July 1, 2006
He's got cornrows more intricately patterned on his scalp then the Subway systems many interlocked and intertwined lines and his fingers are small but steady. He grips the pole keeping steady with his ashy brown toddler size hands pressing so hard that the pale parts of his fingers turn pink. I stair at him and smile. I've taken to staring at even more children in New York then in California, they are the only people who aren't scared to look and occasionally smile back. Here I feel honored just to get a pleasant nod in acknowledgement of smile offers directed toward strangers, neighbors and people I'm crammed against for greater parts of an hour on the J train. The little boy doesn't smile back at me, he just stairs with gigantic brown eyes at the quickly moving world around him. A man gets off the train holding a baby and the woman falling asleep next to gets up just in time to realize she has missed her stop and her "baby Daddy" now standing outside at the station waves mockingly and laughs as the train takes off and she mouths "You fucking asshole son of a bitch!" through the window. She begins to cry gasping and heaving with her tears hidden poorly by the window reflection she leans against. All I want to do is walk over, touch her back and say, "leave the inconsiderate SOB." But I can't, this is NY.
He's got cornrows more intricately patterned on his scalp then the Subway systems many interlocked and intertwined lines and his fingers are small but steady. He grips the pole keeping steady with his ashy brown toddler size hands pressing so hard that the pale parts of his fingers turn pink. I stair at him and smile. I've taken to staring at even more children in New York then in California, they are the only people who aren't scared to look and occasionally smile back. Here I feel honored just to get a pleasant nod in acknowledgement of smile offers directed toward strangers, neighbors and people I'm crammed against for greater parts of an hour on the J train. The little boy doesn't smile back at me, he just stairs with gigantic brown eyes at the quickly moving world around him. A man gets off the train holding a baby and the woman falling asleep next to gets up just in time to realize she has missed her stop and her "baby Daddy" now standing outside at the station waves mockingly and laughs as the train takes off and she mouths "You fucking asshole son of a bitch!" through the window. She begins to cry gasping and heaving with her tears hidden poorly by the window reflection she leans against. All I want to do is walk over, touch her back and say, "leave the inconsiderate SOB." But I can't, this is NY.
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I cant wait to meet you!
AMERICA IS A STRANGE PLACE. NO?
NOT THAT IV BEEN TO MANY PLACES.... YET.