Is/Was

Walking around the riverfront in Minneapolis, I couldn’t help but feel my distaste for the city rise. I don’t like the cluttered buildings, and the loud traffic. Even if the roar of the dam was almost enough to drown it out. The thing I hated the most was seeing the large blots of paint trying to cover up past graffiti. Back in my home town, there’s a train loading dock. When the trains come by, I like driving by to appreciate the art on the train cars. Seeing it cover up anywhere makes me upset. I know it’s vandalism, but it’s someone taking the chance to make something, and put a date on it. For instance the bridges. So old, and the landmark anchors beneath it. I feel like the graffiti is a part of that time zone, yet it is unappreciated, and wiped out. The real vandalism is trying to make someone’s work disappear. What about gangs claiming territory, you say? That’s not graffiti. That’s tagging. Anyway.

It’s something that used to be new on something old, but now, with the “new” paint, it’s covered up, and we can’t have any real way of knowing the characteristic of the times the landmarks have lived through. I find myself more upset than anything when in the cities. I like it where it’s mostly quiet, room to breathe.

Here, where there’s cars and noise and buildings shoulder to shoulder, and one way streets, and ten lefts and thirteen rights… so easy to get distracted and lost. There’s no time to say hi to your neighbor, or have a BBQ…. Not that you’d want to in this hell. People are crazy here. Walking with friends who happen to be of different ethnic backgrounds makes a man on a park bench shout, “LOOKOUT! IT’S THE RAINBOW COALITION!” Sheesh! What happened in this place!?

From what I can tell, there USED to be class. People USED to wear suits at the baseball games. Now people whine and complain and zoom about with their business. And they avoid all eye contact. I know why, but they don’t even give a smile and/or a nod. Not even a, “Oh, hi! Another human being! Hope your day is going well!” It’s all Minnesota pacifist. It’s only nice because I refuse to interact with you, therefore easily avoiding any awkward moments of someone being offended.

LE GASP! OH! OH NO! SOMEONE WAS OFFENDED!

Good lord. I can’t wait to get outta here.

To add something positive, the only calm I found was sitting right under the bridge, watching the ducks, and just plain having fun goofing off with friends. It helped keep me sane, that's for sure.