“Pineapple china”

Lyric by Robert Pollard, musical genius, Guided by Voices

I sit down in the comfy armchair and sink into its embrace. “Would you like a cup of tea?” I reply, “Yes please, milk, no sugar, I’m sweet enough!” I look around me and notice the flower wallpaper, the TV in the corner, the coffee table in front of me. It looks like a typical living room. But something isn’t right here; the TV is playing a movie in fast forward and I notice with lurching surprise I’m starring in the movie; I then become aware of thousands of cups pinned to the walls, like animal heads mounted as trophies; the wallpaper is filled with lilies and carnations. The doctor arrives with the tea but strangely the cup is made of stacked pineapple rings and the tea is leaking everywhere. I try to see the name on the doctor’s name badge and then my heart breaks: it reads, “Parkinson’s…”