(or, things that make me feel like maybe the world isn’t going to hell in a handbasket)
- Thing #1: Driving at night past a municipal sports field and seeing a neighborhood softball league game or practice in progress beneath the unearthly glow of stadium lights
-Why: The sight of an otherwise unaffiliated group of grown-ups (so, not a school or pro team) gathered together voluntarily to play a game that will have no bearing on anyone else in the world, combined with the knowledge that the bright, artificial lights illuminating a well-manicured field are kept on at the will and shared commitment of the people (i.e., taxes), are, to me, what living in a society is all about. Even if some of us are lazy slobs on our way home to eat chocolate chips out of the bag as we write a blog, who would be mortified to have to play softball.
- Thing #2: That rare occasion when two cars are approaching each other at an intersection with no traffic signal and simultaneously, in perfect synchrony, both turn left at the same speed. It’s even better when a really cool song is on the radio like “Kyrie Eleison” by Mister Mister or the crescendo of a power ballad that swells just as you both sail off into the night, a smoothly executed maneuver like a Russian figure skating pair doing perfect side-by-side double axels.
- Why: I don’t know why. It’s the antithesis of road rage, the “every man for himself” nature of a 4-way stop, or some jerk in a BMW (isn’t it always?) who weaves in and out on the freeway and refuses to let you into the right lane even though you just want to get over so he can pass you. It’s like: we don’t need traffic laws or the presence of cops with radar guns to drive safely! We’re civilized people who can negotiate the road using our own grace and common sense. Our turns complement each other as we both glide along down the road that we must travel (through the darkness of the ni-igh-igh-ight).
I realize that I sound like I’m on painkillers, and I’m not, so I’m going to stop now.
No comments:
Post a Comment