JaGo
July 5th, 2010, 02:47 AM
Jerry Collins, the balloon salesman, believed that the blind man sat on the same bench every morning because he had an abusive wife who would drink in the mornings and pass out for the remainder of the day.
Mr. Herbert, the ice cream man, believed the blind man would predictably sit on the same spot at every sunrise because he thought he was in his own living room, too oblivious to know any better.
But as the fabricated stories came and went, it would not change the inevitable. The blind man would come to the same red bench every morning, wearing the same neatly pressed suit, and sit by the Anderson Park trail. He would sit quietly, not making any noise, with his arms gently on his lap, an unmoving statue. He couldn’t have been any older than 25 yet he had already settled into the routines of a senior citizen.
If somebody else was sitting on his bench, he would smile and ask, “Would it be too much trouble if I could steal this bench from you?” Who would deny a simple request from a polite blind man?
When the afternoon would pass, he would routinely stand up and leave, a smile on his face. The consistency of his smile was an unexplainable phenomenon. In the morning, his face would be neutral, showcasing no emotion, but by the time he would leave the park, off to an unknown location, his face would always hold a quiet smile.
Nobody would attempt to talk to him. Who would speak to a blind man, who has literally not seen anything in this world, and has followed the same boring pattern for years? Surely, such a person would ask a lot of pointless questions, and never provide any real substance in conversation. That’s why it would have to be a child, too stupid to understand the irrelevance of the blind man, to find out why he was there.
One morning, Jimmy Wilson, a kindergartener at Anderson Elementary, wandered over to the blind man as his mother talked to the other moms about important topics, such as how Mr. Finley has allowed his grass to grow far too long. At first Jimmy stood directly in front of the blind man, wondering if he would be noticed or not, until the blind man wrinkled his forehead, as if he were concentrating on something.
“Hello?” the blind man asked.
“How did ya know I was here?” Jimmy asked, smiling cheerfully. The blind man relaxed the muscles on his forehead, letting out a chuckle.
“I heard you walk up. You’re quite loud!”
“Wow, I thought I could sneak up on ya for sure!” Jimmy exclaimed, a look of amusement on his face.
Within minutes, Jimmy Wilson was sharing the bench with the blind man, listening intently to every word of the man his mother had warned him to stay away from. It was only a matter of time before Jimmy would blurt out the question he had been thinking about.
“Why are ya here all the time? Don’t ya want to ever do other stuff?” The blind man sat in silence for a second. He had never really braced to answer that question.
“I wait for someone to come by,” the blind man said flatly.
“But nobody ever talks to you. Who’rya waiting for?” The blind man did not respond to this.
“Is it a girl?” Jimmy asked excitedly. The blind man couldn’t help but laugh at this. His laugh was deep and thoughtful, as if he was proclaiming something important.
“Yeah. Uh, yeah. Heh, it’s a girl.”
“But how do ya know it’s her? Ya can’t see anything!”
“Oh, I know when it’s her. I used to watch her go by when I could see. But even though I can’t see her anymore, I still know when it’s her. She walks this way every afternoon. I can tell it’s her, because she walks differently.”
Jimmy looked at the blind man as if he were magic.
“She steps on the leaves a certain way,” the blind man continued. “It’s lighter than most people. Most people step on leaves like they’re an obstacle, but she hugs the pavement with her feet in a certain way, like she doesn’t want to hurt it or something. It sounds silly, but I swear it’s true.”
Jimmy thought about that for a moment, before looking up at the man with knowing eyes.
“You want to kiss her, don’t you?”
“I…”
“It’s okay if ya do.” Jimmy interrupted. “One time, I tried to kiss Sarah Thompson at recess. I wan’ed her to be my girlfriend. Sarah told me that I’m gross, but ya should this lady that ya like her, she sound a lot nicer than Sarah.”
Before the blind man could respond, Jimmy’s mom ran up and snatched him away, lecturing him on the importance of not talking to strangers. Again, the blind man was left alone in silence, but today he felt like smiling, and it wasn’t even the afternoon yet.
Mr. Herbert, the ice cream man, believed the blind man would predictably sit on the same spot at every sunrise because he thought he was in his own living room, too oblivious to know any better.
But as the fabricated stories came and went, it would not change the inevitable. The blind man would come to the same red bench every morning, wearing the same neatly pressed suit, and sit by the Anderson Park trail. He would sit quietly, not making any noise, with his arms gently on his lap, an unmoving statue. He couldn’t have been any older than 25 yet he had already settled into the routines of a senior citizen.
If somebody else was sitting on his bench, he would smile and ask, “Would it be too much trouble if I could steal this bench from you?” Who would deny a simple request from a polite blind man?
When the afternoon would pass, he would routinely stand up and leave, a smile on his face. The consistency of his smile was an unexplainable phenomenon. In the morning, his face would be neutral, showcasing no emotion, but by the time he would leave the park, off to an unknown location, his face would always hold a quiet smile.
Nobody would attempt to talk to him. Who would speak to a blind man, who has literally not seen anything in this world, and has followed the same boring pattern for years? Surely, such a person would ask a lot of pointless questions, and never provide any real substance in conversation. That’s why it would have to be a child, too stupid to understand the irrelevance of the blind man, to find out why he was there.
One morning, Jimmy Wilson, a kindergartener at Anderson Elementary, wandered over to the blind man as his mother talked to the other moms about important topics, such as how Mr. Finley has allowed his grass to grow far too long. At first Jimmy stood directly in front of the blind man, wondering if he would be noticed or not, until the blind man wrinkled his forehead, as if he were concentrating on something.
“Hello?” the blind man asked.
“How did ya know I was here?” Jimmy asked, smiling cheerfully. The blind man relaxed the muscles on his forehead, letting out a chuckle.
“I heard you walk up. You’re quite loud!”
“Wow, I thought I could sneak up on ya for sure!” Jimmy exclaimed, a look of amusement on his face.
Within minutes, Jimmy Wilson was sharing the bench with the blind man, listening intently to every word of the man his mother had warned him to stay away from. It was only a matter of time before Jimmy would blurt out the question he had been thinking about.
“Why are ya here all the time? Don’t ya want to ever do other stuff?” The blind man sat in silence for a second. He had never really braced to answer that question.
“I wait for someone to come by,” the blind man said flatly.
“But nobody ever talks to you. Who’rya waiting for?” The blind man did not respond to this.
“Is it a girl?” Jimmy asked excitedly. The blind man couldn’t help but laugh at this. His laugh was deep and thoughtful, as if he was proclaiming something important.
“Yeah. Uh, yeah. Heh, it’s a girl.”
“But how do ya know it’s her? Ya can’t see anything!”
“Oh, I know when it’s her. I used to watch her go by when I could see. But even though I can’t see her anymore, I still know when it’s her. She walks this way every afternoon. I can tell it’s her, because she walks differently.”
Jimmy looked at the blind man as if he were magic.
“She steps on the leaves a certain way,” the blind man continued. “It’s lighter than most people. Most people step on leaves like they’re an obstacle, but she hugs the pavement with her feet in a certain way, like she doesn’t want to hurt it or something. It sounds silly, but I swear it’s true.”
Jimmy thought about that for a moment, before looking up at the man with knowing eyes.
“You want to kiss her, don’t you?”
“I…”
“It’s okay if ya do.” Jimmy interrupted. “One time, I tried to kiss Sarah Thompson at recess. I wan’ed her to be my girlfriend. Sarah told me that I’m gross, but ya should this lady that ya like her, she sound a lot nicer than Sarah.”
Before the blind man could respond, Jimmy’s mom ran up and snatched him away, lecturing him on the importance of not talking to strangers. Again, the blind man was left alone in silence, but today he felt like smiling, and it wasn’t even the afternoon yet.