Philharmonic in the Park

Ed's friend Rasool invited us to join him and some of his former colleagues to listen to the Philharmonic play for free in Central Park. Obviously, this was a no brainer. We met him towards the end of a hot summer afternoon and were settled in the grass about a million miles away from the stage by 7:00. There were speakers set up all over the place, though, so I wasn't too worried about hearing the music once it began. Ed and I relaxed on a blanket, ate cheese, crackers, olives, and hummus, and sipped champagne and chatted with Rasool's friends. We watched the Great Lawn around us fill up. It was crowded when we first arrived, but by the time the music started a little after 8:00 there was hardly any green visible between blankets. The people-watching was excellent. A family next to us had brought its well-behaved Boston terrier. An elderly couple lounged in folding chairs. A group of peroxide-blonde girls in shorts skirts, half with obvious breast implants, munched on Special K crackers and giggled together. The evening cooled slightly as the sky darkened, but the temperature was absolutely perfect. It was one of those nights when the air feels soft.

We were treated to three different pieces, one by Wagner, one by Tchaikovsky, and one by Brahms. It was absolutely lovely. At one point, I had to weave my way between blankets to find the port-a-potties set up not too far away. Using a port-a-potty is never pleasant, but doing it at sunset on a warm summer night in Central Park to the sound of one of the best orchestras in the world playing Tchaikovsky makes it a fairly transcendent experience. I had a wonderful time, but one thing that was slightly challenging about the evening in general was that Rasool's friends had a different agenda than I did. I was hoping to spend most of my time listening to the music. They were hoping to get drunk on a blanket and enjoy each other's company. An older woman actually approached the group at one point and asked them to keep their voices down. She said it was really all about the music. They laughed her off and said it was all about the camaraderie. I'm not sure who was right, but I determined that when I do this again next year (and I will definitely do it again next year) I will make sure I go with people who are on the same page as I am. 

As the evening turned into night, seasoned veterans of Philharmonic park performances lit candles. This was a very good idea. There is always too much light pollution to see too many stars in New York, but the light doesn't really penetrate into the middle of the park. Under normal circumstances, people are not supposed to hang out on the Great Lawn after sunset, so there are no lights, and there was no moon either, resulting in pretty dim surroundings. The candlelight formed small circles of coziness in the gloom. The orchestra played the last notes of the last piece a little after 10:00, and a few moments after they finished fireworks erupted in the sky along the southern edge of the park. We all turned to watch, and it was interesting how the group that insisted on talking loudly throughout the music shut up to watch the fireworks... Anyway, it was a good if not terribly elaborate show that lasted about five minutes and left the air shimmering. I hadn't expected fireworks and was thrilled to see some, particularly since Ed and I didn't see any on the 4th of July. 

I was struck by the size of the audience more as we were leaving the park than when we'd been lounging on the grass. The Great Lawn is located in just about the center of Central Park, and so there was a good bit of walking to do to get to where we were going. We joined thousands of people streaming toward exits. Luckily, the park is huge and people had lots of options to get out of it, so the crowds thinned the farther we went. We walked several blocks west and hailed a cab, which had us home in a jiffy. Though I'm fairly sure I won't live in New York for the rest of my life, experiences like this make me wonder why anyone would want to live anywhere else.