two pennies | the very good day

if you follow me in any way.... you've seen this tale before.... but it tugged on my pant leg today and asked to be put out on the blog.  so i obliged. 

p.s. please excuse the completely incorrectly used punctuation. 

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two pennies. 

‘you are having good day aren’t you?’
-umm.. yes?
‘can I ask you a question?’
-I suppose.
‘goodness you are beautiful’
-thank you sir?
‘can I ask you?’
-what?
‘a question… ‘
-yes.
‘my friends and I need a dollar for the bus…’

ahh, I know the drill.. he wants money for alcohol.. thinking somehow money for the bus is a better story.. but no matter.

-sure.. I have some change
'..wow.. you are just so lovely.'
-thank you?

maybe sensing how un-comfy this was making me, he said...'excuse me for that… I just can’t help letting you know.'

I stared into his **deeply bloodshot eyes** human heart to human heart, and paused.
-thank you sir, that is very kind of you

I reached across and handed him the fistful of change from my wallet. he thanked me and then looked into the coins and started to sift out the pennies.

‘look at these two!’ he said between hiccups and slurs.

‘they don’t even look like they are the same thing do they?'

placing them both on the table side by side

‘does that even look like a penny?! it’s almost unrecognizable as a penny isn’t it? I mean it’s hard to believe those are even both pennies!’

he stared at me waiting for my reply, but how could I speak? all I could do was stare at the pennies on the table.  the truth of life … his and mine summed up in 2 cents.

the waitress pushed thru the door, and excused him along.

he nodded… and poked out a battered finger for me to shake.

‘thank you ma’am’
-you’re welcome sir. thank you.

and he stumbled away.

pennies, both shiny and perfect at the start….  now sit in contrast.
how many choices separate us?

thank you sir.  thank you for ‘seeing’ me.   thank you for reminding me that we are the same you and i.  separated only by circumstance and choices.  you are beautiful. 

he had sat at my table uninvited and asked me if he could ask me a question… then said.. ‘you are having a good day aren’t you?’   

yes sir,  i am...