3 distracting lines

Somewhat like John Ballantyne, I keep seeing lines and they are distracting me. Unlike, Ballantyne, the lines I see are not on tablecloths or the landscape. Rather, they are lines from two Woody Allen movies and an episode of Bored to Death. I put these lines out here to clear my mind of them.

"Tradition is just the illusion of permanence."
Deconstructing Harry

"There's only one kind of love that lasts--unrequited love. It stays with you forever."
Shadows and Fog

“You know, I never thought I’d be in a graveyard in a spa robe talking to a beautiful transvestite in the moonlight.”
Bored to Death, "Escape from the Castle"

As I drink mate on this 40-degree morning and write out these quotes, I see in their constellation lines of connection: lines of transience; lines of transformation; lines of friendship; lines of romance.

The latter two lines in particular align humor and warm romance constructed by people who determine to face the world as unfeeling and totally contingent. In freeing themselves from a dependence upon transcendence, the characters can delight in the unexpected, even if they also must endure the discomfort of life's vicissitudes.

I am particularly fond of Bored to Death because what at first appeared to be a show trading on hip Brooklyn, turned out to be narratives featuring strong (yes, often to the point of absurdity) social bonds between friends and stirring dialogue when characters are confronted with their own mortality and how love works in their lives.