Thursday, September 28, 2006
The Great Outdoors
She's putting on her jacket
the sun sinks early these days
he sits back in the chair
a second glass of wine
a sidewalk table for two
she's a little more relaxed
the laughter sneaks out
he's just in from abroad
she's leaning closer in
he's leaning closer in
sunlight on their faces
for the last time tonight.
He's older, she's professional
in a legal manner
the dinner is early
the suns on her hair
no one in the world but themselves
all hands on the table now.
--------------------------
September is beautiful. The clouds moving in around this time of night--5 and 6:00 pm--remind me of a winter I spent in Indiana a few years ago. The highlights of my day were the January commutes to and from the office. Not because I was going or coming from work, but because of the way the world looked outside the car windows. Just amazing wispy clouds and muted hues of skyline. We were a little North of Indianapolis, in the suburbs, and something about it all was just striking. I had never experienced a "true" winter before this time in the early days of 2003. I was going through a very melancholy time in life; my parents divorce had just finalized a few months earlier; I was in between colleges with no real direction, and I had accepted an internship taking me further away from home than I had ever been for more than a week. I was listening to a lot of Vince Guaraldi's music from the Peanuts cartoons. A Charlie Brown Christmas, and more specifically George Winston's version of The Great Pumpkin Waltz. It is all very loving and melancholy music, and it was the soundtrack for this period of my life.
I turned some of that music on again last night as I was driving. Not because I was feeling melancholy--far from it, I'm happier in life than I have been in quite a while, what with friends and a nice little job and in the process of building a community around me here in Providence, and all new episodes of Law and Order. But the way it looked outside my window last night as I was driving out to Northern RI for a free dinner (the lengths you'll go when you're on an Americorps budget are amazing...I haven't made a meal for myself in just about a week!) reminded me a lot of those days in Indiana. It can be dangerous, stir up some buried emotions...but maybe that's ok. After all, I've matured a tad since them. Maybe this time around I can handle it a little better.
Also I've been thinking a lot lately about John Candy. Long story as to why, but not sure if one really needs a good reason to be thinking about John Candy, am I right? It says a lot for a legacy when you can make a blanket statement about a deceased actor such as "We all have your favorite John Candy movies." I heard that last week and have been thinking it over. It's a pretty true statement. Just, go with me on this, ok? ¶ 9/28/2006 05:12:00 PM
the sun sinks early these days
he sits back in the chair
a second glass of wine
a sidewalk table for two
she's a little more relaxed
the laughter sneaks out
he's just in from abroad
she's leaning closer in
he's leaning closer in
sunlight on their faces
for the last time tonight.
He's older, she's professional
in a legal manner
the dinner is early
the suns on her hair
no one in the world but themselves
all hands on the table now.
--------------------------
September is beautiful. The clouds moving in around this time of night--5 and 6:00 pm--remind me of a winter I spent in Indiana a few years ago. The highlights of my day were the January commutes to and from the office. Not because I was going or coming from work, but because of the way the world looked outside the car windows. Just amazing wispy clouds and muted hues of skyline. We were a little North of Indianapolis, in the suburbs, and something about it all was just striking. I had never experienced a "true" winter before this time in the early days of 2003. I was going through a very melancholy time in life; my parents divorce had just finalized a few months earlier; I was in between colleges with no real direction, and I had accepted an internship taking me further away from home than I had ever been for more than a week. I was listening to a lot of Vince Guaraldi's music from the Peanuts cartoons. A Charlie Brown Christmas, and more specifically George Winston's version of The Great Pumpkin Waltz. It is all very loving and melancholy music, and it was the soundtrack for this period of my life.
I turned some of that music on again last night as I was driving. Not because I was feeling melancholy--far from it, I'm happier in life than I have been in quite a while, what with friends and a nice little job and in the process of building a community around me here in Providence, and all new episodes of Law and Order. But the way it looked outside my window last night as I was driving out to Northern RI for a free dinner (the lengths you'll go when you're on an Americorps budget are amazing...I haven't made a meal for myself in just about a week!) reminded me a lot of those days in Indiana. It can be dangerous, stir up some buried emotions...but maybe that's ok. After all, I've matured a tad since them. Maybe this time around I can handle it a little better.
Also I've been thinking a lot lately about John Candy. Long story as to why, but not sure if one really needs a good reason to be thinking about John Candy, am I right? It says a lot for a legacy when you can make a blanket statement about a deceased actor such as "We all have your favorite John Candy movies." I heard that last week and have been thinking it over. It's a pretty true statement. Just, go with me on this, ok? ¶ 9/28/2006 05:12:00 PM
