Frederich, who travels infrequently, is keen on reading books.
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Frederich: A good book can be filled with well-crafted utterances and analyses, from fun to opinion to declaration.
It makes me want to concur, demur and comment. Nod my forehead, shake my ears, and speak my piece.
Woman in the River: An outer oral interaction becomes an inner literary lip-reading.
Frederich: Going into a book is like going on a trip. The linearity and stuttering of listening and speaking is replaced by the random access to rooms of finely sculpted ideas of reading and writing.
In speech we watch the idea being chiseled. In reading we see the idea on display in a gallery.
Woman in the River: You hear me but I wonder if you are listening to me. You make my ideas your own.
Frederich: Possibly. Maybe. I might be.
Woman in the River: You are serially rephrasing again.
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Voice-over
Reading and traveling are parallel ideas occurring in two dimensions. Reading, an activity of the mind, sparks new thoughts. Traveling, a physical activity, sparks new thoughts. Two roads, both leading to Rome.
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