2009.112 Parallel Universes: what if all the branches exist?
As you look back on your life, you realize how many branches are in
it. The choice of a job, of a mate, a place to live, a city, a
country... imagine all the possibilities.
When I got back to Los Angeles after my first gig in Paris, I
interviewed for and got hired for 3 jobs. I then made a decision to
take one of them, after trying Universal Studios for a couple of
weeks. I never did go work at KMEX, the Spanish-language television
station, but I did have a parking pass. What would have happened had I
taken the KMEX job? Would I be married to an Eva Longoria look-alike
and have five kids? My Spanish chops would surely be excellent by now?
Where would I be today in the job? Management? Still running the cart
player (which is now a computer program)?
In Fresno I had a woman friend I was very taken with. She was very
good looking, very bright and had class. What she saw in me, I can't
imagine. I had hair down way past my shoulders and a full red beard. I
liked being with her and she was probably someone I could have made a
life with. What if I had? Would I have continued playing music in bars
or gotten a "'real job"? Would we have had kids? Would we be living
near Stanford (where she moved) or stayed around Fresno. Or maybe gone
to New York? (She worked for a modeling agency.)
One night I came home very late to the place I lived and went to sleep
without removing my instruments from the car. I lived in a very
isolated area at that time, way off the street, with no passers-by to
ogle the equipment. Early the next morning, the phone started ringing
and I took it off the hook. What I learned later when someone came
knocking was that the call was the near neighbor to tell me my car was
being broken into. They stole not only all my instruments but a photo
album and an answering machine I had fixed for a friend. That machine
belonged to Hervé Villechaise ("Dee plane bosss, dee plane!") and it
had a very funny tape on it from a comedian buddy of his with a bunch
of great imitations. My photo album had a few irreplaceable things
like the note from Gala Dali and pictures of women I hung out with
while on tour in Europe. But what if I had gone out there to confront
two or more people robbing my car? What if they were armed? What if I
died or was injured?
Another time I was out on a highway in the middle of nowhere and Lou
and I stopped to relieve ourselves near a chain link fence. It was
pitch black and we suddenly saw a glint of steel and a light shined at
us. The guy holding the gun was more nervous than I was and I wasn't
exactly comfortable with a gun being waved at my face and body in
alternation. What if the nervous gun went off?
We all make decisions every day, but a few of them create branches of
life and death importance. We had often thought of going to Buenos
Aires to see friends. We could have been on the fatal Air France
flight, but that would have been pure chance had it happened.
On the other hand, someone else's decision can also change your life.
We were on a flight to Europe from Minneapolis once when the lighting
system went black, emergency lighting came on and the plane began
losing altitude with a change in the engine sound. The pilot announced
that it was nothing to worry about and things were normal within a
minute or so. About five minutes later, the incident repeated itself.
Then I recall the chilling announcement:
"Ladies and gentlemen, we just lost the second generator. The plane has three generators, so we still have one running, but only a maniac would cross the Atlantic with one generator."
We turned around although we were nearly to the point of no return.
Although the announcement was reassuring, the reason I say it was
chilling was the emphasis the pilot put on "only a maniac would cross
the Atlantic..". It sounded to me like the pilot and co-pilot had
argued about it. Would I be writing this today if the co-pilot had
prevailed?
