Community Humanity

Loitering on the streets of Melbourne over  fourteen hours during the white-night festival is a little different to the 'normal loitering and lurking' i undertake.

The crowd was intense the  creative expressions and emotions of humanity are out there for all to see, sadly so were those 'other' human traits we try to hide.

For me it was not so much about the art in all its expressions rather the people and their interactions with each other.
Putting thousands of people into the city precinct, for a 12 hour festival is an interesting idea.

I did not see many of those friends with who I spend time, although a generous, warm hug from one ensured the evening got off to a good start.

It was the stranger and the interactions which made the night.

Extracting a smile, the giving of a high five, a hello or an intense conversation about a dead brother, an upcoming coronal inquest, a request to visit some of his mates' doing time' or the connection with a young man from one of the schools I worked at years ago, now living of the streets or the warming conversation with a young Maori girl abandon by her 'mates'.

These 'strangers' and the interactions made me wonder, who and what they encountered as we connected together as fellow humans??