me kissing you: me kissing Lura

Saturday, January 7, 2012

me kissing Lura

So I realized that today was my last chance to see the current show at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and I hadn't seen it yet. Well, I wish I'd seen it earlier because I would have told other people and tried to get some to go. It closes tomorrow, go see it if you can.

But this isn't a blog about seeing art, it's about spreading a little love. My good friend Lura Groen joined me at the CAMH and then we went to Inversion Coffee House to drink tea and wax theological. (I mostly discovered that some thoughts I'm thinking lately are not thought out. Do you ever think in idioms that don't translate easily into language?)

Anyway, as we were leaving, I said, "Hey, I need to kiss you!" And she said something like, "That's right! You do!" So in the Inversion parking lot, I gave her a theologically sound smooch.

I should note that Lura is the pastor of Grace Lutheran Church. Hence the theological talk. I've never actually been to a Sunday morning service at Grace (we agree we don't want to muddy our friendship with adding a pastor/parishioner dimension to the relationship), but I may visit sometime sooner than later. And if you live in the Montrose area of Houston, you might give them a looksee if you you're looking for a church. I wouldn't immediately assume that Lura will let you kiss her, but I'm pretty sure you'll find a warm welcome all the same.

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about this blog . . .

So 2011 saw me dealing with a bad 2010 by posting a picture of myself, taken first thing every morning, as some kind of conceptual art project. You can see all 365 blurry, bleary photos here.

As it was, at it's core, a response to loneliness, I knew it was not something I could or should sustain beyond the one year boundary I initially set for it. But I sort of liked this photo blogging thing . . .

So I decided the next logical step was to reach out to other people. Not just reach out, but cross some of my own comfort zones and kiss them. Not on the mouth, not in a romantic or sexual way, just a kiss on the cheek.

So, this year, I plan on kissing as many people as I can. I won't even try to kiss someone everyday, but in various situations, I may just ask someone, "hey, can I kiss you and photographically document the event?" If they say no, no worries, I'll move on. If they say yes, I'll say, "I have this tiny release form granting me permission." (It is a tiny release form, postcard size.)

It's a small way to get me out of a rut I'm in and also to spread a little love. In the ancient Christian church, there was the custom of the "kiss of peace" (which survives in liturgical churches today as "passing the peace," usually signified by a handshake). I think of this exercise as something of passing the peace, too, of offering a kiss of peace to whoever will let me do it. And document it.

Wait---there's more! You can be kissed, too! If you're in the Houston area and would like to be kissed by me, let me know. Or if you're coming to Houston. Or even if you're not in Houston or coming to Houston, but want to be on a list of potential kissees, in the event that I might be traveling to where you are (I get up Austin a few times a year, I hope to get to Chicago this year, etc.), let me know that, too. you never know where I might pop up. Email me at neilellisorts (at) yahoo dot com.