The R5
On Friday I left the office to catch the train into Wynnewood, where I meet up with my mother to come home. It was like any other day, but I saw a woman looking somewhat confused as she approached me and sat further down on the bench.
She asked me how much to Suburban Station. I told her that I was unsure, but that it would probably be no more than $4.
She proceeded to chat with me about how she bought a car from Craigslist and how she has had an uncanny week in relation to cars: they are all out of commission.
We chatted for a while longer and it continued when we got on the train. She told me a bit about her life, her health, her unemployment and asked me about what I was doing. She also wanted my opinion about an incident with a guy she had been dating before her cancer came out of remission.
I was sad to have to leave the train so quickly, as I did enjoy talking with her. We all have stereotypes about people. She was a well dressed woman of a certain age, well dressed, and so on. She had a nice job at one point in time, before her health had suffered, but was suffering from huge amounts of debt stemming from her poor health and the lack of care for those on disability. Working on the Main Line has in general left me feeling unsympathetic for the people I see walking by on my lunch break. The men dressed in suits, going off to fancy restaurants to eat, talking about golf and business deals...the women dressed smart yet causal, usually with two blonde children in tow, the mothers always in pairs, talking about shopping, or play dates, or private day cares... Needless to say, it is a world very much unlike my own.
Meeting this woman, who likewise lives in this town, helped me to realize that not everything is as it appears, and that we are all fragile.
She asked me how much to Suburban Station. I told her that I was unsure, but that it would probably be no more than $4.
She proceeded to chat with me about how she bought a car from Craigslist and how she has had an uncanny week in relation to cars: they are all out of commission.
We chatted for a while longer and it continued when we got on the train. She told me a bit about her life, her health, her unemployment and asked me about what I was doing. She also wanted my opinion about an incident with a guy she had been dating before her cancer came out of remission.
I was sad to have to leave the train so quickly, as I did enjoy talking with her. We all have stereotypes about people. She was a well dressed woman of a certain age, well dressed, and so on. She had a nice job at one point in time, before her health had suffered, but was suffering from huge amounts of debt stemming from her poor health and the lack of care for those on disability. Working on the Main Line has in general left me feeling unsympathetic for the people I see walking by on my lunch break. The men dressed in suits, going off to fancy restaurants to eat, talking about golf and business deals...the women dressed smart yet causal, usually with two blonde children in tow, the mothers always in pairs, talking about shopping, or play dates, or private day cares... Needless to say, it is a world very much unlike my own.
Meeting this woman, who likewise lives in this town, helped me to realize that not everything is as it appears, and that we are all fragile.
posted by Molly | 7:17 PM
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