Monday, July 21, 2014

Time machine: 2005 riding the 21 going to work

It's a random afternoon in 2005 I'm riding the notorious 21 bus down East Lake Street going to work. Sitting across the aisle from me is a young, white, nondescript mom with her beautiful daughter all of about three years old. The little girl's skin is the color of caramel and she has her super curly hair pulled up into two golden brown pompoms above her ears. She's sitting on her mom's lap and trying to learn to sing the chorus of Eminem's "Cleanin' out my closet". Whenever she stumbles on the lyrics her mom helps her out by singing the lyrics slowly and clearly, like she's teaching her the ABC's. Then the girl starts over from the top. This goes on for a good ten minutes when the girl's attention is drawn outside to the people on the street, and suddenly she's wiggling and giggling, pointing out the window at some young guys saying, "Look momma - there go MY man!... There go MY man!" And then as we pass a dusty old man, she exclaims, "Momma, there go YOUR man!" while laughing the bubbliest three-year-old's laugh you ever heard.  By this time I'm having difficulty keeping it together on my side of the bus, so I have to look away and out my side of the window to snicker quietly to myself.  Then, almost by way of apology, she starts singing again, "I'm sorry maaaama, I never meant to hurt yooouu, I never meant to make YOU cry so tonight I'm cleanin' out mu'clawset." The next minute, she was back to peering out the window and picking out total weirdos for her mom and giggling, "Oooh look momma, there go YOUR man!"

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