I am not sure if I am an action hero. I suppose by not denying myself the street or by not running away from what might have happened I could be an action hero. it required courage. it required reflection. it required the attitude that I belong here.
nothing 'happened' in terms of a tangible sense of experience.
I was walking in my neighbourhood with music plugged in my ears, keys and mobile in hand. It is a lovely evening. It is nice and breezy. I found myself looking up at the trees and the movement of the leaves. It was beautiful. I walked past the park to find a bunch of boys looking up at me. I said to myself, maybe they think I am attractive...I should not fear them...they are just curious. forced myself to take it as a compliment and walked ahead.
I saw camels! They were there...just hanging out eating leaves from the trees of a fenced park.
A black car passed by. I noticed the man in the car looking at me. It continued from the rear view mirror. I think looking at someone consistently is rude.
This morning I noticed a young man looking at me while I was buying groceries. He wasnt conscious of it. When I looked up and 'caught' him looking at me , he looked away...awkward. I took that as a compliment because he didn't assert his power on me through his gaze. There was a sense of ' im sorry' when he looked away...and I appreciated that. The guy in the car instead was assertive, aggressive and persistent and sometimes there is nothing more putting off than that.
I noticed a man on a bike looking at me. I did not react. He was simply riding past ofcourse.
A few minutes later I noticed him again. I wasnt walking in one stretch but being snake like through the neighbourhood. A few minutes later he re appeared. By now I was a bit suspicious but did not want to jump the gun. I said to myself " maybe he is a broker and is looking out for an address" or something to convince myself that I was safe. I continued walking and he rode past again. This time the timing was shorter. I was determined not to run back home...because that's what we do don't we? We run back to where it is safe and we deny ourselves the streets, the parks, the trees because of some random stalker, starer, comment passer, who is just there to do a little bit of 'sight seeing' every sunday evening. When he rode past again I made it obvious but casually that I was noting his number on my phone. He did not ride past me again.
What could have happened though? who is this man? why why why was he doing that? I just want to be able to walk . I just want to be able to day dream while walking.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
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