Respect for the order of things
How I wish I could make my personal belief system into something more random. I see the world around me as an invitation to collect; the series is more important than the individual part (very Gestalt, that). Be it literature, or music, or cinema, or just about anything else, I want it all.
Perhaps I can blame my first encounter with serialized literature: the Hardy Boys, in the wonderful library beneath the stairs in my school complex. Even then, I realized that the idea of continuity wasn’t really a thing, but I wanted to get the books according to the list on the back cover. I tried… how I tried.
It continued. In band, the first suite had to come before the second suite. Else, I would break the pact between the composer and myself. After all, we played the notes on the staff in order, so why wouldn’t that apply to the actual pieces. When I discovered that Bach and Mozart and so many others had actual catalogs, it was a revelation of world order.
Movies: although the Star Wars series is produced in an order that defies logic, others have taken the time to suggest a proper sequence. And now I’m caught up in the world of the Marvel Universe. Not that I’ve watched many of the titles, but there is an order, and I’m not too old to begin, right? If Stan Lee was watching, I’m sure he would approve.
There are so many other examples. I’m driven by the need to start at the beginning and end at the end. Didn’t Winnie the Pooh suggest that to one of his friends? I’ll check, soon.
