Friday, December 11, 2009

One quiet moment


I took a bus to downtown Seattle the other day, as i sometimes do.

While i sat reading, waiting for my next bus, a rare moment of quiet descended on my little section of the city, causing me to look up from my book.


I looked to my right, curious as to the source of a tiny sound. It was the toenails of one of the ubiquitous pigeons clicking on the sidewalk. He cocked his head to look at me, trying to intuit the possibility of my possessing food.

The quiet was ended by the raucous laughter of two women walking behind the bus stop. I looked over to see them clinging together, one woman hopping on one foot while her other foot was no longer shod.


Her momentum had carried her forward without her shoe when the fashionable heel had been snared by a sidewalk crack.


She hopped back to retrieve her shoe and they continued on, still laughing. I smile at their fun.

7 comments:

Lynnea said...

Not sure if it's me, in a strange emotional mood or what, but your post and label made me sad.

Sometimes living in a world where conversations can happen without my comprehension of a single word (happening less and less thank goodness), I can tend to feel left out of life and the flow around me. The women you describe are a fun reminder that life is where you look for it. Fun is what you make of it. And you yourself show that being alone isn't always an undesirous thing.

The Topiary Cow said...

Unlike Maggie, Cow just felt sorry for the pigeon, forced to forage among the cig butts and sidewalk cracks.

Wishing the pigeon well...

Covered N. Cats said...

People watching, my favorite sport. Allows one to project onto someone else's moment, and hijack the memory for ones own.

Independence, is something we need for ourselves, and loved ones want for us, provided it doesn't interfere with their own desire to be needed. Some things are given by holding back.

luckyzmom said...

If I believe life is joyous, it is.

caro said...

Perfect gem of a post. Made even better when sipping a nice red.

meno said...

maggie, the label and the post started out unrelated. But in the end, it all ties together because we are experts at making patterns. And see? I do need you.

top cow, i do find that sad. They are the ultimate adapters though, pigeons.

cat covered, it's more common to see off-putting moments downtown. I think that's why this stuck with me. Most people (including me)are rushing around, glancing furtively around to check their safety.

luckyzmom, it's a pleasure to find little bits of fun in the ordinary.

caro, thank you. :) And what isn't made better by a nice red?

nick said...

I expect the pigeon was chortling at the poor human having to retrieve her fashionable footwear while pigeons can do very nicely without such things.