Place Nostalgia DisorderPublished November 1, 2021
I have PND.
Place Nostalgia Disorder.
It is serious.
It hits me often and without warning.
In the bath. Frying some eggs. Staring off into another dimension.
PND!
F u c k , h e r e w e g o
I begin longing for my bench in Ohori Park in Fukuoka, the one with the turtles swimming up against the concrete lake shore to say
hellooo…
I daydream of my old window, open, the heat of Taipei spills into the room. I gaze at the police station and the student accommodation across the street and further off the long row of shops, convenience stores and restaurants… I’m smoking a strong cigarette. My girlfriends still in class. I’m 22 years old.
My mind drifts to Mount Fromme on the North Shore and it’s long, dark ascent into another world. How old are those trees? They always look ancient. I only ever encounter one or two, maximum three humans on this mountain. The summit doesn’t provide much of a view, when the skies are clear, it stands still among nearby mountains, when the skies are grey, well, you’re in the clouds.
Now I’m on the streets of Perth - tired, hungry, sunburnt and barefoot. Still somehow optimistic, enjoying the city and the day.
I wander through my memories, until I wander into Paris.
Summer, Spring, Winter, Fall.
Summer.
I’m with the South African girls, one of them will become my lover. We’re riding bikes through the sunshine.
I climb the Eiffel Tower, step by step, it’s night, it’s warm. I’m happy.
Spring.
I buy fresh bread from the local bakery and eat it on some steps. A wide view of the universe of Paris shines below me.
Kind elderly French ladies protect me from the rain with their plastic umbrellas. The new French President waves to me from his car as he makes his way along the Champs-Élysées. I capture the moment on video. I watch back amused.
Winter.
New Year, champagne, police, the Eiffel Tower, shining lights, Styrofoam cup, the Seine, cheap hostel French bread, new friends, snow, sex.
A beautiful French woman falls in love with me at first sight. Still clinging to her boyfriend, she is transfixed.
Fall.
Paris in Fall. The world is mine. I eat a burger, a French burger with French fries.
P N D
I’ll keep the rest for myself. Lest this become another memoir.