Alone in a Crowd

Last week when I went to the Canada Day Festival, I went by myself. I can sit and watch the bands perform all day long. I like to go to the different stages and see the local up-and-coming talent, as well as the headliners. I sometimes have a hard time finding someone who wants to spend the entire day or weekend there so I often go by myself. This doesn’t really bother me.

By my rough approximation, there were about 50,000 people in attendance at this festival. I was surprised to see how many of these people were walking around talking on their cell phones. I thought they looked even more pathetic than me. I mean, it’s a great event with thousands of people there, can’t they just enjoy it? Who could they be talking to anyway?

I overheard one guy on the phone. “I’m right in front of the stage, where are you?” “No I’m right at the front.” “I’m by a big tent.” “What tent, there’s only one tent by the stage.”

I also heard another person, a young lady this time, say, “I’m walking around with my drink in the air.” She held a can of pop above her head and continued walking.

Now, I’ve written about my dislike for cell phones before. I want to go out and have a good time. I don’t want to be tethered to a line that keeps me connected to everything. I just want to be somewhere and actually be there.

But it was amazing to see that I wasn’t the only person alone in that huge crowd. I had a great time checking out the bands and watching the fireworks. There were a few idiots there but there always is.

One of the bands split the audience into three groups and had us singing syllables in what they referred to as “a three-part choir.” How’s that for a connection. The crowd of strangers became one voice and it was beautiful. Suddenly no one was alone in the crowd. We were one. It was nothing short of beauty. I enjoyed every minute of it.


4 responses to “Alone in a Crowd”

  1. Hi Chase,

    I know we agree on the cell phone issue. Hehe.

    The three part choir was a great idea. It sounds like the effect of it was awesome.

    Sounds like you had a great time.

  2. It really was a great day. And I have seen bands try to get the audience to sing along before but this was a really great way to do it. It was awesome!

  3. You seem like such a thoughtful person, I am enjoying browsing through your posts….My 21 yr. old feels as you do. In classes he’s been taking at the community college, people were so insecure that during breaks, instead of getting to know the other students, some of them would get on their cell phones and stay on until the class resumed. I’m glad you get out there even when there’s no-one to go with you. In todays world, in spite of all our communications advances, it seems more and more difficult to connect with people in the real world. And so many people are lonely. They should put away the cell phones and talk to random strangers! It works for me…life’s too short not to.

  4. Welcome Molly,

    I think all the modern technology we are using to keep in touch is actually keeping people apart. Your story is a case in point of that.

    One of the best things about school is getting to know people. You can’t do that if you are stuck on a cellphone or facebook all the time.

    I like how blogs can introduce us to new people too. Thanks for stopping by, reading, and commenting.