News Stands if People Sit

America lacks news stands. Now, this doesn't say as much about our literacy or interests in literature but it says a lot about the way we life our life. It took a trip to Europe to notice an idea as abstract as this. The streets of Paris, Florence, Brussels, and many other cities that I have visited are covered in outdoor dining. People flock to the tables and marinate in the sun to people watch and drink. We don't do that in the states. We reserve a table for brunch, have one drink, and go on with our day. We wake up and read our news, or we watch it, or we don't inform ourselves at all. I don't care if people read Vogue or the Economist or Tactical Weapons because its more about the lifestyle of sitting back and enjoying what you love. That easy-going mentality of Europe catalyzes a astronomical amount of news stands. Once work is over people grab their magazine, drink, and smoke until they are sufficiently satisfied. In America we are to scheduled. Our children play with each other from this time to that and then their off to this lesson or the other. Each and every space in the day is filled, leaving no time for relaxation. The mentality not only effects our daily life but can also be seen in our own cities. The streets are narrower and have more stores. But yet again no room for outdoor dining or newsstands. As a nation we maximize instead of emotionalize. We don't have interest in watching people or buildings that we don't have to directly interact with. To me thats a problem. We need to watch our cities and our people. We need to relax in our nations sun and read about what we are truly interested in. We shouldn't be filling up our days and cities but rather finding those free spaces that we can really enjoy. Those restaurants that we can relax in for an hour with a couple drinks and just....watch.


-Chad A. Dokken

Location:Rue du Boccador,Paris,France