A re-post, my friends, while Your Favorite Two-Legged Pearl (surely there are no other "Pearls" in your life?!) works on her latest chapbook..
I have 48 pages to work with...
Hope you enjoy.
One of my favorite aspects of living in a city is the number of people you come to recognize on a daily basis.
Sure, we may not know each other, but hey! Don’t you ride my bus? Don’t we walk past each other, ride the same elevator?
I’m not saying we need to exchange holiday cards or bum cigarettes from each other, but I think it warrants a nod, don’t you?
I think a nod just says so much. “Hello there! I see you, and acknowledge your place in the world.”
I enjoy the cordial impersonality of the city.
But a little personality isn’t bad, either.
I was on the bus the other day when I recognized the head of the woman in front of me. (It’s one of my many talents, the ability to recognize the backs of heads, along with recognizing people by their gait and being able to open doors with my feet. But that’s probably best left for another post.)
Where was I?
Oh, yes. I was in the midst of recognizing the head of the woman in front of me on the bus.
It was my Aunt Joanne.
I leaned forward and tugged a bit of hair at the back of her neck. She swatted my hand away without turning around.
So I did it again.
She turned around somewhat indignantly, ready to give the freak bothering her the what-for.
“Hey, what do you think – why, Miss Pearl!”
She beamed at me. “I thought you were some sort of freak,” she exclaimed.
“There are people who would say you aren’t far off the mark,” I laughed.
We chatted for the 10 or so blocks before her stop, whereupon she de-bussed, as we say on the commuter-circuit, and I continued on.
Every day we run into people with varying relationships to ourselves, some of whom we know and some of whom we don’t.
When you run across my Aunt Joanne – and some day, you just might – nod at her for me, will ya?
Because I’m going to nod at yours.
17 comments:
I don't mind a nod, but I hate the talk,
"good morning" or even worse "Have a nice day" make me want to scream,
"I DON'T KNOW YOU!!"
I know, I might have issues to resolve.
A nod..maybe a figer twiddle..a knowing glance. It's almost like blogging isn't it?
Pearl, you have my permission to pull the hair of all my relatives.
Happy to nod. However, hair tugging I will refrain from because, given my luck, I would undoubtedly pull on the wrong back-of-the-head and be proclaimed some sort of, well, you know ...
Just a thought--what if you give someone a hair tug & his/her wig slides off?
My grandkids think it's fun to yank my hair while I'm sleeping. I was certain that it wasn't going tobe your aunt :)
Never stop writing
ok, miss pearl! ;) xoxoxo
Hari Om
Yup. I like the nodding and acknowledging. One must be a tad cautious in the out and out greeting though. More than once have I approached someone with the full YAM beam, arms outstretched, only to discover they are an entirely different species from what I thought. It can turn into a whole lot of scary in no time at all.
For them. Not me. I just continue beaming... YAM xxx
And if you see me on a bus some where... feel free to pull OUT any of my gray hair. (All other non-gray hair though is off limits) -J
Such a friendly person, you are, Pearl. I haven't met you (on a bus or in line at Wal Mart)...but I think that if I did, we would be friends. I like your spirit...
Hugs to you,
J.
Not only am I going to nod at her, but I'm going to pull on her hair!
Love this post!!!! Isn't it a thrill to see someone "in public" whom you never relate to except in one particular place (like the secretary at the dentist office, or the lady at the pharmacy, or someone from church). For me, the thrill comes when I can actually remember where I've met them before! :)
Rosemary
There is another Pearl in my life... but she's four legged and mews at me from time to time...
You are the only Pearl in my life!
And, yes, I will nod at your aunt. I might even smile at her too. :D
Our town is so small it hardly has any impersonality. That can be a bad thing, but mostly it's good :)
So, if your aunt Joanne ever visits, she'll get more than a nod - we'll say hi, strike up a conversation and attempt to find out if we're related five generations back ...
It's highly unlikely that I'll ever run into your Aunt, so I'll just nod at everybody, okay? No hair pulling though.
You might have to settle for a nephew and his new wife who are moving to your town in the next month or so.
Tell me how a Detroit suburban boy met a Minneapolis girl in the exurbs of San Francisco get married and leave earthquake central for snow storm city?
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