Spinning

I have been assured by several tough, testosterone-driven pirates that they were mentally and physically challenged by spinning. In this context spinning refers to a physical workout in which one rides a special stationary bike, a spinning bike of course. The workout also has an auditory component of loud, fast, driving music. But I think that the most important part of spinning is the running verbalization of the instructor. There is the ongoing loud and stern motivation: "Move; move; move. Sweat. Don't stop. Go, go, go." But what is even more important is the instructor's prompting to imagine. The scene is set for the often-closed eye spinner. "We're going up a really steep hill. We can't see the top yet." "It's all clear ahead. There is nothing to slow us down."

In the not shabby intensity of this 450-calorie burn in 45 minutes we have entered, whirled, into the world of spinning.

But why would I begin to spin my tale in a gym? We were really already spinning out of control before we arrived there. After all, before all, within all: Everything is spinning. Galaxies spin. Every atom in every galaxy spins. Every sub-atomic particle spins.

Our own mother ship, Earth, spins 1,038 MPH at her equatorial midline. If she were suddenly to stop her spinning, our atmosphere would just keep on going, spinning away, leaving the surface of the sphere scoured clean. Perhaps we need this kind of radical radial cleansing, we who are spin creatures forever spinning our wheels.

We need a more skillful spin-doctor than those who spin our Fox/CNN/ MSNBC yarns.

Is this our contemporary manifestation/ infestation of the clever mischief of Anansi?

When does ingenious twist become merely biased presentation?

Even quantum physicists do not know what spin is. They can only say that it is an attribute of elementary particles, the quite important attribute that distinguishes stuff from the forces between stuff. Particles that have spin quantified as integral, bosons, exist between stuff. Many of this type of particle can exist indistinguishably in the same spot. On the other hand, articles of half-integral spin, fermions, are stuff. These particles cannot be identical in all ways. So, after all, it is spin that distinguishes what matters from what, substantially, is not. And the total system spin depends on the spin of all its constituent parts, both mattering and smattering.

The etymology of "spin" reveals a Lithuanian root that means to set a trap. The exuding of a viscous, rapidly hardening fluid, spinneret generated, is spider spin. Mere mention can cause a spin out of arachnophobic horror in our Ms. Muffet hearts.

Does the spinning narrative from the ancient Greeks, Arachne's story, spin into existence to explain spiders? Or do spiders arise into being from the loins of the hubris transformed Arachne?

The wheels of spinning bikes are not the first spinning wheels. The yarns from wheels in spin precede, wrapping round us at campfires that burn tale memories into our hearts.

Our beauty falls asleep, poisoned into unrecognized dream states, pricked into cursed unconsciousness.

For what kiss do we wait to wake?

I, myself, qua pirate, do not wait to be kissed. I exist to kiss. I, myself, will kiss into waking, to send to wakes the stories that have lied their way into determinism. I, pirate, protect the ephemeral, the webs spinning, glistening, without unnecessary hope of substantiality. I, pirate, spin yarns of wheels and quarks, of mother ships and spiders swallowed and swallowing.

We are spinning up a really steep hill. We cannot see the top. It is all clear ahead.

There is nothing to stop us.

— Rx is the FloridaW eekly muse who hopes to inspire profound mutiny in all those who care to read. Our Rx ma y be wearing a pir ate cloak of in visibility, but emanating fr om within this shado w is hope that readers will feel free to respond. Who kno ws: You may e ven inspir e the muse. Make contact if you dare.