Tuesday, November 23, 2004 Long Reflection

I got off work really early today. I had eaten five big pieces of chicken from Church’s when I got home, because there was no rice filler…so I really craved something chocolaty when I was done. I put my slippers on and decided I was going to 711 for a treat. I walked outside wearing the clothes I intend go to bed in: a dingy off-white sweatshirt with UCLA on it, my favorite ancient t-shirt underneath but hanging out, and some oversized cut-off sweats. I didn’t care. I was pretty damn comfortable. Well at least I still had some make-up from work this morning and I figured I looked alright. I went outside and headed towards my car but my legs didn’t want to stop. The breeze was cool and tender, the sun was bright but not hot, and the streets were silent in the midday. The refreshed feeling convinced me to walk to 711. The day was just too nice. I listened to the sand pop and crack under my slippers and observed the streets around me. I only saw one person outside of their house. It was a young Filipino guy with sunglasses. He seemed to be fiddling with his phone. I passed right by his house. Funny when I did that, my footsteps seemed to get louder. Then, at the corner of the street, I saw a woman. She looked a little scary. She was small with graying hair to her shoulders and beady eyes. I avoided contact with her and as I passed by I heard her mumbling to herself. I wondered if she was crazy. The road ahead seemed very unfamiliar for some reason. I saw the place in more detail then I ever could in the car. The area seemed new and there were more stores then I thought there were. I walked past a plaza that I didn’t even know existed. I had passed by this place many times before but I had never noticed. Right outside 711, a man was stepping out of his old truck. He had a prosthetic arm. I wondered what had happened to him. His clothes made me think he was a hard worker and his truck hinted to the idea too. The man opened the door to a little Asian lady with two young children and I wondered if he was going to open the door for me too. To my surprise, another man held the door open. I told him thank you. I had intentions of buying some chocolate when I entered the store, but once inside, the craving of ice cream grew very strong. I bought a king size, triple chocolate ice cream cone for 2 bucks. Ha, I thought it was one buck, but no, it was two. That was perfectly fine, but funny, when the lady at the register had to remind me of the other dollar. I opened the treat, anxious to eat it and began the trek home. As I ate my cone, with a content little smile on my face, I saw a dumpster hidden behind an apartment building. I wanted to throw away the ice cream wrapper. I walked over it and to my surprise, behind the dumpster was an open sewer tunnel. I stared for a long moment, remembering the days as a child when I would play around such tunnels and poke sticks into the water. I also noticed a trailer park that I never knew existed on the side of the tunnel. It was funny because it seemed that the houses in the neighborhood were trying to hide the sight of them. I continued down the sidewalk and passed the house were I saw the guy. He and his car were gone. The other lady was no where to be found. I walked a little further and looked into the intersection where I remembered playing softball catch with two old friends that I planned never to see again. But, I remembered the good times as I stared into the empty intersection. The daylight made it look different, for it had been at night when I played catch there. The street was completely empty. I thought to myself, children don't play on the streets often. You see that scene in movies. I figured, it's only on the weekend that they do that because they're not slaving away at school for six hours. I was in front of my neighbor’s home when I noticed their giant inflatable turkey that they had put up for the holidays was deflated and looked like a sick bird now. It was all flat and crumpled into a wierd shape. I walked into my house, my ice-cream no where close to being finished, and noticed how dark it was. I thought to myself that it had been such a long time since I walked inside blind because of how bright it was outside. Wow…too long. Content with the spontaneous stroll, I sat down, put my laptop in my lap, and decided to write…