(not necessarily in that order)
Tuesday was long and intense, from early morning colonoscopy (with lingering aftereffects) to evening choir and ensemble rehearsals.
I felt like my normal self on Wednesday, but it was another long, non-stop, super busy day.
I guess that’s why today felt like a delayed reaction. It all seems to have caught up with me all at once, leaving me tired, lethargic, and achy in my gut.
One short rehearsal tonight, then off to bed early.
Yesterday I was remembering Golden Gate Park, but today’s photo is about memories of the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Yes, indeed! I was one of the hundreds of thousands of people walking on the bridge that day. But, no, we didn’t make it all the way across.
It’s hard to believe, but the organizers didn’t have the imagination to picture what would happen if people poured onto the bridge from both the north and the south without having designated north/south lanes.
In all fairness, they evidently also lacked the imagination to anticipate the vast numbers of people who would come out to participate in the event. According to the news video below, they expected 18,000-20,000 people to come out, but there were 300,000 instead.
(There were 300,000 on the bridge at the same time; they estimate that 800,000 pedestrians spent on the bridge before it was all over.)
The end result was the most amazing gridlock you can imagine, with more and more people entering from both sides even after there was no more room to maneuver in the center. I can’t recall just how many hours we were out there, but it was definitely the closest I’ve ever come to hysteria in my life.
Being short, I couldn’t see over all the people around me, which made me feel very claustrophobic. A few people fainted and were removed by being passed along over the top of the crowd.
Of course, this was before cell phones, so we were just out there — not knowing exactly what was going on or what (if anything) was being done about it. I would feel the anxiety and agitation of the crowd gradually inching up to something close to panic, but then someone would call out a joke or some sort of reassuring words. I don’t remember exact words, but it would be enough to make people laugh and connect and bring the anxiety level down a few notches.
In fact, I agree with what someone shared in the video comments: “i was there, i was stuck in the middle. it was scary AF in the gridlock, but i’ll say one thing, it was all love. there was no violence, people helped each other out.”
It was definitely a beautiful San Francisco moment.
I’ve been so short on sleep lately that I was feeling a little drowsy on the drive from Yuba City (where I had my final post-op appointment-yay!) to Grass Valley, where I was meeting family for lunch.
I don’t usually turn on the radio in the car, but — in the interest of giving my mind something to focus on — I searched out a classical station and found myself listening to the symphonic music of Johannes Brahms for the first time in years and years.
It was his Symphony No. 2 in D major. It’s the only one of the four I’ve never performed but I still recognized it instantly. It’s such a glorious piece of music (a recording of the first movement is below)!
But what I found rather incredible is how intense of an experience it was. A number of feelings and insights came to me, which I need to reflect on in order to sort out what it all means.
One thing I do know is that I love Brahms just as much as ever.
It was a long day, full of non-stop activity, and capped off with a very productive but intense run-through rehearsal for next week’s Oratorio.
Time to relax and unwind a bit before trying to sleep.
Monday and Tuesday have been so intense that it feels like a full week already.
Here’s hoping for a relatively chill Wednesday.
What an intense and inspirational Spiritual Renewal Week it’s been! I’ve loved just about every moment, but today I finally hit the wall a bit.
So, I made the decision not to push myself to go to tonight’s event; I stayed home and rested instead.
And I also potted plants that had been waiting patiently for a little TLC.
Yep, I’ve reached the point at the end of a long and intense week, where all I want to think about is what movie to watch tonight!
…in the best kind of way!
We just finished an intense hour and a half meeting about what it means to really take the music ministry to the next level.
Wow.
Did I mention that it was intense?!?
My brain is barely functioning at the moment. I need some recovery time but then I expect I’ll be raring to get to work on this exciting new direction.