There's someone I see around from time to time

August 2, 2019 - 4:45pm - by Alyson Shane

who is friendly and sweet and kind, and has a terrific memory for names.

I see them at my local watering holes; at the bars and coffee shops where I sit with my laptop to work when the weather is nice, or when I've been feeling a bit stir-crazy from working from home all week.

We've had lots of conversations. They regularly ask me how I'm doing, even though I'm pretty sure they don't fully "get" what I do for a living. They tell me about the odd jobs they take, how hard it can be to get a full-time gig, and how much they like working outside, and with their hands.

Everyone at all of the places I go knows them and asks how they're doing.

All the staff know their name. The people working behind the bar, or behind the counter, will say hello and goodbye and tell them to come back and visit soon.

Everyone asks what they've been up to, and gives them advice when they ask for it.

They get, and give, a lot of hugs.

I love interacting with them, and watching them interact with others.

This person, by the way, has a developmental disability.

It's worth mentioning because I don't think people usually come together around each other this way. There's a sense of collective caring that seems to manifest itself in the right people.

Every time I sit at a counter or a table or a bar and listen to the people around me come together to care about, support, and create a community that is inclusive for everyone it makes me a bit emotional.

Because I read and listen to a lot of news about people who don't give a shit about one another, and it's pretty easy to start assuming that other people around you are malicious, or ill-intentioned

instead of being, I dunno

just a regular person trying to do their best and get by

and it's nice to be reminded that most people you meet are kind, and decent, and willing to create a community together

and all you have to do is say "hello" to become a part of it.

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Drunk girl in the Exchange

November 5, 2013 - 5:37am - by admin

I first saw you on Albert and McDermot

while Tyrone was taking photos of the storefronts of Rhymes with Orange and Tiny Feast

and I was standing by holding his papers and humming a song by The Weakerthans.

You were walking up the street in a tiny dress and a blazer

holding your phone in one hand

and a glass full of some sort of drink in the other

my hunch is a long island tea, but it's anyone's guess.

You walked by and kept stumbling on the cobblestone streets

and I felt compelled to say something to you

but I didn't because mostly we're taught to keep to ourselves

lest we bring trouble or interfere.

However

as I watched you stumble away down the block

and then across McDermot

almost falling twice

I thought "fuck convention" and started to run after you.

By the time I reached you, you were already a block away

by King and Notre Dame

and I sprinted around the corner and shouted EXCUSE ME at you.

I think I scared you but you stopped.

I asked if you were okay and you drunkenly said you were

even though your dress was half-tucked up and you'd lost that glass somewhere and I could smell the booze on you

and I thought to myself

that you would have looked really professional if your dress wasn't so short & your little boots were so high.

But that's besides the point.

I asked if you wanted me to call you a cab and you said no

so you said you would call your boyfriend and I said I'd wait with you and you said I didn't have to

but I did

and when he didn't pick up you got up and straightened out your skirt and said

I AM TOTALLY OKAY

and sprinted across the intersection and through an empty parking lot before I knew what was happening.

I yelled after you

where are you going?

and you said

HOME.

I hope you made it back okay

to wherever your home is

because I'm still worried about you

dashing around by yourself in your high heels in the cold.

So if you read this, please let me know you're all right.

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There's something to be said for how someone treats strangers

March 15, 2012 - 9:40pm - by admin

take two weeks ago for example when I applied for a job and got the rudest, most condescending woman ever on the phone who made me feel bad for having a class that interfered with when she wanted to schedule my interview.

I scheduled one, but it was over a week from then (yesterday) and she made it pretty clear that because I wasn't going to take the time from my class schedule to go down there that one of the "many other applicants" would be more than happy to take the job.

needless to say I didn't go.

this shouldn't be a big deal. lots of people skip interviews for lots of reasons and I've also been on the interviewing side and though it's a hassle you just shrug your shoulders think "too bad" and move on with your life.

not this woman.

she felt it was necessary to send me this:

You appear to have missed your scheduled 8 am interview. It would have been appreciated if you had informed of us if you had decided not to come. We could have slotted another candidate that was actually interested in coming, and not wasted our time.

so not only did she feel it was okay to be rude to me over the phone, but she also thought it was necessary to send me an email chewing me out for not showing up for an interview for a job that she basically told me I wasn't going to get.

needless to say I sent her a very polite email explaining that I didn't show up because she was a bitch (not actual language used) and BCC'd the customer service department while I was at it. which I will post here if you kids should so desire.

it blows me away that people like this exist. honestly. I don't even know what to say.

I'm just going to end this post with a picture of cute puppies.

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