a flicker of hope...

 Flying on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 felt like an honour. As I thought of what those people went through 25 years ago, I felt grateful to be able to fly a smooth flight in safety… and even had the pleasure of having one of my neighbours on board as the lead flight attendant. As a dual British American Citizen, I feel proud to represent those two countries in spite of the dark clouds that have troubled both in recent decades. Being in San Diego was special for this moment, too, because I feel some unknown connection to the place, the harbour, the Naval Base, and it made me feel emotional for no reason whatsoever to see so many US Marines board the plane alongside me to Dallas. As a British Punk Rocker, it even surprises me to write these words… but it is true. Perhaps it is just from some book or film that struck me at a certain time in history that caused this resonance. Some people would say ‘incarnation.’ Yet, in this I simply cannot believe. Most people seemed completely oblivious but, perhaps, like me, the were just quietly reflecting as they stumbled onto the plane carrying pizzas and coffees and Gucci bags, blocking the aisle for an incredible amount of time as if the plane was their own private jet. 

                  Now it is back to reality, back to a life in which I feel an increasing distance from traditional life on a daily basis. It’s a life in which I continue to question everything; why do people commute to an office to work? Why do people feel an obligation to get married and buy a house? Why does nobody seem to question what is going on around us and the threats to our democracy? How do we make this better for everyone in every way? Why do we no longer seek to serve others and, instead, only seek to serve ourselves? 

                  It makes me think of the hilarious Instagram ‘competition’ that people unwittingly enter into. Every post has to be a rooftop bar overlooking a glamorous location with a spectacular cocktail. I find beauty in the scruffy streets of cities, of the unusual sighting of a surfboard resting against a fence, a telephone pole crowned with a nest of wires against a colouring sky, a bicycle resting against a table in the middle of a park. In America, it is not the postcard Disney purity that appeals to me, it is everyday life sparked by a flicker of hope and a dream. A life lived only in expectation of greatness will be a life of disappointment. 

                  

Hazlewood's on the Bay, San Diego. 

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