(no subject)
Mar. 6th, 2008 03:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badstarI saw the most beautiful thing on the way to work tonight...
Up on North Ave where my street crosses it, there are several churches. I get the bus right in front of one of them.
Beside its entrance, this church has a locked glass door. It doesn't lead into the church, it's basically a little display alcove for a large stone bible with a verse carved into it (can't remember what verse it is).
So tonight, I was waiting there for the bus, and there was an older man across the street. He was walking with a cane and a rather visible bit of difficulty. Seemed to be heading in a definite westward direction down North ave, but he stopped and looked over at the church for a minute, and then started to cross the street (there's no traffic light at the intersection, but there are median strips, so while this was obviously not very easy for him, he was able to pause on the strip for a minute and not have to try and rush across four lanes)
He made it across the street, and came over to the church, stopping at the glass door, looked down at the stone bible for a minute, and then leaned his cane against the building, and then with no indication of previous mobile difficulties, knelt down on the sidewalk for about a minute, and then stood up just as smoothly. Took his cane and turned back across the street and continued westward. For the first few steps, his walking looked much less labored, but returned before he made it back across the street.
It was one of those moments of "wow". For a minute there, something happened.
All at once, I felt like I was intruding to have been standing there, just idly waiting around for a bus, but also very lucky to have been there at the same time- normally, I wouldn't have. I left the house later than usual, and then went to Ghettomart, taking longer than I would have because Gavin had gone too, having opened the door to walk in the house just as I was about to open it to leave. Yay for timing.
Up on North Ave where my street crosses it, there are several churches. I get the bus right in front of one of them.
Beside its entrance, this church has a locked glass door. It doesn't lead into the church, it's basically a little display alcove for a large stone bible with a verse carved into it (can't remember what verse it is).
So tonight, I was waiting there for the bus, and there was an older man across the street. He was walking with a cane and a rather visible bit of difficulty. Seemed to be heading in a definite westward direction down North ave, but he stopped and looked over at the church for a minute, and then started to cross the street (there's no traffic light at the intersection, but there are median strips, so while this was obviously not very easy for him, he was able to pause on the strip for a minute and not have to try and rush across four lanes)
He made it across the street, and came over to the church, stopping at the glass door, looked down at the stone bible for a minute, and then leaned his cane against the building, and then with no indication of previous mobile difficulties, knelt down on the sidewalk for about a minute, and then stood up just as smoothly. Took his cane and turned back across the street and continued westward. For the first few steps, his walking looked much less labored, but returned before he made it back across the street.
It was one of those moments of "wow". For a minute there, something happened.
All at once, I felt like I was intruding to have been standing there, just idly waiting around for a bus, but also very lucky to have been there at the same time- normally, I wouldn't have. I left the house later than usual, and then went to Ghettomart, taking longer than I would have because Gavin had gone too, having opened the door to walk in the house just as I was about to open it to leave. Yay for timing.
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Date: 2008-03-07 06:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-12 04:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-12 04:23 am (UTC)