senseless.

right outside of Chase bank on ave of the americas between 49th and 50th is a sleek fountain--a work of architectural genius to the weary walkers who double it's function as a bench. for me, it serves as an apparatus to escape the chaos of midtown Manhattan. if you close your eyes, you can actually trick your mind into serenity even though you are flirting with the pulse of New York City. of course the roar of a cab, the rumbling of the B train, or the mouth of a pedestrian quickly interrupts this delusion of peace. but what is midtown without this disruptive electricity?

a close friend and talented thinker reminded me that having your eyes closed while surrounded by marble and water in new york city may not be the safest way to go about your lunch break. but for the sake of this blog and the allegory of escaping reality, pretend with me that is perfectly reasonable--i won't let his logic ruin the magic of my rhetoric. that is, that if you didn't close your eyes, you would never experience this escape. not with the dazzling lights and constant movement of humanity marching through the mid-town maze with only the beat of each other and predetermined traffic patterns over which we have no control. when we embrace this temporary blindness, your perception of reality is not only skewed, but it can lead you into a false and blissful ignorance, which i think is as dangerous as it sounds. it's a tool that allows us to develop situations that are in no way linked to reality, but we perceive it as such. but do we have to close our eyes to be blind?

sometimes taking the train into the city turns into an adventure because other people don't realize the comedy of their own actions. for me this counters tragic flaw--the anti-hubris. a while ago i found myself at the crossroads of penn station at a dunkin donuts by the one train. as i snagged my white hot chocolate and went slip my wallet back into one of the endless pocket possibilities of my tote bag, a man in front of me attempted to order his traditional morning mocha chip waffle cone with chocolate sprinkles. the apathetic employee informed the middle-aged child that ice cream is only served after noon. he exclaimed in anger "that is what is what is wrong with this country!!"

talk about blind. to him, america's largest issue does not lay within the economic downfall or two-front war--not health care or education--rather Harry Haagen Daz can't get his 10 AM sugar rush before hitting the subway. God bless this man if this is the largest issue he has to face. he did not appreciate my satisfied smirk when i saw him feverishly downing his ice cream four doors down from where i first encountered him.

and America was saved.

-k.