There's a fellow nomad here I am very intrigued by. She seems to sleep on cardboard, not in a car like me. She's also much older and inhabits a body with different skin color.
I don't think she remembers but I had a short conversation with her on another part of the island a few months back. She mentioned something about mental health problems but in terms of her energy and demeanor I could sense she's tapped into things other people aren't. It didn't seem like she was on drugs like a lot of the other people I see sleeping on that tan paper commodity. I see so much potential in people like her I just don't think they've ever been nurtured, guided, or encouraged in the right ways.
She appeared in the parking lot of the grocery store this morning. I had some fresh strawberries I was looking to part with and wanted to offer them to her and I politely said "excuse me" as she was passing by. With absolute swiftness and zero turn of the head she gave me one of these hand gestures like in the drawing and didn't miss a stride in her step.
I was like, woah... she really is on some other shit. That was incredible.
About ten seconds later she turned around and smiled at me and made some funny comment about Hare Krishna. I then proceeded to look down at what I was wearing today and it happened to be my all white getup. There's a dude around here with a shaved head and ponytail that hands out Hare Krishna pamphlets and I think I got roped in with him because of that.
While her prediction was off, I was still completely amazed by the whole experience. By the time I caught her out of the corner of my eye and just barely finished uttering the words excuse me she already had a complete read on the entire situation and blasted me with the palm. If awareness and reaction speed were Street Fighter it felt like I got hit with a leg sweep that had me kissing the pavement before I even knew we were fighting.
I was embarrassed, stunned, and humbled by the whole thing. I honestly think I blushed.
I'm super aware of my surroundings and used to be on some Terminator type shit when it comes to having potential scenarios mapped out ahead of time. In my edit room days I overheard the occasional Rain Man joke. I'm not sure I've ever encountered someone on my level in that regard; nevertheless beyond it. Most people I look at seem like they're sleepwalking.
I hope our paths cross again. I'm genuinely interested to learn more about her and see how I get my ass kicked in Round II. I bet I could learn a few things from her.
It also inspired me to finally do the writeup on this drawing today. It's now available for your reading and purchasing pleasure in The Shoppe.
I'm not sure how much but I'll give her a little bonus from the sale of this if I can find her again and she'll let me.