Note: This is a “Possible 2020 Soliloquy” for MILL TOWN Trilogy, which will be performed on June 6 and 7, 2020, at the Sanctuary in Maynard. We are interviewing people from diverse backgrounds and choosing some of the recorded material to develop into performance pieces. This is an exciting collaborative process between our team members and the people who are willing to tell their stories.
by Pam Newton
Have you ever wondered about all the people in your town who you have never met and maybe never, ever will? Have you asked yourself, “Why do I only drive a couple of ways when I am traveling from home, say, toward Acton, or maybe Cambridge, North Carolina, Waco, Texas”? Just where do those small, twisty side streets lead?
Who lives in all those small two-family houses off of Waltham St.?
Or Concord?
Maybe even Summer St? There is a long line of possibilities.
Which sides of me never get expressed here?
I used to dress different when I lived in Savannah, or New York, West Roxbury, north New Jersey, Aurora, Oregon.
Though I long for authenticity, why don’t I find myself off the beaten track more often?
I love diversity but long for belonging. Do I betray myself if I befriend my other side of politics neighbors and then lock myself up inside on a cold day when there is an important vigil in Framingham or Lowell?
Whenever I start to climb up the tower of Babel, I fall. When bruised, I ask questions. Who don’t I know yet? What languages have I never heard? How can I carefully listen and respond, one person at a time? How can I find the ones who are very different and yet are the ones I really need to meet in my lifetime?
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