Sitting your Ground.

On Mondays I go to Bryant Park. I've become fluent in New York City steals, and a free movie is at the top of my vocabulary. This week, I had to maintain a patch of grass for over an hour while I waited for friends. It shouldn't be so hard of a task, but when you don't have a blanket to mark your territory, things can get a bit...feisty. I placed each of my shoes across from one another, a bottle of wine perpendicular to those, and positioned myself opposite the wine. Together we formed a perfectly angled square. A plot of land. Real estate. Sold.

Unfortunately this wasn't so clear to other movie-goers. Apparently there were still lots of people on the market for a patch, and two shoes, a person, and a bottle of wine created a pretty simple fence to hop. Usually it was more than sufficient to make a few gestures and tilt my head with a smile. Without saying a word, it was actually pretty simple to get my message across this way..."yes, I am forming a hypothetical picnic area between myself, these shoes, and a bottle of red. I know it's silly, but my friend isn't here yet and she's bringing our blanket. Sorry." All that from a gesture and head tilt. Magic.

But this only worked 80% of the time. Other, less respectful folk, would deliberately stand in the middle of my campground and act as if they were considering my property an option. "Hi," I'd say, "I'm actually reserving this spot for myself and some friends." They'd look around as if they hadn't even noticed my efforts, laugh, and say something like "oh is that what this is?" The worst was one particular group who blatently tried to refer to some fictional Bryant Park constitution, claiming 'no blanket, no boundary'. I didn't buy it. I sat my ground.

I'm sure the park resembled a giant quilt, each blanket another patch. And there I was, the hole in the quilt, 'middle toward the back' with nothing to show but two shoes and a bottle of wine, struggling to imagine a blanket in between.

(2 minutes later)


Blanket spread. Wine poured. The opening cartoon is unsuitable for children yet the movie itself, humorous in its age. It's funny how the same things that make us laugh, make our friends laugh. Even if it's not supposed to be funny. I tell myself as always...friends are truly friends because they share a sense of humor. Simple as that.