J.A.M.

Archive for the ‘Daily Life’ Category

He’s been walking the streets of Cambridge for quite some time now. I don’t know his name. I’ve never met him but we greet each time we pass one another. As a matter of fact he always greets first. He never quite gives one a chance to greet back though as while you’re busy responding to his initial “Hello” he’s already asking how things are going or commenting on the weather. He’s an elderly gentleman. Always laden with plastic packets. I’ve often seen him sitting on a little ledge near an old forgotten stream, shaving and trying to keep himself presentable. Some would call him a hobo. Although mostly in the same clothes he seems to manage to keep himself looking neat and tidy. Sometimes he’s reading out aloud from a Watchtower magazine that someone has most probably pressed into his hands at the robots. He sounds like a fiery preacher and reads quite well. He strikes me as an intelligent person – someone who may have ‘had it all’ at one stage in his life. There are times when the torrent of expletives I would never dream to think, let alone utter, are quite embarrassing. They are normally interrupted by “Hello …. How are you ….. Hot today hey?” as I walk past before he continues where he left off. Some say his wife kicked him out and he actually lives in a flat somewhere in Cambridge. I’ve only ever seen him either reclining on the sidewalk or shaving at the forgotten stream or heading off laden with his packets. I wonder what his story is… One day I’ll ask him.