Bubbles

A few weeks ago I ended up in Washington Square Park during in the middle of a wonderful, wandering Saturday (after eating at the Square Diner and visiting the smallest cemetery) and ended up spending a few hours completely fascinated by a woman making enormous bubbles. I've seen the huge bubble makers before — in Central Park mostly — and I never cease to be amazed at every single bubble.

It's quite a simple set up, but of course the bubbles are so unique every single time that it never gets boring. It's also fun to watch people interact with the bubbles, although I do get annoyed that they attract bratty kids who like to pop them immediately after they're made.

I have found, however, that if I wait around long enough I'll eventually see someone get soaked by a popped bubble or if I'm really lucky I'll witness a particularly overzealous kid slipping and falling in the residue, which makes me feel as if there might be a tiny bit of justice/balance in the world (he was totally ok - I'm not THAT much of a monster).

This was also the first time that I'd watched a bubble maker (that sounds weird but they're not bubble blowers because they just sort of let the wind do its thing) since I got my new camera, so I went a little crazy trying to capture the perfect bubble photo. There were a ton of other people trying to do the same thing so I didn't feel too awkward, and I certainly fared better than the guy I saw get totally soaked trying to get a close-up shot.

As far as street/park performers go, the bubble makers are definitely some of my favorite — far less obnoxious than the "IT'S SHOWTIME" guys but still not quite as impressive as the person I saw (also in Washington Square) playing a full-size piano or the guy in Times Square who walks around with a cat on his head. Mozart and I really need to step up our game, but until then I'm content to watch other people's crazy talents and occasionally photograph them (or better still, photograph the people photographing them with their iPads).