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We're captive on the carousel of time
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down And the seasons they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We can't return we can only look behind From where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game The Circle Game - Joni Mitchell 1977 Summer is over and I realize that I've fallen into the American way of referring to time. Instead of "last July" it's "last summer". And instead of referring to April as "April" it is "Spring". It isn't "I'll meet you at 12" but "Let's get together at noon". "Fall" starts after "Memorial Day" and "Labor Day" heralds the beginning of summer. The seasons change here on the equinox or solstice, and not on the first of the month as in Australia. It seems odd, that in a city so far removed from nature, that time is marked off in nature's seasons. School children still have three months off in summer, a time set aside originally so that the kids could help out with the harvest. Old English words such as "noon" and "fall" are in everyday use. And how drenched in the past can you get, with the pagan-based eve of All Hallows - Halloween? Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah - along with the seasons, break up our year. I don't know what it would be without the seasons here. One day runs into another and there's not much difference apart from the climate, in the daily lives of New Yorkers. People in Australia imagine life in New York to be vibrant and exciting. I was once asked by a Qantas flight attendant what it was like to go to Broadway shows every night. ASIF! People back home imagine a glamorous life with frequent trips to the theater, CBGB's and SOHO art galleries. But in reality my life in New York has more routine to it than my life in Australia. So what is a day in the life of a New Yorker? Monday to Friday:
New York October 2004 |
