Wallpaper In The Park
Yesterday I went to Golden Gate Park for the San Francisco Opera’s “Opera in the Park” concert. Click on the image above for a closer look.
I arrived just as it was starting, so the crowd had already amassed. I found a little patch of grass all the in the back of the field on the hill. It was definitely a picnic occasion, and it seemed like most of the audience had prepared themselves with blankets and food.
The family in front of me seemed to consist of two grandparents, their three kids, and their six toddler grandchildren. Grandma had packed up a picnic lunch, the likes of which I have never seen. Gourmet delectables were wrapped and layered and dipped in ways that I don’t even know how to describe. In addition to the plates and bowls of food, she brought flatware and champagne glasses, a cutting board and a cheese-slicer. It was remarkable how she had carted half of her kitchen out here for the concert. The kids being so young and the picnicking crowd being so noisy, I noticed that nobody was there just to hear a performance. The concert served as the backdrop for all of the individual engagements that were taking place in this multitude. Within the crowd were hundreds of little tiny living rooms, and the opera was simply the wallpaper that surrounded everyone with something beautiful and pleasant as they enjoyed each other’s company.
At that point I realized that even I don’t feel lonely, I am by myself. And while there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, I seemed to be the only person there who was staring at the wallpaper.