Thursday, June 06, 2002

Hey, Watch Me!

Yesterday it rained all day long. They called it a Yellow Rain. They say here that a Red Rain is worse, and that if it is a Black Rain, no one goes out.

Bess had gone to her job at the Bambino English School for Pre-Schoolers and about 3:30 in the afternoon, I came home and suggested to Jeri that since we had business in the Causeway Bay area of Hong Kong, near Bess's place of work, we ought to go and meet her at the end of her workday. We hurried to the bus stop and arrived at Bambino just as Bess was ready to leave. After completing our business in Causeway Bay, Bess suggested that we stop by Wan Chai where she wished to look at something in a shop there. We headed for the Subway to travel over to Wan Chai. The Subway was crowded and when we boarded the cars, we noticed that there were a few empty seats. After Bess and Jeri had situated themselves, there still remained half a seat for me. The man beside this space obviously thought that by slouching half way into the vacant spot, he would not have the inconvience of having someone sit next to him. I assured Bess and Jeri, who were opposite me in the subway car, that I had learned in Indonesia just how to place ones self in a too-small-seat on public transportation. One simply backed in rump first and people made way for the on-comer. I suggested to them that they "Watch Me!" and put my body in reverse.

Unfortunately just as I was nearing my parking place, the train began its journey with quite an unexpected lurch. The unexpected result was my sitting on the face of the man who wished not to have a neighbor. At least, according to my wishes and thanks to my directions, Jeri and Bess were watching. That vast unsmiling throng of commuters will probably never know what it was that the three of us enjoyed so much about my sitting on a man's face.

Doug

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