Fresno Famous

Over at the Beehive, Mike Oz posted a bit that had people commenting on what’s
a Big Deal in Fresno, or things that made all of us sit up and pay attention, or the rest of the country stand up and notice of us. Some people were saying that this or that Big Event will put us “on the map”, other people were wondering whether we should really worry about being on anybody’s “map” at all.

I began wondering if it was really the Big Deals that best define a place and the life lived there.

Last night I sat in an old detached garage that had been converted into a little
theater and watched a performance of Marcel Nunis’ play :“Tale End”.
They were running it through in front of a small group of folks, getting it all spiffy
and ready to play up at the San Francisco Fringe Festival this weekend. It was cool, and a good time was had by all.
As most of the friends and supporters dispersed into the night, Suicide Lounge, another group who uses this same space to rehearse, sort
of casually eased into the practicing of their music. They played an absolutely transcendent version of Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life”. In their version they’ve taken in what they’ve learned from others who have interpreted the song, added in some of their own bits that they discovered as they went along, and it came out as a short moment of Heaven.

It made me start thinking that for me, it may be the Small Things that define one’s home, or at least give it a large portion of its uniqueness.

FamousWhitewater posted a blog here at FFamous on his feelings about a neighbor moving away to San Francisco and Floydy responded with this:

“One thing I've come to realize after visiting those areas on a regular basis is that the life I want to build is more about the people I surround myself with and the niche I carve for myself, regardless of the city it's in.”

There I was on an ideal summer evening, sitting in a converted garage of a friend, watching three people work some deep and beautiful
magic. It was a very Small Event. It was perfect . It was a perfect and unique Fresno moment, and it made my hometown a more magical place to live in.