#hal sirowitz

You’re always giving, my therapist said. You have to learn how to take. Whenever you meet a woman, the first thing you do is lend her your books. You think she’ll have to see you again in order to return them. But what happens is, she doesn’t have the time to read them, & she’s afraid if she sees you again you’ll expect her to talk about them, & will want to lend her even more. So she cancels the date. You end up losing a lot of books. You should borrow hers.

Not Finishing the Book I closed my biology book. I didn’t get to the part about how a frog is different from a toad. I was hoping that I never would. I planned to refrain from touching either of them. I heard toads were poisonous, the secretions on their skin could numb your arm. I did not believe I needed that information to survive. Hopefully, I wouldn’t get into any situation where that knowledge was a life and death matter, like the Swiss Family Robinson marooned on a tropical island. As long as I stayed away from ships and rain forests I was safe. by Hal Sirowitz

The Benefits of Ignorance by Hal Sirowitz

God would perform miracles in the old days, Father said, but nowadays if he set a bush on fire, like he did for Moses, the fire department would rush to put it out. The newspapers would send our photographers. There’d be an investigation. A reward would be given to help find the arsonist. Some innocent person would get blamed. God has enough people believing in him. Why does He need all that commotion for the sake of a few more?

"Reusing Words" Hal Sirowitz Don't think you know everything, Father said, just because you're good with words. They aren't everything. I try to say the smallest amount possible. Instead of using them indiscriminately I try to conserve them. I'm the only one in this household who recycles them. I say the same thing over & over again, like "Who forgot to turn out the lights? Who forgot to clean up after themselves in the bathroom?" Since you don't listen I never have to think of other things to say.

Crumbs - Hal Sirowitz

MTV Spoken Word

Hal Sirowitz