Monday, October 29, 2007

F-O-X. Fox.

One of the most interesting facets of my new place is that I can clearly see the glowing “FOX” sign atop one of Detroit’s finest establishments: The Fox Theatre. Not only do I have a perfect view of the glowing neon (and color changing-sign) from my living room, but from almost every single point in my current residence (which is not a large surface area) I can see the sign. Imagine a flashing red, white, purple, and blue equivalent of Mona Lisa’s eyes. The thing follows me everywhere in my place. I am not disturbed by this fact, rather I love it. When I wake up in the morning, I usually throw on a pot of coffee and spend the next five minutes staring at the three glowing letters. The sign comforts me for some strange reason.

A related facet of my current home is that now when driving towards the city of Detroit, I am actually moving closer to home. That means, no matter what angle I am approaching the city from, I can just follow the skyline and it will take me home. Although the constant traffic noise and lack of greenery can be disconcerting, there is something generally comforting about city-life, even Detroit city-life. I think the Fox sign exemplifies this. Not only does it brighten my apartment, it beckons to me saying “sure you can see me, but do you know how many other people are watching me too.” For some reason, this comforts me, and in a strange way I enjoy the community the sign provides. Goodnight Fox, Goodnight Detroit.

1 comment:

Jenna said...

That's from my favorite movie, "You've got mail." Did you know that? I mean to call you sometime soon.