To get to the main branch of the library from my doctor's office, I walk through the Tenderloin.
Past the legit theaters on Geary ('Tis a Pity She's a Whore, A Chorus Line, a one-man show about Shakespeare), then left on Hyde. It's morning still. A man walking toward me has a vivid bruise over his right eye, staining eyelid, brow, and all the way up to the top of his bald head. His toothless cheeks suck in against his gums.
Someone whistles behind me. I don't turn. They whistle again, and a skinny white guy at the next corner turns to grin past me. He raises a chin. A voice from behind me asks how his night went. The man across the street chuckles. The light changes, and I cross toward him, seeing the net of scars across his cheek and jaw. His hair stands out in tufts.
"You find your pot, huh?" the voice behind me calls.
He nods vaguely, grinning, and waves them off, crossing against the light. He heads toward the mini-park, a tiny green space tucked in among the buildings.
Ahead of me is a woman with bright blond hair hanging to her shoulders. She wears shining burgundy lycra tights under a tiny black miniskirt. A blue and green scarf is tied around one ankle, and she wobbles slightly in her green heels. I look for her face as we pass storefront windows, but all I can see are her big Jackie-O sunglasses.
At the library, volunteers are unloading books onto tables out front: "Linux for Dummies" and "Europe on $5 a Day." Passers-by gaze at the books, and the volunteers work silently.
On the front door is a notice - the library is closed until noon. It's a long time until noon.
I walk toward the Muni stop, disappointed. A man sitting on the library's low stone wall catches my eye. He looks big and healthy, and he smiles widely at me. He wears a knit cap with bright orange flames that stand out against his blue-black skin. It looks like a graphic representation of his thoughts.
"You gotta get in where you fit in," he says to me. "If you don't, that's it!"
I smile back at him and nod. The sun shines out from behind a cloud, and I head for my train.
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3 comments:
He's exactly right, and that's the reason I came a-visiting your blog today.
Another great description of daily life. I swear you can make what everyone else sees as the mundane extremely interesting. Just the reminder I needed to look all around me instead of going about my daily life wrapped up in myself, as it's easy to do when I have too much going on.
Thank you both for stopping by! That dude on the wall dropped some wisdom on me, but the full meaning is still unfolding...
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