Magic

There are 6 different ways I've found to get to work since we moved. Delightfully, only 2 are on the freeway. Lately, I have been taking the route that weaves me down Sunset through Silverlake, Echo Park and Elysian Park. I drive past the fountain in Echo Park where Jack Nicholson went boating in China Town. Then I make a right turn and shoot through a tunnel. It's a happy little way to drive because of the slightly less ordinary details like the tunnel. There are three posters in windows above an American Apparel for Obama, two of his face and one with a voting machine. Every time I see them I feel relaxed because the block before I knew to expect them. These posters inspire me - They are OBEY GIANT - Brilliant.
A couple of months a go, I saw a man biking- I think I first spotted him in the tunnel- I noticed him because he pedaled and coasted just as quickly as I drove and stopped at lights. As I sat, waiting to turn left at my final left before work, burst through the light and missed the traffic I have to sit in. He went a bit past my building but I did not see where.

Another day, I saw his mountain bike again. There he was, no helmet, headphones, the same brown shorts and a scruffy beard like Sean. It's calming to rely on the same fixtures in a morning commute. Every time I see the same cars, bums, traffic cops, kids going to school, or bicyclists it feels like a treat. It feels like a symbol that we are all in this together somehow.
I like to imagine what people are heading to do and how they feel about it as I watch their faces - looking straight ahead, less than a few yards away from mine, silent through the glass of our car windows.

The biker I like to spot best because it seems unlikely we could take the same path at the same time most days. I also notice him because he is never wearing a helmet.
I have not even thought about when it is I first see him, each time I do he just suddenly appears and I get excited. When I see him, I wonder where we got ready this morning and where he is going. I wonder if he picks this route to work over the other 3 non-freeway ways to work because of the tunnel like me. I wonder if he notices my car over and over again or if he like so many people are just coasting along.

Sometimes I think- should I offer him a ride? We are going the same way every day. But then I think he could be a murder, or have terrible B.O. and where would we put his bike?

Yesterday morning, as I walked down the exterior stairs of my parking lot, his bike shot past my field of vision. I had not seen him on the drive in - he was late!

There is something I love about this idea. When MJC and I were first dating I used to tell him my movie ideas. After a few months he told me they were all the same - themed around connection. Every little if, then being connected together so that my entire life could be different if I did not take this route I take to work, through the tunnel. And maybe my biker friend is on the same path a la Sliding Doors.

Coincidentally, last night my life path crossed his Lisa Bonet. She was sitting with a sweet little 10 month old at the table a foot away from ours at dinner.
I grew up on the Cosby show and then a Different World. Despite the weird news about Lisa Bonet, I thought Denise was just perfect. Last night, I recognized her immediately. She wore big baggy clothes, waist length dreads and not a stitch of makeup. Her bone structure is striking. She is absolutely beautiful. She was wearing the same boots as the picture on the right. But look! She too has the Calypso dress! I swear every woman should have it!
Her little girl sat patiently on her lap for a few seconds and the started whingeing around. I wanted to play with her right away but I held back so as not to disturb them. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the little one looking at me. Then we high fived about 90 times. It was magical. I feel such baby success I was thinking I should make it a hip hop nom de plume. BL Fun MLE?