She was across the street but not out of my range. My eyes watched her walk by rather briskly and it didn’t even seem like she knew I was looking at her. It was hard not to. She had these big bouncy curls and I am a sucker for long waves and curls on a woman’s head. I honestly couldn’t tell you if she had a great butt or what her body was like. I was transfixed on that hair. It bounced with her every step and I did try to get a look at her face but with large sunglasses draped across her head and the distance involved I couldn’t see much of it. Before I knew it her curls had bounced out of view.
A few minutes later a thin six foot tall woman walked into my sights and again was directly across the street. She had on tight, suggestive clothes and conversely she had her hair cut so short it might have only been a half inch long. With her leather jacket and scarf to go with her tight pants and high boots she looked like some sort of model. I thought to myself, she’s kind of attractive and then she stopped walking and pulled out a cigarette. She lit up and just like that my interest in her was up in smoke. I swear it ruins the attraction for me every time. There’s hardly anything that breaks my heart more than a pretty woman smoking a cigarette. How can someone so attractive on the outside inhale something so ugly on the inside?
Those of you who know me know why I feel the way I do about smoking but for those of you who don’t let’s just say it’s had a big effect on my family over the years.
After the tall short haired woman took a puff she struck a pose that I could only define as “attitude”. She was out on a busy street and she knew people were looking at her. When she resumed walking RuPaul had joined us and was singing his/her song Supermodel… “You better work!” (Sometimes I think I am a lot like J.D. from Scrubs) Don’t worry RuPaul, she was working it. I thought the whole thing was a little too much for a chilly evening on Elmwood Avenue but she had my attention so I can’t really talk. Although I have no problem writing about it afterwards it would seem.
Before the smoke even dissipated into the air here came the next contestant for my attention. This guy was pushing a shopping cart down Elmwood. That might be considered a little odd. The bottom half of the cart was full of bottles and cans. Now one would figure that might justify the cart but what filled the top half of the cart is where things got a bit uncertain. Barely sitting nearly halfway into the cart was a television. It was at least a 20 incher and it wasn’t the sleek, thin HD style but the old tube style.
Coming from the lower west side I’d see the occasional appliance or piece of furniture being walked down the street in a shopping cart. This usually meant one of 4 things: 1-He bought or borrowed this TV from a friend. 2- He picked it up off of a curb or someone’s garbage. 3- He stole the TV or 4- He was moving. I don’t know which it was and frankly it didn’t matter. All that mattered was the entertaining moment ahead. Considering that the guy was headed to the store to cash in maybe a dollar and change of returnables I was thinking this might be fun. Was he going to go into Wilson Farms with the television? I was dying to know. What could they say? They don’t sell TVs there so I didn’t think they could have a problem but what about this guy? All the bottles and cans were underneath the television in the cart and he would have to take it out to get to them.
As he made his way into the parking lot and towards the doors the suspense was killing me. Then it happened. He stopped the cart and reached inside. He pulled the TV out and placed it down on the ground next to the bike rack. He then drove the cart inside to cash in his recyclables leaving the television unattended… unless you count me staring at it from across the street.
Now directly across the street from me was a television sitting on the ground. I wondered if people would do double takes as they came out of the store and saw it. Surprisingly it seemed no one noticed. At least a dozen people came out and walked right past it before Mr. Cart returned. No one looked at it. No one double-taked or paid any attention to it. People were too deep into their own little worlds, their phones or their friends to notice. I began to think I needed to redefine my definition of normalcy when just before the “rightful” owner came through the door one guy walked past and actually slowed and looked over at it a few times. What was he thinking? Why was it there? That might have been one thing. Who knows what else? Perhaps he and I shared the same thought at that moment.
I watched the man place the television back in the cart and instead of heading back up Elmwood whence he came, he turned down Auburn and headed towards the west. Up above the trees and the store the sun was setting and was nearly gone. In a strange way it was like this guy pushing the cart was heading off into the sunset. As I watched him disappear off into the distance I looked at the time and realized my clothes were definitely done. I had to go in and collect them. I would have to wait about a week before I can once again sit on that corner and watch life the same way.
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