It was a Sunday so naturally it was time for a burger, not a fast food one but a gourmet burger. The type of burger you get from one of those places that is realitively clean, has a funky name, charges too much for fries and somehow still distracts you into thinking that you are eating healthy just because you've got avocado under your 1/2 pound meat patty (delicious).
Walking toward the door I saw him sitting on the telecom box on the opposite side of the footpath. Anticipating dialogue and carrying a few pieces of luggage I thought to myself what an inconvenient time to be asked for loose change but, then again when was there ever going to be a convenient time? I could smell him walking by and he didn't say a word. A little surprised as sometimes 'they' can be quite aggressive in this neighbourhood. I ordered, found a seat by the window and thought about what he could do with the change as I put it back in my wallet. We sat together as I ate. A window and footpath divided us as we tried to avoid looking at each other. After asking a few passers by for change he pulled pizza from a crumpled box and ate with me. We exchanged eye contact and I thought to myself "I'll definitely be asked on the way out" So I started to devise a game plan. Was I going to commit some loose change? Was I going to just keep walking straight? In the end, I'd decided to see how dinner went first.
Later that evening I fell in love with a girl on the street car. When you enter any Public Transport vehicle there's always that moment of frustration as you decide where you're going to sit. Some good will phrases become PT obsolete when selecting a seat. for example: "don't judge a book by its cover" or "it's what's on the inside that counts" because first impressions count! You do not want to end up next to a chatter box, seat hog or stinker. Every once in a while there is a good looking member of the opposite sex and for that brief moment you start to think every hollywood romantic comedy was actually based on real event's and its your turn. It goes the other way too, there is gratification for when a stranger selects you as their 'excursion buddy', makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside that you must look some kind of normal and trustworthy enough to sit next to.
Then it happened, one stop in and she chose to sit next to me! I immediately regretted not seeing the latest Zac Efron soap or 'The Notebook'- where was I gong to pull a corny line from now? I thought about how we were going to one day laugh about how we met each other, I thought about where she must have come from and how creepy it is just thinking about this stuff in the first place. Then the next time the street car doors open she left, only to be forgotten and replaced by a seat hog at the next stop.
Strangers come in and out of our lives everyday. Some more important than others, the importance of strangers and the emotions they evoke are not to be dismissed. They challenge us by coming into our lives uninvited, they inspire us to be or not to be like our perception of them, they can comfort us just by being there like late at night on a lonely street car. We mustn't forget the importance of a chance meeting and the influence strangers have on our day and the days that follow. They help us define ourselves by perception. They contribute to our growth as individuals. Whether it be a lost love on the street car or a bum on the footpath, these instances spark a little more then a few thoughts from time to time. In the aftermath of such events there may be that insightful moment of "damn! thats what I should of said" but if it wasn't for that missed chance you'd never know for when the time is right. Sometimes it's a fleeting moment where you're left wanting more, sometimes it goes way too long and sometimes you share dinner together. What ever the amount of time it may be, it was the right amount.
Later that evening I fell in love with a girl on the street car. When you enter any Public Transport vehicle there's always that moment of frustration as you decide where you're going to sit. Some good will phrases become PT obsolete when selecting a seat. for example: "don't judge a book by its cover" or "it's what's on the inside that counts" because first impressions count! You do not want to end up next to a chatter box, seat hog or stinker. Every once in a while there is a good looking member of the opposite sex and for that brief moment you start to think every hollywood romantic comedy was actually based on real event's and its your turn. It goes the other way too, there is gratification for when a stranger selects you as their 'excursion buddy', makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside that you must look some kind of normal and trustworthy enough to sit next to.
Then it happened, one stop in and she chose to sit next to me! I immediately regretted not seeing the latest Zac Efron soap or 'The Notebook'- where was I gong to pull a corny line from now? I thought about how we were going to one day laugh about how we met each other, I thought about where she must have come from and how creepy it is just thinking about this stuff in the first place. Then the next time the street car doors open she left, only to be forgotten and replaced by a seat hog at the next stop.
Strangers come in and out of our lives everyday. Some more important than others, the importance of strangers and the emotions they evoke are not to be dismissed. They challenge us by coming into our lives uninvited, they inspire us to be or not to be like our perception of them, they can comfort us just by being there like late at night on a lonely street car. We mustn't forget the importance of a chance meeting and the influence strangers have on our day and the days that follow. They help us define ourselves by perception. They contribute to our growth as individuals. Whether it be a lost love on the street car or a bum on the footpath, these instances spark a little more then a few thoughts from time to time. In the aftermath of such events there may be that insightful moment of "damn! thats what I should of said" but if it wasn't for that missed chance you'd never know for when the time is right. Sometimes it's a fleeting moment where you're left wanting more, sometimes it goes way too long and sometimes you share dinner together. What ever the amount of time it may be, it was the right amount.
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