Sun Gives Free Show All Week Long

Monday, November 15, 2004- The day opened with a stark, blustery, iridescent blue halo of color lain delicately upon the leaf-strewn ground. Few deciduous trees retained their leaves, and the one’s that had managed to stay connected were brown, and rustled like dry paper in the post-dawn breeze. The air felt clean and new, but not as cold as the previous weekend had been. Some songbirds decorated the berry-laden branches by Rounds Hall, and lent their songs to the ethereal morning. The frosty grass thawed slowly in the weak sunlight, remaining stiff and white like fragments of a shattered Faberge egg wherever the shadows lingered. I found myself confronted with some unanticipated free time when the powers that be cancelled Anatomy and Physiology class, and decided to lie in the grass by Memorial Hall. Above me, the sky rolled out forever beyond the trees and buildings. Not a single cloud blemished the perfect blue. It was a milky, distant blue like the star on an Israeli flag. Something about the temperature and the wind and the sky transported me. I fell out of sorts, spatiotemporally speaking, and forget where and when I was. A naked tree above my head split and blossomed to nothing in a fractaline swirl of angles and lines on the blue backdrop. I was reminded of the order in everything, the chaos in order, and the possibilities of every second. The sun mounted and arced and the shadows changed and deepened as we neared noon. I rolled over, tearing my attention from the macro to enjoy the etched detail of moss and grass around me. The sunlight was a separate presence from the green it illuminated. Golden light stuck to everything like the visual equivalent of magnetic poetry. I shifted the light around, trying to make sense of the images, but eventually gave up to rejoin society. I wondered how many people had noticed the subtle theme of infinity laced throughout the day. Tickets were free with unlimited seating. I hope you saw it; it was really something. Nature will be performing all this week, with shows in all locations. To reserve a seat, call everyone that expects you to do something and tell them that you’re busy. I give this show a 9/10.