Something Worn

It’s marathon Sunday in New York today. I’ve been thinking about all weekend. The church that I attended in Brooklyn is along the course. So on race day, people would arrive early to drink coffee and cheer on the runners before heading into service. The city radiates unity every year on this day. And it extends beyond the race - runners wear their medals in restaurants and on the subway. People say congratulations and smile. And when the weather is nice, it doubles down on the energy the city carries.

This morning, I received a text from a friend who doesn’t normally go to church, let alone, the church I went to in Brooklyn. She’d come with me a few times when I lived there. She went today and sent me a video from the church steps of everyone cheering on the runners and chatting. She had no idea that i’d been yearning to be there today, on those steps outside the school building my former church meets in on Sundays. It was such a gift.

It’s a bit overwhelming to live in New York. I read that 1 in every 38 people in America live in New York City. It’s referred to as America’s City for that reason. And because people walk and talk the subway, you are rarely alone. Living there, I learned not to be precious about shoes or clothes because things just get worn down. One day, my friend Bekah and I walked from the very top of Manhattan all the way to the bottom of the island, in Battery Park. With all the twists and turns we made, it added up to a marathon distance. Early on in the pandemic, I would walk half marathons during the day, just to pass the time. I wore out tennis shoes and boots from all the miles. I’d cross a bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan and just walk -sometimes with a destination, sometimes without. Now that I live in Atlanta, there are streets that I will never walk up or down because it wouldn’t be safe. There aren’t sidewalks everywhere because it’s a driving city. Streets are worn down from cars, not people. And don’t get my wrong, the streets in New York aren’t glamorous and are also worn from cars, buses, and cabs. But this morning, I found myself thinking about all the feet that have walked (or run) up and down those unpredictable New York streets. 🍎

Something That You Came Back To

This is a tough one for me because for the last six years, I’ve purged a lot of things from my life. When you live in New York and you don’t have a consistent or dependable income, you learn to live with less. I’ve said goodbye to too many books to count, clothes that I now wish I’d kept, a dresser that was in my dad’s home that I took with me to New York, and on and on. I even had to say goodbye to my childhood house right before the pandemic hit - so a lot of things that lived in the attic, or in various rooms, were tossed. I filled up one large rubbermaid tub and my sister said she’d keep it in their crawl space until I had space for it.

When I moved back to the South, I picked up that tub. It’s full of pictures and keepsakes from high school and college. The one thing that I thought i’d lost was a quilt that my MeeMaw made before she passed. She made a lot of quilts before she died because she planned on dying for about a decade before she actually did. MeeMaw was a little ridiculous in the fact that she loved attention. I’m sure there’s a story as to why but I won’t bore you with my assumptions. She brought loads of quilts to our family reunions and said for us to take which one we liked because she wouldn’t be around for much longer. Now again, before you get to thinking that’s very sweet, this was at least seven or eight years before she passed. That same reunion she brought out a birthday cake for herself (she told everyone she wanted to get it) and in icing read Happy Birthday to Me.

She was a character indeed. Not really a nice grandma until the end. But, she did make beautiful quilts. The one I selected was bright orange with varying shades of dark greens and yellow with hints of blue. It’s bright and doesn’t exactly match much. It feels unique though and that’s what I love. That quilt now sits on my bed here in Atlanta. I guess deep down I knew not to take it with me to New York. It would’ve gotten lost or stayed filthy. I’m known to lean a little toward the sentimental. I love trinkets and books with notes written to me on the page inside.. People will always be what I come back to most. I try not to get too attached to things on this side of Heaven. It is nice to come back to some familiarity though and for that, i’m grateful.

Something that Sparkles

Her boots were tall and bright red. Attempting to walk in them, let alone dance seems miraculous. Her makeup is a work of art. Drag queens are a marvel. I went to see Kinky Boots at the Out Front Theatre in Atlanta. Lola is a dazzling drag queen with a talent for designing fabulous shoes. Her iconic look includes thigh-high, sparkly, candy apple red, high-heeled boots and a sequin red dress. She sparkles. There’s much more to the plot but i’ll let you read more about it at your leisure. My friend Wendell, who I met in an improv class, is currently playing the role of Lola/Simon. He was fantastic and the heart of the show. I went to the theater last night to see if I could get a day-of show ticket because there are only a couple more days in the run and i’d yet to find a good night to go. I thought about inviting someone but decided I was just going to go solo. By the time I got to the front of the line, I asked if there were any more seats left. Only one more. The ticket office worker responded. I’ll take it! This was my lucky day. My seat was on the front row at the very end. It was a little obstructed but that didn’t matter. I was there to see Wendell (Lola) and knowing the show I knew that Lola was usually front and center, so I’d be fine.

A couple ended up sitting beside me and they were really sweet. They had moved from Northern California and were living in a very conservative part of Georgia. I only say that because they mentioned it a couple times. Their daughter was in the show, playing the part of Lauren, who has my favorite song in the show. She was fantastic and her parents were fun and opinionated. They offered me wine and asked if I wanted to switch seats with them because they’d seen it multiple times already and were coming back for the last two shows. I ended up having a great time. It’s nice to see a show that portrays the light and the dark sides of humanity, with good winning in the end. The sparkles and fashion don’t hurt either. Lola is a character that overcomes and a person who accepts people as they are - If qualities could sparkle, that one definitely would. Here is a picture of Wendell as Lola, after the show last night. I’m glad I went. He was so fun to watch!