SEGMENT
—For CK

I could live in the woods like Thoreau, off the grid,
and reality would be looking out the window
each morning, and actually stepping outside to

test the temperature without first consulting my
phone’s weather app. I hope to put down all devices
at some point, though it is not possible to fully

unplug right now and decently survive, plus get
medical treatment. But a cabin in the woods, stocked
with supplies and a full library, would be a 

good break from all the hype. It is very Philip K.
Dickian, and breaking news is just gossip to
the philosopher, but Glenn Armstrong Spills

the Sugar at Breakfast is as real and 
valid as whatever the headline reads on the
digital newspaper this morning. My wasted

sugar is not nearly as important as 
national and global strife, as cable news blares
downstairs about key issues. Though on one level,

I look out my window and I do not see any 
tanks or missile strikes, but another sunny day.
The palm trees stir slightly as I parallel track

the larger issues, and realize that troops are
not jackbooting down the street at this time. I 
process the more immediate reality first,

before absorbing news items squeezed into
seven-minute segments, in between advertising
car repair insurance and toe fungus removal.