I have a strange and unexplainable love for a five hundred foot tall fountain. N
ow I'm not one to obsess over landmarks but my care for the Jet d'eau crept on me like Indian summer. I look for it when positioning myself with direction. Part of my love is for the stability it brings me in knowing my location. My internal compass, passed down from my mother that grew stronger with several cross country trips, can rest once my eyes find it peaking over building tops. But the other part is just a regular old irrational love for a Jet, normal right? They built it as a safety value for the city's water, and after realizing how majestic it was kept it around, how Swiss of them. In a classic case of you-don't-know-what-you've-got-till-its gone one day while heading home from work it simply wasn't there. In anunnecessary wave of panic I convinced myself that it would never turn back on, that the signifying tower over the city had disappeared like a lady in a magic show. I learned that they turn it off if it gets to windy which was probably the case, but the point is that I missed it, more than I thought I would. I now smile when I notice it giving it the appreciation it deserves, and even speculate what it would be like to stand under it. When today followed in its familiar pattern of work and dinner, I had no idea what my Jet had in store for me. The gang, after being cooped up in hum drum office work went for a walk around the neighbourhood. In search of cheap dessert we headed to the Pier that is lined with cheap ice cream stands. " un glace du Rose, si vous plait" I ordered comfortably....Rose flavored ice cream, I had to investigate. Now at first it was what I imagined eating a bottle of perfume would be like but after a few licks it grew on me, and i ended up enjoying my strange treat. Heading back towards our home along the Pier we were coming up on the Jet' d'eau when Alex (who usually bugs me as I would imagine an annoying little brother would) had the idea to walk up the stony path that takes y
ou out to the Jet. Well he didn't have to talk me into it to much as we headed towards it. It was dusk and the lake effect wind was picking up, making the Jet spray shift and wave as if it were dancing. Alex clomped right up to the massive shoot of water but as I approached it my heart jumped into my throat. The few times I convinced myself that the wind would shift a bit to much resulting in certain death and I turned and ran. The spray covered the remains of my ice cream and soaked me as well. With cone in hand I build my courage and squealed as I run next to it. My heart is beating so loud in my ears I hardly hear that my scream turned into a laugh and my furrowed brow was now smiling. Pumped with adrenaline and covered in my Jets version of a hug I can feel the city soak into my skin. The Geneva that I admired from afar has been absorbed by my pores. Some time during this adventure without realizing it I went from clenching to smiling. Regardless of how I'm feeling at any individual moment the tsunamis of emotion both good and bad gives me electric veins and I have never felt more alive.
ow I'm not one to obsess over landmarks but my care for the Jet d'eau crept on me like Indian summer. I look for it when positioning myself with direction. Part of my love is for the stability it brings me in knowing my location. My internal compass, passed down from my mother that grew stronger with several cross country trips, can rest once my eyes find it peaking over building tops. But the other part is just a regular old irrational love for a Jet, normal right? They built it as a safety value for the city's water, and after realizing how majestic it was kept it around, how Swiss of them. In a classic case of you-don't-know-what-you've-got-till-its gone one day while heading home from work it simply wasn't there. In anunnecessary wave of panic I convinced myself that it would never turn back on, that the signifying tower over the city had disappeared like a lady in a magic show. I learned that they turn it off if it gets to windy which was probably the case, but the point is that I missed it, more than I thought I would. I now smile when I notice it giving it the appreciation it deserves, and even speculate what it would be like to stand under it. When today followed in its familiar pattern of work and dinner, I had no idea what my Jet had in store for me. The gang, after being cooped up in hum drum office work went for a walk around the neighbourhood. In search of cheap dessert we headed to the Pier that is lined with cheap ice cream stands. " un glace du Rose, si vous plait" I ordered comfortably....Rose flavored ice cream, I had to investigate. Now at first it was what I imagined eating a bottle of perfume would be like but after a few licks it grew on me, and i ended up enjoying my strange treat. Heading back towards our home along the Pier we were coming up on the Jet' d'eau when Alex (who usually bugs me as I would imagine an annoying little brother would) had the idea to walk up the stony path that takes y
ou out to the Jet. Well he didn't have to talk me into it to much as we headed towards it. It was dusk and the lake effect wind was picking up, making the Jet spray shift and wave as if it were dancing. Alex clomped right up to the massive shoot of water but as I approached it my heart jumped into my throat. The few times I convinced myself that the wind would shift a bit to much resulting in certain death and I turned and ran. The spray covered the remains of my ice cream and soaked me as well. With cone in hand I build my courage and squealed as I run next to it. My heart is beating so loud in my ears I hardly hear that my scream turned into a laugh and my furrowed brow was now smiling. Pumped with adrenaline and covered in my Jets version of a hug I can feel the city soak into my skin. The Geneva that I admired from afar has been absorbed by my pores. Some time during this adventure without realizing it I went from clenching to smiling. Regardless of how I'm feeling at any individual moment the tsunamis of emotion both good and bad gives me electric veins and I have never felt more alive.
i knew you would love that thing! why are fountains so wonderous?? what is it about them that is so majestic? i'm glad you're enjoying it, and playing in it. :D
ReplyDeletesounds like you're letting this experience soak into your bones. pun intended ;) again, i really appreciate about you the way you let even little things really speak to you. missing you xo
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