June 30, 2011 by Amy Elliott Bragg
Introducing: Favorite places
I know you have one. Or a few. I have a lot.
Here’s one of them.
The footbridge over Millionaire’s Pond at Woodlawn Cemetery. The world really needs more footbridges.
This one doesn’t really take you anywhere, except to the other side of the footbridge. And that’s another thing I love about it. It’s a footbridge for a footbridge’s sake.
I probably have a dozen pictures of this footbridge, and they all look just like this one. Whenever I wander through Woodlawn, I always stop at the footbridge for a while, where I stand and breathe and lean and gaze at the buggy green pond.
I love it. It is absolutely one of my favorite places in the city.
(Bonus favorite thing about Woodlawn: baby geese!
Look at them!
AHHH!!!)
What I’m trying to say is this:
I think you should tell me YOUR favorite places.
Seriously, just send me a picture and a few words. Nothing elaborate. It doesn’t have to be local. I just want to know where you go to get grounded, take a break, be part of the world, or feel like a more complete person. A coffee stop. Poolside. The nook of a beloved used bookstore. Your porch. The long, fluorescent aisles of a nearby big box store. Wherever. Whenever. Whatever. And why-ever.
I know this is a little off the tracks that I’ve laid for myself, here, on this blog. But! With the long, languid hours of July upon us —and now that I’m writing a book which, while thrilling, sometimes feels like cramming for the world’s longest essay test — I’m feeling some brain burn.
I want you to help me shift my perspective. And take it easy. And revel in the small, good things. I think it will be refreshing for everyone.
Because hey! It’s summer! Let’s all take a break and go someplace great.
Take the holiday weekend, think about it, and then share your favorite place with me. Please?
If I don’t hear from you I’m just going to add a hundred and five of my own.
Affectionately,
The Night Train