

His voracious technical skill blurs the neck of a guitar, his hands origami-ing, in and out of different shapes faster than you can say origami-ing.

Often, I'll request a song, pretend to put a quarter in his mouth, and just like that, he'll be able to play it.

But in the passenger seat of his car, I don't talk shop.

He doesn't blast the yay-yayas.

We are guests attending a silence party.

That's what we've dubbed these outings.

There are only three rules at a silence party.

...