on the town
yesterday, suz and i carried out our usual holiday tradition of last-minute xmas shopping. usually, neither of us really needs anything and we’re able to merely enjoy the chaos. this year, i more or less started my shopping yesterday (and happily, more or less finished it).
it was a great day to be out; chilly, but not unpleasant, snowy and slushy, but not annoying. bustling, but still navigable. after snagging some convenience-fee-free theater tickets in person for my parents, we explored the south end a bit, in search of weird little stores. weird little stores are my favored recourse for not having great ideas for almost everyone on the list, a somewhat naive hope that something will simply present itself. having succeeded in purchasing a couple items, we repaired to the pour house for a few pints and a late lunch. as we were polishing off a second pint of guinness, in walked someone dressed as santa claus. and another. and thirteen or fourteen more. and a couple elves (the reporter in suz couldn’t bear not to ask them what they were up to—turns out just a bunch of friends who go out drinkin’ dressed as santa).
earlier we saw a band playing xmas music drive by on a fire engine. and some excellent crazy people at park street (one of whom bore a placard citing dennis kucinich as the only hope to defeat an ‘abrahamist conspiracy’, whatever that is). later on, i walked through the common and public garden and saw tourists frolicking in the snow. even though i’ve seen it before, i still love seeing people from out of town react to the snow in the city, as if it’s what they came to see (maybe it is). there was a guy from mississippi who was going to the thee-ater after i took his picture with a snowman, for instance. and countless giddy japanese folks playing in the snow. carolers on the pathways, throngs of skaters on the frog pond. you get the picture.
it was one of those days which makes me think that i couldn’t bear to live any further from a city than i do. and i’m sure i’ve said it before, that though the day will no doubt soon come when i feel the need to leave, there are so many days like these that makes me wonder why i’d ever want to.
