Sunday, July 06, 2008

People May Appear Further Than They Are

I waited. It was about an hour before we met up, when the call finally came. Then I had to call Andy to say that Paul had picked the BEAN as a meeting place. I didn't know Andy. I'd never met Paul or the gang he was bringing along. It seemed like the touristy thing to meet folks at the BEAN on the 4th of July, though.

We had these loose connections from online friends or crossing paths. By some weird star-like direction, we would gather for a beer and conversation as if we were long-lost friends.

I'd gotten ready for the call. When it came I put on my shoes and headed out the door. I wanted to be early so that I could look around. I'd only recently discovered that I could take a decent picture with my phone.

Twenty minutes early, I took my photograph reflecting off the BEAN. Then wandered to the garden and found some flowers who wanted to be part of what I was doing. One day it will be a maze taller than I am, but that day it was an amazing burst of purples, blues, greens, and an occasional red-orange. Got a few pictures before it was time to walk the gravel path back to the sidewalk that lead to the BEAN.

As I was walking, I realized I had worn my best boots to trek the gravel. I mindless wondered whether they would recover. Too late to worry. I wiped the dust off on the of my jeans.

As I walked up to the terrace around the stainless steel bean-shaped gate, a man talking on the phone smiled and waved. I said, "hello," hoping I knew him. Then, I hoped I had him pegged as the right one of the two. Luckily, the other guy phoned so that I could be sure.

We gathered, hugged, took pictures and video. Then we walked over to the local outdoor pub to share a beer and get to know who we were.

As I sat with five other with whom conversation came easily, I thought to myself, "This group is the opposite of the reflection in the BEAN."

People May Appear Closer Than They Are.

me liz strauss, letting me be

11 comments:

Dr.John said...

Interesting as always.

Anonymous said...

I love the opposite views between the title and the ending and of course the stuff in the middle too. I like the way this wanders just a little from photographing your reflection to reflecting about your attire and the people you were to meet. It's as if your mind and attention were wandering a path too. Waiting only to be engaged by people who were closer than you thought.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Dr. John,
I like to play with ideas. I'm delighted that take interest in that!

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Easy!
I've been taken by the juxtaposition of many things lately. It's showing up in everything that I do.

Rinkly Rimes said...

I too love the idea of juxtaposition. Your approach is both thoughtful and quirky, and I hope you'll take a peek at my new blog

Rinkly Rimes

and see if you find that reveals the same approach. I'm an Australian Grandmother, new to blogging but certainly not new to life!!!!

http://rinklyrimes.blogspot,com/

Brenda

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Brenda!
Thanks for noticing. I think you've summed things up pretty well in your comment. You are a blogger. I can tell that already. :)

Bungz said...

Aha! That was a smart one. :-) Nicely put.

Anonymous said...

For the same things, the different experiences of people always give a different experience, very good article!
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"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Every person experiences the world in his or her own ways. Every person experiences each person individually too. :)

wilson said...

Cool.

Unknown said...

Cool. I miss the bean and loopers.