The first time I went to New York City, I was 18 years old and was in heaven as I saw the buildings, art, streets, parks, and most of all, the people. Stephen Sondheim said it best when he wrote "It's a city of strangers. Some come to work, some come to play. A city of strangers. Some come to stare, some come to stay."
Over the years, I have been every one of those people. Working, playing, staring, staying. That is what I have done most of my life, wherever I have lived. I like to o to the library to write and do research because I like to look at the people around me. I like to think of them, their stories, their troubles, what makes them happy, what makes them sad.
"And another hundred people just got off of the train." The amount of people in this world astound me. I reamember the first time I walked into a Broadway Theatre, and saw the most amazing cast put on the most amazing show. And then I did it the next day. And the day after that. I have a memory seered in my brain sitting inside the Imperial Theatre in 1997 as the orchestra started the overture for Les Miserables and I thought about ever person in that orchestra and all the orchestras across the city and across the world. The countless hours they put into practicing. The times they wanted to give up. The times they didn't get the place in the orchestra they wanted. The rejection and sacrifice. Just to entertain me.
The same thing continued to happen as I saw the actors on stage. I pondered the people running the tech. The costumers and the writers and the designers and the ticket takers and the concession stand workers and the person who sold me a t-shirt who is likely waiting for her own big break.
"A city of strangers." Today I sit in a library in Salt Lake City. I see a mom working on a resume as her daughter keeps bugging her. I see a children's librarian helping a group of kids who are speaking in different languages. I see a couple of kids on time limited computers surfing the internet. And I wonder what their story might be. I wonder who is here to work, who is here to play. Who is here to stare and who is here to stay.
It is rainy and cold. As I left my work today, a gentleman I work with from South Sudan lectured me because I did not wear a coat. I told him for me it is not that cold. He told me that for him, it is almost always cold here. I have been blessed to hear his story. His time in the refugee camps. The languages he has learned. The talents he has. The struggle that learning English is. What makes him happy and brings him joy. And he walks me to my car with his coat over me to block the rain, no matter my insistance that I am fine.
"The ones who stay can find each other in the crowded parks". I love big cities because I think it is wonderful to find one another. Every day that I come home, my daughters ask me what countries the refugees I worked with today came from, or what the play I just saw was like, or what I think the playwright meant. I try food from new places and I watch stories about things that never interested me before.
After my 18 year old experience, I have gone to a few other cities. I wish I could go to every city. I have learned stories in Washinton DC. I have learned stories in Chicago. I have learned stories in Manila. I have learned stories in small Ephraim Utah. I've wandered the streets of Portland and Denver and Minneapolis and Two Harbors and St. Louis. It's a world of strangers. It's a world of stories. A world of skills and talent and sharing and entertainment. A world of food and art and experience. And I only hope that I can have the energy to learn as many stories as I possibly can and experience as much entertainment as I possibly can and love as many people as I possibly can.
"Another hundred people just got off of the train."
Over the years, I have been every one of those people. Working, playing, staring, staying. That is what I have done most of my life, wherever I have lived. I like to o to the library to write and do research because I like to look at the people around me. I like to think of them, their stories, their troubles, what makes them happy, what makes them sad.
"And another hundred people just got off of the train." The amount of people in this world astound me. I reamember the first time I walked into a Broadway Theatre, and saw the most amazing cast put on the most amazing show. And then I did it the next day. And the day after that. I have a memory seered in my brain sitting inside the Imperial Theatre in 1997 as the orchestra started the overture for Les Miserables and I thought about ever person in that orchestra and all the orchestras across the city and across the world. The countless hours they put into practicing. The times they wanted to give up. The times they didn't get the place in the orchestra they wanted. The rejection and sacrifice. Just to entertain me.
The same thing continued to happen as I saw the actors on stage. I pondered the people running the tech. The costumers and the writers and the designers and the ticket takers and the concession stand workers and the person who sold me a t-shirt who is likely waiting for her own big break.
"A city of strangers." Today I sit in a library in Salt Lake City. I see a mom working on a resume as her daughter keeps bugging her. I see a children's librarian helping a group of kids who are speaking in different languages. I see a couple of kids on time limited computers surfing the internet. And I wonder what their story might be. I wonder who is here to work, who is here to play. Who is here to stare and who is here to stay.
It is rainy and cold. As I left my work today, a gentleman I work with from South Sudan lectured me because I did not wear a coat. I told him for me it is not that cold. He told me that for him, it is almost always cold here. I have been blessed to hear his story. His time in the refugee camps. The languages he has learned. The talents he has. The struggle that learning English is. What makes him happy and brings him joy. And he walks me to my car with his coat over me to block the rain, no matter my insistance that I am fine.
"The ones who stay can find each other in the crowded parks". I love big cities because I think it is wonderful to find one another. Every day that I come home, my daughters ask me what countries the refugees I worked with today came from, or what the play I just saw was like, or what I think the playwright meant. I try food from new places and I watch stories about things that never interested me before.
After my 18 year old experience, I have gone to a few other cities. I wish I could go to every city. I have learned stories in Washinton DC. I have learned stories in Chicago. I have learned stories in Manila. I have learned stories in small Ephraim Utah. I've wandered the streets of Portland and Denver and Minneapolis and Two Harbors and St. Louis. It's a world of strangers. It's a world of stories. A world of skills and talent and sharing and entertainment. A world of food and art and experience. And I only hope that I can have the energy to learn as many stories as I possibly can and experience as much entertainment as I possibly can and love as many people as I possibly can.
"Another hundred people just got off of the train."
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