April 18, 2007

How?

I was sitting next to an elderly Asian man on the bus today, and I noticed that he was reading from a list on a small, folded piece of white paper. The words were in tiny and precise writing. The title at top was "How?" Underneath was a long list of bulleted points. Being quite the list-maker myself, I was incredibly curious. The first three read:

How do you open a bottle?
How do you make orange juice?
How do I dream in English?

I immediately whipped out a little book in which to jot them down so I wouldn't forget. I was totally intrigued but having trouble making out anything beyond the first three items. When a single seat opened up he got up and moved--perhaps he sensed me reading and taking notes over his shoulder?--and I felt desperate to see the rest of that list.

I found myself plotting how I could get another look. I fantasized about snatching it out of his hand and running with it. (Is that completely wrong?) I figured I could just get up and go stand beside him at his new seat, although that would be pretty obvious. As I was determining that I did not actually care if it was obvious, he got off at Judah.

And now I will never know.

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