Boston Greenway

There are two wars and an economic crisis and election insanity going on. Enough to drive anyone crazy. On the other hand, I have just spent the most lovely day in downtown Boston, walking with Anya and Ewan, Maya and Jay along the Greenway where they have torn down the old freeway and put it underground(the Big Dig of infamy). There are a couple of miles of long green park amid the tall glass and steel buildings, reflecting the sun with huge puffy clouds over head in a deep blue sky. The marina seascape with sailing boats is framed in the archway of the old ferry building It is all like some futuristic perfect world. There was a Taiwanese National day with Tai Chi and gymnastics. The whole spectrum of humanity was there. In the grassy lawn by the bandstand which is playing Shefardic/raggae fushion, the young moms and dads of the world dance and swing their children around. Anya has found a one year old to lead in dance and mimic her moves one of which consists of lying on the lawn kicking feet and arms in the air. I sat on a bench by a walkway commemorating those who contributed to this city park, small cement tiles with their names engraved. A dodering grey haired woman pushing an even more aged mother stop to find the name they recogonize and place a flower by the tile. A fresh faced dark skinned man passes out Obama leaflets. A boney 70 year old man and his wife pass and the man leans over to the young man, hissing nastily, is this the McCain Palin ticket??? His wife, embarrased, says, to no one in particular, "pay no attention to him" Jay comes up. He is all jazzed; he ran into the Mayor of Boston and casually greeted him, saying how nice the Greenway was and the Mayor replied, shaking his hand, "Hell of a day; hell of a day". I sit for a long moment, in love with the world and all the humans living on it with their wild and weird lives, the tics and symbols which give their lives meaning so clearly evident, and the joy of life itself in the small people dancing with their parents on the deep green lawn between the vast monuments of glass and steel.

The moment passes. We move on, my feet hurting from the new sneakers; the kids begin whining and we buy them off with ice cream before we go down the stairs into the subway to start out long journey home. Nonetheless, a glow from this remains.