Walking with Brigid
This was today’s message from DailyOm in my inbox : we can be beacons of good cheer even when distressing circumstances are unfolding around us by simply keeping a smile on our faces and making a real effort to look at the brighter side of life. Though others may continue to wear grim countenances, our upbeat natures will almost always win over the hearts and minds of some of our peers. One of our greatest strengths is the ability to spread happiness by being ourselves, and we accomplish this when we choose not to let the weight of the world get us down.
Amidst the pandemic I made a new friend in the random way I was used to doing. Fri, Mar 5, 2021, I shut down my computer laptop at 3:30pm and made a beeline for the Art Institute. My sole intention was to see the exquisite colorful soul-recharging Bisa Butler exhibit before the museum closed down at 5pm. I had to check the website repeatedly for their hours as the pandemic had wreaked havoc on its admissions and had only recently reopened.
As I walked north along Michigan Avenue on an almost springlike day, I still stopped at every intersection even though there was very little car traffic and no human traffic to speak of. You never know who is going to blow through a light in this recent ghost town. At one point, I held out my arm to stop someone approaching on my left – it’s a gut instinct and reminds me of my Dad when I was not so little. In March, the cataract in my left eye was so very bad that I had no peripheral vision. So I didn’t really see Brigid until I turned 180 degrees to look at her. Here was a bubbly young lady who was so so friendly – asking me where I was walking to on a lovely afternoon, what my plans were. Surely she wasn’t from around here, being all friendly and such. But we chatted as we walked and when I revealed that I was bound for the Art Institute she became even more enlivened. That was her original goal but she had heard that the Art Institute was closed. Well, I just invited Miss Brigid to walk along with me and that she would be my guest for the hour that remained at the Art Institute. Don’t you know it but she called me her angel. My friendly gesture bonded us.
Brigid was staying at a hotel a block from my condo for a work conference which had just ended. She was out to explore the city. How serendipitous it was for us to meet! Brigid restored my faith in humanity as we climbed those steps by the great lions – festooned with face masks. I quickly found out that Brigid lives in Lawrence, KS and is studying to get her PhD in French and Political Science (if memory serves me) at the University of Kansas. My guess is that she’ll probably be appointed as an ambassador or diplomat. I’ll be able to say that I knew her when.
And so we visited the Bisa Butler exhibit and then I followed Brigid around as best I could – I really felt she should explore the museum on her own, seeing whatever art she fancied. And boy did that girl move around, puts a whirling dervish to shame. But really, she has boundless energy and enthusiasm, wants to take it all in. We connected by exchanging cell phone numbers as we entered the first gallery. As she travelled from the Renaissance “where they have all the arms and armpits” (autocorrect couldn’t compute “armor” but we got a chuckle out of that) to the Impressionism galleries, we knew our time together in the museum was drawing to a close.
Brigid was off to meet up with a friend at The Bean so I walked over until they connected. I was feeling very protective and wanted to ensure she was in safe hands. Brigid had a fairly aggressive plan to walk along the lakefront and do this, do that. She and her friend were off on their new adventure. Before we parted ways, I invited Brigid to join my husband and I at our neighborhood sushi bar. Nothing pleased me more than when she came through the door!
Here we are on that fateful March night – so glad I made a new friend. And grateful Brigid reached out to me.
This was today’s message from DailyOm in my inbox : we can be beacons of good cheer even when distressing circumstances are unfolding around us by simply keeping a smile on our faces and making a real effort to look at the brighter side of life. Though others may continue to wear grim countenances, our upbeat natures will almost always win over the hearts and minds of some of our peers. One of our greatest strengths is the ability to spread happiness by being ourselves, and we accomplish this when we choose not to let the weight of the world get us down.
Amidst the pandemic I made a new friend in the random way I was used to doing. Fri, Mar 5, 2021, I shut down my computer laptop at 3:30pm and made a beeline for the Art Institute. My sole intention was to see the exquisite colorful soul-recharging Bisa Butler exhibit before the museum closed down at 5pm. I had to check the website repeatedly for their hours as the pandemic had wreaked havoc on its admissions and had only recently reopened.
As I walked north along Michigan Avenue on an almost springlike day, I still stopped at every intersection even though there was very little car traffic and no human traffic to speak of. You never know who is going to blow through a light in this recent ghost town. At one point, I held out my arm to stop someone approaching on my left – it’s a gut instinct and reminds me of my Dad when I was not so little. In March, the cataract in my left eye was so very bad that I had no peripheral vision. So I didn’t really see Brigid until I turned 180 degrees to look at her. Here was a bubbly young lady who was so so friendly – asking me where I was walking to on a lovely afternoon, what my plans were. Surely she wasn’t from around here, being all friendly and such. But we chatted as we walked and when I revealed that I was bound for the Art Institute she became even more enlivened. That was her original goal but she had heard that the Art Institute was closed. Well, I just invited Miss Brigid to walk along with me and that she would be my guest for the hour that remained at the Art Institute. Don’t you know it but she called me her angel. My friendly gesture bonded us.
Brigid was staying at a hotel a block from my condo for a work conference which had just ended. She was out to explore the city. How serendipitous it was for us to meet! Brigid restored my faith in humanity as we climbed those steps by the great lions – festooned with face masks. I quickly found out that Brigid lives in Lawrence, KS and is studying to get her PhD in French and Political Science (if memory serves me) at the University of Kansas. My guess is that she’ll probably be appointed as an ambassador or diplomat. I’ll be able to say that I knew her when.
And so we visited the Bisa Butler exhibit and then I followed Brigid around as best I could – I really felt she should explore the museum on her own, seeing whatever art she fancied. And boy did that girl move around, puts a whirling dervish to shame. But really, she has boundless energy and enthusiasm, wants to take it all in. We connected by exchanging cell phone numbers as we entered the first gallery. As she travelled from the Renaissance “where they have all the arms and armpits” (autocorrect couldn’t compute “armor” but we got a chuckle out of that) to the Impressionism galleries, we knew our time together in the museum was drawing to a close.
Brigid was off to meet up with a friend at The Bean so I walked over until they connected. I was feeling very protective and wanted to ensure she was in safe hands. Brigid had a fairly aggressive plan to walk along the lakefront and do this, do that. She and her friend were off on their new adventure. Before we parted ways, I invited Brigid to join my husband and I at our neighborhood sushi bar. Nothing pleased me more than when she came through the door!
Here we are on that fateful March night – so glad I made a new friend. And grateful Brigid reached out to me.