2 Degrees of Separation

"People want to move too fast. Get stuff done and get on to the next thing. Do you remember the last time you had an hour long conversation with someone? Did they glance at their phone every so often, reminding you of the split nature of their attention?" - Kirk Tuck, reminiscing on human contact before the information age.

Ironic. This reminiscence for human contact of the pre-information era, on the worldwide web. The 2 degrees of separation: me to computer to everyone else.

I remember the last time I had an hour long conversation with someone. It happened just today in fact. It has been happening quite a lot lately. Almost without fail, an hour or so each day on the subway and in the subway station: we'd talk for half an hour on the subway, and then linger for another hour or so at the final stop, sharing our days' stories.

And then the days' pace would eventually catch up with us and the dimming lights would remind us to part.We'd say our goodbyes and go our separate ways.

Lately, that one hour of each working day would represent the best hour of that day - the only hour when I feel totally at ease, unpressured and timeless, as we watch the other commuters brush past us, their pace pulpable and sickening. For that one hour of each day, we can literally slow down and watch the world rush by.

Wouldn't it be great if there were more moments like these?

Perhaps it is time for me to take a break from this daily rush I call life and reflect on what really is important to me. A retreat of sorts. No phone, no computer, no internet. Just me, my camera and a few canisters of film. And just watch the world go by.

Kentmere 400 in HC110 (1+31) 5min30sec