Last night over dinner and drinks at the soft opening of the new restaurant nestled in Uptown Charlotte, Bask on Seaboard, I had what one might call a revelation. Joined at the table by three of the more stimulating individuals I’ve met in quite a while, I began to consider our current situations and lifestyles. In present company: a writer, an artist, and a teacher.
The other three were very much acquainted with one another, I myself, the outsider to the group. Yet, despite my unfamiliarity with each I found the conversation engrossing. At face value, we have dissimilar taste in music, books, food and beverages. We each view the world in a very diverse manner. Some of us make sense of the world with words, seeing the hidden poetry inside even the more mundane aspects of life. Another perceiving the world through an abundance of colors and design, while the third viewing life through the eyes of young pupils. So why are we all having dinner together?
Our differences, while vast, made for interesting conversation; each of us vying for our own special place for input; and yet, one large similarity connected us. The writer, the artist, the teacher, and I are currently committed to a two-job lifestyle; and our second position: Server.
It occurred to me, while enjoying a night out with these new friends, that I don’t think I’ve made a friend in Charlotte who was not currently or had previously been employed by the service industry, in some form or fashion. It is this industry which is presently paving the way for the contemporary “starving artist.”
This then poses the question, is the service industry helping, or is it harming those employed within?
Charlotte is flooded by bars, restaurants, venues, and more. It’s the city of possibility for a girl coming into her own from the small town of “Mt. Pilot.” The nightlife is crawling with people of all ages, the city rarely sleeps, and yet in order to be cozy with the nightlife scene, a steady pay check--or in our case, cash flow is vital. So we work, picking up shifts as often as we can all to provide the backbone for our artistic careers. The service industry, if you’ve never been involved, is quicksand.
Under the table at dinner I held the hand of another writer who creates in a much different manner than I do. Hence the beauty in the world of art, individually we are unique; therefore our creations have the ability to speak for us. Inspiration can’t be predetermined or forced, as any who have tried and failed can tell you. The truth of it all, creativity just hits and must be captured; yet, after a night of frustration at work retreating to the next open bar or hip scene almost always just feels right.
So when do the musicians, the writers, the artists embrace these lightning bolts of ideas? At what point do we in the service industry retire our aprons for the pen or the paint brush, and why is this Queen City of ours so hell-bent on drinking away the very art that once made us fall head over heels in love?
...I guess we just start a blog.
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