morning walks.

carytown is strangely silent in the morning. hours before the shops open, limiting chatter and life to those sitting in restaurants for brunch and coffee. i've walked the streets this past week, winding around this little independent slice awkwardly thrust into richmond. i get frustrated with carytown because of how busy it is - which is a contradiction for a cultural observer. the slow moving traffic, the inability for people to understand crosswalks, the random pee smells, well, you get the drift.

it's a pocket of vitality, regardless of my opinion about it, full of energy, art and personal expression. making these morning strolls all the more intriguing because none of that exists. it's an eerie silence. the calm before the eye of the storm, if this was a hurricane. the morning imprisons the spirit of the sidewalks, even if the storefronts hint at the bubbling life hidden behind glass.

i can almost here myself think - a scary reality for a place always screaming for attention. and i wonder, in this silent moment, how it's not carytown unless it's annoying me. and my affinity for it, what it offers and why it matters rests in the absolute madness that pastes the blocks together. this makes me wonder if, in a culture we seemingly dislike for so many reasons, would changing the cultural obstacles actually change your opinion? because changing the personality alters the fabric of the culture. hmm.

if you see me walking in the morning, say hi.
it's awfully quiet. and, well, i guess i want some noise.