It is amazing what you will see on a short drive through town. In quick succession you get glimpses of everyday life, just a peek at how others might spend their time.
The first thing to catch my eye was an older lady crossing the street. For the first few seconds all I could see was a small gray haired head slowing bobbing through the intersection. The car a head of me blocked the view of her body. The bobbing of her head made me think she must have some impediment to her step and the fact that I could only see her head lead me to believe she must be a very petite lady.
She finally cleared the intersection, having arrived safely on the opposite side, and traffic began to move. As I made my left hand turn I saw that she was in a motorized scooter. One hand on the control, the other holding a cigarette at a rakish angle like a movie star. Think Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard: "All right Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close up."
A few blocks later I arrived at my first destination, the local grocery store. I walked through the parking lot and just as my foot landed on the front walk a man in a very small car turned the corner and headed my way. Nothing out of the ordinary you might think but something caught my eye. I stepped onto the walk and turned toward the parking lot as he drove by.It was a very large man, in a very small car.
It looked as if the car had been built around him and he was a permanent fixture, like the dashboard fixed under the windshield. It started as a frame on one end of a production line. The seat installed first, the man placed in the seat, and then as it made its way down the line, the car was built around him. Maybe the car looked smaller because he was so big, or maybe the other way around. Maybe he looked bigger because he was in a very small car.
Instant impressions, neither more then ten seconds, leaving a lasting impression in the mind.
