2/19/11--This is a short entry but by far the most emotional so far.
As I was sitting at the ferry station, I noticed a man coming towards me. He was so obviously gay, I thought oh my goodness I can't wait to write about him. His walk, his mannerisms...the clothes he was wearing...He was a tall, thin, african american man. He had his long hair wrapped in a turban like twisty thing, and his beautiful skin and large eyes were amazingly accented by the pure silver eyeliner outlining his eyes, his lashes were lush and heavily mascara-ed. He was impeccably dressed and minced as he walked. He took these short steps, walking almost on his tip toes so that he almost glided...if he wasn't so bouncy.
He sat behind me and asked me, "young miss, could you tell me what time the ferry arrives?" "I believe they come every half hour, so 9:00" "thank you...oh I'm sure I could have used these old trifocals to look at the ferry schedule over there, I can see anything from a million miles away with these things." He made me smile, it made for a pleasant way to start the day.
He called someone on the phone, calling them honey and 'chile. I thought he was sweet and he started telling his story, "yes he came over for dinner, he presented me with flowers and a ring and said all that about being life partners..." I stopped listening but I felt happy that he had found someone...unfortunantly I missed the explanation for what happened next..."I turned him around and he was all blue in the face, I had to lay him down on the ground and do chest compressions. I was on the phone with 911 and I was able to get him breathing until the medics came, but he died on my floor. They just left him there and I had to maneuver his body onto the bed. I wasn't weirded out...I mean yes I was touching a dead body and that is strange, but it was still him..."
The ferry came and I had to get up and leave. I wanted to tell him I was sorry and how horrible that was! I wanted to ask him why they just left his partner there on the floor? I wanted to ask if he had said yes or no to the proposal? But he was still talking on the phone and I didn't want to interrupt. I was so sad for him. I hope he is ok. What a place I live in, that I get to peek into so many different lives...I move in and out of this persons frame of reference, and at each point of contact I learn about someone, or I get a smile that makes my day better or I smile and make their day better. How lucky am I?
No comments:
Post a Comment