Solid, Liquid, Gas!

AI generated representative picture of a sixtes Gas station.

Matter is indestructible. It can not be created or destroyed; only transformed. Which actually is just a rearrangement of its atoms. French chemist Antoine Lavoisier explained this in 1789. Matter exists in three primary states—solid, liquid, and gas—defined by particle arrangement and energy. Solids have a fixed shape and volume with tightly packed, vibrating particles. Liquids have a definite volume but take the container's shape, with particles that slide past each other. Gases fill their container, holding no fixed shape or volume. 

 

Gas forms the most part of space. It  actually is plasma which consists of ionized hydrogen and helium. Gas apparently is the most common state of everything! Yes I said it ! Even humans and human interactions! Let us not go into the morbid area of death eventually transforming one into smoke; but let me give you a story from a gas station. Yeah a petrol pump is called that in a large part of the world!

 

I was new those days and as I went in to fill up my car at a self serve pump, I saw another customer doing so at an adjacent pump. He was quite a bit older than I was. We kind of finished filling up at the same time and I let him walk ahead of me to go in the store to pay for it. I was lined up behind him at the counter and could not help hearing this conversation. So when he asked for the amount owing for his pump the attendant gave him a number. This person was surprised," that's a lot, how? Gas is 43 cents isn't it? He asked. The counter person said, " That's right but you filled premium gas, that is 55." "Damn !" said the customer and then he turned to me and said, " I don't care, it is my wife's car".

 

I was shocked to the core by this statement; as you can imagine!  24 years later I still remember this incident. "My wife's car"! So his wife must have pushed him to go get the car filled; he came in and filled  the expensive stuff without care. High octane gas is usually used in High end or sports models and  is not required for regular cars. He then  paid for it, I am assuming with his wife's credit card. The loss was entirely his wife's and not his! I am certain he never told his wife about it either! 

 

What was the state of his marriage you think; Solid, liquid , or gas? I was a decade into my marriage and I assume this guy was likely into a much longer one but the loss was not his ! The loss was not his! Imagine! What the Fish were they together for ?

 

It was not just a marriage that is all gas - no shape, volume or form; other relations are in a similar state. It was driven home to me as I attended a party soon after. So I got talking to a person at the party. We chatted about things and politics and life. He seemed fairly well informed and a decent sort. Then he threw a bomb! "You know" , He said; I gave my son a great deal"! Oh! how? I asked. , " I let him stay in my basement for $400 till he got a job again"! The rent is $ 2000/month now but in those days the going rate for a basement apartment was $800. He expected me to appreciate his kindness. I did murmur a diplomatic "Nice"!  

 

In my heart I simply despised his heartless, graceless greed ! This was rent being charged by a father to his own child who had actually lost his job! How horribly mean! I in his place would rather put a bullet through my head before Such a thought crosses my mind! This I am afraid is the state of all the relations  - Gas, gas and more gas! It does liquefy from time to time to fill the shape of selfish goals  but I do not think any thing is in  a solid state any more.

 

Just check all that is happening in the world. We can say "Gas" in a nut shell. Someone has it, someone wants it and someone is ready to kill and be killed  to control it. From Venezuela to Iran to middle east and china ; even Ukraine war is a question of gas in many ways. In India gas is the star question! Actually In India apparently there is no shortage of cooking gas and there is a shortage. As soon as the supply chain got strained people started hoarding cylinders creating a crisis to profit from; where no shortage existed. As an exception to the rule  the selfish greed is solid!

That reminds me of a time when after spending the evening together I used to go drop someone off  at her rented apartment, which she shared with a classmate. Invariably she would ask and I stayed for dinner which she cooked. I used to eat with her and then go back home where I ate again to avoid questions and share information on where I had been. There, do you see my relation with family was less than solid ?

For about six months we played 'house'. A foretaste of how it could be in future together. I adored every minute of it but in time it proved to be my gross over expectation . A political assassination and severe civil disturbance as its aftermath also happened during this period. I read somewhere bond gets stronger when you go through a dangerous situation together. Like forged stronger in fire. 

So what really happened  during those riots is that being young and restless  I got very uneasy and decided to rescue her to the relative safety of a family. Off I went on a bicycle. Completely unmindful of the raging riots on the roads I cycled about 20 km from my home in the very east end of the city to the last neighbourhood of Bhogal, close to lajpat nagar III in central south of the metropolis. I pedalled back with my rescued passenger on the cycle carrier. It is a miracle we remained safe and unmolested; exposed on the lawless roads like that! On reflection this was quite foolhardy on my part. I really put her in the harms way during the long ride. She would have been as safe at her apartment. It was a gated railway staff colony. Retrospective vision is always 20/20. I was a devil may care youngster and did not think straight. Just between you and me I would do it again even when I know now that it was pointless!

Just for record it did not make our bond solid. Everything ended in ash and smoke ! Literally! What did Lavoisier tell us about material? It can not be created or destroyed. Same with this bond. It just appeared when there were dozens of completely valid reasons against it. It was burned down with vengeance so long ago that not a vestige should be left by now; but it has gotten transformed into to a state of dissipating energy instead that has lost all vigour. Its elements are far far apart and diffusing further and further away in the ether on their never ending journey.

 

Someday, when I get transformed into diffusing atoms myself our paths might cross again; or not! My atoms colliding with the energy of the bond! That will be something solid...perhaps ! Though gas is the most enduring state of things!