"The House by the Side of the Road" a poem by Sam Walter Foss

There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
    In the peace of their self-content;
There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart,
    In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths
    Where highways never ran;
But let me live by the side of the road
    And be a friend to man.

Let me live in a house by the side of the road,
    Where the race of men go by-
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
    As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner's seat,
    Or hurl the cynic's ban;
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
    And be a friend to man.

I see from my house by the side of the road,
    By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
   The men who are faint with the strife.
But I turn not away form their smiles
        nor their tears -
    Both parts of an infinite plan;
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
    And be a friend to man. 

Let me live in my house by the side of the road
    Where the race of men go by -
They are good, they bad, they are weak,
        they are strong,
    Wise, foolish - so am I. 
Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat
    Or hurl the cynic's ban? -
Let me live in my house by the side of the road 
    And be a friend to man. 

SAM WALTER FOSS

The above photo was taken this past Monday August 24th, of this immense crowd in excited anticipation for a public movie event in Byrant Park, NYC. What movie you ask? None other than the first in my favorite trilogy of all time...Back to the Future! I was on a bit of a personal high at the moment, just having danced for 6 hours straight at a music video shoot, essentially right across from Bryant Park. I was exhausted, but that was replaced with immediate childhood remembrance and glee, when I saw the Delorean and Hover Board from the actual movie! But more than that, I was charmed by the fact that an extremely diverse group of New Yorkers, had come to delight in the gorgeous summer twilight together. There was a magical feeling in the air, likened to the innocent and thrilled energy of trick-or-treating on Halloween night as a kid, and the first romantic Fourth of July fireworks display with your lover.

I fell a little bit more in love with New York that night. But our uncommitted love affair is tricky. New York has everything I could possibly want, but withholds from me too. It dangles the possibility of fulfilling all of my dreams, and snatches them away, just as I begin to show traces of a relieving smile. So, I in turn have learned not to put all of my feelings out into the open, in self-preserving protection. Just like every lover, New York City is not perfect. It can shout too loud, be easily angered, invade my space, take up way too much personal time, put up endless walls and be overwhelmingly hard to weather. But all of that, makes those fleeting moments of surprising generosity, compassion and love, glitter like the stinging sun flitting on the East River. New York City at times may feel like an abusive lover. But I always come back because I am hopelessly drawn to intense passion, uninhibited creativity, endless motivation and a push to be one's best self. Maybe someday, I'll end up with a good ole' Midwestern city, where life is constant, predictable and calm, where I don't fear getting old or being forgotten. But for now, I'm unabashedly drawn to the bad ass. Like Bill Withers said, "I'm gonna spread the news, that if it feels this good getting used, Well you just keep on using me...until you use me up." I love you, New York. 

With Unstoppable Passion,

Your Jess