AUG 23
WED
a short walk
my first after my surgery
met two people
times square
1:30 pm
the constant current of people
must find strategic places
to shoot photos and video
45th
middle island
a switch box on a wide green pole
wide shadow
i move to the pole
listening for the whine of the subways
beneath the grate
it’s the only place with that particular sound
but the crowd is too loud
i reach the pole
stop to position my camera
a guy jumps from the shadow of the pole
gives me a flyer for a tour bus
I thought of the movie The Lion.
i nodded, not sure how to respond.
“how many languages you speak?” He demanded, followed by,
“Parlez vous, Fr…” “Sprechen ze…”
Ashamed, I said "none," but then “Puedo habla espanol.”
“Meh. Everyone around here speaks Spanish.
It’s like speaking English. I'm Felix."
I said, “Mr. Bonus Round.”
But I think “Mr. Bonus Round” can learn a lot from this guy.
“Are you usually here?”
“They put me on different corners.”
“I’ll come find you again.”
met another guy on 44th and 7th.
I had stopped next to a trash can
A voice: “It never stops.”
Vaguely Eastern European. Male.
I turned.
Easy smile.
Tall. Handsome. Late 20s?
Very manly.
“No, it doesn’t. Except Sunday morning. Not a soul in sight.”
He pondered that.
“I’m from Belarus. Do you know where that is?” he laughed.
“You probably don’t.”
No. I couldn’t picture it on a map but,
“Eastern Europe, right? Was once part of the Soviet Union.”
“We are not part of it now.”
His easy smile evaporated for just a moment.
“I’ve been working in New Jersey and I came in to see it for the first time.”
We both looked at the coordinated masses streaming around us.
He said, “I like it.”
WED
a short walk
my first after my surgery
met two people
times square
1:30 pm
the constant current of people
must find strategic places
to shoot photos and video
45th
middle island
a switch box on a wide green pole
wide shadow
i move to the pole
listening for the whine of the subways
beneath the grate
it’s the only place with that particular sound
but the crowd is too loud
i reach the pole
stop to position my camera
a guy jumps from the shadow of the pole
gives me a flyer for a tour bus
Older. 50s? Dark skin.
Salt and pepper beard and hair.
Later, said he was Indian.
he asks, gruffly, “where ya from?”
“i live here. just out for a walk.”
“yeah? you look like the tourists from sweden or norway.”
“that’s my ancestry. i bet you get to know them all standing here.”
“i’m a child of god!” he proclaimed. “Shall I prove it to you?”
“okay.”
“i have no father or mother. i have no last name!
when i got my social security number, they told me,
‘you have no parents’
and that’s how i know God is my father.”
“i’m a child of god!” he proclaimed. “Shall I prove it to you?”
“okay.”
“i have no father or mother. i have no last name!
when i got my social security number, they told me,
‘you have no parents’
and that’s how i know God is my father.”
I thought of the movie The Lion.
i nodded, not sure how to respond.
“how many languages you speak?” He demanded, followed by,
“Parlez vous, Fr…” “Sprechen ze…”
Ashamed, I said "none," but then “Puedo habla espanol.”
“Meh. Everyone around here speaks Spanish.
It’s like speaking English. I'm Felix."
I said, “Mr. Bonus Round.”
But I think “Mr. Bonus Round” can learn a lot from this guy.
“Are you usually here?”
“They put me on different corners.”
“I’ll come find you again.”
met another guy on 44th and 7th.
I had stopped next to a trash can
A voice: “It never stops.”
Vaguely Eastern European. Male.
I turned.
Easy smile.
Tall. Handsome. Late 20s?
Very manly.
“No, it doesn’t. Except Sunday morning. Not a soul in sight.”
He pondered that.
“I’m from Belarus. Do you know where that is?” he laughed.
“You probably don’t.”
No. I couldn’t picture it on a map but,
“Eastern Europe, right? Was once part of the Soviet Union.”
“We are not part of it now.”
His easy smile evaporated for just a moment.
“I’ve been working in New Jersey and I came in to see it for the first time.”
We both looked at the coordinated masses streaming around us.
He said, “I like it.”
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