“In Arabic,” Borges writes, “Zahir means visible, evident; in that sense, it is one of the ninety-nine names of God; in Muslim countries, the masses use the word for beings or things which have the terrible power to be unforgettable, and whose image eventually drives people mad.” That phrase always snags my heart — “the terrible power to be unforgettable.” What kind of power? Over others? The self? “Terrible” as in threatening? Or revered, held in awe?
I started following the Knicks when I was 12. That season Patrick Ewing finished third in the league in points.