Sep 27 2008
Leavings
This morning I took a run around the Bali Hai restaurant on Shelter Island and there they were; the half-finished glasses of wine, the stub of a cigar, the seagull scatterings from a broken bag of garbage. There’s two things about this statement- one: the run and two: the litter of people. There’s about two weeks left before I lose these two things, my running and other people’s stuff.
Two weeks till I put aside my running shoes- one of my closest companions and two weeks until I’m no longer reminded of other people’s lives by looking at their leavings.
What’s odd is knowing that I’ll miss both the running and the view of other people’s lives.
I know, who likes to look at cigarette butts, at blowing plastic bags, at broken bottles, who likes to face homeless people foundering at busstops or hear the news of an ever collapsing world?
I don’t want to look at all of that but as we get closer to departure, as we face months at sea with nothing but the politics and garbage and work of only ourselves I realize I’ll miss other people’s leavings, dirty bits and all.
Through all the dirt and angst and whatnot of other people it’s good to remember other people include my family and Stephen’s family and our friends and those daily acquaintances who wave and smile at us. All those people who’ve helped us deal with our own leavings, our own mess so that we could make this adventure real.