I woke up this morning and listened to this song on repeat. It's my anthem right now. (And no, not just because there is a Little Cesar's reference, although, I mean, come on...) Just a reminder that I'm livin' my best life...
(pause)
There is an electricity, of sorts, in the air whenever people get together for a common good. Unpaid, un-obligated, just straight up community collaboration and organizing. It's a high of sorts. You see the best in people because people kind of fucking glow.
The past 29 hours have been beautiful. Even the traffic jam that happened on the way down that turned two hours in to four and a half still managed to have hilarity because all of us in the cars speckled in different spots along the way spent the time texting immaturity and bad jokes to each other while we waited.
Today was Spanish-speaking families, their Deaf kids (and hearing siblings) doing art, climbing rock walls, having discussions of Deaf Latinx identity, tons of interpreters, food, games, laughter, and an army of folding chairs and tables.
Some highlights and images and/or commentary:
Meeting new folks and seeing familiar faces and chatting art, family, language and connection.
Standing in a field in the rain wearing a helmet and being surrounded by harnesses in a way I've never experienced. (Sorry, rock climbing types. You've got the wrong kind of 'butch': I only associate harnesses with sex so, throughout this whole ordeal I just kept kind of immaturely snickering.)
The smell of the air. Holy, holy, beautiful holy: It was grass and straw and dirt and flowers. I haven't tasted and smelled air this fresh in so, so long.
Meeting a Deaf Queer Latinx person I had never met before who just moved from Chicago. We chatted midwest, following your gut, and the necessity of art. (Always.)
The science experiments, the messes they made, and the look on the youth's faces when solid-to-gas was demonstrated with dry ice in water.
Taking a risk and voice interpreting for a community leader (ASL/ENG) in front of a fuck ton of my peers and a lot of ASL students.
I'm not sure if I can articulate this, but, the feeling of seeing people I work with all of the time outside of our usual contexts. It felt like one big, loving summer camp being two hours away from home in the middle of some mountains. Is it weird that seeing people simply in a different context makes you all a ton warmer/closer with each other? It's not the distance or change of environment as much as the intention: When people show up for shit that is thankless and without pay, something changes. Is that weird? It shouldn't be. It's been going on forever. It's hard to be a bullshitter or be fake with your intentions when you're all fried at the end of the day and covered in mud because you believe that supporting spaces like this is important.
Lastly, and aside: Out-of-the-city butches are some of my favorite. They all kind of dress the same: Backwards baseball hats, some kind of 90s gauged earrings and a swagger in their step that is just the tad bit overdone. (They're my favorite because when they cruise me, the second I meet their eyes and cruise back, they blush and try to collect their swag back together. I find it harmless, sweet and awkwardly charming.)
And now?
I have a long date with my bathtub.
But never did I change, never been ashamed
Never did I switch, story stayed the same
I did this on my own, I made this a lane
Y'all gotta bear with me, I been through some things.
Be well; be loved,
k.
title credit: from some Radiohead song I was listening to on the way home
italicized: lyrics from Best Life (Cardi B/Chance the Rapper)
photo credit: Me. This is the sky above aforementioned field.
No comments:
Post a Comment