Cinco De Mayo Urbano

So tonight, in a paroxysm of not wanting to spend the evening trapped in a hotel, I took a walk to the local old town with a Mexican heritage.  On Cinco de Mayo, no less.

It was, as you can imagine, something of a small riot.   Lines in front of every Mexican restaurant (and I would wager there were at least 20 of them), loud music blaring, people waiting in lines - talking on their cell phones, smoking, making their way through the crowds.  Hostesses trying to check for random number groups or advising clients that there was no waiting for the beer garden. A bevy of people, trying to get into somewhere and get some food that is available 360+ other days of the year (or for many of the younger ones, more likely alcohol).

It kind of makes me sad on two counts.  One, of course, is simply being in this sea of humanity.  From the point of view of a people watcher, this might be a fine show.  From the point of view of someone who is largely an introvert (and even more so where I do not know anyone at all), perhaps not so much of a marvel.

The second sadness is simply that which I experience almost every time that I spend significant time in an urban center.  The crowds.  The noise.  The just general insanity of large groups of people living where they essentially have to bring everything in from somewhere else.

I know what you are going say - "Do you not live in an urban setting too?"  I do  - and I am not all that happy about it (that is also on the record).  The difference in my mind is that I do not embrace it as the totality of my existence.  I actively want to be somewhere else and I understand all too very well how much I am dependent on so many things that are controlled by others.

I eventually found a place to eat (Fish and chips) and crawled my way back through the crowds.  As I made my way back the sound of the celebration and urban chaos dwindled to the sounds of the freeway with cars whizzing by.

It strikes me as odd that somehow that I would consider that an actual improvement.