Nothing to get hung about...

...yes, a visit to Strawberry Fields in Central Park was in order, although it happened somewhat by accident. The plan was to meet a friend in Central Park for lunch on Saturday before heading to The Met and I intended to arrive a little bit early to just sit and relax. I meant to hop off the subway at 59th/Columbus Circle but I got lost in "Scoop" and didn't realize my mistake until 72nd. I walked into the west side of the park on 72nd expecting to make my way over to the east side, when I realized where I was. I had planned on coming to this mosaic since I was 13, listening to "She Loves You" and running my hand over the print--"Anna (Go to Him)"--on the back of my mom's record, Introducing...the Beatles. In high school I was obsessed with John Lennon...every documentary, book, exhibit (I spent a whole day just in the John Lennon exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland), article, photograph, video captured my attention and fed my peace/love/rock and roll understanding of the world. I stood at the corner of North Broadway and High Street in Columbus with my No War sign, I wrote Imagine all over my notebooks and on chalk boards, I wanted my life to be like "The Wonder Years"...circa 2001. As I grew up my extremes became much more moderate, as happens to most people as they age and idealism becomes much harder to hold on to...I still love John Lennon's music and I felt nostalgic looking at the Imagine mosaic even though I had never been there before.

I sat on one of the benches to pass the time and it was one of those absolutely perfect moments--a bright sunny day with a slight breeze, light streaming through the trees' branches, a steady flow of people but not too many, the sound of a jazz trumpet far off in the distance--it was satisfying. I took out the paper and began to read, and it was then that all nostalgia left and I was face to face with the older me. The story was about Now Zad, Afghanistan and the stalemate between the U.S. troops stationed there and the militants...this line sums it up: "For the U.S., it’s a prize too valuable to lose, not valuable enough to win." What would have raised only anger in me as a teenager now made me feel sad, intrigued and left me trying to figure out where this story fit in the larger picture of that region...and then came the amusement when I realized the irony of objectively reading a story about war right next to a mosaic dedicated to man who was--and still is--a symbol of peace...


...Weekend Anna

P.S. The awesome photo is courtesy of rootinshootin.