Albany of the Imagination

When I let myself go and imagine "my perfect life," I see myself walking on Lark Street near Central and Western Avenues in Albany. I see myself traversing State Street past the State Capitol and riding a bus out to the University. I see a free and easy fellow, looking for opportunities to be of service to Albanians, who is a part of the place. I try and envision what I do for a living there, but so far nothing comes to the surface. I do see myself living at least on the first floor of a house, perhaps even inhabiting the entire premises. I see myself as being a valued and valuable person in these environs, that I have a lot to offer the place and the people and the spirit of the place and peope, and that it returns the energy tenfold.

Today, I'm going to start something I hope I will be able to continue for a time. I've mentioned the film Big Eden before. "My Perfect Life" or rather "The Life I Want for Myself" can be shorthanded for the time being to Big Eden in Albany or nearby. I sense that Albany may not be a perfect fit with that idea--there is a reactionary element in the area's religious people, particularly in the Episcopalian heirarchy. The Irish Catholic rigidity is also an area of concern--William Kennedy points to this in his wondrous biography of his hometown, O Albany! But Albany is a city. It may not be as populous as the epicenter of culture 3-1/2 hours to its south, but because of its urban nature there is a diversity of opinion and belief. As it is the state capitol, there's also a degree of expansiveness it must have. And it's a college town to boot.

So this is my first post about the Albany I imagine myself becoming a part of. Whether it actually ends up being Albany or Manhattan, or Devils Lake, North Dakota where my folks live, or Charleston, West Va.--wherever Gaia wills me to go--I am recording my impressions about life there, about the people that I might meet, about the spirit of the place.

Speaking on that spirit, I believe that the heart and soul of Albany is to be found in the H. H. Richardson designed State Capitol building itself. I find myself drawn to the courtyard in front of the building, just wanting to commune with its frisky-puppy energy. The State Capitol is a gorgeous building that yes, was probably inspired by some French architecture. But it is its own building as well, forthright in its gracious presence. For all of the politicking that goes on there, it feels like a "happy building," particularly in sharp contrast to the Rockefeller mo(der)nstrosities across Eagle Street therefrom. Walking down the Empire State Plaza, one can't help but think of Mussolini Rome and Berlin under Hitler or East Berlin during the Soviet years, with their rigid [national-]socialist-realism that advertised their weak masculinities. The only good thing those buildings do is to increase one's appreciation for the spiritual center of the city. ESP will never be that, The Egg notwithstanding. (I do like The Egg, but that may be because I like to be perverse.)

(I'm still sort of learning the ins and outs of posting to this site. Here's a link to a picture of the building I love so much:

http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/albanyrich/cap1.jpg