6/17/18
If any single point in time is a derivative of a circle of life, then at any single moment in time, time is a point. (Consider d(L)/d(t), and assume L is a equation of a straight line). Therefore everyone is a point at a single instance. Think of it this way, if everyone is in one dimension, we could be nothing more than a point. Or so Flatland says. (Wait, does that mean we are all equally dimensioned at any moment in time, hence there is no need to exercise and diet? Not that there is anything wrong with those…)
Truth to be told, it is a well known fact that most civil engineer students want to build bridges. They are grandiose, cool looking, and long lasting (well, now even longer due to budget shortfalls on infrastructure improvement…). While I am not a bridge engineer, I have to admit: bridges are really cool. From arches to cable stayed, they are a testament to human engineering ingenuity. Completed in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable and suspension bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn. Almost 6,000 ft long, this bridge has withstand 135 years of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Of course, it has also been featured in numerous movies, and pretend-collapsed numerous times. Not wanting to miss such a monument, I managed to find my way there and walked across under a very hot sun (which, of course; the sun is always hot…). As I sweated profusely like a snowman melting in summer, I also have to dodge cyclists, selfie taking pedestrians, couples making out, vendors selling paintings, police vehicles, and dogs on leashes. It was a perfect analogy of NYC: a collection of unrelated, messy yet interesting activities all happening on historical ground. Of course, this was also daddy day (wow, that seriously sounded suggestively dirty), which means families were out in full force.
Surviving the trip (and petting many cute doggies along the way), I made my way back to the subway and visited Stonewall Inn. A recreational tavern in Greenwich Village, this is also the location of Stonewall riot of 1969. A focal point of gay rights movement in the USA, the riot led to Pride parades across the country, and brought the fight of equality to the front stage. Well, that and also queer eye, drag shows, rainbow flags everywhere, unicorn frappes, gay weddings, Supreme Court cases and most recently, cake baking rights. Who knew there are so many devout religious bakers in the USA?
Come to think of it, both the Brooklyn bridge and the Stonewall Inn served a similar purpose: to provide connection to a community. Just as the bridge allow people to physically travel to different neighborhood, the Inn served as a ground for LGBTQ folks to connect and get to know one another. If one life is a single point in time, then maybe our connection is others are bridges that we built. These connections form a tapestry, where each life is a node, and many lives made up a map. A map that, at any single point in time, is a cluster of nodes that define each person. Not separately, but interconnected to each other.
Then again, I am not a bridge engineer, so what do I know about building bridges?
Chen's Travel Blog 