Naiades and Limnades: Global Water Dance in Detroit

 Kids' Fountain at Detroit's River Walk Park

Yesterday was Global Water Day, so I went to see the Global Water Dance at the Detroit River Walk. I may assure you this was not my idea. When a friend called up and mentioned it, I had immediate visions of Esther Williams and synchronized swimmers and jetting fountains, not to mention Art Deco 1920-1930's architecture and Robert Moses park at Jones Beach. I even saw Sonny Corleone driving up to that toll booth on the Wantagh State Parkway, but then I realized I was far away and best come back to the phone call.
So the husband of the caller gets on now, and I whisper "What are you doing to me?! Global Water Dance?! Are you nuts?"
He had to go. They were friends with the eminence grise behind it all, a fine lady of considerably advanced years, who was part of the dance troupes putting on the humid affair.

Apparently, this was a world wide event designed to create awareness of the fragile state of water resources. It started somewhere on the Pacific Rim that morning and was pas-de-deux-ing its way after the sun. Personally, I thought it would be more effective to let people thirst for three or four days, then rough them up, saying that they had better take care of the future water for the planet... or else! But this Dance-a-thon wheeze might work.

She-who-must-be-obeyed came into the room and announced that "we" would like to view the pageant, so that was that.

In a word, I enjoyed it: the young dancers were enjoyable, the middle-aged were foxy, and the senior ladies were a most impressive sight, who literally moved with grace and ease and shed the years from their august frames. I imagined that this must have been what the Roman Vestal Virgins were like: not only sacrosanct and taboo, but alluring and mesmerizing.
And the stretch of imagination that these specimens were Naiads (fresh water nymphs) and Limnades (lake nymphs) and Potameides (river nymphs) was not as great a reach as I had anticipated.
I think it is wonderful that people can have some ardent love of Art and Mankind and the World in the present day and age, when so many of their fellows are stark, raving mad.
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