Ceilings & Popcorn Kernels
Have you ever looked up at your ceiling? The one above my bed is full of simplistic rectangular white dropped ceiling tiles. They are one step removed from the tacky lowered office ceiling tiles that so many American residents added to their homes during the 1950s and 60’s to cut down heating costs and to hide unsightly fixtures. I wonder what lies above those tiles. They aren’t particularly ugly to look at but they definitely leave me with curiosity. This home was built at the turn of the century during the Craftsman era and I imagine the original ceiling is constructed of small width timber beams like so many of the beautiful local buildings here. Not a lot of insulation but a whole lot of aesthetic appeal.
When I was a kid our ceilings were full of popcorn paint finishes. Through the 1970s, this type of treatment was popular because it kept down noises and hid imperfections. Often I could be found lying on my bed and staring above. Sometimes the popcorn kernels would fall on my face in a powder form. I don’t think anything was hidden above that particular ceiling. However, some spiders lived in the upper corners of the room. I’m pretty sure one bit me in the middle of the night once because I woke up with a bite mark and a very numb arm.
Ceilings are what separate us from the stars and the neighbors above. If the neighbors above are stars they too are separated from even more stars. And there are always more stars than us.
