to: ellipsis
from: jcj
7 July 1996
subject: letter seven G
attachments: song of myself, first lines
: softecnica two - clock
dear Tom and Jonathan
I'm dedicating this letter and this book to the
memory of Walt Whitman. And also to the great
project of democracy, as Andrew King described it
to me, an enduring outcome of romanticism.
And now I am going to combine the opening lines of
Walt Whitman's 'Song of myself' (from the original
1855 version) with those of 'Softecnica two -
clock'.
i celebrate myself
'Punctuality is the first pillar in the Hall of
Success.'
And what I assume you shall assume,
The punishment for arriving late at school was to
write that out a hundred times.
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
And when I worked in a factory we had precisely 42
minutes for lunch and lost 15 minutes pay if
we clocked in one minute late, 30 minutes pay
if clocked in 16 minutes late, and so on ...
I loafe and invite my soul.
There were card-punching clocks even in the most
human of factories, that of Adriano Olivetti
at Ivrea where I went in the 50s (to try to
learn the secret of good design) and found it
to be quite a paradise compared to other
factories I knew.
I lean and loafe at my ease - observing a spear of
summer grass.
But there, as everywhere, was the unquestioned
obedience to the clock, and to the constant
rhythm of the presses, the never-ceasing
appetite of the assembly lines demanding
another another and another identical action
from every worker.
And this evening I think of the many letters I've
promised to write by the 25th and I wonder if the
rush is appropriate?
Yes it is, for if not I'd never complete them, I
think.
And now I look at the clock and see that it's two
minutes past ten and I'm feeling tired so good-bye
and good dreams until the next one.
jcj