Glimpses

The camera does not show much -- a low, grey wall that you can see the top of, but not what is behind it, a brown desktop, some kind of mounted phone or security system in a brown frame on the wall, a small desk lamp. There is usually sunshine streaming down from a high window off camera. David Lynch sits at the desk staring into the camera. Always dressed nicely and with his signature haircut, he looks into the camera, wishes us a good morning, and starts his script: "It's November 17^th 2006, and it's a Friday." (The date is updated Monday through Friday). He then looks high up, as if there are only high windows in this room, or maybe no ceiling, and describes what he sees: "Here in L.A.: blue skies, golden sunshine, a gentle breeze, 65 degrees Fahrenheit, 18 Celsius. Have a great weekend." I know it's not his fault that the weather is always the same in L.A., but I didn't realize how funny this was until I started chanting this speech along with him each time I watched a new post. It really doesn't change. Even the temperature -- it's always 65F. The only thing that changes is what is on his desk each day. Often it’s a coffee mug and papers. Sometimes I cannot tell what is sitting there -- the things just look weird. But I find it unendingly fascinating that he does this *every weekday morning*, and there must be thousands of people like me who watch it *every weekday*. Why? I don't even know. It's such an oddly personal look inside the life of someone I have admired for as long as I can remember. It's as if he wants to connect with us, and we seem to desperately want it. Yet he is telling us the weather. It's not even a general "how about that weather" conversation -- he simply reports it. That should seem extremely impersonal, but it doesn't. Then there is the creepiness factor. It gives me chills every time I watch it -- it's just so weird! (The weather report hasn't actually been that helpful. It might be 65F in the morning, but that doesn't tell me what it will be at 2 in the afternoon. Still, I like being able to say I get my weather from David Lynch, so I keep coming back)

Every once in a while the weather actually changes, and I start guessing how he will handle it. I was so surprised the first time it was overcast & he seemed so gloomy! It hadn't occurred to me that he would prefer sunshine! But wow -- you could really tell he was unhappy. The next day, when he stared up into the sunshine and reported the blue skies, he was his old self again. Unbelievable.

I like how familiar this has become. It just feels nice to expect to see someone somewhere & have that fulfilled. It's much like having the same bus driver every day, or always walking past a neighbour sitting on her porch -- maybe you usually wave hello or nod as you go by -- it doesn't seem all that important at the time, but if the person is not there one day, you miss it.

The seemingly unlimited access we have to other people and their lives really has made this world a different place. I never thought David Lynch would seem approachable. Now I want to walk up to him some day and shake his hand, tell him how much I have loved his work, and thank him for the website. Maybe someday I will.