Random Morning Memories

OK. So, I had this perfect blog figured out at 4am, but now that it is 9am, I can't remember what it was about. It is this pregnancy amnesia thing I have been hearing about!

I was however, remembering the days of living in Chicago in my early twenties. I used to ride the red line train to the loop in the mornings. Now, the L train in the am, is something different than any other time of day. Everyone is silent, the air is filled with the smells of coffee and newspaper, and people are slowly falling back into a dreamy land of big yards and the sounds of birds instead of sirens. The train was wonderfully peaceful, with the exception of the hum of the train, and the occasional loud screech. It was comforting. Ah! no traffic and a comfy plastic seat. Fantastic!

But then, in the midst of my moments of peace, the door would open to the L car, and in would walk a homeless blind man, with his walking stick and plastic cup that had a small layer of change at the bottom.

"Good Morning Everyone!" he would yell, each word sounding like he was sounding it out slowly and perfectly, or as if he were reading it off of the backs of the sunglasses that covered his eyes.

"Can I have your attention.....please.?!" "I am homeless......". Ching, ching, ching, he would shake his cup and start to walk down the aisle. I would watch everyone around me turn stiff and bring their feet in as close to their bodies as possible. He would walk by, swaying his stick in wide figure eights, hoping to catch someones foot and know they were there to shake his cup at them. Everyone was tense, and never made eye contact with anyone else, especially the blind man, which is funny because he would never know if we had been staring.

Suddenly, everyone in the car had narcolepsy, and would have a sleep attack at the same time. The blind man would walk down the aisle, almost falling with every jerk of the train, repeating his lines "Good morning everyone". Finally he would reach the end of the car and touch the exit door handle. The passengers would wake up and go back to slouching and stretching their feet out into the aisle.

Then, oh wait, no!, he's turning around! Damn. Back to the fetal position, he's coming back again! I can't believe it.

He always got more money the second time around! Genius. He really had this down. If begging for money were a business, he would be corporate.

I never gave him money though, and I should have. The more I rode the train, the more I realized that everyone would be expecting him by a certain time. I started talking about him to my friends and they all knew who I was talking about...."the blind man on the red line in the morning", "Oh yeah, that guy!". He became part of my routine, a comfort of sorts.

I wonder if he still rides? I would love to find out. Although now, with the economy the way it is, he might have had to start working nights.