HAVENS IN THE HELLS OF OUR CITIES

If we begin with the premise that large, modern American cities -- with all their noise, congestion, and violence -- have often become hells on earth, are there any havens to be found in them? The answer is obvious: Yes. The examples, however, are not so obvious. Each city dweller will have their own particular choices. As a committed urban dweller, I have found at least two havens. One, a musical universal: Mozart. The other, a surprise choice to many: High School.

MOZART

Wolfgang is an easy pick. Everybody from musicologists to biologists to new parents have joyously discovered the musical magic of Mozart. This dead-by-36, foul-mouthed genius generated some of the most dazzling yet sedating compositions ever penned (and, yes, he is said to have used pen, because he rarely had to make corrections).

Life is a bombast of musical beats, but Mozart drew from deep within the mystery of his soul to craft beats and notes like no other. It has been said God himself permitted a Mozart so the rest of us could hear a little of what Heaven is like.

All I know is when the mathematical majesty of Mozart's music fills my heart, I am become someone else. A better someone for his energizing presence. But wait! This is no esoteric elitism talking. I'm talking everyday subways here. I still remember the afternoon I watched this monstrously large, rapper-looking kid from the city streets plugged into his iPod. Any other time I would have felt fear. This time I got to see what he was being transfixed by.

That's right...! Mozart would have been pleased.

HIGH SCHOOL

High school is also a universal. Universally shuddered at once we've graduated it. You know -- the acne, the self-consciousness, the cult of popularity that was always just beyond our reach. But I'm not talking about the kids here. I'm talking about the faculty.

Until you've been on a high school faculty, you have no idea of what an astonishing haven these campuses can be. Oh, not the worst schools (some of them are as disastrous as they report); but the good ones, where order and learning and friendships have somehow been preserved.

Think about it. A good high school campus is a city within a city. It's own borders...buildings...schedules... meals....games... arts....romances,..expectations...inspirations...pursuits. From 8 to 5, the place throbs with energy, with growth, with fun; and as a member of the faculty, you're a vital part of it all. Now that's a feeling hard to find throughout most of our cities and their humdrum daily lives.

This is not say being part of the faculty isn't challenging. It is. But once you've been there, it's hard to ever be as important again...!