Sandbox Studios: 52@40: FAQ

Stage 1: Maternity Ward
11.12.00 12:15 pm
Location: Fairview Riverside Hospital
Description: A very somber Sunday afternoon. The hallways are quiet and empty. The most activity is in the Maternity Ward's Family Lounge where the Vikings vs. Arizona game is on.
Not a lot of signs of new babies beyond the three gently being tended to behind the security glass of the nursery.

Stage 2 : Elementary School
11.13.00 1:40 PM
Location: Jefferson Elementary, Mpls
Description: I'm seated in the warm, brightly lit main office on a relatively quiet, snowy afternoon. The place is kind of like a rollercoaster of interaction. At one point there are nine teachers and students at the counter, all with different immediate needs. The next minute its perfectly quiet except for the subtle clicking of keyboards. The office is bilingual English/Spanish which works out well for the many Spanish speaking parents and students who call and come in for assistance of one kind or another.

Stage 3 : Pool hall
11.14.00 8:35pm
Location: City Billiards, Mpls
Description: Other than X's Hungry Wolf playing in the background, the hall is relatively low key. I sat down next to an empty table, ordered a beer and just watched. As time went on and the tables began to fill up two men began to rack up on the facing table. They asked me if I was playing, and I told them that I was just going to watch for a while. A little later overheard one of the men ask the other if he thought I was a shark. I may have looked like one, quietly lurking around the tables.

Stage 4 : Corporate Cafeteria
11.15.00 1:35pm
Location: Target Corporation Cafeteria
Description: This place is kind of a cross between a fast food restaurant, a student union and a high school cafeteria. It's the late lunch crowd and everything is getting pretty dirty.
Lots of people are eating alone. Many are still working or talking on cel phones. I'm not sure if this is corporate heaven, hell or just some form of mid-life purgatory.

Stage 5 : Bus
11.16.00 8:50pm
Location: #12 Bus Hennipen Avenue
Description: After missing two buses getting change and trying to keep warm on this 15 degree evening, I finally caught the #12 heading east. The bus was occupied entirely by men (over 40) on the way downtown. As the bus emptied towards the end of the line the empty seats began to look more and more like a vacant carnival ride. As the ride reversed, now heading west, the newly acquired riders became a more representative sample of both gender and age.

Stage 6 : Retirement Home
11.17.00 6:30pm
Location:Mount Olivet Home
Description: After some negotiation, I was invited to visit the home over the dinner hour. I sat on a bench on the side of the dining hall where approximately 90 folks were served their dinner. It was uncomfortable and difficult not to talk with any of them (the assignment states I'm to sit quietly). The residents, 90% women, 72-101 years old, were seated around a couple dozen round tables. Most of the tables included one man, usually the one doing the most talking. After desert, three nurses entered the dining room, each wheeling a large plastic "filing" cabinet the size of a washing machine. Each drawer of each cabinet contained the name of a resident and the dozen personalized medications each is then served in tiny paper cups. I'm sure this was the most expensive course of the meal.
Overall, the atmosphere was peaceful quiet and free of visible of emotion. A nurse commented that this is the high point of the day for most of the residents.

Stage 7 : Cemetery
11.18.00 12:15pm
Location: National Cemetery, St. Paul
Description: Interesting enough, this blustery hour in 20 degree temperatures was by far the most emotionally significant experience of the last 7 days. Sitting there in a field of seemingly infinite grave markers, the world felt much larger than life itself. The week's events felt insignificant compared to the power of this place and the wonder of the things beyond it. I prayed aloud, mentally uninterrupted, giving thanks for my fortunes in freedom and opportunity. From this unique vantage point everything seemed possible.