2 cultural phenomena which I think deserve names:
You are waiting at a street corner for someone you have never met, or who you have not seen for such a long time that you think you might not recognize them any more. You wait for this person at a busy intersection. Hundreds of people pass you by as you wait. In the distance you think you see the person for whom you are waiting, but as that person gets nearer you see that it is a black woman wearing a red sweater. You are waiting for a white man wearing a blue jacket. A black woman wearing a red sweater does not resemble a white man wearing a blue jacket in any way, but as you cast your seeking eyes into the distance it seems anything could be possible. This mistake happens numerous times as you wait. The white man with the blue jacket appears in the distance, but as he nears he transforms into what he really is: an elderly Hispanic woman wearing a purple cardigan.
The other phenomenon is one I just experienced: Walking on a wide and not-crowded city sidewalk you find that you just cannot get past a person or 2 people walking in front of you. They are not intentionally trying to block your path or get in your way. They simply don’t realize that they are veering and swerving ever so subtly enough that your gait is slowed and your forward progress retarded. It is annoying as hell, but when I encounter this I usually just stop walking, stop cold in my tracks, and let the offending obstructionists amble on, unaware that they are leaving my tiny frustration behind them.
(“Phenomena” make me want to sing “Menomenah” [however that is spelled], the Muppet song).
I am at a Starbucks which is next to a DEAL$ which is next to a GameStop which is next to an HSBC and a Subway Sammich Shop and a Boston Market and a Michael’s Crafts Store.
Talking in full voice a ma at a nearby table seems very interested in himself, talking about how he goes to Florida every winter but that this year he decided not to go. Now he is explaining how his retail store went out of business. He blames it on many things, but is presently focusing on the credit card companies and their onerous fees for credit card purchases.
Everything makes me nervous on some level. This egg salad sandwich, for instance, is hard for me to hold steady. I have never encountered this particular egg salad sammich and that fact, that particle of newness and novelty — not just of the sammich itself but also its clustery, clumsy packaging — makes me nervous. And now that I am settled in to my seat I find that the table is uneven, that it wobbles. I must hold the base of the table down with both my feet, both my feet, both my feet.
A woman and a teenage girl at another table are discussing guardianship and immigration. I take it the woman is taking responsibility for the girl but I can’t tell if she’s adopting. The woman is making calls, making plans and arranging meetings with lawyers and immigration officials. Immigration exams cost $175. The girl is wearing a shirt which is completely covered with American flaggery, and she is studying papers contained in a thick binder.
