Parklife

The park has been wonderful. I've taken bike rides over to one that sits on the lake with a view of downtown and sailboats. It is a great spot to picnic and fly kites. This past week a lot of families and group of friends would gather and enjoy the warm evenings and each other's company. I would sit and watch, resting a bit before my ride home up a rather big hill. This hill was also made a bit bigger by the warmer weather.

These days were great for people watching. Everyone playing and laughing with dogs and babies. There were the bikers and strollers and girls laying out in the last of the sun for the day. We were all excited to finally emerge from the damp of winter, but this seemed more of a violent shove straight into late summer. Although, the heat has cooled a bit and the sky is more overcast as is the usual for this time of year. We had a great warm weather week.

One of the more happy moments while sitting on the grassy hill in the middle of the park was watching a young woman approach a man and begin talking about books. It sort of looked like they might know each other, but then there were the introductions. And it was clear that these were two strangers. It was nice seeing people connecting and disproving the coldness of the city, a coldness that I feel is more true a descriptive for this city than the rain. I was routing for them and hoped theirs would be a happy friendship. I couldn't help but think of my failed attempt at connecting with a fellow comrade, a true comrade it turned out. That was just one failure though, made even worse by the deepness of our connection in such a short period of time. Maybe the spring will bring more opportunities and a greater sense of community, maybe I witnessed the beginning right there in the park. At the very least it was an inspiration.

I've taken walks to a nearer park as well, another opportunity to escape the heat and enjoy the air. I arrived later in the evening and sat to read until it got too dark. As I was walking into the park the sun was beginning to set and dark clouds were moving in. It had be a very hot day, breaking records and turning sort of stormy. As I sat reading two men sat next to me, one asking if it was okay if they smoked up. I said it was fine and he promised to blow it away from me, this promise was made while the wind was picking up. But whatevs.

As the guys were getting high it was clear that they didn't know what was going on; they were inept at loading the pipe, they didn't understand the complexities of love, and life in general was still a bit of a mystery. Some of the philosophical discourse came from their drug induced state of mind, but you could also hear an idealism that often fades with life experience. There was a newness in their tone of voice, but more importantly a lack of cynicism. It was beautiful. I often reminded myself to hold my tongue while the two discussed polyamory and the inevitable monogamous marriage. I had thought they were gay, but maybe they were straight since all conversations referred to girls? I wanted to know what they would have thought of my current situation, the experiences I've had with every guy either sort of cheating on his girlfriend or about to get back together with her. One guy was trying to convince the other of the eventuality of marriage and commitment to one partner, the other was reluctant to accept his truth and tried to rationalize it to himself as his friend kept on. I could only think of one person and his relationship with a woman that he would eventually settle down with and the other partners they would both keep as part of their committed relationship.

At that point a crazy wind storm blew through the park, picking up dust and darkening the sky. It was an omen and I took it as a sign for me to head home. I went in search of shelter and found my home safe and quiet, the windows wide open to let in the forceful breeze to clear the stuffy air and cool it off a bit before I headed to bed. I was glad to have been out in the evening to enjoy a piece of my book and some great people watching in my neighborhood. It was nice to all be connected for a bit.