Table 3
Here we are. It's November 20th, which means Arcane is on the television and yet here I am on the Manhattan Beach pier with my table, four dollars in the meter, and I'm doing something that I’ve decided isn’t breaking any of the rules on the big blue “Things Not Allowed Here” sign.
No Activities: This isn’t much of an activity. I mean, it's not organized. It's one person. There's nothing event about it. It's just a table. So here I am with my table and chairs and that is all I am doing. Just being here and that is a kindness feeling machine—which doesn’t seem to be against pier rules.
No Events: I wouldn’t consider this an event either.
No Solicitation: Check.
No Horses, No Fires, No Alcohol: Check, Check, Check.
So, here’s hoping we don’t get fined. Kicked off is not a problem.
If a table is a problem, what if I held a sign instead?
Someone has shared a delightful kind word. That was pretty good so far. Maybe I should take a picture before I am carted off by the Manhattan Beach PD.
I am just sitting and breathing. Breathing is part of this experience. And now I get to be here and do that. And in. And out. And in. And out. In... Out...
And I am doing a good sitting. And that's it. As easy as sitting. It's quite easy to do the exact thing inside my house with an x bone (Xbox) controller in my hand and my eyes turned onto gooey, slimy mode. What this means is that I’m saying coming here was a good choice.
All are welcome to sit and all the same there’s no problem to walk on past. There is nothing to it but this. I’m noticing there are closer parking spaces, which I’ll take up next time so I won’t have to carry the table as far
A psychologist and a therapist couple have walked up to talk to me. They asked if I had anything to say and I said I did, and told them that “More people should listen to Imagine Dragons.” They definitely didn’t expect that, but it’s what I had to say. They shared some good vibes. The man told me that he would go live on Tiktok every day and let people share with him, and he has some pretty fascinating conversations. Tiktok live, huh? Fascinating.
With this, I've now averaged one good chat a table-day so I am feeling good. I’ve also got a lot of time left in the meter.
A woman stopped by and we just had a great positive experience. She came up and sat down. She said she was having a great day and was feeling good. She asked what I thought and I told her she seemed happy and positive and she smiled and said thank you and was off.
And now, I’ve almost spoken to enough people to fill up a single hand. That’s all good. Do we have the vibes? Yes, we do. I like this spot. People are in their feels. The beach is more of a happy spot. I’m not ready for Venice Beach yet.
It’s getting chilly.
A kid stopped by. He couldn’t have been older than nineteen. He was on break from a restaurant he worked at up the street. He wanted to ask me a question.
“DO YOU BELIEVE THAT GOOD CAN FIGHT AGAINST EVIL?” HE ASKED.
I tried not to… give advice. I asked him what he thought about it. He wasn’t so sure. We got to speaking about good and evil. From what I remember, I spoke about how calling some things evil might mean that you are dismissing it, and that a lot of evil might be misunderstood. I pulled from my Freedom To Choose experience going into prisons and doing a similar listening experience. I think I shared that some people make choices that others think is evil because they don’t have the knowledge of other options, which is a wild concept that we’ll revisit another time.
While we were conversing, a man in a wetsuit walked up with a lot of good things to say about what I was doing. He loved the idea of the table. He has a big soft-top surfboard with the words “YOU ROCK” written on it, huge, across the front of the board, so I knew this guy meant serious goodness. He gave me his information and told me that he’s trying to spread goodness in the world and I should give him a call. I will absolutely do that soon.
This has been very nice. It’s working. We’re doing it. This spot has been amazing.
I am, I am, I am.