I'm walking home from work down the street near where I live downtown; it's mainly a business district type place with lots of offices but there's also a bunch of coffee shops and crap like that.
So it's sort of raining today, and in the drizzle I'm standing at a corner with a few other hapless pedestrians waiting for the light to change so I can cross the street when I look to my left. There, crossing the intersecting street towards us is this guy reading a book. Walking. In the rain.
So I look at him some more, and every detail about him just makes so much more sense I can't believe. Black sweater (in the muggy rain). Thick rim glasses. Day old stubble. Holding a Starbucks cup. Artfully messy "student" hair despite the fact he's clearly well in his 30s. I notice theres a moderately attractive woman standing beside me, and I instantly *know* what he's going to do. Sure enough, he continues holding the tattered old book in front him while crossing a busy street trying to look like he's reading something and he's got this deeply engrossed look on his face. And of course he steps in front of us despite the fact that walking behind us would have made much more sense and while in front holds the book up to his chest with this wistful look as if he's now has to get his bearings and he's holding the book in such a way that we could see the cover. Some anthology of something, all I saw was "collected works..". I'm willing to bet it was a book of poetry, just playing a hunch.
I almost burst out laughing, and some old guy behind us did sort of snicker but he was on a phone to cover it. So I ran up behind him and knocked him to the ground and kicked his book into the rain filled gutter. Ok, I didn't, but I'm certain no court in the land would have convicted me. The woman didn't react at all, which is too bad. I was hoping she'd cough *pretentiousmuch* or something.
So it's sort of raining today, and in the drizzle I'm standing at a corner with a few other hapless pedestrians waiting for the light to change so I can cross the street when I look to my left. There, crossing the intersecting street towards us is this guy reading a book. Walking. In the rain.
So I look at him some more, and every detail about him just makes so much more sense I can't believe. Black sweater (in the muggy rain). Thick rim glasses. Day old stubble. Holding a Starbucks cup. Artfully messy "student" hair despite the fact he's clearly well in his 30s. I notice theres a moderately attractive woman standing beside me, and I instantly *know* what he's going to do. Sure enough, he continues holding the tattered old book in front him while crossing a busy street trying to look like he's reading something and he's got this deeply engrossed look on his face. And of course he steps in front of us despite the fact that walking behind us would have made much more sense and while in front holds the book up to his chest with this wistful look as if he's now has to get his bearings and he's holding the book in such a way that we could see the cover. Some anthology of something, all I saw was "collected works..". I'm willing to bet it was a book of poetry, just playing a hunch.
I almost burst out laughing, and some old guy behind us did sort of snicker but he was on a phone to cover it. So I ran up behind him and knocked him to the ground and kicked his book into the rain filled gutter. Ok, I didn't, but I'm certain no court in the land would have convicted me. The woman didn't react at all, which is too bad. I was hoping she'd cough *pretentiousmuch* or something.
I run into those jackasses all the time when visiting my buddy at Emily Carr.
