“It is a negative church, and can be transformed into a church so long as one observes the conditions that govern different spheres. In both places people appear there as guests. But whereas the house of God is dedicated to the service of the one whom people have gone there to encounter, the hotel lobby accommodates all who go there to meet no one.”

“The person sitting around idly is overcome by a disinterested satisfaction in the contemplation of a world creating itself, whose purposiveness is felt without being associated with any representation of purpose.”

---Kraucer.

Met old Bon. Seen him once in 20 years. Mellowed out a good deal, much more contemplative. After dinner the mongol suggested tea. Bon. said we could get some for free at the hotel. "You just mentioned the magical word, kaka." Once there I got lost. Went round the back, through a series of narrow corridors, then opened an innocuous looking door (like Mr. Benn). And there I was, in another place, as if I'd stepped out of dense fog into a parallel world. A huge open hall with thick plush carpets, wooden panels from floor to ceiling, and real people (or were they actors?) quietly sipping their drinks at the bar. All very disorienting.

Back in the lobby Bon. said, I live a strange kind of life, traveling three days a week, sleeping five hours on average; it's been like that for ten years. I spend a lot of time in places like this (and he extended his arm, his hand sweeping out in a large circle, mocking this picture of fake comfort). It's a bit sad, really. But it pays well.

There is no judgement here. And no time. Just the semi-familiar no-places that seem to increasingly be a common feature of our lives (like the waiting rooms at airports or shopping malls or-and these are the quintessential hopeless places-the service stations on motorways)