you.

I love the way people never cease to amaze me.
And there's really two different meanings to this thought...the positive and the negative...

example #1: In the alley next to our building today there was a stand-off between police and an armed felon...classic downtown right?
I was expecting we'd have to close the windows and doors, maybe keep customers inside as men ran aroud outside with their guns, but no. Instead, people ordered gelato like 'no big deal' and took pictures of officers blockading the man to show their friends back home. A security guard came in to explain the situation and literally right after, a customer who overheard the conversation grabbed his little girl's hand and took her outside to see the action. whoa whoa whoa.
People will never cease to amaze me with their irrationality.

example #2: (this one's a little heavier)
A few nights ago, two friends and I went to the beach to watch the Perseid meteor shower. It wasn't too late...maybe eleven...and there were quite a few groups of people out in the park as we pulled into the parking lot.
As we got out of the car, there was some yelling coming from a cluster to our left, but it really wasn't a big deal. The park is kind of known as a party place and so we continued to walk out on the beach and leave the drunk people to themselves. At the most, we were on the beach for one minute and saw a total of two airplanes when the yelling was not just yelling anymore, it was malicious.
Since it was dark and we were at a distance, I could not see everything clearly. Since it was dark and we were at a distance, I saw a man crouched and I heard his fists hit something over and over again, but I did not see the woman beneath him or hear her friends crying until we started walking back and I told one of my friends to call 911.
Obviously, the situation was intense. We were the only witnesses, we called the police, and we had to give statements after the woman had been put in the ambulance.
Most of it is too traumatic to recount neatly, but that night has really stuck with me more than I thought it would.
People will never cease to amaze me with their brokenness...or with the hurt which can manifest itself in a cycle of violence and/or hate.

examples #3-8:
I sat on the roof and looked at the city
I watched the moon over the Sound on a night run
I fell asleep
I waved to people on the canal
I leaned against the cop car
I drank my coffee in the crowded shop... all with you.
And I am still amazed, not only by those individual moments of beauty, but by their resonance in my life. Those moments with you make all the bad things okay.

Though I've experienced ugly, hurtful things caused by people -whether it's simply annoyance or something more brutal- people will never cease to amaze me with their complex and seemingly innate good (for lack of a better word). You are full of joy and purpose and love and encouragement and good conversation. You are a light.

Thank you.

Currently listening to: The Fire by Imogen Heap
Au Revoir!

xoxo
Caitlin
caitlinboyd72@gmail.com