And Then Amazingly, on One Wednesday in May, No Life Lessons Were Learned...
The limping man is a slut. I am heartbroken. The other day I was walking with Genevra to the El. There appeared, finally, the limping man. I nudged her "there he is," I said. "The guy with the hat?" she asked. "Yes."
"Oh," she said. "That guy says 'hello' to me, too. I think he says hello to everyone." And then it happened.
A woman crossed in front of us as we stepped onto the crosswalk, and the limping man did the unspeakable. He said hello to the woman--not me. In one fell nod he devastated our relationship.
The limping man and I never had anything special. He's no more than a hello-slut.
I have neglected to mention that every day with an even more reliable regularity, I am greeted by a second man in front of the Western El station. I didn't mention this because he's a newspaper salesman. He sells the Tribune and a rag that the same company puts out called The Red Eye. He was the one whom I thought was the true hello-whore. And indeed, Limping Man does what he does because he just loves saying hello to strangers. Newspaper Man just wants to sell more newspapers. His hellos are advertisements--like dutch prostitutes in Amsterdam storefronts. I for one refuse to buy.
But now I do say 'hello' back. It took many months of him saying 'hello' to no avail before I finally returned the greeting, and it was probably because of the Limping Man...slut.
I have begun to wonder what Limping Man does. I am curious about where he is going with such regularity at that age. There is a huge congregation of Greeks who flock to the McDonalds in Lincoln Square almost every morning--though especially on weekends. I have wondered if Limping is Greek and heading to McDonalds to see his friends.
I am Greek--or rather half Greek from my father's side. Genevra and I sometimes go there for breakfast on the weekends and I listen for Greek words that I undertsand. The other day, I heard a Greek man slipping from English to Greek talking about gay marriage. He seemed displeased with the whole concept.
The Limping Man was not what he seemed. The Newspaper Man is probably not as friendly as he seems. And then there's all those Greeks at McDonalds, one of whom does not approve of gay marriage. What do these things have to do with each other?
Nothing, really...Nothing.
"Oh," she said. "That guy says 'hello' to me, too. I think he says hello to everyone." And then it happened.
A woman crossed in front of us as we stepped onto the crosswalk, and the limping man did the unspeakable. He said hello to the woman--not me. In one fell nod he devastated our relationship.
The limping man and I never had anything special. He's no more than a hello-slut.
I have neglected to mention that every day with an even more reliable regularity, I am greeted by a second man in front of the Western El station. I didn't mention this because he's a newspaper salesman. He sells the Tribune and a rag that the same company puts out called The Red Eye. He was the one whom I thought was the true hello-whore. And indeed, Limping Man does what he does because he just loves saying hello to strangers. Newspaper Man just wants to sell more newspapers. His hellos are advertisements--like dutch prostitutes in Amsterdam storefronts. I for one refuse to buy.
But now I do say 'hello' back. It took many months of him saying 'hello' to no avail before I finally returned the greeting, and it was probably because of the Limping Man...slut.
I have begun to wonder what Limping Man does. I am curious about where he is going with such regularity at that age. There is a huge congregation of Greeks who flock to the McDonalds in Lincoln Square almost every morning--though especially on weekends. I have wondered if Limping is Greek and heading to McDonalds to see his friends.
I am Greek--or rather half Greek from my father's side. Genevra and I sometimes go there for breakfast on the weekends and I listen for Greek words that I undertsand. The other day, I heard a Greek man slipping from English to Greek talking about gay marriage. He seemed displeased with the whole concept.
The Limping Man was not what he seemed. The Newspaper Man is probably not as friendly as he seems. And then there's all those Greeks at McDonalds, one of whom does not approve of gay marriage. What do these things have to do with each other?
Nothing, really...Nothing.
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