Yesterday

Yesterday when walking to the subway, I saw our local Halal cart (the food carts that guarantee you'll never go hungry or thirsty because they're never more than 3 blocks apart) man kneeling face down on the ground between his cart and a trash can in the sweltering heat. To be honest, at first I thought he was a homeless man sleeping in an odd spot, but he didn't look homeless. And then I saw the mat he was kneeling on and realized he was Muslim and saying his daily prayers. What devotion.

I've never felt so confronted by people in my life as now. Whether I want to or not, I am a daily observer of the lives of complete strangers. Sometimes I'll consciously recognize them, like giving up my subway seat for people who look tired and drained. And sometimes I ignore them with effort, like the people who talk and sing to themselves in all forms of crazy.

But I appreciate the funny or thoughtful moments that pass between people that I pretend not to notice. Sometimes they'll be the most memorable part of my day, and I wonder how random and weird it would be if I ever were to meet these people later and have to pretend that I didn't know them.