As previously mentioned, I quite enjoy riding the Subway into the city. Besides the occasional fear that I'm riding in a potential terrorist and/or germ death trap, I love it. There is a series of really awesome murals you get to view on your commute in and I get to feel all warm and fuzzy inside for being green and using public transportation. Occasionally I meet new people. One day I chatted it up with a giant black man who was reading Eragon about our favorite young adult novels. Yesterday, I met Chantelle.
She came on the train with her Mom and sat directly across from me. For some reason when I see kids, I can't help making funny faces at them. They always respond more positively than adults. And more often than not, they respond with another funny face or a big smile. Even the babies. I encourage you to repeat this experiment for your own verification and delight. Chantelle responded with puffed out lips and a furrowed brow. The next thing I usually do is copy their face. Most children just smile after that, not Chantelle--she pulled her eyebrows up REALLY high and made her eyes really big. I copied her. Then it was eyebrows back down. I followed. Back and forth across the aisle we performed our face dance. Then she laughed loud and clear, the unabashed laughter of youth. Her laughter was like light, pealing through the train car and either annoying or bringing joy to the fellow commuters on their way home. Hopefully joy--the older lady she sat next to smiled genuinely at our interchange. Then she started asking me questions.
"Where do you live?" she inquired. "Chantelle!" her mother tried to get her to leave me alone.
"Lansdowne" I responded.
"Where do you work?" she ignored her mother. "Chantelle! Don't be asking the nice lady questions."
"I work in the city" I smiled back. I probably shouldn't have encouraged her.
"You're funny" she told me.
"You're cute" I told her. "Thank you" said the Mother kindly. And with that we came to a stop (but not before I got some pictures of the little cutie), the masses filing out and taking their weary bodies home, mine a little less weary from the encounter. Have a good life Chantelle, I hope to see you and your funny faces again someday.
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