Glimpses of Beauty…Hamilton Style
I am just finishing up my coffee and about to rush off to my office, which by the way the way is in a basement in an open space with about 6 other people. (Did I mention we have never had windows? We have had basement offices since 2004, and we are finally moving this year to a place with windows, which we are all still in shock over!) So, here I am, looking out my kitchen window of my condo on the fourth floor, and glancing down the street. It is at this point that I see him…again. I probably run into him about once a week, and I am always amazed that he is still alive, to be quite honest. Normally when I see him, he is walking down the middle of my street, into 3 lanes of oncoming traffic. As he is walking, he is shouting at all of us because, clearly, we are the bad drivers who should know better!
This morning, my little friend is down at the intersection, directing traffic…only he is not a cop. In fact, he is more like a flasher in his trenchcoat and long beard. He marches out to the middle of the intersection and starts pointing in different directions at cars and telling them which way to go. At this point, (and I have also been in a car at an intersection with this dude) drivers are momentarily stunned as they are trying to figure out if this guy is trying to help them avoid trouble up the road or if he is clearly missing the top-up on his sedation medication for the day. Chances are, it’s the latter of the two.
I think people have given up honking at him now, and are just thinking to themselves, “Hamiltonians: you can’t beat them, so you might as well join them.” This is why we live in this city-not because of mentally disturbed flasher-like characters, but because life here is painfully real. People here are honest, friendly, and there is an atmosphere of gentle acceptance for things that are just a little off centre line…From the mullets to the electric scooters, from the little old Portuguese guys sitting on their porches every evening to the up to the minute hip foreign students that hang out at all the hot spots, it is a microcosm of the world as a whole, and so this morning, I am choosing to love this city.
…besides…there’s never a dull moment, either! Whenever I am in need of a little bit of humour and perspective, I simply step outside my door and wait for it to pass by!