Ring Around the Crossroads
Barenaked Ladies, Salina murals, and some post election poetry
The weekend before the election my wife, Michelle, and I made an overnight trip to Salina, KS to catch the Barenaked Ladies in concert at the historic Stiefel Theatre.
BNL is one of the groups that sits within the intersection of our collective musical Venn diagram, so we often buy tickets whenever they’re in the general vicinity. We’ve been fans since the early 90’s, watching them age over the years along with ourselves, and so catching a show almost feels like catching up with old friends. And the Stiefel Theatre was the most intimate setting we’ve seen them perform in.
We arrived in Salina with plenty of time before the concert to take in the Red Fern Booksellers for some book browsing and conversation, the Ad Astra Books and Coffee House for some afternoon coffee and cocoa, and the Blue Skye Brewery and Eats for a pre-concert dinner. I recommend all three.
At the Red Fern we ended up chatting with the owner and one of her employees about the election, local politics, and Salina’s growing art scene (along with the associated growing tints of political blue). They shared various local efforts (some they were involved in) that at the time were being organized by women to support Harris as well as state Democratic races. We were all feeling cautiously optimistic for the coming Tuesday.
And as we all now know, the caution was warranted. The optimism not so much.
The next morning, after a little Sunday brunch at YaYa’s Euro Bistro (also recommended), we did a self-tour of the majority of Salina’s wonderful murals. I’m still learning about the murals themselves (the Kanvas Project, Artwork Alley), the associated festivals, and the artists who come from all over the world to leave their mark in this Crossroads of America, but it’s all truly an amazing, defining phenomena that Salina has created for itself.
As we (mostly) walked from mural to mural, taking them in from afar, inspecting the details up close, finding the names of the artists, I started pondering how the murals might frame some post-election musings. Though most of that pondering presumed a Harris win.
Processing the election results along with general end of year busyness delayed putting pen to paper, so to speak. Musings have also morphed into poetry, with multiple images forming the foundation of a poem. Here’s the first. More to come later.
Ring around the rosie, A child’s wonder, innocence, and curiosity. Ring around the mill, Disabled or not, healthy or ill. Ring around the crossroads, LGBTQ+ and bucking gender roles.
Ring around the heartland, Black, brown, white, hand-in-hand. Ring around America, Epilepsy, hypersensitivity, or dyslexia. Ring around Sol III, Immigrant, dreamer, or refugee.
All children deserve more than... The ashes of acceptance and family, The ashes of hope and opportunity, The ashes of their bombed communities, or The ashes of democracy. How will we help our children... Limit the height of their fall? Get back up? Reach high into the clouds to... See the sun break through and... Build a just and livable world? A sustainable and resilient world? What will we do... During Trump v2?