Back in Time

Not my photo. Belongs to:www.paulbohman.com

Summer heat, the roar of voices, and overwhelming cool jazz that infiltrated the entire area. That was the trigger that threw me back in time to the 1920s. It was late afternoon when I walked to Carl Schurz park, on the east side of Manhattan. Upon entering the park I saw there was some "high to do up at the fort" ( well it wasn't a fort but a restaurant and the usage stands) as guards were posted at the entrance and one table had a printed sign saying guests while the other was labeled press. Dresses and stilettos, tuxedos and suits were the wear around the area, yet there I stood in shorts and a simple cotton T-shirt. Walking around the structure, through the park to the river, I could hear the  battle between the crowds' voices and the music of a live jazz band. Instantly I imagined flappers dancing the Charleston and quickstep, and  coy conversations over alcohol (provided by a private bar and smuggled in as it was illegal with the prohibition) and smokes.
It was definitely an amusing moment for me; other than wishing I was on the other side of that wall. Some day maybe. Aye governor.




To learn about the 1920s visit: http://www.1920-30.com/
To see the Charleston and quickstep performed: http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIDhqapR93sAUHP7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBvMTRhdDlrBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDVjE0Mg--?p=1920s+charleston+dance&vid=1485a0d9b85bd0c0e06fb18b657aaf04&l=3%3A11&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DV.4670696375518504%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dx6KDtr_RP5Q&tit=1920%26%2339%3Bs+-+Quickstep+Vs+Charleston&c=5&sigr=11afeclmh&age=0&fr=yfp-t-656&tt=b

p.s. can anyone tell me where the quote "seems like there's some high-to-do up at the fort, aye governor" is from. I tried web searching but failed. Thanks :)

One of those moments

I was in Bryant park when I had one of those moments the other day. The moments that you breath in deeply because you recognize its rarity and want to hold it for as long as possible. However, as quickly as a frighten bird takes flight they are gone.

Bryant park has a "reading room" in the summer. Anyone can go there during the day, grab a book or a newspaper off the cart, and read in the designated area for as long as they want. I had heard of this but never experienced it until I happen to be by the park and decided to take a look to see what was happening. Grabbing a book I sat at one of the petite round tables. Sipping on a smoothie- yes I know coffee would be more archetypical but smoothies are more satisfying- I sat there and read for about an hour.

Within that hour a few seconds are forever persevered in my mind. I had broken away from the story for a second to sip on my smoothie. It was then that I paused and realized this was an inestimable moment. Maybe it was the warm sun caressing my neck. Or the statuegenic look of the other readers stuck in their books as birds hopped on the ground around them. It could have been the trees swaying in the wind, and there was the distant sounds of a piano and people talking. Whether it was a few or all of those things all I know as at the moment I felt peace . . . contentment. . . as if I belonged to something bigger.

Why that moment? I don't have a clue. Maybe it was because I paused or maybe it was hormones. All  I do know is that I look upon it fondly as it reminds me to take a moment to breath in all the chaos of life. So maybe rather than saying it is preserved in my mind I should say its preserved in my heart. Corny, yes, but also true.

Continuation

How do you frame your life? Or rather, what is your time frame? Is it defined by the work week . . . by vacations . . . by when the next bill is due . . . by social events . . .? The past two decades of my life have been defined by school - summer break, graduation, fall or spring semesters, internships - and now 17 years later its done. The question then becomes what do you do when your frame of reference has changed?
If you're expecting an answer, I don't really have one. Not yet anyways, and even if I did I suspect that my answer will be different from yours.

A graduate, that is a title that invokes a range of emotions for me. Its not that I am aghast about the responsibilities I now have - work, supporting myself, the gaping black hole called loans. I admit, however to being a bit apprehensive, but who wouldn't be.  Rather, I feel there is a vast canvas in front of me. The background has been painted and I have tools to continue , that was the purpose of my education after all, but the question is where to go on from here. What is the next stroke of the brush?

As a side note, I am aware of how blessed I am to not only have the tools to paint but also the optimism and hope for the continuation of the piece. The ability to dream and belief in a better tomorrow should be cherished by those who hold it. For unfortunately many do not have these hopes. They were not granted the opportunity to dream and to believe that they can. Recall Thomas the Little engine "I think I can, I think I can", well it is hard to say that when others are shouting "No you can't, no you can't".  Oppression, poverty, bullying, and so many other things in life push people down so deep that they can not lift their heads to see the stars for their world is full of dirt. I say this, reader, not to depress you or be named a pessimist. Rather, I write it to remind myself to cherish the optimism I have and to share it with others. To encourage others to dream, that is one of my hopes in life. To remind people to look up and see there is more than the ground in this world, that canvases can be painted over, and artwork is often messy. I encourage others to dream by being a dreamer myself.

So how will I now frame my life? What is the next stroke on my canvas? What new dreams will I have today?