Joseph Tucker's Blog
I'm Here Now / 03.17.09, 01:44 PM
I recently had one of my most enjoyable nights yet in Philadelphia, and figured I’d post about it.(Since apparently I don’t post anymore sorry…)
Philly has One City One Film events where the host a movie screenings at various locations throughout the city and hold discussions afterwards. This is sponsored through the library, which I have been exceedingly more and more involved with. So, I went to one of these viewings (the film was a1996 film about an 80’s graffiti artists named Basquait) with a friend from the library. And the evening was just great. We met up on the subway and talked the whole way down. Stephen, a late 40’s, black, Baptist volunteer told me of his life, travels, misfortunes, and experiences in Philly, and I shared a lot of what I had been up to for my 6 months in the city thus far.
We arrived at the screening, which was hosted in an old church, that now served as a ministry site for downtown homeless and functioned as a discussion hall. (The church was prime real estate, I was excited to see that it hadn’t sold its location and had stuck with the mission!) We ate a free dinner and then enjoyed the movie, and discussed some of its racial features on the way home (Basquait is a black-Haitian artists who befriends Warhol, with rumors of being exploited based on race).
And I truly felt the motive for Mission Year was flushed out this night. Stephen and I, two very different people, simply going to a free, fun event and learning from one another. The meal too was a picture of different colors, classes, beliefs, and walks coming together to eat and watch a film. It was a subtle evening, but it was worthwhile.
And throughout the course of the night, I mentioned to Stephen some of my ideas for next August, he laughed and told me not to worry about it, to enjoy the fact that I’m here now, and to take opportunities as they come. He spoke a word of wisdom I did not expect to receive that night.
And that is the beauty of life here in Philly (and life anywhere really) is that each relationship, each interaction holds some depth that we often never realize or pursue.
Grace and Peace
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