I'm at home, waiting for my hairdye to complete its formidable job, so I thought I'd update you on the homeless fellow I mentioned a few posts ago.
The Caboose and I have seen him regularly at our bus stop downtown in the Financial District, and each day we have a pleasant chat. By chat, I mean he launches into his typical monologue of loose associations and flights of ideas, while the Caboose and I smile at him and wait for the local bus to take us to his preschool. The Caboose never speaks to Norman, but he asks about him all the time and anticipates our meetings.
We have learned, from Norman, the following:
* He has crashed the Cannes Film Festival, where he met Maurice Chevalier.
* He was married once and wanted to adopt his wife's son, but the child's biological father forbade it.
* He doesn't sleep at the bus stop (though we have not yet learned where he does sleep.)
* Someone has taught him that its polite to rise when speaking to a lady, as he always stands up to talk to me.
* He did not know that the words chevalier, cavalier, and cavalry all come from the same root.
* He enjoys calculating the diameter and circumference of things.
* He agrees that I am not as dumb as I look.
After our most recent meeting, the Caboose and I climbed aboard our bus and sat in the back row, which is our usual spot. The Caboose stood on the seat, hands pressed to the window, and screamed, "GOODBYE NORMAN!" a dozen times to be sure he was heard. Norman didn't hear him, but everyone else on the bus sure did.
2 comments:
I think there's something immensely sweet about a child having emphatic friendships with kooky characters in life.
Perhaps because a child does not see someone less unfortunate or someone deranged or someone who may become a physical threat or whatever it is that we adults see... I love it when a child sees that someone who has much to offer in the canvas of life.
That is so sweet. I can't put a finger on it any better than mama nabi said it--but ...well...it is just so SWEET.
Kids are so pure.
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