...and in the back of my mind....

Do you ever wander around a public place full of strange and interesting people and truly think about the situation? You are all here for a similar reason yet, there's a good probability that the things going through your respective heads are so off-kilter that it would seem the only thing you have in common is the place you are standing. These are the kinds of things going through my head when I venture out to a new place. Say, for example, this weekend. I went to the Coconut Grove Art Festival down here in sunny Miami. I met up with some coworkers and ended up having a great time - festivals have this aura about them....the wafting smell of sunscreen, cigarettes, funnel cake and beer. How's that for a combination? The art at this festival was pretty impressive. A lot of it was generic but there were some stand-outs including There was some really interesting art at this festival including some African art that I would have bought in a second if I did not live on a government salary. I'll try to post a picture of it once I figure out how to post pictures.... But I digress, I need to get back to my original idea of people in public places. I was having one of those contemplative days where I look at people and just wonder what they are thinking about. What does this person think of this same piece of art I just stared at for 5 minutes? Do the sharp blues hit them in the same manner? Are they starting at this piece of art thinking about something completely different? There was one artist who used prarie grass as his medium - it was simply beautiful. The colored grass made me think of grassy (not to be misread gassy...) experiences in my life....such as rolling down a hill and getting grass stains on your knees, playing soccer, picking flowers, swimming in a lake and having lake grass tickle my feet and scare the crap out of me, driving across country and being mesmerized by the sea of prarie grass flowing in the wind. Oh what I wouldn't give to be able to jump out of my car and just run, run as fast as I could amongst the strands silently swaying a song of the ages. Memories trigger in an instant and I am constantly amazed at the route they travel... All of these thoughts are brought back to reality by the crepe and nutella stand. I continued on my day, listening to music, looking at art, having a few drinks, and trying to understand the reason that I am right here, right now....