in which i use quotations marks and italics to emphasize irritation with basic human idiocy.

down at the bottom of the hill, at a busy-ish intersection of a busy road there stands this guy.

he just stands there.

for awhile, he held a really small, barely legible sign advertising his wife's homemade jewelry. she sat at a table in the driveway of a house, belonging to them i'm assuming, just a few yards away from the corner.

then, after awhile, he wasn't holding a sign and you didn't see the wife. but, he still stood there. right at the corner. like he was waiting to cross the road. but he's not. he's just there.

and at first it was like, oh, he's standing there. and then he was there all. the. time. then the kids started asking questions about why he might be standing there.

to the lord of the ring's credit he didn't take some dimwitted, annoyed view of the whole thing in front of the kids like a lot of adults might. he just simply said

"i think he likes to just stand there and watch the world go by."

and even when the kids would get into it further with the whys and whatnots, he would just say

"that just seems to be what he likes to do."

which i thought was a really great take on it. and then the whole scenario became less "strange" and "out of the ordinary" and more zen. it became legitimate, if you must have things legitimized in life to be "okay".

and some people must.

anyhow, this morning at yoga one of the women mentioned the guy at the corner. then another woman chimed in because she sees him too. which got the attention of another few women who added their questions and barely disguised irritation and annoyance. the standard fare of those who cannot wrap their heads around anything their heads are not already wrapped around.

"he just stands there?"

"are you sure he's not just trying to cross the road?"

"what do you mean 'he just stands there?' "

"well, he does. like he's going to cross the road, but he doesn't. it's really strange."

"makes me want to lock my doors when i get to the corner."

"oh, i definitely would!"

and on and on and on.

can i tell you this guy is about 70 if he's a day? okay, maybe not that old. but he looks that old. like life hasn't been as kind to him as it has to others. and i've seen him move. and it ain't too swift. in all the months of traveling down to the bottom of the hill waiting to turn left never once have i ever thought to lock my doors.

so here are these women, closer to his age than mine. way closer. and here they are at this place in life just baffled and annoyed by this guy and his action. or by his NON action more like it. scared even.

and i can't imagine what it is or has been in their lives that render them incapable of understanding such a simple action. incapable of even trying to get on any sort of level what would lead a person to just be.

would it be "better" if he had a chair? a book? was standing watching a river, a lake, or boats? if the setting were prettier, quieter, more "reflective" than a busy road full of cars trying to carry their drivers everywhere faster faster faster than the day before?

what would it take to legitimize this man's actions?

which begs the question just what makes just being "okay?"

some might argue that getting up at the crack of dawn in barely mid 20's weather and getting into a freezing car and driving on icy roads just to lay down and maneuver your body into wretched shapes to the beat of dippy music with a room full of other people might be a bit suspect in terms of ways to spend your time.

but that's some people's zen. and in terms of a person's zen/hobby/happy place who gets to decide? (barring of course anything that harms another person, etc. etc. etc. of course that goes without saying, but you'd be surprised how many would need me to say it. so i said it. so there.)

how come his standing on the corner watching the cars go by is any less legit than someone else's pretzel shaped deep breathing in soft clothing?

i say find your zen and let other people worry about theirs.

speaking of which and moving right along, there's a NEW WINE BLOG TONIGHT!!! grin! grin!

x.

oh, and p.s. it has been brought to my attention that some people don't know how to access my wine blog. if you go to the left sidebar of the blog to the LINKS section, you will see a link that says wine blog. glug. glug. click on that and it's happy sipping!