Hello Stranger

So I took a walk today, as I normally do. I used to live in the city over and so I walk there from time to time, it's a familiar place. I don't walk too deep in the city since my starting points are different now. Taking my old route seems like a bit much, but I was in a walking mood so I went a little further than usual.

First I met up with this crazy chick on a bike. She came up from behind me and was saying something. I could tell I was being talked at, or maybe yelled at? But I couldn't make out anything that was said, not with my Etymotics in place. They seal out most every noise except the music. I suppose it's a bit dangerous, but I'm very careful about where I'm going and what's around me. Still, a runaway car or a swift pipe to the head have a much greater chance of making contact more covertly than they ever did before. I think this chick was angry with me for some reason. I believe she was demented. Homeless for sure. I've a soft spot in my heart for this sort. I always wonder if there's some profound wisdom we can glean from their insane rambling if we just take the time to listen. Most everyone seems to ignore the homeless in this way. They not only want to avoid their path, but they don't even want to look... and the one thing that can get through, their voices, they still manage to block out. They're heard but not listened to. I made sure to remove my earphones, but it was too late. By the time I got them out she was already gone. I wonder what she had to say...

When I was walking my old beat I passed this tree. I walked passed it without paying much mind to it, it was only on my way back home that I got a real good look at it and then my mind was flooded. This tree grows on the sidewalk. I couldn't tell you what kind of tree it is, I'm not good at that sort of thing. When I lived in that city I used to walk past it all the time. The funny thing about it was that there was this tiny nook where the two main branches of the tree diverged and created a little pocket of shelf of sorts. Each day I'd walk there I would find a toy there waiting for me. I was always amazed at how late in the day I'd walk past it and still find the toy there waiting for me. No one had ever picked them up, never stole them. I never took them either. I only just picked them up and smiled. They were the oddest things. Plastic baubles and stuffed dolls. I wonder where they came from. Not just who they came from, but where it was this stranger found them. Why place them there in the first place? I think it was for the smiles. It always made me smile. Who were they for? I wondered if I was the only one who knew of this secret. I never found out who this secret Santa was. But I guess he's gone. I walked there today and found the tree empty. Did they leave when I left? I wonder where he or she is now. For a second I played around with the idea of becoming them, taking up the torch so to speak. But I wouldn't really know how to go about it. It's a rare talent to make people smile day after day without a hitch. I don't know that I could manage. But I would like to try...


DS333, smiles.