Literary critic Henry Anthony
How some days drag when we fail to talk the devil out from within.
Sometimes public outgoings to relax or celebrate can become a gathering you’re given no choice to wrestle with in decision making, like family birthdays or suggested ‘catch-up talks’ at restaurants.
Chances are you’re going, as the notification naturally, almost always, acts as an automatic inviting confirmation.
When you arrive, we all arrive.
Have I been here before you might ask, if the restaurant name didn’t light a bulb in my mind beforehand, making you feel mighty posh already, the location should confirm it.
Culture haunts us all.
Especially if it’s one of those suggested ‘catch-up talks.’ You know the outing implies a duteous understanding, and really your facial gestures should match the exquisite food not the taste of topical conversation.
So, scan guests at tables, take a seat.
Well the mass inside are sat, therefore immediately you don’t want to stand out, almost forgetting, you’ve only just but come in yet straight away you want to sit quick, restless to fit in anyhow. The thought is quite courteous yet arguably broods on polite madness.
Or perhaps the attention of gazing stares excites you so much you wish to stay standing longest as your internal spotlight suggests you’re experiencing a ‘glamour catwalk’ moment.
Or perhaps your friends and family arrive before yourself, your initial scan undoubtedly fixed on them however, not so fortunate to spot a hot person or two in the restaurant to condition your requested angle in the room.
Yet perhaps you were one in the crowd observing the length of time it took another to finally settle, ridiculing them of their incapability to simply hang a coat and sit.
Photo courtesy vimeo.com
Yet there you were, ready to dine with them.
Culture dear friend…it haunts us all. Everyday.
After this scene you wait for the energy you brought along with you or in which you’ve received to dissolve in the room from various greetings to reach comfort.
If it’s not all maths, it’s science.
The time and space between our logical social chemistry.
If you’ve had the pleasure of dining here before, why not show off and be first to close the menu laying it back flat on the table with an assured grin.
However, it’s your first time here, so you think, great, here’s an unfamiliar menu!
What looks safe, and quickly as time begins to appear though it’s been decades since you picked up that menu on the table now seeming half asleep from the time all the coats were hung up. The influx from your entry or the thunderous wait alone already was a stampede from hell.
Then the food comes. It’s delicious. Everything’s working out fine.
Everyone engaged in private conversations. Not the kind of talks where they’re chatting yet behaving as ‘invisible spectators’ trying to discern which conversation genuinely seems interesting but actually when people have settled and there’s multiple laughter here, there.
There’s a magical moment you step out of your own conversation, admiring your friends and your family sat right before you.
Time becomes invisible. Irrelevant, almost. Potentially.
CULTURE BECOMES BEAUTIFUL. Perhaps lavish.
So much suppressed desires, opinions, ambitions and fears all being released.
The powerful spirit of communal gathering overriding any dregs of sexual tension, yet still, perhaps for some provoking it.
However, regardless we’re all still happy and rich in numerous ways.
This euphoric illusive happiness we’ve all found subconsciously is our shared collective moment, from which now comes this one, filled with overwhelming resonance generating illusive love.
Within this moment we become conscious who we are at present from a high subconscious level.
We think about items such as hope and marriage.
We try to repair our past, planning ahead for our future whilst conversing and that there, may well be the climax to our public social hour. The moment of pure freedom. Infinite optimism.
Yet too soon are we struck with reality and quick we fall again in an illusive competition, with ourselves and those loved ones around us whom we ought to love, selfishly.
We live lives which continuously prod us to rediscover personal truth, irrespective of pleasure and pain, wherever we happen to be.
After this moment, I imagine mentally we leave the restaurant, yet our bodies remain there still, collapsed.
It is that point our minds physically become aware of others around us again, but one may never find that altitude of gratitude for the rest of the night.
CULTURE HAUNTS US ALL. AS DOES BEAUTY…JOY AND LOVE.
We provide news and information for anyone interested in the Caribbean whether you’re UK based, European based or located in the Caribbean. New fresh ideas are always welcome with opportunities for bright writers.
