Performance Program: A descriptive experience.

Home again: Columbus finally got the train running downtown from the airport and in just a few stops I’ll arrive at Memorial Station on the 6th floor of City. On the approach into downtown from the east, the top of City is visible in the distance beyond the height of the downtown skyline. The sun on the curved glass façade creates flashes of light that seem to match the rhythmic drum of the train on the old freight line, its calling me home. I’ve been away for quite a while now and look forward to the unencumbered lifestyle that City provides. We moved in from the suburbs when the alternative school opened in City, and blissfully gone are the days of long commutes and traffic jams. We sold the old cars, and bought a hybrid, but sometimes that seems like a mistake because we hardly ever use it. Everything we need can be found in City. Everything we want to do can be done in City.
The train makes its first stop as we reach the east side of downtown. I sit up in my seat in anticipation of seeing the spiraling terraced base of City with its layers of green tree canopies in juxtaposition to the concrete of its structure that forms and then rises several stories above the west bank of the Scioto River. Home.
The train passes through the arena district, and makes a climb to cross the Scioto and make it up to the level of Memorial Station which isn’t much more than a vestibule between the train and the Lower Boulevard. I haven’t seen my wife in several weeks, so I will walk down the boulevard and stop by Flora, the flower shop, before I head up on the express elevator to Oglethorpe Square. The morning sun is shining on the plants, and they have just been watered so there is that smell, of dew and grass, I love this place. There are other people on the boulevard, some tourists are shopping, most people are just making the transition from the residential to office elevators. It is nice to be back where I recognize many of the faces I see, and when I meet eyes with one of these people they give me a knowing smile that people give you here. It is a special smile that people who call City home give to each other, because we know this secret, about how easy life has gotten since coming here.The flowers that I get from Flora are more expensive than the ones that I can get from the Super Target that is a couple of levels down, but they seem to last a little longer, and it makes me feel good to support the smaller local retailers that are here. The owner recognizes me, and knows my name. “Flowers for Tiffany? Daisies with a single rose right?” She notices me juggling my luggage and offers to bring the flowers up in a little while. I continue down the boulevard. It is a little chilly in the shadow of the tower, but I am almost home.
The elevator is fast. From the glass side I can see the floors of the office tower speed by, until finally they terminate at Scioto Garden. To call this level a garden is an understatement. It is very nearly a forest, unnatural, but beautiful and green in the crystalline top of the office tower. Finally, the automated voice in the elevator lets me know that we are approaching my square, and comes to a stop. Home.
The light streaming onto Oglethorpe Square from the clerestory on the east side of the space floods the elevator when the doors open. My eyes adjust to the light and I see the garden and the square are nearly empty except for a grounds person tending to some of the tropical flowers that can grow in the enclosed squares. My wife and I, well, my wife, chose this square because it was completely enclosed and the temperature and humidity are controlled to allow for the gardens to stay green all year round. I can see the door to my suite, 2 floors up. I pick up my pace as I pass the squares coffee shop and other small business. There are some young children coming out of the church on the opposite corner to play in the garden. Up the stairs, and the only thing keeping me from running is the weight of my baggage. The railing on the walk to my door has flowering vines growing on it from the garden below. It smells sweet. Home.
Finally I open the door to my suite. It is a modest sized unit. Two small bedrooms, and a master suite. Despite the size the space is comfortable and easy to use. The layout makes it easy to find private space for each of us, my daughter can have her own room, but when we entertain we can open the spaces up to make the unit seem larger. I can feel the breeze coming in from the open doors to this level’s green terrace. Everybody that lives in our square has access to the terrace, but we choose to sacrifice a little interior space so we could afford a unit with direct access to it. My wife is sitting on our little patio in the sun, and Savannah is playing with a toy in the grass. Tomorrow I’ll go to work. Today: I am home.