When I say pavement, I include the floor of my father's car, I include the monkey bars in the park, I include the hardwood surface of my bedroom floor, I include the carpet in my aunt's living room and den. I also have to throw in escalators, linoleum and the endless metal fields of my dreams. When I say dirt, I refer to water and to grass and to sand. I must include mud, which is a combination of two of the above elements. Also, the emerging roots of old trees, the trunks of trees, and rocks.
Rocks are very important.
I've spent a bit of time on rocks and it was quality time. But I've spent more on pavement. It feels so much more molecular. Which is something I haven't categorized yet, but I think maybe it's half dirt and half pavement. I'm eleven years old and Larry Stein is sitting on my chest with his hands pinning my arms down.