Delicious downtime

Every Wednesday there is a downtime in the world. The grid is down. The world doesn’t exist anymore. The time of day is well chosen, at the end of the afternoon. Five is kicked out of virtual reality. It means a possibility to make music, to get a drink, to make a drawing, to sleep.

All kind of things that are impossible in SL. If the weather is fine, Five will take a bicycle and make a tour. Reality is so incredibly tangible, textures are so rich. The sun is really warm. The wind on your skin. Splashing of water, fallen leaves moving and tumbling on the road, making all kind of rustling noises, the humming of a plane from afar, birds of all kinds. And the reed, the reed in the wind at the waterside of old rivers.

Look how beautiful the real world really is! Seen the flowers of the bramble? Some have five petals others seven.

Reed is funny, long leaves, which always tend to be flat in the direction of the wind. Isn’t it strange that these leaves are never blown off? Ok, very elongated leaves. But looking closer, you can really see why. The leaves of reed can rotate! The leaves of reed are fitted on a shaft around the stalk which is about 10 centimeters long. This shaft is at one side, where the leave is open. Because of the flexibility of the tissue, the long shaft and the opening at one side the leave has the possibility to rotate freely. It has to, because of the everlasting battering of the wind, always from different directions. Strange how simple reed already displays a rather complex interplay between its shape, its structure and its setting at the border of water, always exposed to wind, storm and rain.

This downtime is marvelous. Five hopes for a long, long downtime. Nothing to do but listening to the world, of feeling yourself getting warmer while sipping tea, looking around in the room. Time to get some texts written. Time to clean up a bit. Free time. Real free time.

Admitted, Five was nearly crashed in the canal by a car, the driver must have thought he was in Second Life. Children had carefully arranged bits of cutting glass on the road, to cause a flat tire for people on bicycles. Well, there was this inline skater, who tried to kick off Five from the bike, but Five’s bike weighs about 150 kilos so that attempt was easily countered. Yes, and this racing cyclist who thought he was winning the Tour the France and therefore taking a shortcut just in front of Five. Oh and this dog free from the lease, the owner probably thinking that his dog would respect traffic rules. Not to mention this nicely looking, cute child, who suddenly took a sharp left turn without looking who was behind her.

Yes, yes, the world is really nice and friendly. Black downtime makes the world bright. Five wants to finish a book, take a shower, smell the evening. May it take very long to restart the world.