Walking through Washington Square Park, not yet late to where I’m going. There’s a larger than usual crowd forming around a quartet –banjo, trumpet, saxophone, bass – some kind of old timey jazz. The song ends, there’s applause.
Starts up again – some claps of recognition – when you’re smiling, the whole world smiles at you – a warm autumn day – there had been cold rain, a drop in temperature earlier in the week – but today was one of those beautiful fall afternoons when the sunlight is tinged in gold. The trumpet rips into a jolly solo. I pause, worth it to be in the moment with the music. Crowds in the park around buskers are rarely mistaken. Smiles by definition are fleeting, disappear soon after they’re acknowledged. I realize that in spite of some realities arguing otherwise, optimism can be irresistible when there’s a park and sunshine and jazz.
No comments:
Post a Comment