Memory... "Tiger Eyes"

I thought it was sort of funny that a friend of mine recently brought up a trip to Magic Mountain. It was funny in that odd, coincidental sense. For a while now, I've been thinking of sharing this particular memory and it takes place at Magic Mountain. That recent off-hand mention, to me, is a sign that the story is begging to be told.

It's not a great story. Just a simple memory of another stranger. In the same vein of the last. It takes place some years back. Maybe in 2001 or 2002. A relative from Arizona was staying with the family for an extended visit and my older brother decided to take us out to Magic Mountain sometime during that Summer. I'd never been and always harbored a fear for roller coasters, but I wound up having one of the best times of my life. Apparently I'm an adrenaline and speed junkie in that atmosphere. I really took a liking to that entire world. I cast off my usual paranoia and learned to have a good time. I don't think I spent anytime whatsoever conjuring up images of my life ending in the grips of twisted metal. I guess I was having a good day. :P

Anyway, back to the point of this post. Since it was Summer, it was very crowded. Tons of people were at the park. I think you'd be hard pressed to recognize a familiar face throughout the day. It was stranger after stranger. Though, if I had the opportunity to see these strangers in a line up, I might be able to recognize one of them.

If I were given a map of the park I might be able to pinpoint where this took place. That's the kind of impression he left that day. I remember clearly the idea of food, but I'm not sure if that's because we were looking for a place to eat or if we had just finished eating. Whatever the case, for a few moments the hustle and bustle of the crowds broke. Broke for enough time to reveal him to me. I don't know who he is, who he was with, where he was going, etc. He was just this guy, this stranger. For the most part, I might say no more remarkable than the rest of us. As beautiful and as humble as any other. Except for his eyes.

He had the most... well... I don't even feel comfortable quantifying this sort of beauty. Maybe not the most beautiful eyes ever formed, but enough to leave an impression unlike any other. I thought tiger. That's all I could think. They were the most peculiar shape, size... very unique. I'd never seen anything like them. They were tiger eyes. That's the only way that I can describe them and the only way I've chosen to refer to them since.

It's funny how that happens. How we leave impressions without ever knowing it. He's played a unique role in my universe. Well not him, but his eyes at least. Like I said, I didn't know him. It was the shock and awe of the experience that I was left with. So don't get me wrong, I'm not pining away for him or those eyes. The memory is only there because... well, they were just so unique. It's hard to forget something you've never seen before. Especially when that something is so beautiful.

I don't typically draw portraits of people, but I have been meaning to interpret these eyes through my art. The shock, the awe, the beauty, the serendipity, the obliviousness, etc. I need to pin it down somehow. It's been years and I still haven't found a way around it or through it. It's just there. The thought and the memory. Floating like a cloud, waiting to take shape and rain down on me. It'll come though. Eventually...

DS333, waiting.