Back on the plane this morning, stopover in Portland. If I ever had to pick an airport to be stranded in, Portland would be it. It's got shops all over the place, even a Powell's bookstore--Isabelle Allende just came out with a version of "Zorro", BTW. exclaim I try to read only one book at once, so no purchase today. But it's now on my increasingly longer must-read list.
So, I had a pleasant enough layover there, sipping a Brain Freeze from the Coffee People and listening to a live piano player. Yes, I will drink coffee. It's rough on my system, so I treat it like whisky. Nice to have, but not too often.
A beautiful flight over the Cascades to Spokane followed. I got to see Mount Ranier and St. Helens from the air. Not to be trite, but they are very big. Really big. I mean, I live withing driving range of mountains, but they don't convey immenseness the way a solitary pile of lava three miles high does. Oh, and St. Helens had a big volcanic plume this morning eek Hope that doesn't turn nasty.
As soon as I got done with work, I fought off the temptation to go to sleep and forced myself into my running gear. Who knows? I may be developing self-discipline.
Serendipity (aka my ability to get lost five minutes from the hotel) struck again, and I suddenly found myself in Riverfront Park--
I jogged over wooden bridges and boardwalks, through the local university, and then I heard organ music. Turning the corner, I found a scene out of a Norman Rockwell painting. There was a huge merry-go-round surrounded by children running about, splashing in fountains and otherwise acting like children ought to. Couples strolled along the grassy promenade holding hands (*sigh*), and there was more than one frisbee competition in progress. Running a bit further, I saw a group of boys steadfastly ignoring the "No Swimming" sign, diving off rocks into the river. I even ran by a former millpond, no longer in use of course, but cluttered with geese and willows. The idyllic effect was slightly ruined by an "EXTREME DANGER" sign, but there were the boys to think of, I suppose (an imposing dam was just downstream).
On my way back, I met some people hauling what they called a "dragon boat" down to the river.
I stopped and chatted with them for a while. Like all good sportsmen, they were happy to tell me all about how they raced paddle boats with fake dragon heads while one lucky crewmember drummed wildly. Today, they were doing warm ups for the Annual Paddlefest. Wish I could have been there for the actual race, but I once again I was reminded of Small Town USA, complete with its annual competitions: sack races, pie eating contests, tug of wars, and in Spokane at least, boat races. Perhaps it was all a little self-concious. Spokane is hardly Mayberry, USA, after all. It's no more a small town than Tucson is. So perhaps it was a little "Disney Main Street, USA (tm)" The merry-go-round is a permanent installation, and the fountain is deliberately designed for children to play in. But is that really bad? My complaint with Disney World has always been that it is about passivity, being entertained rather than entertaining yourself. Here was a somewhat artificial, but beautiful place that allowed people to meet and play with each other. I think that's just grand.
In a way, I think Gaia is like that. I've talked to a lot of people online, and many have a sort of sheepishness about spending time here, as if it were on par with watching reality T.V. by yourself. Not evil, but not productive, either.
I disagree. I think this is an artificial world, but to an extent we all live in artificial worlds (unless we're camping in the wild). What is real is the interaction we all have with each other. It's up to us to make the most of that, whether we meet in everyday life, a civic amusement park, or online.
Last night, Oxbridge and I went to a "event" in Barton labeled "Chat and Make Friends" or some such. When we got there, it was filled with people running around saying "I'm bored" and occasional desperate flirting. We were about to leave when we met some guys dressed like pirates. Clearly, they were interested in something other than being bored, so we went up and asked them how the plundering business was doing. Hokey pirate talk ensued; we moved to a quieter area and had a good time chatting about pirates and literature. Who would have thought a pirate captain would be a Tolstoy fan? (I left the boys to chat about that for a while. I've never been able to get into Russian novelists, to be honest).
But the point (and I do have one) is that there was no excuse for the others to be so bored, bored, bored. This is a neat virtual playground we have, and one I feel is just as valid a "real" playground. But the swings don't work if no one sits on them. If no one is playing, you ought to start. Serendipity works wonders, and sometimes all you need to do is run about and say "hi".
