"Everybody has a secret world inside of them. All of the people of the world, I mean everybody. No matter how dull and boring they are on the outside, inside them they've all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds. Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands maybe" ~ Neil Gaiman (A Game of You)
Life gets a whole lot more interesting when you change your perspective.
The other day, I was waiting in the car while my husband bought groceries. A man who looked surprisingly like Michael Bolton walked by.
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| Michael Bolton |
I thought, Huh. I wonder what other celebrities might be lurking in the Hemet Sprouts parking lot?
I was soon to find out.
I saw:
Victoria Jackson
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| Victoria Jackson |
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| John Madden |
John Madden
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| Pat from SNL |
Pat from SNL
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| Mama Cass Elliot |
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| Shirley Temple |
or if Mama Cass and Shirley Temple had a baby
Emo Gabriel Byrne
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| Gabriel Byrne |
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| Jessica Simpson |
Jessica Simpson before Weight Watchers
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| UP |
The old guy from UP
and finally,
Barbara Streisand's nose
It was autumn in the blue forest. The trees stood nearly bare, limbs outstretched like spindly arms trying to touch the sky. Crimson leaves carpeted the floor, a breeze occasionally lifting one to dance around the cobalt trunk of its most recent home. Quieter now, the chatter of summer long gone as squirrels found burrows and sparrows migrated south for warmer weather. Hungry wolves slunk silently through the shadows, looking for one last meal before laying down in the warmth of their den. Soon, skies would turn gray and snow would fall, smothering the colors in a blanket of white, and the blue forest would wait, on ice, until the spring thaw.
*****
I found this picture today on Pinterest (I don't want to post it on here for copyright reasons). It stuck with me, and I thought I just had to write about it.
It's a large, open air shopping mall. A mother stands at an ATM machine on the outside of the mall, facing the street. Her daughter, about 2 1/2 years old, is sitting quietly in one of those rented kiddie strollers. It is red plastic with racing flames and "Mall Racer #5" painted along the side. The woman has her back to the child, concentrating on her transaction.
The stroller starts to slowly roll away from the ATM machine; it is apparently on an incline that leads toward the street. The mother doesn't immediately notice. When the little girl is distanced sufficiently from her mother that she realizes what's happening, she begins to cry. Her wail increases in volume as the distance between her and her mother grows -- and the distance between her and the street lessens.
The mother is startled to attention and races to her daughter, reaching her at the same time as a passing Good Samaritan. She gives him an embarrassed smile and thanks him sheepishly. Feeling safe once again, the child's wails turn from terror to indignation.
Early evening, night is just starting to fall. There's a light rain, more than a drizzle, less than a downpour. Downtown, at an intersection. A black man, mid-30's, wearing blue jeans, work boots, a brown jacket zipped up, arrives just as the light is turning yellow. He's going to have to wait until the light cycles back through to green, but he doesn't seem agitated. He's carrying his young son on his shoulders. The little boy is about four years old. He has a big puffy jacket on. The little boy holds a large square piece of cardboard over his head, keeping the rain off him and his father. The boy is talking animatedly. The father cocks his head slightly upward, in the boy's direction, giving him his full attention.
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