Coco(nuts) for Javier

“It’s dangerous to love things that aren’t alive.”

            This line from Jeanne Robert Foster’s Sabeal refers to the lumberman’s desperate desire for gold and his resulting destruction. He murders the Indian trapper in order to get his hands on it, but what I find most intriguing about this idea is that I can think of more examples supporting the opposite. While addiction of any material item can consume a person's life, I think love for the fleeting can feel just as dangerous. Things that aren’t living seem more likely to be constant, since mortality doesn't factor in. 

            My opinion is, of course, colored by my recent trip to Seattle; I couldn’t help but notice how permanent the buildings, sidewalks, waterways, and mountains seemed in comparison to the life of my friend Javier, who might only have a matter of weeks.  I think what makes loving a living thing so terrifying is the constant possibility that it will disappear. I understand Foster’s warning against greed and its inevitable result of ruin, but I wonder if “dangerous” in this sense might overlook the emotional danger of attachment. After all, the lumberman was driven to kill and steal by the thought of losing the love of his life.

Javier and I posing with a coconut.