Field Note #2

You finish tying your shoes, and double knotting so you avoid the embarrassment of tripping and falling in public. Humming to yourself and tapping your leg you walk around the house looking for your headphones. Thinking back to earlier that day you remember that you had left them in your room when you finished your homework. You jog upstairs and snatch them off the bed. Still humming to yourself you go back downstairs, pour a glass of water and drink it all. Your headphones are around your neck, your glass is empty, and the time is 4:00 PM. 

“Which playlist today?” you think. “I’m just going to shuffle my library,” you decide. Taking a pair of keys off the wall, you open the door and lock it behind you. Immediately your ears are assaulted by the noises of the city. A car flies by and honks, a group of people talking loudly cross the street, and birds are yelling at each other from ten different trees. You slip on your headphones and the world melts away. The silence is deafening until your music turns on. The World We Knew, Frank Sinatra. It’s time to run. You know that at the start of your runs, you always run too fast but the music is not helping. The trumpets blare and you run faster, the string’s rich reverberation fills your ears. 7:00. 

Cars fly past and your feet slap the pavement. The harmony of trumpets and strings builds and rises, you don’t feel the pavement anymore. For all you know, you could be running on clouds. This pace feels easy now. 6:45.

The song ends and switches just in time for you to hit the river walk and consequently huge groups of people, slowing you down. He Can Only Hold Her, Amy Winehouse. You slow down and run around people walking, taking up the entire trail. The kick of the drum and a supporting cast of instruments are all you can hear. 7:00.

 Time flies by, and you hear songs that remind you of people from the past, people you don’t talk to anymore. You run faster, avoiding thinking about them. Running helps you process and forget. You make it to the Art Museum and run up the steps. Looking out you see the city. The sky is clear and the sun is beaming. 

Your run is over.