Monday, March 01, 2004
I remember one night coming home from a bar in Banff rather drunk and seeing a young woman and a young man fighting outside the local pizza place. It wasn't so much a fight as it was a series of deriding and berating comments directed towards the young woman from the young man. The comments didn't seem intended just for her to hear as he was speaking loud enough for anyone on that block to overhear.
The woman begin to walk off by herself while her male 'friend' attempted to pull her back by grasping her arm. She pulled away and continued on and then in mid-step she must have had a change of heart and she waited for him to catch up.
'Who's in charge of your destiny, some dumb fuck or is it you?'
He insulted her again and by this time was beginning to annoy me, not that it was any of my business, but it was hard to not listen as his voice had risen in volume and his words had become more intense and derisive.
I wanted to say something. I wanted to say "What an asshole!" I wanted to tell her that she didn't need to wait for this jerk and as a matter of fact she didn't need that shit at all, but I couldn't croak anything out. My mouth opened, no sound, closed again, turned my back, and I stumbled home.
A few nights ago, breaking curfew, I took my usual path home. I turned down a side street a few blocks away from my house. Up ahead a dozen paces ahead of me through the blowing I saw my friend whose friendship I was quite certain I had lost. I wasn't spotted. I tried to think of something to say, but I couldn't think of anything that wouldn't sound hollow as my mouth pushed it out into the cold February air.
I didn't yell anything out. I pulled my scarf up over my mouth, lest my voice betray me, and steeled myself against the snow and trudged home.
The woman begin to walk off by herself while her male 'friend' attempted to pull her back by grasping her arm. She pulled away and continued on and then in mid-step she must have had a change of heart and she waited for him to catch up.
'Who's in charge of your destiny, some dumb fuck or is it you?'
He insulted her again and by this time was beginning to annoy me, not that it was any of my business, but it was hard to not listen as his voice had risen in volume and his words had become more intense and derisive.
I wanted to say something. I wanted to say "What an asshole!" I wanted to tell her that she didn't need to wait for this jerk and as a matter of fact she didn't need that shit at all, but I couldn't croak anything out. My mouth opened, no sound, closed again, turned my back, and I stumbled home.
A few nights ago, breaking curfew, I took my usual path home. I turned down a side street a few blocks away from my house. Up ahead a dozen paces ahead of me through the blowing I saw my friend whose friendship I was quite certain I had lost. I wasn't spotted. I tried to think of something to say, but I couldn't think of anything that wouldn't sound hollow as my mouth pushed it out into the cold February air.
I didn't yell anything out. I pulled my scarf up over my mouth, lest my voice betray me, and steeled myself against the snow and trudged home.
# posted by Die Brucke @ 2:01 AM 
