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I was sitting in a Starbucks on a street corner in Chicago. I picked it because it was an easy to find place, and quite a lot of people knew about it. Just a little bit down the street was the Aragon Ballroom, where some of the largest indoor concert events in the city take place. Down the street the opposite way and around the corner was the Riviera, another one of Chicago’s more famous venues.
Concert goers were known to hang out in here before their show, as band members often popped in for a quick Café Mocha while setting everything up to perform.
I wasn’t here to ‘accidentally’ run into any famous musicians. In fact, I made sure there were no concerts in the area today before I picked this place. It was just me, a few men in suits and a homeless guy who was asking to use the bathroom.
I sipped my coffee and watched one of the employees kick the homeless guy outside. I felt bad for the guy, just wanting a place to use the bathroom, wanting a little bit of dignity and to not have to piss himself.
Instead of concerning myself with the homeless man and his problems, I turned my attention to the Chicago Reader newspaper. It was last week’s issue, with a new one hitting the streets tomorrow.
I pulled out the classified section, flipping through until I saw the ‘I Saw You’ ads. I had always thought they were fun to read. People published personal ads about somebody they met only briefly, or perhaps who they simply saw from afar. In a way, they were the most desperate attempts for people to find true love. The posting of their ad would only work if the person they were writing about remembered that specific moment in time, and if they happened to pick up a copy of the Chicago Reader, and happen to read that specific ad.
I read them.
The one at the top of the page read,
Cute Dog Walker of Altgeld
Never do this, but I thought I would give it a try. Saw you around 6:00 on Sunday walking your dog near Altgeld & Racine. I have shorter brown hair and was wearing a white coat. Walked away and wish I would have done more than just smiled.
When- Sunday, January 14
Where – Altgeld & Racine
I Saw – A Man
I Am – A Woman
At Nickle City!!!
I saw you at Nickle City on Thursday, Jan. 11th around like 9…you had pink hair (it was amazingly kickass) and you were wearing boots and I think camouflage pants. I didn’t say anything to you, which I should have, but right before I left I walked up and just gave you all of my tickets and you looked at me like I was on crack...and I just walked away going "shhhhh, quiet..." I was wearing black pants and a red hoodie and I have black hair and glasses...ok bye
When – Thursday, January 11, 2007
Where – Nikle City
I Saw – A Woman
I Am – A Man
I kept scanning them, though I suppose there was no reason to. I had read them all at least a few times before. None of them were for me, of course. But there was one that I had written.
Redline Connection
We were Northbound on the Red Line. We were sitting together quietly when your stop at Fullerton came up. Your purse got caught on the seat; I helped you get it free just in time for you to make your stop. You looked back, smiled and waved and I knew I had to see you again. I have short brown hair; I was wearing that black blazer with the red tie.
When – Friday, January 12, 2007
Where – Red Line/ Fullerton Stop
I Saw – A Woman
I Am –A Man
I took another sip of my coffee and folded up the paper. Any minute now, she would be walking through the door, and we’d have a chance to get to know each other. A few days after the ad ran, I got an e-mail. It was the woman I met on the train, and she was interested in meeting up.
I suggested the place; she came up with the date and time.
Any minute now, the door would open and in would walk the attractive blonde with the blue purse. At the time I met her, she was bundled up in a black coat with a navy blue skirt. I waited in anticipation to see what she would be wearing today.
I took another sip of my coffee and looked out the window. The homeless guy was standing on the corner trying to get a buck from an old couple. They simply turned their heads the other way and pretended as if he didn’t exist. It made me feel worse. Its one thing to turn somebody down when they ask you for money and it’s something else all together when you simply act like another human being doesn’t exist.
Frustrated the homeless man turned around in a circle, and I could see a darkened splotch on the front of his pants. I turned my head away in shame.
I looked up to see the door open and a woman walk in. She was wearing jeans and a pair of beat up sneakers. Her grey coat looked worn and lined with fake fur. Tucked under her arm was a copy of the Chicago Reader. That was our little clue to spot each other.
But, she wasn’t carrying a blue purse. Instead she had a black saddle back with a cartoon robot and the words ‘Invader Zim’ printed on the side. She was tanned and blonde like the woman I had met on the train. She was pale and her hair was jet black.
David's Bio
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