Which is Sadder?
Summer in New York is tourist time. This means hordes of people from square states shambling five abreast gawking at the wonders of the big city and obstructing billions of dollars in commerce. (Though lately it is more likely to mean backpack toting Europeans, belching cigarette smoke, huddled around a map obstructing billions of dollars in commerce.) It also means that most Friday mornings there is a free concert in Rockefeller Center. This morning’s performer was Miley Cyrus.
A free headline act obviously leads to big crowds for the show. Areas with any kind of a view are packed to capacity a couple hours before the show begins. For one of the most popular performers in the world, it is worse. The police close streets and people are standing half a block away just to hear the distorted reverberations of what was music when it left the stage.
The first sad thing I observed this morning was a girl, probably around eight years old, beginning to cry because her group arrived too late to be within viewing distance. She was struggling to hold back tears, but her disappointment was overwhelming. I wondered how long she had been anticipating this event, how many times her parents had used it for behavioral leverage, and what sacrifices had been made so they could attend.
A couple of blocks closer to my office, I passed another group obviously headed to the concert. Children carried handmade signs declaring Miley’s superlative musical abilities and bounced along the sidewalk in anticipation. This group would certainly be even worse off than that of the crying girl. They would be lucky to be able to identify what songs were performed, but were not yet aware of their misfortune.
So which is sadder, current grief or certain future grief?
A free headline act obviously leads to big crowds for the show. Areas with any kind of a view are packed to capacity a couple hours before the show begins. For one of the most popular performers in the world, it is worse. The police close streets and people are standing half a block away just to hear the distorted reverberations of what was music when it left the stage.
The first sad thing I observed this morning was a girl, probably around eight years old, beginning to cry because her group arrived too late to be within viewing distance. She was struggling to hold back tears, but her disappointment was overwhelming. I wondered how long she had been anticipating this event, how many times her parents had used it for behavioral leverage, and what sacrifices had been made so they could attend.
A couple of blocks closer to my office, I passed another group obviously headed to the concert. Children carried handmade signs declaring Miley’s superlative musical abilities and bounced along the sidewalk in anticipation. This group would certainly be even worse off than that of the crying girl. They would be lucky to be able to identify what songs were performed, but were not yet aware of their misfortune.
So which is sadder, current grief or certain future grief?
posted by daniel
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