Dawn from my windows
My view of what it means to be an “insider” has recently changed. I moved to Detroit, right smack behind the famous Fox Theatre. All night long, flashing neon lights dance on my bedroom walls, dazzling colors until the sun comes up, and somebody flips off the switch. Many insomniac nights, I will sit on my window ledge for hours and watch the back of the theatre’s red brick building. It is a time that I share with the firemen’s sirens and street lamps, which fill the gutters with gold.
Strange things transpire in the middle of the Detroit night behind the Fox. Trucks bigger than I’ve ever seen back effortlessly into the gated area. Massive luxury buses with dark tinted windows pull up while it is dark and the world is asleep. I perch above the activity, watching in my slippers and sipping my bush tea. Stars ascend from the back of limousines, Christmas spectacular sets slip through stage doors, stagehands hold steaming cups of coffee.
I have spied on Diggy Simmons as he waved to screaming teenage girls behind barricades, on Sting as he disappeared into an SUV like a white phantom, and on Alison Krauss’ beloved fiddle. As I have kept the ledge warm, I have thought about what it means to be an insider.
An “insider” – is an artist. Art comes from inside of us somewhere. An artist focuses on what’s inside. The significant “insider’s view” is the glimpse into another’s soul, not as Hollywood would have us believe, the latest gossip on a film set.
In this section of the Cinechicks’ website, we focus on writers and artists with a view of their world from the inside. It’s a behind the scenes look at their art and their souls.
Enjoy the view.
Another View of Dawn