49th Street remembered Ted of a woman he was passionate of in a time long ago. A black woman, not that it mattered, (he would call her Afro-Philadelphian now) who was strikingly beautiful but with a paralysed hand that made her skittish around men, men she feared would….He had told her that the hand didn’t matter to him. It was true, he looked at her legs in anticipation, her thin breasts, her smooth necks, her red lips……She either saw something in him he didn’t know about or she saw that in all men that showed interest in her. She could of had him but he necer could of had her. He wondered….
“Ted, are we ready for all of this?”
“We have our signs, I have a camera, you have some sandwiches, I have a notebook and pen, One of us has the cell phone and-“
“And what, and how does it matter if Ted and Mary protest Gore’s Wars, as part of maybe 1,000 people at Philly’s City Hall, how does it matter. At least when George Bush leads an anti-war rally in Texas, even if everyone thinks he’s only become anti-war due to losing-
Mary, I don’t know you but we’re going there too, me and my sig other, and we believe our presence is important, every grain of sand on a beach makes-
Jim, you really shouldn’t jump into someone’s conver-
Jim, my name is Ted and she’s Mary and I think I speak for both of us, always a dangerous statement, in that we’re always welcome to meet some fellow agitators.”
During this time, we discover Jim’s sig other is Martha and they live in Media. more to follow.
Meanwhile, Ted is trying to remember if his fictional character is Jim or Joe and whether that matters. It will remain unwritten, if not unthought. Time to get ready to get off at the stop after this.
At 30th Street, one-third of the train disembarks and all conversation ceases or may as well have. Noone can even hear their thoughts.
robertthesmall 