I had one of those weekends when weird things happened.
Last night, BP and I went to a vegan restaurant in her neighborhood. It was our attempt to eat a little healthier than our normal outings. Great meal. We then went to go see "There Will Be Blood." As we waited for the movie to start, we listened to a conversation taking place behind us about deer hunting. Actually, these two guys started talking about shooting bears. Things like the difference between hunting brown and black bears. "Shot it 7 times but she wouldn't go down". 44 caliber, the need to recognize the opportunity when to shoot and so on. After coming from a restaurant that was all about peace and love to a conversation about the best methods to kill an animal...well, you understand.
Today, we decided that it was really important to get outside and enjoy a nice walk. Refreshing air, sun, see some flowers, Elston can play with other dogs - all of the things you want to take in on a Sunday afternoon. That is unless you happen to go to the local park where the police are about ready to pull a body from the pond. We saw the police around the pond and a crowd gathered on the opposite side of the pond from the police. I knew someone had been missing from the park and that they were planning to drain the pond. I thought today was the day that they had lowered the water level and were checking things out. We didn't find out until later that some bird watchers had spotted the body and had called police. We walked around the park for awhile. On our way out of the park, we stopped to observe the scene. I guess we were interested in two things - the way the police were handling the situation and watching the crowd. Who sits at a bench with their children waiting for the police to pull a body out of the water? Apparently, a lot of people. We left shortly after the medical examiner's van pulled up because it just felt weird to still be in that area of the park. As we were leaving, a police officer went up to each family and asked them if this was something they really wanted their children to see. Not one family left. Why would you allow your children to see something like this? Relaxing walk in the park turned out to be really depressing.
1 comment:
We are a nation of voyeurs! Gratifying our curiosity takes priority over the well-being of our children (as you saw), respect for other people (yeah, it's so polite to stare at someone who's having a crisis), and the consistent flow of traffic (must we stare at every accident and stalled car?). I blame reality TV for blurring the lines between reality and entertainment. But maybe people just have no manners. I wonder how many of the people who gawp at others thank their bus drivers?
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