While I was drawing this, a man with long slicked back gray hair, wearing an Hawaiian-style shirt, khaki shorts and pushing a shopping trolley full of black trash bag, stopped in front of me, and held up his finger.
‘We spoke yesterday, right?’ he asked me, and even though I told him no, I didn’t think so, he told me me that though I probably didn’t mean to, I had caused a problem in his thoughts.
And then, despite never having met the man before, I apologised.
‘Oh,’ I said, ‘I apologize.’
The man shook his head slowly, held up his left index finger, waved it side to side, and then told me not to worry.
‘You weren’t aware of what you were doing,’ he said, ‘I’m sure it wasn’t intentional.’
Then the man told me that there were cameras attached to all the FedEx buildings in the country.’You know there are cameras attached all over the FedEx buildings, and that way they know everything that’s going on,’
Then he told me it had something to do with the thoughts that we were thinking.
Oh,” I said, “is that right?’
Then, the man told me a long story about a convenience store.
‘I’m Jewish, and my people bought me a convenience store but there were too many people outside, all around the…,’
But I didn’t hear the rest of the story because just then a line of cars went by, honking at what I did not know.
So I just sat there watching the man’s mouth, nodding my head, trying yet failing to hear fully what he was saying.
After a few moments, the man stopped talking.
‘My name is Richard,’ he said, ‘and I want to thank you for listening to me.’
I told the man my name, that it had been my pleasure, and that if we ran into each other again, I would happily listen to him again.
Then Richard held up his left index finger, waved it side to side smiled, and said thank you.
Today’s listening: Swindled- The Brand (Proctor and Gamble)
A Hundred Houses 