Sunny Days

Obviously, to the consistent readers of this blog (all three or four of ya), I've been wanting to stay far, far away from my fellow human beings lately...to the point where I'm walking into South Station on the platform thinking, just walk, would you people. Just get out of my way. (Imagine, I want a whole trainload of people to move to my whim.) Or walking through the station thinking, hey, fatty, get the hell out of my way...people just waddling along...I don't understand this...don't they know where they're going? They do this everyday...just go, would you?

Out on the street standing on the curb I actually moved far away from some guy who walked up to wait for the light to change...and with his green trench coat and EMS backpack on his back and his balding head acting like a beacon he looked like such a cliche...I know he noticed I moved away from him...I didn't care...in my leather jacket and jeans and boots he probably was glad I did.

And walking along the sidewalk I was coming up to one of the many regular street people. This man is always very snappily dressed in a workout suit, Red Sox cap, and a pair of safety goggles. He holds a cane and a cup. I knew I had fifty cents on me...that's all the money I had. Give it up, I thought. I want to give it all away and completely lighten my load. Just throw everything away and go live in a trailer in the dessert.

Even before I had dropped it in his cup he started talking...what in the world?...it was like putting a coin in a slot and the gears start grinding and he's giving me the weather report...he actually was giving me something in return for the little pittance I gave him. The gist of it was the closer we're going to get to the weekend, the warmer and sunnier it's going to be...by the time he got to Sunday it might hit 90 and he was enthusiastic about it...And so was I because this weekend is the first break I've had in years...I'm taking a four-day weekend and Bob and I are driving down to Sue's Thursday night after work...and it's going to be sunny and 90! We're taking our bikes over to Martha's Vineyard and maybe even Nantucket and maybe my girls will come down for a day and maybe an overnight and for four solid days I won't have to think about work or theater or anything, just enjoy the people I love...