First Blush
By on August 6, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (5)
On Tuesday, as I took the E Dash up 7th Street to City West, a man sat down directly across from me. He was rather large with a zip-up sleeveless cammo hoodie, weightlifting gloves, rainbow reflective wraparound oakley sunglasses, and a haircut like a shorn and disheveled baby. It took a minute to notice but I slowly understood that the man was intermittently and quite audibly grunting. I grinned to myself out the window thinking about the oft slightly-off liveliness of strangers and downtown LA until it became clear that he was grunting AT ME. I glanced over, and yep, it was a full on lean-in-grunting-stare-down from this big-strange-flashy-man-baby. A bit disturbed, I made eye contact through his single lens, smoothed my left brow with a prominent middle finger and he stopped. Moved a couple seats down even. And then came back. Resumed leaning. No grunting this time though. Until I stood up to get off of at my stop and he let out a long, nasty grunt that made everyone on the bus, including the driver, turn in our direction. All I could say was “What the fuck?” and then “Thank you” to the driver before I stepped onto the sidewalk.
I’m going to use Grunty as the role model for this blog. He had me chuckling and feeling entirely weird all day. Even now. Exactly what he meant or intended seems endless, inconcievable and spinning in all directions. That collision site of appearance, inference, assumption, and confusion is ultimately rich terrain, rife with ripening ways to understand (and laugh at) ourselves as we relate to our physical surroundings as well as our fellow humans. It’s called True-City Tendons because so much of experience relies on connective tissue. As a small beast intermingling with the larger beast of Los Angeles, I am compelled to seek out liminoid experiences with the landscape and those who build it.
As for the outstanding humans at Existential Media who have so immediately and warmly welcomed me as their friend: Thank you for extending your community and for cultivating such hopeful connections! I’m really glad to be here.
Share
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://existentialmedia.org/mt/mt-tb.cgi/207
Comments (5)
I wish I could formulate my gratitude for this story
and for you.
This metaphor. THIS METAPHOR.
This is the collision where you will bring internal and eternal landscapes and we will say, “What the fuck,” and thank the internet.
I am so glad you are here.
Posted by Laura | August 6, 2007 @ 8:29 PM
Whoa! Welcome! I’m sold! This is so exciting, its like I don’t even have to meet you in person. Although I hope I will.
Posted by Alisha | August 6, 2007 @ 9:30 PM
You did it!
I’ll be bookmarking this page. Oh, and the pic of you on the main page is perfy.
Posted by Aubrey | August 7, 2007 @ 10:44 AM
Grunt away, in fact make it annoying with the gurth of the grunts you make, either way I’ll be listening.
Posted by Jordan | August 7, 2007 @ 8:31 PM
I have been secretly checking in on your status, waiting for your well planned debut. I’m very excited for you to be writing, here, with us.
Posted by Matthew | August 6, 2007 @ 8:01 PM