Word: surrealness
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...thirds of those exiting the system have taken jobs, according to state studies. Last week's Welfare to Work conference in Chicago, which President Clinton addressed, was a three-day lovefest between advocates for welfare recipients and labor-strapped companies seeking to hire them. Among the most surreal moments: a session on "Finding Welfare Recipients for Your Training Programs," at which social workers bellyached that in these boom times there just aren't enough welfare moms to go around...
Staff members at George magazine poured into the office, just to be together. "It's incredibly somber and sad here," said one. "We're watching this stuff on TV and it's all so surreal." Kennedy's corner office remained closed and locked. From his office windows, he had a distant view of the Statue of Liberty; on the walls were pictures of his wife and his father and mother, as well as political bumper stickers and a few photos of Kennedy himself when he was younger...
Familiar as the scene is, Vedder--a conservationist who began studying gorillas in Rwanda in 1978 with Dian Fossey--can't help noticing that it's also a bit surreal. For one thing, she's standing behind a wall of thick, protective glass. For another, she is not actually visiting the gorillas' home range; rather, they're visiting hers. Just to the west, after all, stands Yankee Stadium. Next to that is a subway station for the IRT line that runs straight into Manhattan...
...surreal moments always jump to memory first...
Legend has it that the 8th century Chinese poet Li Po, drunk with wine, tried to embrace the moon reflected in a lake. He drowned in the clutch. He should have continued to embrace tales of flesh and blood instead of the surreal. For it is heroes--through their triumphs and follies--who teach us how to live...