period!

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Sometimes I think that one of the most reliably disappointing bits of belief is the grammatical belief in the lowly period.

There, I made a period at the end of that sentence.

And that one too.

Etc.

And what is true in grammar can be applied elsewhere. A car rolls down the assembly line and comes out complete ... period. A marriage ends in divorce... period. Spiritual endeavor results in heaven or hell or enlightenment ... period. I brushed my teeth ... period.

It's a self-perpetuating stream: If so many things have periods or conclusions then, well, it's bound to be true for other things as well. The past projects itself into future endeavors and the hunt is on for an imagined period.

The only trouble with this self-perpetuating construct is, of course, that it is not true. Except it is true. But it's not. I double-dare you to find the end to anything. Oh hell ... it's all too confusing ... period!

But whatever the confusion, I think this is an interesting habit. an interesting belief system, an interesting hope, an interesting fantasy....
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