Should it have been obvious?
Sometimes, when something is gone, I don't notice it's absence right away. Even if the impending absence is very noticeable.
When I first started going to the United Center I always felt a sense of sadness when we would be walking from the parking lot to the building because I could see the old Chicago Stadium. Every time I went to a Bulls game, Blackhawks game, or a concert, there would be just a little bit less of the building I loved so much. First I noticed some holes, then just a skeleton of a building, then just a few walls, finally a pile of rubble.
Then, one day, I went to the United Center and I didn't feel that sadness. Why? Because Chicago Stadium was gone. No walls, no rubble, nothing. Just an empty lot. It didn't hit me until I was inside the United Center for a while that Chicago Stadium was completely gone. I noticed the demolition in detail, but the first time I went past it and it wasn't there, I didn't notice the absence.
I had the same experience last night. My boyfriend and I went to a local bar to celebrate another step on my way towards graduation. We were in the bar probably a good half an hour before I saw gentleman get up, go outside, and light a cigarette. And then it hit me. We were in a dive bar, and I didn't smell smoke. Up until now, when entering a bar, the first two things I noticed was the smell of beer and the smell of smoke. But I didn't even notice the absence of the smoke smell until I saw someone go smoke outside. Given how much publicity the smoking ban got, one would think I would have remembered that upon entering the bar. But no.
It's odd how the absence of something so familiar can go unnoticed.
When I first started going to the United Center I always felt a sense of sadness when we would be walking from the parking lot to the building because I could see the old Chicago Stadium. Every time I went to a Bulls game, Blackhawks game, or a concert, there would be just a little bit less of the building I loved so much. First I noticed some holes, then just a skeleton of a building, then just a few walls, finally a pile of rubble.
Then, one day, I went to the United Center and I didn't feel that sadness. Why? Because Chicago Stadium was gone. No walls, no rubble, nothing. Just an empty lot. It didn't hit me until I was inside the United Center for a while that Chicago Stadium was completely gone. I noticed the demolition in detail, but the first time I went past it and it wasn't there, I didn't notice the absence.
I had the same experience last night. My boyfriend and I went to a local bar to celebrate another step on my way towards graduation. We were in the bar probably a good half an hour before I saw gentleman get up, go outside, and light a cigarette. And then it hit me. We were in a dive bar, and I didn't smell smoke. Up until now, when entering a bar, the first two things I noticed was the smell of beer and the smell of smoke. But I didn't even notice the absence of the smoke smell until I saw someone go smoke outside. Given how much publicity the smoking ban got, one would think I would have remembered that upon entering the bar. But no.
It's odd how the absence of something so familiar can go unnoticed.
posted by redhairedgirl at 20:25
4 Comments:
So, so nice not to be bothered by the smoke. I have been noticing how nice it is, all of the places are just as crowded and smokers are even making new friends as they hang outside for a few drags.
It is nice. It was nice that yesterday I was able to wear the hoodie I wore to a bar on Saturday. Normally it would have smelled like smoke and I would have to wash it right away.
sovereign!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You need to come back and visit so we can go back there together. They have DeVotchKa on the jukebox! Well, you know, I think it's one song on one of the mix CDs on the jukebox. But still!
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