Watching and thinking.

When I was growing up, there was always a man sitting on his porch just watching the traffic go by.

Living on a main street in Los Angeles, it was rare to see anyone just sitting there. Everyone was always rushing to their daily endeavors.

As the years passed, the man, who I assumed lived in the house where he always sat, grew older. I would sometimes pass him on my way to the local liquor store to buy candy. He was friendly and always smiled as I passed.

One day while passing by, I noticed the man was now in a wheelchair, and he had an oxygen tank attached to his chair and a tube leading into his nose. In his new condition, a woman joined him on that porch.

Just watching and talking. Sitting there with the man, always watching the time go by.

I presumed she was either his daughter or a nurse. They sat on that porch for hours- just watching and talking about, what I imagined to be, life and good times.

All my life that man sat on that same porch every day. Until one day the man and the woman were gone.

No oxygen tank.

No wheel chair.

It didn't’t take long for me to figure out that the old man had passed away.

When I pass by that porch today, I can still imagine him sitting in his wheelchair, speaking of good old times and crazy adventures. In reality, all that is left there is the woman, watching life from the porch. I learned to appreciate the presence of the old man whose name I didn't know.