Holden's Paradise

Tenth grade was a magical year in Mr. Allen's English class. It brought an enriched vocabulary, a (then) killer research experience, and Holden Caulfield. What was it about that twisted, pre-pubescent punk we all felt related to ourselves? I think Mr. Antonlini put it best:

"You're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior... Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now... You'll learn from them... [just] as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you... And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry."
--J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 24, spoken by the character Mr. Antolini

Sometimes, it's impossible to believe that our streets are really full of selfish, fallen farces of what God intended. It couldn't be that everyone is one of Holden's "phonies."

So I tested a hypothesis. I challenge you to make like Josh and me. Walk down any street these days without your cell phone or iPod to distract you. What do you see? What do you do?
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An Experiment

Walking down the boulevard,
Head up,
Eyes open, seeing what?

Shoes pounding concrete,
heading off human contact.

Head up?

Head up,
Seeing buildings,
then
trees, skies,
light.

Head up, but off.

Head-on, facing others,
Walking down the boulevard.
See another person
see you
smile.

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Holden hadn't met anyone to meet his gaze by the end of Salinger's classic, and I'm no Holden Caulfield by any stretch of the imagination. It's good to know, though, that people, real human beings-- with sympathy for anyone else lucky or unlucky enough to identify as homo sapiens sapiens-- will sometimes look up.

If you start on the street, good.
Just remember, there are streets everywhere. Worldwide. Sometimes they're full of phonies, but sometimes, they smile, too.