The other night whilst surfing the channels, I came across the show "A walk through Central Park" This was part of a great PBS series that had David Hartman (TV personality) and Barry Lewis ( delightfully nebbishy historian) wandering around New York neighborhood and giving an informal, chatty history . Low tech, no special effects, just great anecdotes and some maps and photographs. This is my idea of an hour well spent with the telly.
As I watched I was reminded of a walk I took in the park a few years back.
It was a perfect spring day, bright sunshine, 60 degrees or so. A Sunday. The spring of 2002. Needless to say the city was still discovering what life in the city was going to be like post 9/11.
The park was filled with people. I had no plans that day,I just went in to wander the park. Grab a bite to eat. I had a pad and pencils- i figured I might do some drawing. (not good, but i enjoy it) I always have a mild hesitation to draw in public, invariably someone will wander by and ask to see what you're drawing. It always happens. To me; my stuff is genius. To the outside public; my stuff is two steps up from stick figures.
The first hour or so the park was quiet, people almost talking in whispers- but as the day went on the park and the people began to "bloom"
And then within 45 minutes I experienced...... (this will sound, sappy)... pure joy.
As I walked each experience built on the one that came before it.
Guys sailing their model boats in the pond.
Up on the hill, a guy staging turtle races, keeping up an enthusiastic patter the whole time.
That eccentric guy ( I forget his name, but there was a documentary about him that won an Oscar a few years back) With a Mohawk and a loin cloth, who plays the violin and performs operas of his own devising.
The group of conga players , who have gathered in the park every Sunday for decades, and play for hours.
A bridal Party taking photos on a big rock- A Latina bride and a Japanese groom and their friends and families, laughing and posing and trying to translate what was being said back and forth which led to more laughing.
and then.........
You know that part of the park where the Roller skaters gather? Well there they were, about 200 of them. Young, old, real old, black, white, brown, some in street clothes, and some in full blown regalia- all skating and dancing and singing to Stevie Wonder's "Do I DO".
The energy was extraordinary - if the whole crowd had levitated six feet off the ground and continued dancing I wouldn't have blinked an eye.
pure joy
Go ahead, play the song.
2 comments:
so...what are you drawing?
Recently, I have been drawing a series of beach things- I have some robertmoses stuff, some east hampton things, a bunch of sunken meadow- trees and fences and garbage cans,
No people- I have no luck drawing people
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