Reading Time on the Sidewalk

 

Every time I drove by, be it in the morning, afternoon or early evening, he would be sitting there on the steps that led down the slope of the sidewalk in front of his house. The street was a steep slope therefore the sidewalk had steps to facilitate the pedestrians who chose to walk up or down that steep slope. The cars needed to shift into a specific gear which made the engines roar much louder than on a plain flat road.

He was an older gentleman who looked like he was in his 70s. Nonetheless, he could have been younger, perhaps life had taken a toll on his body. I used to enjoy noticing that every week he would be reading a different book. Sometimes a newspaper or magazine. Nothing would distract his attention from those words stamped on those pages. People could walk by. Cars could drive up and down the street, in addition to the motorcycles with their horrible engines. Nonetheless, his focus was totally on those ideas, stories and opinions imprinted on those pages. When I drove by, I imagined that one day I would walk up that steep street instead of driving by and talk to him about the material he was reading. Just out of curiosity.

It had been a year and a half since I had driven up that street (stuck at home social distancing). However, today, I decided to do so as I had to go out for my groceries, I took the longer route to my home. When I looked at his house, there he was wearing a mask and letting all those ideas soak into his mind; a safe way to be sane during these crazy times. Reading about stories that can take you away from reality. I had to stop the car because apparently there was traffic on that steep street, which was absurd to me.

As I looked at him in awe, I think he felt my stare – a person’s stare can pierce you - he looked up and waved at me. Perhaps he could see through my mask that I was smiling and just happy to know that he was OK and living life as he always did, or he was just calling my attention because the driver behind me was losing his patience and started honking his horn frantically.

Written: May 19, 2021

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