Rodger

She never wears red, my quiet lady who always gives me a kind smile.  Why is she so bold today?  Has she finally a gentleman in her life?  I do hope so.  She seems so lonely, sometimes as we ride this bus together.  She has such generous eyes, so filled with love to share.

But I make my daily pilgrimage to my Mary's resting place.  To spend some time remembering how life once was, before it changed forever.

I stroll the park and feed the pigeons. And from my favorite green park bench, the one beside the sprawling oak, I watch the young mother push her baby stroller.  The little, little girl is bundled warm and her hair is already golden curls, much like her mother's.

I have my daily cup of coffee and my apple pie, served by the friendly waitress with the name Sally embroidered on her pink and white striped uniform.  I know no more than that, except that she came here from Montreal years ago and never left.  The old drunk sits in the corner half the day before finally being hustled out by the huge police officer that Sally calls by name, "Hey Mick."  The old drunk, I sense, is a deeply wounded man, he limps in both his body and his spirit.  The officer seems to enjoy his work of moving his weight around.  But it is his job I suppose.

I wander through the library hoping to see the librarian who wears the tortoise shell hair band in her Scottish red hair.  She always wears a Celtic cross around her neck and always asks me how my life has been.  I appreciate her momentary kindness.

The groceries are for the day and little more, fruits and vegetables, some macaroni and cheese some days, other days I make spaghetti, a loaf of bread, and one of two other things that last more than a day or two.  No more than I can carry with me on the bus.

Lexington Avenue is my stop.  The doorman is named Constantine and he wears a mustache and an old world accent from someplace European. 

Room 224.  My goldfish have the names, King and Thor.

RATE THIS CHAPTER!

Author guidance for This story

This is a story about the stories we tell ourselves about the other people around us. It begins with Anna, who has noted various people around her who are "familiar strangers." She is always curious but never willing to intrude on their privacy to get to know them, so she has thought up stories in her head about them. She assumes that they, too, have wondered about her and made up their own stories about who she is and what is happening in her life. *Each chapter should be from the perspective of a particular person, set out as the chapter title or at the beginning in bold. The chapter should both tell a bit of the "real" story of that person from their own perspective and include their thoughts on the story of a "familiar stranger" in their life. To begin with the stories should branch out around Anna with the people she sees, creating a web. Multiple chapters can tell different stories of the same "familiar stranger." The point is to contrast a person's private life with what could be imagined about them by others they see in public. Characters so far: ~Anna - woman who has just started wearing red and a flower in her hair, seen on the bus and an elevator ~Rodger - man seen on bus with groceries, park, graveyard, coffee shop ~Josee - waitress uniform says Sally, waitress in coffee shop, originally from Montreal, lets Charlie stay longer and does not make him pay for coffee ~Mick - police officer in coffee shop, Newfoundlander ~Charlie - old drunk found in coffee shop, wounded in some ways, educated voice ~Isla - tortoise shell hair band and Scottish red hair, Celtic cross, librarian, called Morag by Charlie, and Red by Tom (her boyfriend?), hard to get to know, green eyes, uses strawberry shampoo ~Constantine - doorman with mustache and from Europe ~Megan - seen on bus, young, loves Bryan, looking for a job ~Beatrice - on elevator, cheap perfume, always well-dressed if out of fashion ~James - seen on elevator, crooked tie, smokes ~Jenny - likes plants and works in an office ~Bryan - new, ambitious, works in an office ~Rory - James' manager ~Janet - works in library (eats lunch in the park, likes crime novels?) ~Tom(Thomas) King - calls Isla (his girlfriend?) Red, RN ~Melissa - mother of Matty, works for Mrs. Bentington ~Mrs. Bentington - grouchy woman, employer of Melissa, demands high heeled shoes ~Adam - portrait artist in the park, Southern accent, student. ~Mr. Brown - Beatrice's boss, red hair, lawyer ~ice cream vendor - in the park, wedding ring, missing pinky ~jogger - in the park, dark skin, shaved head, in good shape and young ~Andrea - on the bus, busy, works in an office ~Stacey - woman Bryan was seeing, trying to make her ex-boyfriend jealous, very fake-seeming ~Katja Elena Novikova - immigrant, accountant who cannot find a good job, model for Adam's art class, refuses to be an au-pair ~doctor - works in the shelter Charlie goes to ~bus-station manager - lets Charlie have a locker ~Alyssa - research assistant for law firm, blond, writing a novel ~Rebecca - waitress in the coffee shop, father is suffering from dementia ~Morag - woman in Charlie's past ~laundromat woman - glares at Charlie ~men following Anna - one recognized by Charlie, they beat Charlie ~Sharon - works in a grocery store, small, carries a tote bag, attacked the men who attacked Charlie -Melanie - nurse working with Tom, in her 40s, numerous grandchildren, blond hair

updated Dec 4 '08 by CheshireGrin