Coventry, England.
The fields, hillsides and dips in the land were freshly green from recent rain, occasionally dotted with brick houses or sheep, marked out in plots with fences, grey sodden hedges or small trees. My companion for the trip had caught the train just in time, having made his way from Heathrow within the space of an hour. Strangely, I understood his Cantonese better than his French.
London was grey. Unsmiling people with ashened faces, their brows lined with worry. At the post-office, one woman cried out to another person in the queue, "What are you looking at me like that for?!" At the cafe, another was impatiently trying to order a latte, grumbling loudly at the girl behind the counter who wasn't able to understand what she wanted.
"I was having a good morning until she came along," the girl said when it was our turn. I made extra effort to be nice.
Three English customers at the Chinese restaurant were having difficulty understanding the menu and asked for recommendations, but the waiter merely pointed out how they should fill out the form order and left them at a loss. All non-Asian customers were handed the non "dim sum" menu as soon as they were seated.
I think of the musician at the street corner in Melbourne where it is already the New Year. "Greyness make people turn inside themselves," he had said, and perhaps it is true.
"Come to Birmingham," said my companion who had just flown in from Chicago and had liked the book I was reading. "I'm there till the fourth." I wouldn't be able to, but the invitation was a lovely thought. He told me about his friends he will be partying with and it seemed like an enjoyable evening is on the way. Across the English channel, my heart lies next to the duck that is being grilled.
It is odd to think that the new year is creeping second by second around the world. In the kitchen, music is playing while dinner is cooking and there are people laughing going down the street. I wish you a Happy New Year devoid of greyness and abundant with flourishing dreams.
Posted by sniffles at December 31, 2002 06:56 PM