On the Ride to Mattapan

The train ride home got to me today. I think I'm a little emotional. Coming off the bus, I went down the steps and found me a bench to occupy until the train arrived. Not too long after my arrival, an old man with Parkinson's disease came and sat by me. His tremor was quite pronounced and immediately my heart sank. He had the most beautiful blue eyes. He just started talking to me. He said that cleaning the tunnel would make a lot of money. He said he wasn't sure if it was worth it though, considering the amount of danger one would be in being down there. He just seemed like he really wanted to talk and I was more than willing to oblige. I have such a soft spot for senior citizens and children. Just sitting there made me wonder about his home situation and his life. I wonder if he had folks to talk to him at home; people to love him. I almost got choked up right there. I wanted to give him the biggest hug I could muster up. Of course I refrained.
While talking with the old man, another guy comes up and whispers, "Hey mama!". Oh hell... don't look. Scowl. Don't smile. It didn't work. He did a u-turn and parked it on the other side of me. Don't you see I'm talking with someone? Anyway, he spits his game. I guess it was the best he had to offer. He wanted to know if I had a man. If my man was treating me like I should be treated. Then came the guarantee that he could treat me much better. Not interested I say. Let's talk about something else since you insist on running your mouth with me. What do you do? Nothing! What all does that entail? Chilling. He dropped out of high school and has just been floating around since. Dude. C'mon. You gotta do something with yourself before you go hollering at females. Anyway... I matter-of-factly told KT about the encounter (just sharing my day). He could give a damn but I'm not going there.
I finally escape to the train. Mr. I-can-treat-you-better is not going my way. Thank goodness. So I ride along listening to my music and wondering about the old man. When I get on the trolley, things get too weird. On the second to last stop to Mattapan, the trolley stops and all I see is a hat behind the door. As the doors open, on gets a man that is a dead ringer for Uncle John. I almost forgot to breathe. He had on the same kinds of clothes, shoes, jacket, and hat that Uncle John would have worn. The only difference was that this gentleman was a little smaller than Johnnie. Had the man coughed, I probably would have jumped off the trolley. It was too freaky. Immediately I had all these memories and feelings rush back to me. It was time to get home. I escape to sleep when there is too much stuff in the outside world going on. Today seems to be one of those days. Or it could be that my lack of sleep is affecting my mood. At any rate... nap time.