A Reflection in the Park

A couple of weekends ago my friend Mark invited me to attend a concert he was responsible for in a small park in West Hollywood. It's not usually how I spend my Sunday afternoons but I wholly welcomed a diversion. And I wanted to give Mark my full support.

While I sat with Mark at his table I noticed an old man off in the corner of the park sitting alone in what looked to be some sort of deep meditative reflection. I stared at him for a few minutes wondering what the old man could be thinking about...

Could he be thinking about the day he married the great love of his life who has since passed away and he misses every minute of every day? Could he be thinking about the glory of climbing Mt. Everest when he was a young and fit man all those years ago while he's now trapped in a body that seeks comfortable rest areas? Could he be thinking about the kids he raised that all moved away and call ever-so infrequently even tho the sounds of their voices on the other end of the line would brighten his day? Or could he simply be thinking about what to have for dinner?

I was so moved that I quickly snapped this photo. Apologizes are owed to the old man for stealing this moment but for that brief instance I gave pause and spared a thought for my recently departed father. It was about to become an overwhelmingly emotional moment so I switched my attention to the band which was now in full swing.

I wanted to take a few pictures of the band I had come to listen to - the fun Latin jazz stylings of Louie Cruz Beltran - so I snuck into the front row and began to snap photos. I noticed that the old man was behind the band and thought that he was fortunate to meditate to such a grooving soundtrack. I even thought that in his younger days he probably knew how to throw the ladies around a dance floor.

After a couple of songs I returned to the table where Mark was sitting, I looked over to the place where the old man was sitting and he was gone. I looked around to see if he had relocated but he had vanished. And I curiously missed him. But it was the dinner hour. I thought, 'after he's finished eating I hope that one of his kids phones to just say hi'. And then I smiled, happy in my heart to have shared this moment with him.

Comments

[Laura]

I very much enjoyed this, thank you.