Was on my way to school today and met an old Indian man at the top of the overhead bridge. He was thin, white-haired, and had paused for a long while after hobbling to where he stood then. Having reached the topmost stair I walked past him, but then curiosity caught me, and I turned back to look at him. He looked back, and attempted to speak--to me, apparently, because there wasn't anyone else, so there I paused, hesitant. He looked like he wanted to say something, but seemed to be struggling to even form words. I drew the tiniest bit closer, but couldn't catch whatever it was that he seemed to want to say, his nodding and shrugging and glancing away. Then he held his right hand out, nodding at me, and in an automatic gesture I reached out mine to meet his handshake, a firm, quick shake, and then he released my hand and gave me a brilliant smile of pleasant delight, and looked almost grateful, and waved me off to continue my way. So I continued the walk across the bridge, glancing back once or twice, and when he caught my looking back he gave that same grateful smile, till I turned away and headed down and away from sight.

Odd.

But well, if it makes an old person happy to have his presence acknowledged and his hand shaken, I guess it's okay. Stay well then, uncle. I looked on with interest for a while before my bus came, where an old lady was heading across the bridge in the opposite direction, but she continued her walk, and didn't so much as glance at him, and thereafter he made his way down in a little while.

Well, like I said, odd.

That said, I'm currently in school now, on a lovely rainy Tuesday, waiting for dinner at 5 and prac at 6. Cleared my last filming bit with the recording scheduled for noon today, a voiceover of the girl's narrative in her blog as she types. I don't know whether to be amused or perturbed, but the f- word is really not part of my vocab, and to repeat it twice over and have the recording of me going "Nobody gives a f-" played back at me six or seven times, in front of the technician (and it was only me and him in the sound-room!) is quite... cringe-worthy.

More cringe-worthy stuff... look, photos!

Scary. scary scary scary. Do they even look related, you think?




Oh, the horror.