Day 108: Explorarting

Red, like this.  Exciting. 

When I was little we had a vinyl recording of a story called 'The Baby Piano'.  It was narrated by a woman with a clipped voice who very correctly said 'Pee-arno'.  It was much loved, not least because it was red (unbearably exciting).  We played it over and over, and our ham-fisted handling resulted in a deep scratch, at the words 'they darted about, exploring.' 

At least that's what I guess was originally on the recording, from an adult retro-perspective. But that's not what I remember. It's etched on my memory as 'they darted about, explor-arted about, explor-arted about, explor-arted about...' .  It played in a relentless trance-like loop, until Mum heard us shouting and came to the rescue, moving the needle past the scratch.  'Explorarting' took on a life of its own.  It seemed to be dangerous - like aural quicksand. Hard to get out of, without assistance.

As an adult I found myself explorarting.  For five long years in a job that I hated.  Because I thought that I had to do it, that I had no choice.  That was my trance-loop.  Glazed-eye cage-pacing.  Then I had a completely random accident, that physically and mentally knocked my needle out of the groove.  Lucky. 

A forty-something traveller who's desperately trying to recapture lost youth on the beaches of Goa is explorarting.  Sixty-nine year old Michael Palin going around the world, insatiably curious, is darting about, exploring.  There's a big difference.


Explorarting vs darting about, exploring.  No contest.