Leisha When I was about fifteen, I had an English teacher who was a little unconventional himself, which is probably why I loved his class so much. It came right after lunch, and if I’m being completely honest, I was often a bit stoned by the time I wandered in. He knew, too. He’d look at me and say, “What joint were you at at lunch?” and I would spend the rest of the period paranoid, convinced the whole room could see right through me. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t keep smoking for long after that. That was a very long time ago. I’m definitely not a stoner now, and haven’t been for most of my adult life, but that classroom still lives vividly in my memory.
One day he gave us an assignment: make a music video. Remember, this was long before phones, editing apps, reels, or filters. We had a little film camera and actual film. You shot something, had it developed, then cut it into pieces with scissors and taped it back together. You could rearrange scenes, repeat them, even run them backward if you were clever enough. Scissors, tape, patience, and imagination, and somehow you had a movie. I was hooked.
I chose “People Are Strange” by The Doors, because of course I did. Then I took my camera to the local mall and filmed people as they walked in. Keep in mind that this was back when a child who wasn’t in school during school hours got disapproving looks from every adult in sight. But nobody told me I couldn’t film them, and social media was decades away, so nobody thought twice about a kid with a camera. There I was, a small, sneaky documentarian, collecting strangers like butterflies.
I can still picture that girl. She had no idea what she was doing and she was absolutely sure she was onto something, and she was. She’d discovered that ordinary little moments turn into something else entirely when you cut them together with music. That was about forty-five years ago. I don’t have the film anymore, and I’ve thought about it more often than I’d admit.
Then, somehow, a little red bridge here at Living Ground brought it all back, and this time I did have a plan. A new friend suggested I build a red bridge as the entrance to the cafe area, apparently to bring prosperity. Great idea, but we were over-the-top busy, so I tucked it away until we had time. Then, for my birthday, he gifted me $100 to build it, and that set everything in motion. I honestly thought it would take two days. It took a full week, and I was getting anxious that it wouldn’t be ready in time for the Garden Buffet Gratitude Meal.
It was ready, of course, and once it was standing I couldn’t resist filming everyone who crossed it. Friends visiting, someone doing something funny, a dog trailing behind, somebody hesitating, somebody dancing, somebody pulling a face. I kept the camera rolling, the way that girl would have. So last week I made my own music video, a little offering to the girl with the scissors and the tape, to the bridge, and to everyone strange and wonderful enough to cross it. It makes me very happy.
And since this was an art weekend, I’d like to announce the winner of our Art of Food plate: Lalita! Thank you to everyone who joined in. Hers was definitely the best for what it told us about the plate of food, which is now all gone.
