Monday, July 23, 2007

A man at the bus stop

On Sunday as I was walking towards the bus stop near the giant aluminum bat, there was an older man sitting near the bus shelter with his belongings near him. It's been pretty common this summer to see homeless men perch out at bus stations and curb sides, and for the most part, I haven't paid much attention.
As I was about to walk by him, something flew out of his hand and bounced onto the road, a plastic bottle cap or a rock? He quickly and stiffly got up to cut off my path, said a greeting of sorts, and picked up the lost object as I continued passing on.
Standing there for another few minutes, someone else was coming towards the bus stop. this time, I saw that the man was shooting something out of his hand on purpose, that he cut off this other person in the exact same manner and timing.
Confrontational yet not aggressive, the man demanded to be noticed. he forced a casual interaction beyond being invisible. and for once, I did pay attention to this other person living and sleeping in the same neighborhood and city.

As an afterthought: I couldn't help but think this would be great performance art.

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