Friday, November 25, 2011

Black Friday: Muted at the Park.

Standing on 13th East looking west, Black Friday is in full swing at the Sugarhouse Center.  Shopko, Big 5 Sports, Toys-R-Us and a slew of other shops are noisy with the hustle and bustle of shoppers looking for a deal.

Just swing around 180° and it’s a whole different story.  Sugarhouse Park, muted by the draw of cheap goods, sits all but vacant.

No kids playing in the playground.

Evidence of an earlier visitor, probably there for the peace and quiet, like I was.

Nobody playing football in the field or volleyball on the court.

A forgotten kite caught on a wire, flapping in the wind.

An empty road that is usually lined with cars that brought people to feed the ducks.

The closest thing to a crowd was a row a seagulls all standing facing the wind.

I saw at tops a dozen people at the park today.  It was calm, quiet and peaceful.  A little cool, especially when the wind picked up, with just a twinge of dreary because of the overcast day.

But sometimes, especially when you know almost everyone else is crammed into the chaos of crowds, the solidarity is refreshing.

8 comments:

Kalei's Best Friend said...

Love your examples! The park is the best..definitely can hear the silence.

21 Wits said...

Carmi sure picked a great theme for this week, as those people searching for the perfect best cheap deals...are giving the rest of us such beauty and peace to behold.....lovely spots Max...all of them!

larkswing said...

Ahhh, I like your Black Friday view! Solitude can be divine!

Lisa Shafer said...

Psst.... you want the word "solitude," not "solidarity." "Solidarity" means something alone the lines of working together as a unit for a cause.

(And please feel free to correct any math/computer/car mistakes you see me make.)

I've never seen that park so empty! Wow. I am impressed that you thought to go there on Black Friday.

PS Your former principal from the school where you taught right after mine dropped by to help with academic team today. He was more excited than the kids. (Go figure.)

Max Sartin said...

Uh, yeah, I meant to use the word 'solidarity'. I was talking about the quiet seagulls standing in a row together to promote my feeling of solitude and calm. (Yeah, that works, I think I bluster through with that). Seagulls, solitude, calm. That's what I meant.
If you see Mr. ex-Principal again, tell him I said hi. And it doesn't surprise me at all that he was more excited, that's just like him.

Lisa Shafer said...

Solidarity with the seagulls. Yeah, that's pretty good. Nice save.
Do you like the way I made a typo while correcting your typo? Irony, eh?

I'll tell him. He's likely to be back next week to help out again. His daughter's on the team.

Max Sartin said...

I love irony. But to be honest, I didn't even notice.
Glad you liked the save, I can be pretty quick-witted when given the time.

Lisa Shafer said...

"I can be pretty quick-witted when given the time."

*snicker*
What a great line! :)