4.11.2011

passenger


waiting for the train in union station today felt like a scene from a movie.  i searched out an empty wooden bench to wait my hour-and-a-half.  hungry, i found concessions, and was pleasantly surprised by a nice big bowl of steamy aromatic udon from the japanese family that ran the shop.  as i blew on the fat noodles to try and cool them, the benches filled around me.  a loony-bin type of fellow made incoherent conversation about the military and old wars fought, talking at but not with the white bearded man next to me.  when asked if i was his daughter, for shits and giggles, i said yes.  i watched a squealing toddler eat a sponge bob popsicle, and teenage girls in stretchpants and short shorts head to the ladies room to primp.  i tried to avoid eye contact and subsequent conversation with a lost and lonely looking older traveling man, but found him pleasant and non-offensive instead.  i looked down the bench: a couple eating strawberries from a clear plastic box, resting their feet on suitcases, a man on his laptop, and a bearded fellow with a backwards hat reading, whom i happened to recognize as dominic. i called out, hey don't i know youyes he said, that look of familiarity in his eyes, an old friend of james, a comfort in a sea of anonymity.  we sat across from each other on the six hour ride, its better to sit next to someone you know, alternately sleeping, reading, knitting, and chatting pleasantly. he said he didn't mind if i painted his portrait.  my hand was wobbly with the churning of the train, the light was waning and inconsistent through the blurred landscape windows, but even still, he said he thought it had a good resemblance.

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