Museum Mile

Sadness was evident in the air, as half-awake Emily had climbed through the emergency stairs, in 96th Street. She turned on the radio, just in time for the 7 O'clock news edition.

"Former Vice-President Richard Nixon says that unless there is a substantial increase in the present war effort in Vietnam, the U.S. should look forward to five more years of war. In a speech before the Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in New York, Nixon also said opposition to the war in this country is the greatest single weapon working against the U.S."

She got quite angered and turned it off. Life wasn't easy for Emily in the summer of 1966, but at least the University was close enough.

"A girl like you should never lead such a lonely life", everyone said, but it seems their only goal was to chastise her. She opened the refrigerator, but after thinking for a short minute, closed it again. She was in no mood for eating. Organizing the clean laundry in the cold living room, she could not stop tearing, just waiting for the clock to tick and for the sun to rise again. She chose a record and played the vinyl in her newly-acquired record player.

All rights reserved to Simon & Garfunkel, Columbia Records

Morning at the Metropolitan Museum. The enormous great hall was filled with people, as it has always been during the last 94 years. "Come on, the tour is almost over. We'll get lost here!", Emma told her friend Emily, but she didn't listen. As it had never happened before, Emily started daydreaming in front of three peculiar drawings that were next to each other. These drawings depicted a husky, a maple leaf, and a cherry blossom. "Why are you standing next to these drawings for so long?", Emma asked, but Emily didn't listen.

"Do you need some guidance?", asked a peculiar middle-aged man. Emma was instantly drawn back, but Emily had suddenly come to her senses. "Can you explain why these drawings are next to each other? is there any connection between them?", she asked. "Only time will tell, my dear", he uttered, and strangely disappeared, returning to live within a room, within himself.

All rights reserved to Simon & Garfunkel, Columbia Records

Time will tell, thought Emily. What could it even mean? She was watching Shakespeare in the Park with her best friend Emma, but her thoughts were drawn to these three drawings, and the words of this peculiar man. Living a life that always consisted of a dull, lonely, and mundane routine, Emily had grown weary and sad, and it seemed there was no way out. Sometimes, all she wished for was a handshake of carbon monoxide.

The campaign of November 1966 was a bitter one, as the opposition to the Vietnam war had grown, attracting a strong backlash from the establishment. Emily was looking for something that will make her feel more meaningful, and joining the campaign was a way to do that.

10,000 people marched to the Washington Monument in D.C., and Emily was one of them. Looking for some cultural experience during her trip to D.C., Emily had proceeded to the National Gallery of Art. All of a sudden, while standing at the gallery's west building, she noticed three familiar drawings. She could not escape.

All rights reserved to Keren Ann, EMI

It was winter, and though the sky grew darker, the universal came into effect. This strange and unique phenomenon made Emily happier at last, and she had even agreed to be filmed for a short student project.

The 35mm movie film was considered old-fashioned, even by 1966 standards, but the young director had insisted on it, wanting to create a melancholic image that will reflect on Emily's life. He had known her for quite some time and was sure that she would be the perfect candidate, writing the script with her in mind.

December 31st, 1966. It was -2C outside on that cold evening in the city of New York. The director had come to visit Emily at her home in 96th Street, to show her the final product of his film. He brought with him an overhead projector, which was the technological highlight of that time.

Towards the end of the film, Emily had appeared on the screen, doing the laundry, looking weary and sad as always. The universal had lost its magic touch. As the clock ticked and 11:59 PM turned to midnight, January 1st, 1967, three drawings had suddenly appeared in the movie, on the wall behind her. Looking at the husky, the maple leaf, and the cherry blossom, she finally understood the words of that peculiar man.

It was cold, there was no music, and Emily was too weary to even hope. But though her old hometown was so far away, inside her head there was a record playing a song, called "Hold On".

All rights reserved to Madison Cunningham, Tom Waits, Verve Forecast